Plan Ahead & Be Nice

First--Be Nice. I was so exhausted yesterday evening, and I didn't want to be in the midst of the "high stress" of everyone else in the hotel, so my plan was room service. Of course, lots of folks were in the same shape as me, so I wasn't at all surprised when I called room service and learned it would be an hour wait. I told Mabel that was fine, I knew they must be extremely busy this weekend. She told me that yes, indeed they were. She had twenty orders lined up ahead of mine. I told her that was fine and I understood. She truly seemed so happy I was not grumpy.

And my dinner arrived in twenty-seven minutes. Hmmm---could it be that Mabel moved me up in line because I didn't complain or gripe of fuss at her--for something she didn't cause? Maybe. Or maybe they all of a sudden had extra staff come in. Whatever the reason, I was nice to her, and that made me feel good just for the sake of being nice.

Second--Be prepared. I didn't have interviews scheduled today, and I knew I wouldn't be doing the "schmoozing" at receptions, looking for a last-minute interview (very rare occurrence). Still, I packed two suits--just in case. And I awoke this morning to an email from the recruitment chair from one of the schools I met with yesterday. She wanted to know if I could meet with their other team today. (They are hiring several spots, so they split their committee in two.) What did this mean? She said it was because the people I'd met with yesterday enjoyed talking to me so much, and the other two were more of the crim law folks---something I'd love to teach. Of course, it could be that the other two I met with were split---one wanted to invite me for the call-back and the other didn't, and so maybe this second interview was a tie-breaker. Regardless, I met with them today, and again, it felt great! We'll see.

As for the schools, as I said, I interviewed with a wide variety. I've met with schools from the second, third, and fourth tiers and even one not ranked (the school is too new to be ranked). I met with a committee from one of the oldest law schools in the country--and one of the newest. The teaching packages would be different at each place. The climate would be different at a couple of places. I'm sure the pay would be different at each place. And my place within the institution would be quite different. Some schools are heavier into teaching, and some heavier into scholarship. Some are balanced.

Of course, none of those differences matter unless I'm faced with choices. And if that happens, it's not a simple matter of tier or salary. It's finding the right "fit" for me. So we'll see what happens over the next couple of weeks. But in the meantime, keep those positive thoughts a-comin'! They've really made me feel good. :-)

Photo Catch-Up: Critters & KC

I'm rather behind on getting some pictures up, so here are a few from the last several weeks.

Howard and I finally found a dog park! It's about thirty minutes from the house, so we won't be there a lot. But every so often, what fun for Howard! On this particular day, we headed out on a Sunday morning, and when we arrived, the place was emptied. Howard, though, was more than happy just to RUN. He ran the perimeter of the fence, but of course, then did lots of sniffing around.

Not too long thereafter, a couple with a couple of golden retrievers showed up. And one of the goldens really wanted Howard to be his best friend. The golden spent the next twenty minutes sniffing and following Howard. Every so often, Howard would actually get the other to play chase. What a great day!







Yes, see the sign in the top pic? here's s close-up (Eek!):



Lest Sophie get too jealous, here's a recent shot of her--perched atop the piano where she can see all that's going on.



And from my trip to Kansas City, here's a shot from my hotel, and a shot of the fountain (with pink water in honor of breast cancer awareness month), and finally a shot of me and my friend and colleague Lisa (from Wisconsin) out at dinner that night.

The Meat (not meet) Market

Breathe in.

Breath out.

Now I can.

This round is over. (I hope I’ve made to the next round for some places!)

Indeed, I had all of my interviews today. It’s nice because this way I can return home tomorrow, and tomorrow morning I can focus on some class prep for next week! (Egads, I am behind where I like to be on that!)

How’d it go? Well, Monday afternoon after the first one, I wanted to vomit. No, seriously. I wanted to vomit. But I didn’t feel like that once today! (And fortunately, I didn’t vomit on anyone either, like we heard (in the candidates’ workshop, held yesterday) another candidate had done a couple of years ago. Ouch.)

Indeed, the experience Monday was fundamental in my feeling prepared today. I had great discussions about all three of my current scholarly pursuits, about teaching, about faculties, etc. And I was me. No—as recommended to us yesterday, I was the best me I could be . . . for thirty minutes at a time. :-)

Where do I go from here? Back to the waiting game. Yes, now I must wait to see if any of the schools I spoke to will call me for the campus interview. (Where I must be the best me I can be for a day-and-a-half.) What are my chances? Well, like I said, I think the interviews went well. And so, I’ve done all I can. But it will completely depend on who else they talked to who have teaching interests similar to my own and if that other person (or people) bring more to the table.

