For Corey
OK, It's been a long time since I've updated this blog, but here goes. Right now I should be on a plane for New Orleans, where I'm interviewing for positions at other institutions. I should be, but am instead at home, doing this, because Northwest Airlines cancelled the flight and could only get me out later today. Seven hours later today. This is, of course, after I was at the airport at 5 am, even before their damn ticket counter was open. And get this -- even though I haven't even been anywhere -- they lost my damn luggage. Now how the hell can you do that?
I figure that I'm still "in play" at 16 other schools. Of course, all those won't pan out, but I think I can get at least four or five interviews. We'll see. I'm also trying to circumvent the whole offer-counteroffer process by writing directly to the Provost, telling him that I need to make more money. EKU has actually come though for me, though. They're boosting my salary by a whopping $671 dollars per year. This puts me at close to 78% of what a comparable associate professor would make at our benchmark institutions. And for this, of course, I'm grateful, because the EKU way is to look out for me. They talk about their commitment to faculty retention, but they've got nothing but an insult to show for it.
Actually, the EKU way seems to be to do everything for the cheapest possible price. Well, they can't get me that way any longer. I'll keep on doing this, looking for work at another place, until either EKU comes up with the cash or I end up somewhere else. I have the feeling that EKU will not offer me anything different than what they already have, so I'll probably be posting here from somewhere else come September.
Hey, tomorrow is my birthday. I am officially old. I've been unofficially old for years, but this one cements it.
Wednesday, November 07, 2001
The Grind Goes On
Just in case you haven't heard this story yet from me: I awoke two nights ago to my wife standing on the bed screaming hystetically that there was a man behind the door to the attic. Talk about scaring the piss out of me. Next thing I remember I'm in front of that door with a bat in my hands and she's screaming at 911 on the phone. The cops show up, go over the house completely, and of course there's nobody up there. But we need to sleep with the lights on anyway, or rather, she needs to sleep with the lights on, because now I'm so pumped with adrenaline that I can't sleep for the rest of the night.
Honestly, I have never been so scared in my life as I was at that moment. Even now, just recalling that image to mind, I get goosebumps and start to sweat profusely. I think I'm still scared by it all, still startled by strange noises and movements. Damn.
Amanda's family believes that I should be armed -- that a gun would take care of all of this. I doubt it -- I know I'd still be spooked by every little noise and would probably end up shooting the damn dog.
Just in case you haven't heard this story yet from me: I awoke two nights ago to my wife standing on the bed screaming hystetically that there was a man behind the door to the attic. Talk about scaring the piss out of me. Next thing I remember I'm in front of that door with a bat in my hands and she's screaming at 911 on the phone. The cops show up, go over the house completely, and of course there's nobody up there. But we need to sleep with the lights on anyway, or rather, she needs to sleep with the lights on, because now I'm so pumped with adrenaline that I can't sleep for the rest of the night.
Honestly, I have never been so scared in my life as I was at that moment. Even now, just recalling that image to mind, I get goosebumps and start to sweat profusely. I think I'm still scared by it all, still startled by strange noises and movements. Damn.
Amanda's family believes that I should be armed -- that a gun would take care of all of this. I doubt it -- I know I'd still be spooked by every little noise and would probably end up shooting the damn dog.
Thursday, November 01, 2001
Chicago Bound
I'm off to the windy city in a couple hours, leaving at 4:00 am for a panel that will present later today, at about 2:00 pm. By that time I'm sure that we won't even be checked in to the hotel (the last time at the Plamer House, we spent four hours in the lobby). Of course, the last time I was at the Palmer House was the first time Amanda and I took one another seriously. Weird.
Later today, of course, I'll be exhausted and non-functioning (I think I may have SERIOUSLY reinjured my left knee -- it feels like there's a pound of meniscus in the joint again. Maybe I can shake it out (that's incredibly optimistic), or maybe I can avoid any long walks (I've got to lead a tour of the Chicago Art Institute on Friday -- we'll see how that goes).
