The Details

Yes, I know that I've been private about the job search. But I really hate having to disclose that I didn't get a job. But the job has now been officially accepted, so I figure that the details can now be shared.

In spite of having spent the semester convinced that I did not know how to teach, had wasted the last ten years of my life in grad school, and would never be employed in the academy, I applied for this sabbatical replacement in March.

But I was not holding my breath. (Once burned, twice shy, you know.)

To my surprise, I had a phone interview the day after my laptop's hard drive died. (Can I just say that preparing for an interview with limited internet access is utterly frustrating?) I was quite sure that I wouldn't be invited for a campus visit because I had messed up in answering one of the questions.

And then I was really not holding my breath.

But then I was invited for a campus visit. The school flew me in for an on-campus interview. I knew that I would give a teaching demo, but I was informed only the night before I left that I would have individual meetings with members of the department as well as the academic dean!

The trip was fine, but on the shuttle from the airport to the town, when all I could see were fields, I remember thinking to myself, "Oh, no, no, no! I can't live here. City girls were meant for cities!" But the campus is beautiful and the guest house where I was staying was perfect (my own room and bathroom in a bungalow that was even furnished with a baby grand in the living room!).

After a good night's sleep, I had a very long day. It started with breakfast with the department chair and then a half-hour interview with one prof. Then my hour-long teaching demo. Then an hour-long interview with the prof whom I would be replacing (this was over lunch). Then three more half-hour interviews with profs. Then a half-hour with the academic dean. Then one more half-hour interview with a prof. And then back to the airport.

I felt that the visit had gone well, but I was still not holding my breath.

But the academic dean called me with the job offer last Friday and I accepted the job on Monday.

So, I'm now in the throes of finishing my paper for Small Society's Annual Meeting (next weekend), the last two chapters of The Thesis, figuring out the mechanics of moving and renting a place, and tying up my life in Hometown.

I'll have posts in the future about this lifestyle shift. But for now, I'll just say that now that I have employment lined up for the next academic year, I feel like I can take a deep breath.