We heard yesterday too that we should keep in mind that’s part of the deal: some years, many schools are hiring for things you teach or want to teach, and the next year, maybe not. In other words, we were told that even without success this year, don’t give up. After all, the message was more about the fact that everyone in the room had interviews. On paper, we made it. We had the necessary credentials (at least in the eyes of some committees). Now it was a matter of finding the right fit, and sometimes that takes time. How great was it we were here? Well, close to 1000 people threw their hats into the ring to apply for spots. And the word was that many of those folks were not invited to make the trip here.

No, I have no idea when I’ll hear anything—positive or negative. For now, it’s back to teaching and some intensive work on what will be my job talk at any place that invites me to visit.

Actually, for now, it’s a glass of wine and some room service. :-)

Oh -- and Breathe.

Gray Skies Part

I’ve been in such a state of turmoil with figuring out what my job talk would be. This has weighed heavily on me for the past several weeks, but I knew that the topic I want to write on next would need much too much work to get to a state worthy of intellectual discussion. The work I’m currently doing would not be “scholarly” enough. (It’s good work and will contribute to the pedagogy of law school, but it’s not about legal doctrine.) The work I’ve already done that’s being published just isn’t right for it. And so how did I find that Goldilocks “just right” piece? Argh!

Then today happened. A friend here chatted with me about what to discuss relative to scholarship. In other words, no, I didn’t ace that part of my interview here. But fortunately, she was willing to offer some words of advice. At first, I felt like things were now utterly hopeless—what I had wasn’t sufficient for discussing scholarship or my scholarly agenda. And knowing that, I knew it would effect how I would act and react in the coming interviews.

That feeling lasted about three minutes, then my gray clouds parted: I knew! I have something I worked on a few years ago that is sufficiently developed to use it for interviews on Friday. Further, I think it’ll turn into a great job talk—especially because the area of law is not one that (as far as my research has revealed) is a hot topic for any of my interviewers. Even better still, it heavily focuses on doctrine and it’s a small niche in the law that ties so nicely to my background from before law school and the work I did with persons with mental illness.

Have I found my “agenda”? Maybe. But what I do know is that I’m so much better prepared for Friday and any call backs. I’m actually now—finally—feeling settled with this area of the interviews and talks. This deserves a double: WooHoo!! WooHoo!!

This is THE Week

My wisdom last week helped, but I've still felt out of sorts and a bit buried. I've forgotten too many friends' birthdays (sorry Susan, Judy, Melissa . . .), my cupboard's bare, and I committed the ultimate dog's person awfulness: I didn't notice how bad Howard's ears had gotten.

Yes, Howard's allergic to Memphis--or at least to something here. According to the doc, it's common in dogs around here. And thanks to those allergies, Howard's got an infection of the yeast sort in his ears. We finally went to see the doc on Wednesday, and I was mortified at the goo in his ears. Sure, it built up slowly, but still.

Fast forward. On Friday evening, I faced a bad haircut, way too much work that needed to be done, and apprehension about the coming week. Well, I've worked with the cut, and in reality, it's fine. I've gotten all the revisions done on my pending article, and I'm prepped for class tomorrow. Check, check, and check.

Granted, the apprehension remains. I'm trying to view that as what I need to create the positive energy to get through the next five days. My first interview is tomorrow followed by several more in DC on Friday. Each one is for very different spots at very different schools. All would work. If I wind up with a choice, well, these interviews are for me to learn about the schools as much as they are for the schools to learn about me.

With all that had to be done, I have been crazy-busy all weekend, of course. (Part of that included the monthly mowing of the yard and cleaning of the back patio and a couple of work-outs--for sanity's sake.) But finally tonight I took some down-time and watched Brothers & Sisters--the best show on TV. And I giggled without reserve at the scenes with the two daughters and mother. I know that my mom, like Nora, means the very best when we speak and wants only the very best for me. And I know she worries and only wants to be supportive. I do know that. And so it's so incredibly nice to feel a bit validated by,yes, a fictional TV show, in seeing those adult daughters and mothers communicate poorly and get frustrated and tiptoe--and then slam---into feelings . . . . Love ya, Mom.

And so, this is going to be a big and busy week. But it'll be what it'll be. And that'll be okay.

Wisdom

I spent time today chatting with a colleague. It's funny--everyone seems surprised that he and I chat and even went to lunch; he's not the social kind. But he and I share the same students, and it's an incredible thing to be able to be validated that I'm not the only one "bugged" by a particular, well, smarty-pants. ;-) Anyway, so the chat today left me refreshed and ready for more.

