The Usual Miscellany

I don't even know what to say, so I haven't been.

I applied for a job!  I was very well qualified for this job!  The college had decided whom to hire before posting the job, and readers, it was not me.  HRs of the world, please revise your stupid policies about this? Surely there exists a reasonable policy that does not require a farce of an open search.  (It is not a state school, i.e. they can do whatever they want.)

Thanks to my dear spouse stirring the pot, Mountain U's Other Science Department chair has now emailed me about maybe teaching there?  Next spring?  Meanwhile, Yet Another Science Department also has emailed me about the same.

As it never rains but it pours, it also transpires that at My U, the intro bio courses are being handed off to the newest faculty member ('You've won the complainer's penalty!' I said), who would very much like to re-design the whole darn thing.  I would also like to do this thing, and I am bored.  So!  We are now writing a grant (even better, an internal grant) together.

None of these things are permanent or predictable or guaranteed to alleviate boredom.  On the other hand, doing nothing surely won't alleviate boredom, so I may as well...

I am finishing up the grading (ugh) and then don't have to do anything for three whole weeks (yay!) except I signed the kids up for swim lessons spanning an hour and a half, twice a week for the rest of May (ugh).

The spouse and I are ditching the kids for two weeks to go to Australia, though!  It's one of the few highlights of academic life (for me).