It'll be good to get away for a couple days. I need the break from EKU, because my tech writing classes have been driving me nuts. I've had to do so much serious mothering, and the products have been god, but not great. It was different when I did these online, because there was no room for mothering or extending deadlines or basically cleaning up code after everything was supposedly done. Now, f-t-f, it's a whole new world.
Don't get me wrong; they're great classes, with good students who are trying hard. But they're lacing a certain rigor, and that may be because we're seeing one another and they know they can get over. Oh well, live and learn.
I'm off to the windy city in a couple hours, leaving at 4:00 am for a panel that will present later today, at about 2:00 pm. By that time I'm sure that we won't even be checked in to the hotel (the last time at the Plamer House, we spent four hours in the lobby). Of course, the last time I was at the Palmer House was the first time Amanda and I took one another seriously. Weird.
Later today, of course, I'll be exhausted and non-functioning (I think I may have SERIOUSLY reinjured my left knee -- it feels like there's a pound of meniscus in the joint again. Maybe I can shake it out (that's incredibly optimistic), or maybe I can avoid any long walks (I've got to lead a tour of the Chicago Art Institute on Friday -- we'll see how that goes).
It'll be good to get away for a couple days. I need the break from EKU, because my tech writing classes have been driving me nuts. I've had to do so much serious mothering, and the products have been god, but not great. It was different when I did these online, because there was no room for mothering or extending deadlines or basically cleaning up code after everything was supposedly done. Now, f-t-f, it's a whole new world.
Don't get me wrong; they're great classes, with good students who are trying hard. But they're lacing a certain rigor, and that may be because we're seeing one another and they know they can get over. Oh well, live and learn.
Sunday, October 28, 2001
Amanda's Birthday
Sometimes I think I'm just damn lucky to have met a woman like this, one who is willing to put up with my 40-year-old bullshit and my 11-year-old intelligence. At other times I think other things, but I'm trying to get a handle on that, and not take this woman for granted. In celebration of her 24 years, we're off to brunch then the mall, where she'll participate in that great consumer venture called "buying clothes for work." She's doing great at her job, and it looks like Scott County will want her full-time after her practicum and internship are finished. That would be OK with me, if she can hack the commutte, and if we stay in KY.
Speaking of that, I was at the office until midnight last night (yes, on a Saturday night) getting the envelopes right for 20 job applications. That's not a lot, but they're all in places where Amanda would like to live, so we'll see what happens. My letters of recommendation are on their way, and I'm hoping for at least one offer, just to get a counteroffer from EKU. But the Dean did say that I shouldn't bluff on this, so I'm not. If I get an offer somewhere else and nothing from here, I'm gone, to sunnier climes and lighter teaching loads, and at least 10% more money. Sweet.
Sometimes I think I'm just damn lucky to have met a woman like this, one who is willing to put up with my 40-year-old bullshit and my 11-year-old intelligence. At other times I think other things, but I'm trying to get a handle on that, and not take this woman for granted. In celebration of her 24 years, we're off to brunch then the mall, where she'll participate in that great consumer venture called "buying clothes for work." She's doing great at her job, and it looks like Scott County will want her full-time after her practicum and internship are finished. That would be OK with me, if she can hack the commutte, and if we stay in KY.
Speaking of that, I was at the office until midnight last night (yes, on a Saturday night) getting the envelopes right for 20 job applications. That's not a lot, but they're all in places where Amanda would like to live, so we'll see what happens. My letters of recommendation are on their way, and I'm hoping for at least one offer, just to get a counteroffer from EKU. But the Dean did say that I shouldn't bluff on this, so I'm not. If I get an offer somewhere else and nothing from here, I'm gone, to sunnier climes and lighter teaching loads, and at least 10% more money. Sweet.
Thursday, October 25, 2001
Governor's Scholars
So it looks like I'll be the Campus Director for the Governor's Scholars Program at EKU this summer. The job is interesting, the challenge is great, the money is sweet, and maybe I can carve out some time to spend with the students. It'll be nice to be with the best students in Kentucky.
There are some downsides to this, one being that I'll have to live in a dorm on campus for seven weeks. Should be interesting.
