It has warmed up almost 10 degrees since yesterday, and though there is still snow on the ground, I'm feeling a renewed vigor and energy since I'm just getting over some kind of nasty stomach bug that had me down for days. I'm still not eating my usual foods yet, but I should be back on track pretty soon. My allergies have also kicked in early, so it really feels like spring is here in Postdoc city. Never mind that it was single digit temps yesterday.
I haven't blogged in the last couple of weeks, but I have been writing, nesting, knitting, and sending out lots of applications. I am hoping for the best, despite all the reminders i get everyday about how awful the job market is. I'm not sure why people keep telling me this, I guess they are trying to make me feel better about not having heard anything back yet. Well, I'm okay with it right now. I'm willing to wait and see what happens. I may freak out later but for now I am okay.
Its just sad when people are trying to make you feel better and they inadvertently make you feel worse. My SIL called from Hometown and it turned out she had a stomach virus too. I think I said something like Oh, I'm sorry you have it too, to which she replied, "Yes, but at least I have your brother to look after me. You're all alone there." Yeah. Thanks. What do I say to that? Actually, I'm not sure I'd want company here like this, it is nice to not have to share the bathroom when you are sick. Gah.
updates on where I'm at with stuff:
Writing- wrapping up a draft of a "quick and dirty" paper from my dissertation (neither of the ones in the sidebar), but one that I discovered when I was reassessing my writing two weeks ago. I'm planning to hand over a draft to my mentor at the end of the week, and hope to get it sent out very soon.
Nesting- My place is now clutter-free, yay! Stuff had piled up at the end of last semester and with being away most of the break, I didn't get to tackle the piles of mostly papers that had accumulated until after I got back and caught up on applications.
Knitting- I still can't conclusively decide how to finish my cardigan, so I've set it aside while I finish a shawl for myself. The shawl, which is knit in a lovely rich burgundy tweed yarn, has progressed well and it should be finished in a week or two. I can't wait to wear it.
Applications - I don't have much to report, just doing my usual thing here, sending them out and following the steps outlined here. My mentor asked which jobs I was most excited about and I do have one that I'd like to get most, but I am really trying to detach from that once I get the app. sent out. There's more coming up next month that I'm gearing up for today, getting in requests for letters and such.
The "feature creep" of paper writing
Yesterday I got into campus bright and early, and while the chilly walk there did wonders for me, apart from two very productive early morning hours, I hardly got any work done because it was so cold in my building. Today, I've warmed up my home study and will be disconnecting the internet and going in there as soon as I've had my coffee.
There are some writing projects that I thought were almost done before the fall semester started and my plan for this spring was to get both of those papers that have been in my sidebar for so long out, out, out.
Well, getting back to these projects yesterday after setting them aside for a while has made me notice some serious problems in how I have divided up my ideas and work. I noticed that instead of just writing something simple, I turned both of these papers into grand-impossible-projects that would suck the life out of anyone. Well, at least they were heading in that direction.
A friend of mine who works in the gaming industry has distilled my problem into the term "feature creep," which I understood as the desire to continue to add more and more features into a product, presumably as you continue to miss deadlines for publishing the software. I think the visions for both of these papers started out realistic and then just kept spiraling out until they reached this impossible point.
My mission now is to just figure out how to work within these grand visions I have for my life and my discipline (yes, I have this problem in other aspects of life too), and just find a small piece that I can work with and tackle that one step at a time. For today, I'm going to start to cut down that vision to something more realistic and try to set up these articles so that I have a more achievable set of goals for the next few weeks.
There are some writing projects that I thought were almost done before the fall semester started and my plan for this spring was to get both of those papers that have been in my sidebar for so long out, out, out.
Well, getting back to these projects yesterday after setting them aside for a while has made me notice some serious problems in how I have divided up my ideas and work. I noticed that instead of just writing something simple, I turned both of these papers into grand-impossible-projects that would suck the life out of anyone. Well, at least they were heading in that direction.
A friend of mine who works in the gaming industry has distilled my problem into the term "feature creep," which I understood as the desire to continue to add more and more features into a product, presumably as you continue to miss deadlines for publishing the software. I think the visions for both of these papers started out realistic and then just kept spiraling out until they reached this impossible point.
My mission now is to just figure out how to work within these grand visions I have for my life and my discipline (yes, I have this problem in other aspects of life too), and just find a small piece that I can work with and tackle that one step at a time. For today, I'm going to start to cut down that vision to something more realistic and try to set up these articles so that I have a more achievable set of goals for the next few weeks.
Applying myself
I can't believe it has been a whole month since I've blogged. I've been so steadily applying for academic positions (a number of which had such ridiculous deadlines as December 31st, January 1st and January 4th) that I haven't had much of a breather since I left Postdoc city at the end of the semester. I had this nagging sense of guilt while I spent Christmas with my family, and sent out two applications on New Year's eve!
I'm flying back to Postdoc city tomorrow (after submitting one more application today, doing laundry and packing my bag.) I'll have a few days to sort things out before I get to work on the January 15th applications, but I'm ready to get back to full-time writing again as soon as I get back. I wish I hadn't spent so much time away from my writing, but I'm glad that I feel ready to start the writing engine up again. I think the cold weather in Postdoc City will work to my advantage there, because it will help me stay indoors and busy.
Though I'm not one for marking anniversaries, I do want to note some 2009 accomplishments: I published my first paper (in a big journal), finished five sewing projects and four knitting projects in 2009. All of these sewing and knitting projects were gifts that I was very happy to share, but in 2010, I am shifting towards prioritizing my own needs and wants. For some reason, it doesn't come naturally to me.
Speaking of which, there is still one knitting project that is hanging on into the new year, and it is a cardigan for me. Mostly done, and I hope to finish it up on the plane, but I can't seem to decide on how ruffle-y I want the edging, so we'll see how it goes. Whatever I do, I'll definitely be posting photos of this one when it is finished.
What about you? Do you ever feel like you're too generous or have trouble prioritizing yourself over friends and family?
I'm flying back to Postdoc city tomorrow (after submitting one more application today, doing laundry and packing my bag.) I'll have a few days to sort things out before I get to work on the January 15th applications, but I'm ready to get back to full-time writing again as soon as I get back. I wish I hadn't spent so much time away from my writing, but I'm glad that I feel ready to start the writing engine up again. I think the cold weather in Postdoc City will work to my advantage there, because it will help me stay indoors and busy.
Though I'm not one for marking anniversaries, I do want to note some 2009 accomplishments: I published my first paper (in a big journal), finished five sewing projects and four knitting projects in 2009. All of these sewing and knitting projects were gifts that I was very happy to share, but in 2010, I am shifting towards prioritizing my own needs and wants. For some reason, it doesn't come naturally to me.
Speaking of which, there is still one knitting project that is hanging on into the new year, and it is a cardigan for me. Mostly done, and I hope to finish it up on the plane, but I can't seem to decide on how ruffle-y I want the edging, so we'll see how it goes. Whatever I do, I'll definitely be posting photos of this one when it is finished.
What about you? Do you ever feel like you're too generous or have trouble prioritizing yourself over friends and family?
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