I've lived much of my academic life in the last 6 years liminally*. I've been between worlds: not fully a student nor a teacher. I have worked for and with professors for so long that this not-being has become rather normal. Many students are TAs for a short while, grading for a class or doing some research. I've been doing this longer than most, and have had close relationships with those I teach for/with. I've been fortunate to work for/with multiple faculty members who haven't seen me as a TA. In their eyes, or so they tell me and our students, I am a co-teacher in the classroom. In many ways, I am their colleague. However, as much as they may see me as a colleague, and as much as I can feel like one, I also cannot forget that they assign me grades (in many cases), determine my teaching appointments, and decide if I get to graduate. It's this betwixt and between nature of living liminally that has become second nature to me.
On Tuesday, I went to SLAC (that small liberal arts teaching college I have a job teaching intro to basketweaving at) to get the tour, meet the faculty, and all the other minutia of getting organized before the semester begins. It felt very strange, and it wasn't until my drive home that I realized that my relationship with the faculty there was different. Simply put, I wasn't their student. They hired me as an adjunct instructor, not a TA. So I have adjunct rights and benefits (parking, gym pass, long distance calling pass, my own wood-walled office). It's a bit strange to realize that I've been living in this inbetween world for so long without quite realizing how inbetween it really is. And it's strange to realize that I am only a few years shy of leaving this liminal place of becoming a professor to actual be one. I've been becoming so long, I wonder what it will be like to get there?
*Liminal is defined as the state of being in a transition or inbetween place. I learned this term from CultureProf when she introduced us to the work of Turner. Adolesence is a state of liminality (not a child and not an adult) and in many cultures, there are rites or rituals to help guide people during these inbetween times. I found the idea of liminiality confusing back then, but it has made much more sense to me over the years as I've had time to contemplate it more thoroughly. Thanks CultureProf
Showing posts with label farm U. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farm U. Show all posts
15 January 2009
13 January 2009
Happy New Year
Well, it's been a little quiet here on the blogfront. We spent a busy winter break getting Stuck on the East Coast while visiting family and friends. We have driven back East for the winter break two years now (because we're crazy like that). This year, we got to enjoy Christmas with our little niece 1900 and many of the family in New York. It was a balmy 60 degrees on the day after Christmas! After the deep freeze we had had here at Farm U for the end of the semester, it was a lovely change. I bet it was warmer than the Rose City even! Of course, we had our 7+ kinds of fish for Christmas Eve and Peter got to play with Transformers on Christmas Day with a family friend's son. He was pretty happy about that.
We headed up to City with a Famous Harbor after Christmas to see more family and friends. We got to connect with several people we hadn't seen in a year (or maybe more?) and I even got a bunch of lesson planning and syllabus prep done. Plus, we went to Trader Joe's. That place rocks. We definitely need to live in a town with a Trader Joe's in 100 miles next move.
We had one of the best New Year's Eves I've had in a long time with some of Peter's friends (well, I'd call them my friends by this point too, but they were PEter's first) at home. We played games, ate homemade chili (and I might have to have a chili-off with the cook), and drank too much. Luckily, we planned well and were able to spend the night in the spare bedroom. We all went out to a fancy breakfast (well, brunch really) and met up with even more people.
And then.... then the car broke. We were driving back to drop off our lovely hosts after breakfast when we heard a loud thunk. I thought some kid had thrown a hard snow ball at us, or maybe we had run over a rock. But, it turned out that the clutch broke. Yep. The clutch cable snapped. Luckily, we were driving about 20 mph on a quiet suburban street. Imagine this happening while we were going 80 in rural upstate NY. Or Ohio or something. Ugh.
So, we called The better world club (the gree alternative to AAA. Comes recommended by the Car Talk guys!). They were very helpful and called lots car repair places, but wouldn't find a single open one. Remember, this was New Year's Day. So, we had the car towed to our friends' repair shop, thinking that we'd go back on friday and talk with them then. Of course, our plan was to LEAVE the East Coast on Friday, but that clearly wasn't going to happen. All of the passengers in the car thought this was a workable plan and Peter waited for the tow truck, left eh car, and slipped the key in the drop box.
Friday morning. We call the car place. No answer. We wait an hour. No answer. We eventually drive over and deduce that they are closed. And the next day is a Saturday so they'll be closed through the weekend and OH CRAP. We really wanted to be home by this point.
So. We call the guy taking care of Miles and arrange for more visits. Then, we drive around, looking for an open car place. We find one! It's actually only a block or two away on the same street. So, we ask about the repair, explain that the car that is broken is parked in their competitor's lot down the street etc etc. They had the cable and agreed to put it in. Now, we had to figure out how to get a car without a clutch two blocks down the street. The car guy said, don't worry, we'll take care of it. So, we walked back to the car, he hopped in, started the car and drove it without the clutch the two blocks. Amazing.