This colleague has been teaching for years and thus has a lot of wisdom to share, so his encouragement helped tremendously. But even more, he encouraged me regarding another difficult issue I'm facing--the challenging of my scholarship. I've been on edge regarding this "challenge" for a couple of weeks, but after today, I'm finally at peace.

As for the particular issue, I can now (today, for the first time) see the positive: I've been seriously challenged by an overly educated professor from the west coast who disagrees with everything I say. Gulp. Breathe. And re-group. See, here's the up side: I'm so much more prepared now for any questions I get next week during my interviews. And that, people, is indeed priceless.

I got there through that chat this afternoon, but even more so, in the middle of my funk, I received this in my "Daily Insight" email inbox from Yoga Journal:

Life has its ups and downs. While it may be tempting to wallow in our misery during the downs, or quickly move past the source of our despair, that isn't always the healthiest way to deal with a crisis.

It's human nature to avoid the emotional roadblocks that pepper the path to spiritual maturity, to seek instead the slow and steady pace of the ordinary traveler. Yet reaching higher spiritual ground requires an extraordinary traveler. It demands the kind of change that comes from facing challenges—emotional, spiritual, or physical—and growing as a result.

A spiritual initiation—an exceptionally difficult life passage that shakes your foundations and makes you question your purpose—is just this sort of change. Disguised as a loss, it's actually an opportunity to strengthen the thread of awareness that connects your outer inner selves, a chance to travel deeper into the soul.

Wow. This was exactly what I needed--at exactly the right time. My foundations in my scholarship were indeed shaken. But the above passage and another nugget of insight I got today have both lifted me up back where I need to be. Yes, I'm still stressed. I'm still worried. But the extra wisdom helps so very much---as do the warm, fuzzy thoughts. :-)

This other nugget---yes, there's a little more to this story, but I want to be up early, so I'll simply promise to share the other amazing wisdom that was given to me today in a later post.

Football, Fall, and Funks

Fall is often my favorite season. I love the wonderful change of crisp air in the mornings, the sound of football games, and the turn of the leaves. Unfortunately, this fall, for the last bit of time, has been overshadowed by a funk.

I guess it started when I got back from KC. The nearing dates of the interviews in DC are constantly on my mind. KC was so nice because I could be around people who "got" my stress and didn't feed me the, well, irritating false support: "It'll all be just fine." Not that I'm wallowing in worry, but my stress is real. Still, with those well intentioned "it'll be fine" folks, I smile nicely, repressing the ever-building frustration. Sigh. I do know they mean well, but it isn't helping--at all.

Football, of course, didn't help the funk this weekend. On the up side: I can only hope the most recent controversy brewing in College Station will be the cherry topping needed to get us a new head coach. And although 'da Boys didn't pull off the win this week, they did give New England a better game than any other competitor had so far this season.

Being in this incredible forest of giant oaks (and other trees), I had looked forward to a gorgeous fall. Sadly, due to the drought conditions, it looks like most trees will simply drop leaves---assuming they ever do turn. But we did get over an inch of rain yesterday. That was nice.

And yes, with the dates of interviews looming, November is hard to plan for. I have to hope for second interviews at some campuses, and thus, I have to be ready to give a job-talk pretty much all month. A job talk is where you speak for twenty or so minutes about your current work of scholarship, and for the next twenty minutes, you're questioned about it. Some people ask questions in genuine attempts to help you further your research and thesis. Some, though, ask questions merely to try to look smart in front of their colleagues. Oh yes, you know the kind. Wonderful.

In the middle of all that, I still have no actual plans--or even airline tickets (Eek!) for my December Africa trip. That wouldn't be so bad except that it turns out I'll instead be leaving actually in November (29 or 30). That's like six weeks from now! Yowza!

Still, the more we try to plan for the trip, the more excited I get. I do, of course, need to find a travel doc around here for the anti-malaria drugs. My yellow fever shot's already done, so the oral meds should be all that I need! We're planning on trying to stay one or two nights at a place that looks like pure paradise--Chumbe Island---an island limited to about fourteen guests at a time, where the "bungalows overlook the sea and it takes just 30 seconds to stroll from the comforts of your bungalow hammock to feeling the warm tropical ocean lapping at your feet." Ahhhhhh....

And I did finally make it to the Dixon gardens on Sunday to catch the last day of the George Rodrique exhibit. It was fabulous! I'd had no idea how much I'd love each painting of Blue Dog.



