We took a some what unplanned road odd-essy to our soon to be new town to look for a place to live this past week. It was a grand experiment because Eva has never spent more that 3 hours in the car and this excursion entailed about 17 hours on the road. She did really well.
We found a place to rent that will be really nice for our family. We don't have a lease yet but the land-lord has given us a verbal commitment. Finger's crossed...
Notes from the road:
- if you are driving so slow in a 70 mph zone that an 18 wheeler has to pass you on an up hill stretch I think in the future you should just stick to the back roads.
- We got 47.3 miles per gallon in the prius on the return trip home.
- It was sad to have to drive all the way back to Missouri.
- Who knew Indiana had so many trees and hills...There more than corn in Indiana.
- Our GPS machine is awesome.
- Americans are by and large fat and wasteful people.
- A Prairie Home Companion is best when only heard once in a single day
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
wowzers
So this is kind of crazy...I got an offer for a faculty spot at the small university in Kentucky. I am not sure what to think. A Faculty position is what I've been striving for for about a decade, but every body I've talked with says that the post-doc position in the kind of thing that will lead to much bigger and better things down the line. I agree with them and unless something happens to the funding for the position I am headed for the post-doc. It is just hard for me to believe that I am about to turn down a tenure track faculty position.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Dear Mr President
Dear Mr. President,
Today at the pentagon you said, again, that removing Saddam from Power "was the right thing to do..." I am writing to tell you, again, that you were and are wrong about this. I've been trying to tell you since January of 2002 when I drove all the way from Raleigh, NC to Washington DC and stood on the National Mall in the bitter cold with 20,000 other people. We all came that day to ask that you not invade Iraq. Oh we were young and idealistic to think that we might sway to the opinions and actions of our representative and democratically elected government. Then there was that time that me and 5000 other people gathered in the central square of Raleigh NC in February of 2003. Again you didn't listen. I sent you and Dick Cheney repeated emails explaining why invading Iraq was exactly the wrong thing to do. You didn't listen to me and invaded the country anyway. I will not bother to explain to you another time why this was a mistake -- you can simply go back and read my previous letters. I'll just ask you to admit it was a mistake and that you need help as the first of 12 steps towards healing and fix your horrible errors. Whatever, you suck. Dick sucks too.
Peace,
Conor
Today at the pentagon you said, again, that removing Saddam from Power "was the right thing to do..." I am writing to tell you, again, that you were and are wrong about this. I've been trying to tell you since January of 2002 when I drove all the way from Raleigh, NC to Washington DC and stood on the National Mall in the bitter cold with 20,000 other people. We all came that day to ask that you not invade Iraq. Oh we were young and idealistic to think that we might sway to the opinions and actions of our representative and democratically elected government. Then there was that time that me and 5000 other people gathered in the central square of Raleigh NC in February of 2003. Again you didn't listen. I sent you and Dick Cheney repeated emails explaining why invading Iraq was exactly the wrong thing to do. You didn't listen to me and invaded the country anyway. I will not bother to explain to you another time why this was a mistake -- you can simply go back and read my previous letters. I'll just ask you to admit it was a mistake and that you need help as the first of 12 steps towards healing and fix your horrible errors. Whatever, you suck. Dick sucks too.
Peace,
Conor
...aaaaaand we're back
I'm back. I'm in Missouri. I have a severe ear infection. It hurts. I am drinking hot tea.
I got a job offer. It's in Maryland. I am psyched. It is to work for one of the most respected and well known wildlife biologists in the world. How cool is that? It is a post doc and is only guaranteed for one year. I am 99% sure I will accept the offer.
I drove for seven hours yesterday back from Kentucky where I was interviewed for a Faculty position and a small University. I think the Interview went pretty well. But I am pretty sure that I'd rather go to Maryland for the Post-doc. A position like this will lead to bigger and better things. I drove through torrential rains pretty much the entire way. Most of Illinois was under water, about 6 inches of rain fell is what I heard. Passing tucks on the highway in the rain at night SUX!
This is the first post in which I am trying to up the readability score of my blog from "High-school Education" to "United State's President."
I got a job offer. It's in Maryland. I am psyched. It is to work for one of the most respected and well known wildlife biologists in the world. How cool is that? It is a post doc and is only guaranteed for one year. I am 99% sure I will accept the offer.