That afternoon, they called to tell us that the car was ready. We packed that night, after a sushi dinner (!) and hit the road early Saturday morning.
Miles was happy to see us Sunday night.
So. We're back to Farm U, safe and sound. PEter and I started classes yesterday and I start teaching at SLAC (small liberal arts college) next week. I'm sure we'll both have updates about it all shortly.
I hope that you're all well and that 2009 is good to you.
We headed up to City with a Famous Harbor after Christmas to see more family and friends. We got to connect with several people we hadn't seen in a year (or maybe more?) and I even got a bunch of lesson planning and syllabus prep done. Plus, we went to Trader Joe's. That place rocks. We definitely need to live in a town with a Trader Joe's in 100 miles next move.
We had one of the best New Year's Eves I've had in a long time with some of Peter's friends (well, I'd call them my friends by this point too, but they were PEter's first) at home. We played games, ate homemade chili (and I might have to have a chili-off with the cook), and drank too much. Luckily, we planned well and were able to spend the night in the spare bedroom. We all went out to a fancy breakfast (well, brunch really) and met up with even more people.
And then.... then the car broke. We were driving back to drop off our lovely hosts after breakfast when we heard a loud thunk. I thought some kid had thrown a hard snow ball at us, or maybe we had run over a rock. But, it turned out that the clutch broke. Yep. The clutch cable snapped. Luckily, we were driving about 20 mph on a quiet suburban street. Imagine this happening while we were going 80 in rural upstate NY. Or Ohio or something. Ugh.
So, we called The better world club (the gree alternative to AAA. Comes recommended by the Car Talk guys!). They were very helpful and called lots car repair places, but wouldn't find a single open one. Remember, this was New Year's Day. So, we had the car towed to our friends' repair shop, thinking that we'd go back on friday and talk with them then. Of course, our plan was to LEAVE the East Coast on Friday, but that clearly wasn't going to happen. All of the passengers in the car thought this was a workable plan and Peter waited for the tow truck, left eh car, and slipped the key in the drop box.
Friday morning. We call the car place. No answer. We wait an hour. No answer. We eventually drive over and deduce that they are closed. And the next day is a Saturday so they'll be closed through the weekend and OH CRAP. We really wanted to be home by this point.
So. We call the guy taking care of Miles and arrange for more visits. Then, we drive around, looking for an open car place. We find one! It's actually only a block or two away on the same street. So, we ask about the repair, explain that the car that is broken is parked in their competitor's lot down the street etc etc. They had the cable and agreed to put it in. Now, we had to figure out how to get a car without a clutch two blocks down the street. The car guy said, don't worry, we'll take care of it. So, we walked back to the car, he hopped in, started the car and drove it without the clutch the two blocks. Amazing.
That afternoon, they called to tell us that the car was ready. We packed that night, after a sushi dinner (!) and hit the road early Saturday morning.
Miles was happy to see us Sunday night.
So. We're back to Farm U, safe and sound. PEter and I started classes yesterday and I start teaching at SLAC (small liberal arts college) next week. I'm sure we'll both have updates about it all shortly.
I hope that you're all well and that 2009 is good to you.
13 October 2008
New opportunities!
So, a month or so ago, I applied for a job. Yes, I know I already HAVE a job (a busy one at that) but this job ad came to my email and was just about perfect for me. So, I applied. The job is teaching a class at a small liberal arts college (SLAC) nearby-ish. I'd get to teach a class in my discipline to students actually interested in the subject- how could I pass that up?
They interviewed me Wednesday, the assistant dean offered me the job Friday, and I said yes today.
On Wednesday, I submit a grant for a project in the spring as well. I'm collaborating with a professor in rocket science (not really) and we're working on a plan to buy me out of some teaching time at Farm U to do some cool rocket science meets basket weaving stuff. (Trust me, although I think it's cool, you aren't missing much by my obfuscation).
So, although there's still plenty to do this semester, next is looking pretty exciting! Woo hoo!
They interviewed me Wednesday, the assistant dean offered me the job Friday, and I said yes today.
On Wednesday, I submit a grant for a project in the spring as well. I'm collaborating with a professor in rocket science (not really) and we're working on a plan to buy me out of some teaching time at Farm U to do some cool rocket science meets basket weaving stuff. (Trust me, although I think it's cool, you aren't missing much by my obfuscation).
So, although there's still plenty to do this semester, next is looking pretty exciting! Woo hoo!
