Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Time ticking

Funny that I would write a post entitled "Time in Slow Motion" while my wife would write "Time Compresses". Time is on both of our minds.

I wanted to let her break the news so to speak before I brought it up on my blog. It looks now like she'll be taking off from work about 6 weeks sooner than planned, on December 20. Her appointment with the OB yesterday put a little fire under her feet, with the doctor's suggestion that she might benefit from taking off at 30 weeks. She did a quick calculation, then said "but that's less than two weeks!" So, she'll hold out a little longer than the doctor suggested, but not by much.

Her plans had been to work through the end of January. And now, all on a sudden, she's facing wrapping up loose ends, then heading home. And I? Tomorrow I have my telephone interview with Miwla College. I'm excited, yet mellowed. I wish to give my best face. Yet, I'm perfectly content to accept whatever outcome results.

Rocket has been saying that what she's come to see her career as meaning is money, recognition, and stability. I see the possibilities in this post at Miwla as being along those lines. I'd enjoy the work. And I'd do it well. Of that, I am quite convinced. There is much to like in the school, and the post just beckons me. Yet, I've had a long tour of this, and I'm not so committed (attached) to landing a faculty post anymore. For a tenure-track gig it's about as wonderful as I could imagine. And yet, I've come to believe that, despite what I'd come to expect throughout graduate school, a tenure-track gig is not necessarily the pinnacle of my career choices.

Money, recognition, stability. Nothing wrong with those three. It's just... they're only part of the package.

1 comment:

undine said...

Good luck on your interview.