On the classes front, my tech writing classes have finsihed their sites. Here they are:
EKU Science Learning Resource Center
Business Communications Primer
This is good work. It's not brilliant, but it's nice.
OK, off to a rehearsal dinner tonight, then a wedding tomorrow.
So it looks like I'll be the Campus Director for the Governor's Scholars Program at EKU this summer. The job is interesting, the challenge is great, the money is sweet, and maybe I can carve out some time to spend with the students. It'll be nice to be with the best students in Kentucky.
There are some downsides to this, one being that I'll have to live in a dorm on campus for seven weeks. Should be interesting.
On the classes front, my tech writing classes have finsihed their sites. Here they are:
EKU Science Learning Resource Center
Business Communications Primer
This is good work. It's not brilliant, but it's nice.
OK, off to a rehearsal dinner tonight, then a wedding tomorrow.
Monday, October 22, 2001
Crash and Burn
That's what happend to the old handmade computer I was working on. I turned it on on Friday and it smelled like gunpowder. Turns out, according to Wendell the god, that the power supply fried all the drives. They were in such bad shape that Wendell wanted to save them for their neat effects. He thinks it might be the electricity in the house. He brought over an oscilloscope tonight and we spent a couple hours checking te lines. I'll be calling the electrician tomorrow. And getting a UPS. And making sure I back shit up,
Now the black beast is gone, replaced by a Sony VAIO that I paid way too much for. But I was dealing with a wife who lost most of her thesis, in CompUSA at 9:00 on Saturday night. I knew I was getting gouged, but I had to do it. 1.5k for a 1.7 gig with 128 of the new 800mhz RDRAM, cdrw, dvd, 80 gig hd, 32 megs on an nvidia Geforce 2 card, firewire, and all the other standard crap. This one better last for a while.
Wendell thinks he may be able to salvage some data from the old disk, but I'm not holding my breath. Of course, if anyone can do it, it's him. He's been more than very good to us. In the meantime, we're retyping a lot of stuff, and I'm redownloading plenty. Oh well.
That's what happend to the old handmade computer I was working on. I turned it on on Friday and it smelled like gunpowder. Turns out, according to Wendell the god, that the power supply fried all the drives. They were in such bad shape that Wendell wanted to save them for their neat effects. He thinks it might be the electricity in the house. He brought over an oscilloscope tonight and we spent a couple hours checking te lines. I'll be calling the electrician tomorrow. And getting a UPS. And making sure I back shit up,
Now the black beast is gone, replaced by a Sony VAIO that I paid way too much for. But I was dealing with a wife who lost most of her thesis, in CompUSA at 9:00 on Saturday night. I knew I was getting gouged, but I had to do it. 1.5k for a 1.7 gig with 128 of the new 800mhz RDRAM, cdrw, dvd, 80 gig hd, 32 megs on an nvidia Geforce 2 card, firewire, and all the other standard crap. This one better last for a while.
Wendell thinks he may be able to salvage some data from the old disk, but I'm not holding my breath. Of course, if anyone can do it, it's him. He's been more than very good to us. In the meantime, we're retyping a lot of stuff, and I'm redownloading plenty. Oh well.
Thursday, October 18, 2001
When Classes Go Wrong
No, it's not as bad as when animals go crazy, or milk goes sour, or anything that would make a good reality-tv special, but this is a nasty thing. Today, for instance, teaching my intro to tech writing class, it just blew up in front of me. The leader of the group doing group work didn't show up; her minions knew very little about the project. She knows barely more, but enough to screw up the template they were working from so badly that I had no idea what she was up to. After an intervention by the University's web administrator, I finally just packed it in and told them that they just had to get me their files in .txt format and that I would do the rest.
Crash. Burn. Die on the way to the hospital.
My normal classes, where I just do my schtick, don't go bad like this. It's only the ones that are project-based that have this potential. Of course, when they work they're great. But this time, this one certainly is in a slow-motion explosion.
The job hunt has come around now -- the MLA list is finally in the department, and I'll make copies of it tomorrow. I've got my letters of recommendation lined up, some decent places to apply to, and perhaps a chance to do the same job for a living wage somewhere else.