02 May 2008
The C word
It strikes again. A classmate of mine just found out that her cancer has metastasized. She's been in remission for the last few years but hasn't been feeling well for a month now. It's never a good time to find out, but it's been particularly harsh for her to not be able to finish out the semester. Chemo starts in a few weeks. We don't know the prognosis yet, but it's not looking good. This is a very rare cancer, and the fact that it has metastasized is very bad.
We're working on a plan to help - groceries, company, dinner.... but we can't help with the bills. The rough part about being a grad student (or really just a person in the US) is that health insurance is dependent on employment. We get fairly inexpensive insurance here. But what happens if she can't take classes and TA in the fall? Her insurance will expire in August. If she can't comeback, it will be because she's too sick. This means she'll need the insurance (chemo and cancer not being a particularly inexpensive disease). So she's also facing a terrible catch22. We talked about this a lot after Dad died. Illness is most expensive for those who can least afford it. Why we can as a nation afford billion (trillion? I don't even know) war and weapons but not health care?
Farm U is reminding me a bit of CityU right now. People have banded together and are acting like family, rather than the "system". We have quickly shifted into discussions about who will do what, and are trying to help and support each other. And interesting wrinkle is the cross-cultural nature of our department. I spent a while today talking with my officemate (from China) about the appropriate responses to finding out that she has cancer. Officemate was surprised that she knew- telling me that people with cancer in China never know, because their families don't tell them. This way, everyone is "happy". We talked for awhile about what it meant for the diagnosis and prognosis to be known. We talked about what types of support and comfort could be given. Although I A NOT GRATEFUL for me previous experiences with cancer (and PLEASE do NOT tell me anything like that), I know that I can rely a little bit on them, and be a better friend because of them. I know that I can avoid saying the unhelpful things- and instead offer a hug, a tissue, and a shoulder to cry on. I won't tell her it's going to be better. I won't tell her that it's part of the "plan". I don't know if she believes this or not. But I can offer her friendship right now.
So, tonight I'm sitting here, ostensibly writing a paper, and thinking about her. She's not writing her papers, as she can't focus with the dose of oxycodone she's on. We'll be babysitting her pet for a while, and doing what we can to make sure she's not alone.
And, for now, I'm feeling very sad. Very scared. And, honestly, pretty pissed off. Damn cancer. She's my age.
We're working on a plan to help - groceries, company, dinner.... but we can't help with the bills. The rough part about being a grad student (or really just a person in the US) is that health insurance is dependent on employment. We get fairly inexpensive insurance here. But what happens if she can't take classes and TA in the fall? Her insurance will expire in August. If she can't comeback, it will be because she's too sick. This means she'll need the insurance (chemo and cancer not being a particularly inexpensive disease). So she's also facing a terrible catch22. We talked about this a lot after Dad died. Illness is most expensive for those who can least afford it. Why we can as a nation afford billion (trillion? I don't even know) war and weapons but not health care?
Farm U is reminding me a bit of CityU right now. People have banded together and are acting like family, rather than the "system". We have quickly shifted into discussions about who will do what, and are trying to help and support each other. And interesting wrinkle is the cross-cultural nature of our department. I spent a while today talking with my officemate (from China) about the appropriate responses to finding out that she has cancer. Officemate was surprised that she knew- telling me that people with cancer in China never know, because their families don't tell them. This way, everyone is "happy". We talked for awhile about what it meant for the diagnosis and prognosis to be known. We talked about what types of support and comfort could be given. Although I A NOT GRATEFUL for me previous experiences with cancer (and PLEASE do NOT tell me anything like that), I know that I can rely a little bit on them, and be a better friend because of them. I know that I can avoid saying the unhelpful things- and instead offer a hug, a tissue, and a shoulder to cry on. I won't tell her it's going to be better. I won't tell her that it's part of the "plan". I don't know if she believes this or not. But I can offer her friendship right now.
So, tonight I'm sitting here, ostensibly writing a paper, and thinking about her. She's not writing her papers, as she can't focus with the dose of oxycodone she's on. We'll be babysitting her pet for a while, and doing what we can to make sure she's not alone.
And, for now, I'm feeling very sad. Very scared. And, honestly, pretty pissed off. Damn cancer. She's my age.
Done... sort of
I just finished teaching my last class of the year (literally, 2 minutes ago). Although I'm far from done (2 papers to write, one take home exam, 23 portfolios to grade, 50 final exams to grade, and 30 term papers to grade), the end is in sight.
Phew. I'm really looking forward to being done with my first year.
Phew. I'm really looking forward to being done with my first year.
03 March 2008
Some News
I got accepted. Which is kind of mind blowing.
Kimberly had the letter all day and just gave it to me a few minutes ago. She's mean.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I'll add details later, when I figure things out.
I think this calls for the the Badgers.
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