A New Job & Unchartered Territory

The good news is that I will have employment with New England School in the fall! The bad news is that it's only part-time. My official title will be Visiting Lecturer of English, and I'll teach 3 courses per semester with opportunities for summer teaching. I have no idea what courses I'll teach, but I'm prepared for the worst: 3 comp classes (probably at 8:00 a.m.). Let me first say that I'm enormously thankful that I have this job. It's always a nice thing to be employed. It especially helps when one is also trying to get a mortgage loan. This position, however, is unchartered territory for me. I have lots of questions about how I will/won't fit in...Will tenure-track faculty sneer and point at me in the halls? Or, will they simply ignore my existence? Will there be back-stabbing battles to get the best time slots? Will I have to sell my soul to teach a literature course? Most importantly, will I have any opportunity to demonstrate my value as a teacher and scholar to the department? I know that in order to convince them to offer me a full-time or tenure-track position, I'll need to be great in the classroom, try to maintain a research agenda, and be as active as possible within the department community. But, what if that's not enough? I have lots of anxiety about this new position and my overall "fit" in the department, and I have nothing to go on in terms of how to address some of the questions and fears I have. I'm scheduled to meet with the Dean of Humanities when I visit next week, and I'm hoping that she might put some of my worries at ease, while also answering some of the many questions I have about schools, daycares, etc. In the meantime, I have a list of properties to view (including a couple of rentals), an article to revise, and final projects to grade. Too bad that's not enough to keep me from worrying about the future.

Baby Watch, Etc.

On the good side of things, Hubby and I got our draft contracts last week, and we are very pleased with the "numbers" side of things! We got passport applications submitted for both the girls (a one-hour process at the post office), and we're in the midst of completing the online process for fingerprinting and criminal background checks. We even got our teaching assignments already, and I'm teaching an intro to film studies class for the first time! This is good because it's new and interesting, but there's also the downside--a new class prep to deal with while trying to finish revising the dissertation---blah. The professor who's been teaching the course there for the past three years has helped tremendously, though, by sharing his extensive experience, textbook choice, syllabus, film advice, etc. Right now, the only films I've definitely decided upon are To Kill a Mockingbird and Crash.

Along the baby front, my arrogant doctor is at it again, making grand proclamations and causing me serious pain when he checks my cervix! Really and truly, I hope he's somehow not around when I go into labor! At yesterday's visit, before he even checked my cervix, he said, "You know what I think? I think you're getting ready to have this baby." Yeah, like he's the fucking baby whisperer or something. When I asked what made him say that, he didn't even have an answer, he just proceeded with the exam. I reminded him that I've NEVER gone into labor on my own, and he said "Your point?" Not good folks...I'm not in the mood for this these days.

Anywho, I'm dilated to a 2 and 80% effaced, which led him to proclaim that he doesn't think I'll make it two more weeks. He admitted he could be wrong, but said he'd be surprised. I hope this baby proves him wrong and decides to stay until my due date, but if she wants to come early, we're ready for her. Mostly. His words, "She could come any day now" tickled H to death, as she's always hoping for some excitement in our lives. At this point, I'm just really hoping my water doesn't break in the middle of class or while I'm grocery shopping or something. But I will be happy if my water breaks on its own, as that will be one less opportunity the doctor has to hurt my lady business.

For now, I look forward to tonight! Several good friends and I are getting together for dinner to celebrate the impending arrival of the bebe, and some of my favorite Mexican food is on the menu!! I might even have a sangria....