So it's not as if evething's negative. It's just a funk. And this too shall pass. :-)

Busy, Busy

Kansas City:

The last week seems to have flown by! Last week found me with things going on almost every night. Between my dance class, yoga, dinner with a colleague, a missed, but planned, night at the museum, then packing for Kansas City, whew! Of course, in all of that, I had to put the finishing touches on my presentation for the conference this past weekend, teach, catch up on reading, etc., etc.

The trip to KC was great! I flew in early enough on Friday to have lunch with my colleague and dear friend from Wisconsin. She and I had a wonderful visit all weekend and also enjoyed dinner out on Saturday evening. Sunday, we went to the Jazz Museum and the Museum of the Negro Baseball League.

Of course, the real purpose of the trip was the conference, and as always, it was wonderful. I picked up many tips on teaching and some great ideas for fresh approaches. The people who go to these conferences are the ones with the true love of what they do--the innovative educators. Spending time with them always recharges my batteries a bit.

Football:

And then there are the football games! I missed the one Saturday evening--opting instead to talk for hours to Lisa. But when we got back to the hotel, someone said the Ags had pulled it off. I waited, hardly patiently, to get confirmation of that fact on the big-screen in the hotel lounge, and finally---Whoop! Indeed, the Ags made it! And now, they're in first place in the Big 12 South. I just hope we show up to really play---both first and second half---against Tech this weekend.

And of course, last night was one of the most exciting ends of a Cowboys game I've ever seen. I'm not at all in an approving state of mind regarding the last-second time-outs called by coaches when a kicker is kicking a career-long field goal, but it is within the bounds of the rules. (It happened to a team Saturday night and to da 'boys last night.) But the Cowboys kicker pulled it off and made that field goal TWICE---moving the cowboys to 5-0. Fabulous!

Work:

I'll need to spend a lot of free time over the next two weekends with my scholarly work. First, I need to read over and over my article coming out in publication this fall, readying myself for any questions about it during interviews at the end of this month. And second, I need to get my work-in-progress to a state such that I'll be ready to give a job talk on it.

Of course, in the meantime, I have to keep up with my current schedule. This includes getting a new course ready to go for next semester. First step: choose a text. At least I've gotten that narrowed down to between two books.

For now, though, I better get out the door to go get some of these things done!

Campus Tragedy

I awoke early this morning--6 a.m. I opened my eyes because my alarm had gone off, playing some random song on the radio. The lamp in the next room had turned on, (I have it on a timer to keep me from having to try to wake to dark room), and I stretched and drifted in and out of sleep as I slowly woke, listening then to the music, and petting Sophie. (Howard is not interested in greeting me that early in the morning unless I nudge him; he now sleeps in when I get up at 5:30 for the early morning spin class.)

My phone alarm rang next. It's my secondary signal that indeed, it's time to go ahead and get moving. Enjoying the quiet, and having actually slept relatively well, I hit the phone button, buying myself another five minutes of waking slowly.

Then I was up---abruptly. The music had stopped on the radio, and the DJs led with the top story: a fatal shooting had occurred on the University of Memphis campus. No clear details yet, but they thought it was a football player, and the dorms were locked down.

Presto---I was up. And wide awake. (It felt like that day when I heard about the A&M Bonfire tragedy on the morning radio on my alarm. Of course, on that day, my little brother was a student at A&M, so that hit even closer to home. But still, this news today was shocking and saddening.)

I checked my phone, and indeed, a text had come through about 4am. (I usually keep my phone on silent at night, so I'm not woken if someone calls too late. Heck, half the time during the day my phone's on silent.) Back to this morning's text: I signed up for "Tiger Text"---the university's new alert system (in the wake of Virginia Tech) in use for notifying as many people at once of emergencies, closings, etc. Another text came through at 6:30 a.m., notifying all that all classes on the main campus were cancelled. (The university has told everyone they didn't send a text when the shooting happened, around 10pm, because witnesses reported the suspect(s) left the campus, meaning there was no imminent threat to people on the campus.)

As I've kept up with the media today, I'm reminded repeatedly of how tragic the news is. I've learned lately more and more about crime in Memphis; it's not a pretty picture. And that a shooting can occur on a college campus in this manner is, well, horrible. I don't know why I felt safer on campus than off, but I did. I guess you just know that people who don't belong on campus are more likely to be spotted---and dealt with---than the random homeless guy or panhandler or even thug hanging out on downtown streets or at the local gas station. (On the advise of locals, I get gas only during the day around here---it lessens the problem with panhandlers.)

Anyway, what happened here is indeed tragic. The victim was a scholarship athlete, and he's reported to have been a good student, active in his fraternity, and a dedicated football player. It's so very sad how short his life has been cut.

