Since my last post we’ve had a few rough blows and a few hopeful surprises. We find ourselves in a sort of perpetual state of waiting, a continually busy sort of limbo, while the universe figures out exactly what to do with us.
The thing that changed everything was this: our April jobs were pulled out from under us. I won’t go into the details; suffice it to say that one day we had the jobs, and the next day we did not. Now we have to find something new, and hopefully something better. We applied to a few universities, and should one take us it certainly WOULD be a better job – 2 months paid vacation, health benefits, housing, paid plane ticket and a one-month salary bonus upon completion of our contracts. On top of that, most universities require only 15-20 hours of class time. Of course, we would still have to have office hours and do grading and stuff, but I have no issue with that. I don’t mind doing work if I don’t have to talk to anybody, or if I only have to talk to one person! I have always enjoyed solitary jobs best (or rather, jobs where there is no need to rely on others to get my work done… that’s what I mean). If I am going to be a teacher, this is the sort of teaching job I would prefer.
We have had a response from one university, which is already more than I hoped for. The only bad thing is that the positions start in March, which means there will be very little time to plan a DC wedding party – something we have wanted to do since we first got engaged – and it will cut Dave’s time with his friends and family very short. It will also mean that I will not be in the US during interviews for the Foreign Service. This part is especially sad to me, since I have had my eye on a Foreign Service job for a while. Even so, this is a good enough deal that we have both decided we are willing to go a little early. Now the biggest issue is communication: they want to interview us, but we seem to be having trouble getting in contact. Suddenly the interviewer’s email box is full and isn’t receiving messages, and there is no way to leave her a phone message. So, we must simply wait until she gets our messages, and possibly try to call again on Monday.
We have tried to relax and enjoy our visiting time while all this has been going on. We went to Florida to visit Dave’s grandparents, and it was really lovely. Before we left we were given a grave image of them – depressed, frail, dependent – which turned out to be completely false. We arrived to two spry, chipper, independent nonagenarians, full of jokes and smiles. Grandpa was generally quiet, but any words out of his mouth were either a joke or a setup for a joke, and he was quite capable of handling himself. Grandma was in the hospital recovering from a fall, but she was very positive about it and was certain that after her therapy, she would come out of that place better than ever. They were confident and upbeat, and it was great to see. We brought home a blindingly beautiful report to their worried children.
While we were there, we also went on a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas! We ate like kings (my favorite part of a cruise), danced the night away, and partook in a few libations. The boat stopped on an island that was owned by the cruise company (very fake) and then stopped in Nassau the next day. We bypassed a lot of the shops and tourist crap, opting instead to go on a long walk along the coast. It was lovely.
Pardon this very mechanical post, but I wanted to catch up on what has happened in the last few weeks. I promise more themed and interesting posts in the future! Wish us luck on our job search!
