Hither, thither
I have had many piquant observations in the last few weeks or so, many of which I have wanted to share. But an overload at work, management of my disappointment at not getting a fancy shmancy fellowship at SoCal U that would have allowed me to hang out in semi-luxury for a year in one of my favorite departments writing my book (alternate status, while better than outright rejection, still boils down to the same thing), and a series of computer problems, only solved last night, have meant not so much time to post. Hopefully I will have nice pictures and anecdotes from my upcoming globetrotting, which is as follows:
April 29: LA
April 30-May 3: Monterey
May 4-6: LA
May 25-26: Philadelphia
May 27-June 3: Mainz, Hamburg
June 5-8: Monterey
June 9-10: SF
People, I'm tired just typing all this up! The good news is that all this is mostly paid for by various work funds. Of course what this means that I will be busy as hell: I'm doing research; being an external examiner for some honors exams at Distinguished Undergraduate Institution -- and their honorarium, after taxes, will be almost exactly what I ended up owing the Feds this year, so that works out nicely; going to/presenting at a good conference; and working on a book chapter I'm co-authoring with a prominent and courtly European scholar who is the epitomal example of the absent-minded professor, the kind of man who accidentally sets his own blazer on fire by placing his still-lit pipe in the pocket (I didn't witness it, but have infinite faith in the man who claims to have seen it himself). Meanwhile, I am also revising an article, co-writing an introduction, and doing other editorial duties for a special issue of a journal that I'm co-editing with a friend who lives on the other side of the continent. Not to mention shopping for a "black-tie optional" dress for Shapiro's June wedding, sure to be filled with super-styley San Francisco types. All this by June 10! Good thing I'm going to communal meditation tonight -- I think the only way I'm going to make it through the next month and a half and retain even a single shred of sanity will be through deep breathing. Every second of every day. I'm doing it right now...
April 29: LA
April 30-May 3: Monterey
May 4-6: LA
May 25-26: Philadelphia
May 27-June 3: Mainz, Hamburg
June 5-8: Monterey
June 9-10: SF
People, I'm tired just typing all this up! The good news is that all this is mostly paid for by various work funds. Of course what this means that I will be busy as hell: I'm doing research; being an external examiner for some honors exams at Distinguished Undergraduate Institution -- and their honorarium, after taxes, will be almost exactly what I ended up owing the Feds this year, so that works out nicely; going to/presenting at a good conference; and working on a book chapter I'm co-authoring with a prominent and courtly European scholar who is the epitomal example of the absent-minded professor, the kind of man who accidentally sets his own blazer on fire by placing his still-lit pipe in the pocket (I didn't witness it, but have infinite faith in the man who claims to have seen it himself). Meanwhile, I am also revising an article, co-writing an introduction, and doing other editorial duties for a special issue of a journal that I'm co-editing with a friend who lives on the other side of the continent. Not to mention shopping for a "black-tie optional" dress for Shapiro's June wedding, sure to be filled with super-styley San Francisco types. All this by June 10! Good thing I'm going to communal meditation tonight -- I think the only way I'm going to make it through the next month and a half and retain even a single shred of sanity will be through deep breathing. Every second of every day. I'm doing it right now...
posted by Pangea at 6:48 AM
2 Comments:
Ooh, Philadelphia!! Make sure to say to hi to our mutual friend L. She can once again try to talk to you into moving there.
Sorry to hear about the fellowship, but even semi-luxury would just not be suitably Pangeaic. Really, you need hardship. At least someone appears to believe that's true.
Oh, she's already inked me in to her calendar. Meanwhile, it's not like I'm Job or anything. But professional suffering does appear to be my fate for the foreseeable future. We'll see what the result of the hardcore life assessment of the next few months turns out to be...z
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