There's good news and there's bad news

I found out this morning I was waitlisted for a writing workshop I had applied for. That's the good news and the bad news.

I nearly didn't apply, and I had no expectations going in. The competition was pretty tough this year - at least 145 applicants for 18 spots. Many of the applicants are already published or are regular participants in workshops and critique groups. To be considered one of the top 30 out of this pool is, for me, a huge honor. Don't get me wrong, a waitlist isn't as exciting as a "yes," but it told me what I needed to know - I'm not wasting my time. And think of the money I'm saving!

Technically, I have over two months to continue to wait - but realistically, I figure it's over now. I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for bad things to happen to the folks who are going!

Thanks Ricky!

New Manduka mat
Originally uploaded by TheTurducken

So last weekend I went to a yoga workshop with Ricky Tran. It was pretty awesome, although I was very, very tired by the end.

RIcky is sponsored by Manduka, and at the end of the weekend he gave away the Manduka mat he had used for the workshop. He decided to give it to the person with the sorriest mat - which was me! I had been wanting to buy a new mat, but was trying to wait until I could afford a decent one. So thank you!

Job updates

No, I don't have a job. Yes, things are happening. But this post is about other people.

Several of my friends at Vanderbilt (or formerly at Vanderbilt) are on the market, and congratulations to them for getting jobs at the University of Southern California, Cumberland University, and the University of Tennessee!

I was chatting with a friend in K-12 about opportunities this year. He interviewed at some pretty darn good schools. By contrast, there were no top ten higher ed programs with assistant professor positions this year, and I think that there were no top twenty jobs available, either. (Just to reiterate: At the assistant professor level, which is what I am eligible for.) This is just an illustration of how the first faculty job someone takes is only partially influenced by the opportunities available, which are somewhat random.

When I grow up

I'm at Vanderbilt's central library, trying to get some writing done, but I got distracted by the pencil sharpener. It's the kind of sharpener that was in every classroom growing up. It bolts securely to the wall, has a dial of holes to accommodate pencils of every size, and is hand-cranked.

I love those things. They're so much more satisfying to use than electric sharpeners*. I have something of a fetish for devices that are mechanical rather than electronic. That's why I have a Zassenhaus burr coffee grinder and a French press, for example. That's one reason I'm better prepared for the apocalypse than you. Never mind that I'll only last as long as my glasses do. (The moment they break, I won't even see the alien overlord preparing to idly stomp me underfoot.)

A serious pencil sharpener is definitely on my list of Things To Put in My Faculty Office. Number one, of course, is bookshelves. Yes, they rank higher than a desk, because I can sit on the floor with a laptop - not that I don't want a desk, too. Also, an enormous bulletin board for right over my desk, and unnecessarily expensive and arty pushpins. But no simply decorative tchotchkes, thank you.

Hm, do you think anyone makes hand-cranked paper shredders? Because if they do, I'm going to run out and get one and start shredding for the thrill of it. (ETA: OMG, I want one of these. Please, please, someone crafty, make me one for graduation, pretty please?)

* Unless, perhaps, you have to sharpen 100 pencils at one go, and you end up with dreadful hand cramps. But how often does that happen?

Picture find

More deer
Originally uploaded by TheTurducken

Sorry for the quiet around here. I've been busy with the dissertation, especially with traveling. As an indicator of how busy, here's a photo from hiking on Sunday - what is noteworthy is that it was the first hike I had done in a month and a half. So, to keep you busy ...

... Kids! Can you find the six deer in this photo?

OK, it's a trick. Three are to the left, out of the frame. But can you find the other three?