But what about campus? (Official University Statement Here) We return to classes tomorrow and I may very well have students who knew the victim, Taylor Bradford. I will also, no doubt, have students who are scared. Heck, everyone might be a little. But the good (?) news is that the police are reporting the shooting was specifically targeted at Bradford. This means it wasn't random violence on campus, and it wasn't a Virginia Tech situation of a disturbed student. At least that's the story we know now. (His roommate says he had won a lot of money in Tunica recently, and thus, this could have been a specifically targeted robbery---knowing of his Tunica (gambling) wins.)

Oh heavens---I just learned that Bradford is reported to have actually attended a school-sponsored gathering last night that was hosted to discuss campus safety. What horrible irony.

Me? I'm removed from things directly, but it's sad nonetheless. I worked from home today, and I'll return to my office tomorrow. There will be a lot of pieces for the campus to pick up, and it will likely take a long time to do so. Please--prayers and good thoughts for the students here and Bradford's family and friends.

UPDATE: U of M has a football game scheduled, oddly enough, for tomorrow night. Bradford's parents told university officials that he would want the team to play, so the game's going on as scheduled. Who are we playing? Marshall. I just heard on the news that a player from Marshall shared this sentiment in expressing his support for our U of M students: "We are Memphis." (taken from the phrase you might have heard based on a tragedy at Marshall that was the basis for a movie released recently based on the horrific tragedy their school and football team experienced.) That, more than anything, has had the biggest effect on me. Wow.

Bravo Tennessee!!

No Sir. That's what they called the legislation that went into effect today: Tennessee's No Smoking In Restaurants. But the new law isn't limited to restaurants; the law prohibits smoking in all enclosed public places (with a very few exceptions). Bravo!

It was a fact of life in Texas--if you went out to a bar, you'd almost have to leave your clothes outside lest your closet take on the odor of stale cigarette smoke. And as an exsmoker, I was ickishly aware of that odor.

Now, one thing I've liked about Boscos here is that it went nonsmoking very soon after the Tennessee governor signed the bill into law (which happened in June), and so I've come to love enjoying a cold beverage and a bite to eat without leaving the place having to pony-tail my hair just so I wouldn't smell it. A couple of weeks ago, I visited a place called Hueys to check out their Sunday afternoon live music. The music was great, but I couldn't stay for dinner; the place was unbelievably smokey. But I told them I'd be back---after October 1. The bartender said I was not at all alone in that sentiment.

And now, October 1 is here! No more smoking in restaurants! WooHoo!! What about bars? Are they the exceptions? Not unless they want to NEVER allow anyone under the age of 21 in--including employees. In other words, if it's a place that does great family business in the early evening, like Buffalo Wild Wings, but is mainly bar for sporting events on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, it'll be smoke free. Fabulous!

With the exceptions, though, smokers will have places to go. Several places are going or remaining strictly 21 & up. The Blue Monkey, a place I've wanted to check out but haven't yet, is one example. But I must say that I'm not exactly in a hurry to go there now. There are too many other places I can go that won't give up their patrons---and employees---under the age of 21. That's right---think also of all the under-21 college students here in the service industry. They now can work only in places that ban smoking; the law is, after all, designed to protect employees.

With nonsmokers loving the new law, though, how will a 21 & up place convince the nonsmokers to keep coming in? After all, now we can expect an even larger gathering of smokers in each of those places. But what else is a place to do other than compromise! For example, the Flying Saucer has it (almost) all figured out. It's gone to 21 & up, allowing smoking in what's called "the Garden," but the true indoor room, by management decision, will be smoke-free. Now that's what I call a good idea. Granted, it could be better---you have to walk through the Garden (not open air, but huge garage-door style windows open up onto 2nd and Peabody Streets) to get inside. Hmph. Oh well, life isn't perfect.

But, then again, with the new ban comes another problem---actually, it's making an existing problem worse: the littering of cigarette butts. A local blogger here counted cigarette butts this morning on his side of the street for the course of his quarter-mile walk downtown, and he reported---get this---445 butts. Yowza! That's a whole lotta butts.

(Granted, not all smokers are litterers. I, for one, stopped littering as soon as a friend told the story about picking up a discarded cigarette and *politely* returning it to the woman who'd tossed it aside---by dropping it down her shirt. I don't know if she got the message, but I did.)

Back to the local blogger. He makes a good point: "You know, thinking about it, farting in public makes more sense as a socially acceptable behavior than smoking in public does. But there isn't a billion-dollar industry buying every conceivable type of ad to convince you how cool farting is."

Ah, well, at least now, in Tennessee, we can breathe a little cleaner. Bravo.