OK, off to download more mp3s (I'm thinking of Mellencamp -- doing the whole thing if I can get the damn cd burner to roll).
No, it's not as bad as when animals go crazy, or milk goes sour, or anything that would make a good reality-tv special, but this is a nasty thing. Today, for instance, teaching my intro to tech writing class, it just blew up in front of me. The leader of the group doing group work didn't show up; her minions knew very little about the project. She knows barely more, but enough to screw up the template they were working from so badly that I had no idea what she was up to. After an intervention by the University's web administrator, I finally just packed it in and told them that they just had to get me their files in .txt format and that I would do the rest.
Crash. Burn. Die on the way to the hospital.
My normal classes, where I just do my schtick, don't go bad like this. It's only the ones that are project-based that have this potential. Of course, when they work they're great. But this time, this one certainly is in a slow-motion explosion.
The job hunt has come around now -- the MLA list is finally in the department, and I'll make copies of it tomorrow. I've got my letters of recommendation lined up, some decent places to apply to, and perhaps a chance to do the same job for a living wage somewhere else.
OK, off to download more mp3s (I'm thinking of Mellencamp -- doing the whole thing if I can get the damn cd burner to roll).
Thursday, October 11, 2001
ThinkGeek and Nashville
I'm headed for Nashville tomorrow for a meeting of the board of trustees of The Cooperative Center for Study Abroad. Two fun-filled days meeting about currency exchange rates, international investments, and course proposals. Actualy, I kind of like it, but I'm amazed that everyone there is SO into international travel. I mean, this is life for many people. I like it, and I love to teach overseas, butI've got other things to do, too. Right now I'm putting up five international courses from EKU this year, so I'm working pretty hard on cordinating things and getting flyers done, stuff like that.
The first things I've smiled at in a long time are two shirts: ThinkGeek :: No, I will not fix your computer and ThinkGeek :: STFU Tshirt. I could use both of these. Amanda says I should wear the first one to work every day. Maybe.
One last thing -- Promotion and Tenure applications are due on Monday. I know what I'm doing Sunday.
I'm headed for Nashville tomorrow for a meeting of the board of trustees of The Cooperative Center for Study Abroad. Two fun-filled days meeting about currency exchange rates, international investments, and course proposals. Actualy, I kind of like it, but I'm amazed that everyone there is SO into international travel. I mean, this is life for many people. I like it, and I love to teach overseas, butI've got other things to do, too. Right now I'm putting up five international courses from EKU this year, so I'm working pretty hard on cordinating things and getting flyers done, stuff like that.
The first things I've smiled at in a long time are two shirts: ThinkGeek :: No, I will not fix your computer and ThinkGeek :: STFU Tshirt. I could use both of these. Amanda says I should wear the first one to work every day. Maybe.
One last thing -- Promotion and Tenure applications are due on Monday. I know what I'm doing Sunday.
Saturday, October 06, 2001
Wendell's Got a Girlfirend
So after seeing "Serendipity," an OK flick, with my lovely bride, we headed to Hastings to get her a "greeting gift" for a friend that she's having lunch with tomorrow. She picked up a 20 buck copy of The Lord of the Rings, and I got myself Ben Folds' newest, Rockin the Suburbs. While we were in there, we saw one of my favorite students, Wendell Wilson, with his roomie Sam and some woman who may or may not have been his girlfriend. I was very excited.
I think I spend too much time worrying about the lives of my students. Will Wendell get a girlfriend? Does Keri understand this? Is Corinne tired all the time because of something bad at home? Is Byron dating? I am constantly wondering, worrying about students, partly in a paternalistic way and partly out of curiosity. I want to spare them the mistakes I've made, and want a view into their lives. I guess it's harder growing up now, or so I'm told, but I really think the fundamental issues are still the same. Am I a decent person? What will or won't I do? Can I make a life for myself like this? Who's more important, me or my friends?
Yeah yeah, it's almost 2:30 and time to go to bed -- no more worries for tonight, just a wife and a dog and two cats and life again in the morning.