I drove for seven hours yesterday back from Kentucky where I was interviewed for a Faculty position and a small University. I think the Interview went pretty well. But I am pretty sure that I'd rather go to Maryland for the Post-doc. A position like this will lead to bigger and better things. I drove through torrential rains pretty much the entire way. Most of Illinois was under water, about 6 inches of rain fell is what I heard. Passing tucks on the highway in the rain at night SUX!
This is the first post in which I am trying to up the readability score of my blog from "High-school Education" to "United State's President."
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
This Blog is boring
Upcoming schedule:
Thursday morning: Fly to Maryland
Thursday afternoon and all day Friday: Interview for a job
Saturday Morning: Fly Back to Missouri
Saturday afternoon and evening: Hangout with The RSL and her Management
Sunday Morning through Sunday Evening: Drive to Kentucky
Monday morning through Tuesday at about 2pm: interview for a job
Tuesday Evening: Drive back to Missouri
Yikes!
Thursday morning: Fly to Maryland
Thursday afternoon and all day Friday: Interview for a job
Saturday Morning: Fly Back to Missouri
Saturday afternoon and evening: Hangout with The RSL and her Management
Sunday Morning through Sunday Evening: Drive to Kentucky
Monday morning through Tuesday at about 2pm: interview for a job
Tuesday Evening: Drive back to Missouri
Yikes!
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
#1335
This blog has been all serious lately. I think that is because I have so much going in my life -- what with trying to finish off my dissertation, teach an ornithology class, find a job for after my graduation and be the best dad and husband that I can.
I have a major decision to make in the very near future about my career...do I take a permanent position with a state natural resource management agency or do I try and hold out for a decent post-doc position that may or may not materialize. The post-doc thing will further me on the path that I set out on about a decade ago to be an academic research/teacher. I pretty much decided my first semester of college that that was what I wanted to do with my life. But there are no guarantees I'll get a position and even if I do they are temporary (a year or two at most). I have applied for grants and fellowships and advertised post-doc positions and I've had a couple interviews and some things are progressing, but the only definitive news I received is rejection. The State Agency job is permanent and provides stability for the foreseeable future, plus the particular job I am a finalist for sounds like it'd be a lot of fun. Sometimes the idea of having a 9-5 job where I wouldn't have to work on the weekends, or grade papers at night, or debug VBA code after Cate goes to bed sounds so appealing to me. But, I also think I'd be selling my self short if I gave up the academic dream...I've made a couple of short lists at University's for faculty spots and I don't even have my PhD yet. That tells me I'll be really competitive for those types of jobs in a year or two after I've post-doc-ed for a time. But, what is it with this ambition and ego? Ambition and ego don't usually lead to happiness; perhaps after 22 semesters of college it is finally time to settle down and get a real job.
This has pretty much consistently been my inner monologue for last week. No solutions or answers just a round robin of solid logic on both sides here. I think I am going to go after the academic dream. I think I am going to hold out for the post-doc and try to be confident that something will work out. I will be hopeful, not ambitious or egotistical.
I have a major decision to make in the very near future about my career...do I take a permanent position with a state natural resource management agency or do I try and hold out for a decent post-doc position that may or may not materialize. The post-doc thing will further me on the path that I set out on about a decade ago to be an academic research/teacher. I pretty much decided my first semester of college that that was what I wanted to do with my life. But there are no guarantees I'll get a position and even if I do they are temporary (a year or two at most). I have applied for grants and fellowships and advertised post-doc positions and I've had a couple interviews and some things are progressing, but the only definitive news I received is rejection. The State Agency job is permanent and provides stability for the foreseeable future, plus the particular job I am a finalist for sounds like it'd be a lot of fun. Sometimes the idea of having a 9-5 job where I wouldn't have to work on the weekends, or grade papers at night, or debug VBA code after Cate goes to bed sounds so appealing to me. But, I also think I'd be selling my self short if I gave up the academic dream...I've made a couple of short lists at University's for faculty spots and I don't even have my PhD yet. That tells me I'll be really competitive for those types of jobs in a year or two after I've post-doc-ed for a time. But, what is it with this ambition and ego? Ambition and ego don't usually lead to happiness; perhaps after 22 semesters of college it is finally time to settle down and get a real job.
This has pretty much consistently been my inner monologue for last week. No solutions or answers just a round robin of solid logic on both sides here. I think I am going to go after the academic dream. I think I am going to hold out for the post-doc and try to be confident that something will work out. I will be hopeful, not ambitious or egotistical.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