So after seeing "Serendipity," an OK flick, with my lovely bride, we headed to Hastings to get her a "greeting gift" for a friend that she's having lunch with tomorrow. She picked up a 20 buck copy of The Lord of the Rings, and I got myself Ben Folds' newest, Rockin the Suburbs. While we were in there, we saw one of my favorite students, Wendell Wilson, with his roomie Sam and some woman who may or may not have been his girlfriend. I was very excited.
I think I spend too much time worrying about the lives of my students. Will Wendell get a girlfriend? Does Keri understand this? Is Corinne tired all the time because of something bad at home? Is Byron dating? I am constantly wondering, worrying about students, partly in a paternalistic way and partly out of curiosity. I want to spare them the mistakes I've made, and want a view into their lives. I guess it's harder growing up now, or so I'm told, but I really think the fundamental issues are still the same. Am I a decent person? What will or won't I do? Can I make a life for myself like this? Who's more important, me or my friends?
Yeah yeah, it's almost 2:30 and time to go to bed -- no more worries for tonight, just a wife and a dog and two cats and life again in the morning.
Thursday, October 04, 2001
Writing with Nothing to Say
I guess this is what separates the real "need to write" writers from the rest of us who do this when we have to, or when we have something to say. Rigth now, I've got nothing to say, but i'm making that the issue for a little riff, which is so pomo I just want to puke about it. I feel like I've been slimed by Seinfeld, the king of irony. A quick google search reveals that "nothing to say" is a pet phrase of songwriting hacks who turn to the internet to see their tab (kind of like the people who turn to blogs to see their writing, no?). If that search didn't give me diabetes, I'm safe to start mainlining straight sugar now.
The debate last night went fine. I took the role of the raving anarchist, and it was fun. One debater, the chair of philosophy, asked the other, a government prof, where I was getting my sources, at www.anarchistsrus.com? It was a great dig, and so true -- most of my work on this was done on the web. Of course, the first question we got was how to address these issues so lightly in the face of the 9/11 attacks. We all dropped the masks and spoke, eloquently, I think, about the nature of government. We all cautioned against the knee-jerk violent response and the runaway power mongering going on now. Remember what Benjamin Franklin said: "Those who would sacrifice liberty for safety deserve neither."
I'm still deep into grading avoidance on this set of comp papers. I'll get them done by Tuesday, but midterm grades are due ont he system tomorrow. typical, to require the grades a week in advance of when they're needed, so that we can't give an accurate assessment of a student's progress. But hey, this is supposed to retain students. Of course, no one is really interested in retainign faculty, which is why I'll be somewhere else by this time next year.
I guess this is what separates the real "need to write" writers from the rest of us who do this when we have to, or when we have something to say. Rigth now, I've got nothing to say, but i'm making that the issue for a little riff, which is so pomo I just want to puke about it. I feel like I've been slimed by Seinfeld, the king of irony. A quick google search reveals that "nothing to say" is a pet phrase of songwriting hacks who turn to the internet to see their tab (kind of like the people who turn to blogs to see their writing, no?). If that search didn't give me diabetes, I'm safe to start mainlining straight sugar now.
The debate last night went fine. I took the role of the raving anarchist, and it was fun. One debater, the chair of philosophy, asked the other, a government prof, where I was getting my sources, at www.anarchistsrus.com? It was a great dig, and so true -- most of my work on this was done on the web. Of course, the first question we got was how to address these issues so lightly in the face of the 9/11 attacks. We all dropped the masks and spoke, eloquently, I think, about the nature of government. We all cautioned against the knee-jerk violent response and the runaway power mongering going on now. Remember what Benjamin Franklin said: "Those who would sacrifice liberty for safety deserve neither."
I'm still deep into grading avoidance on this set of comp papers. I'll get them done by Tuesday, but midterm grades are due ont he system tomorrow. typical, to require the grades a week in advance of when they're needed, so that we can't give an accurate assessment of a student's progress. But hey, this is supposed to retain students. Of course, no one is really interested in retainign faculty, which is why I'll be somewhere else by this time next year.
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