In stasis

Some of you may remember a while back I had a phone interview for a fabulous position at Awesome University. At the time, I was told I would hear more within two weeks. Well, universities being what they are, apparently the bureaucracy has slowed things down considerably, as it's now been six weeks and the only communication I've heard from the committee is a request for clarification of my teaching experiences--which I took as a good, if certainly not definitive, sign.

Once again, this isn't a post of complaints about the amount of time that has passed--I understand bureaucracies and departmental politics and whatever else may be going on, really. It's more a reflection on the weird stasis where I find myself because I really do want to believe I have a shot at this job.

At this point, I'm not sure what to think, and I'm trying to make peace with whatever the outcome may be.

Meanwhile, though, we're experiencing some minor paralysis. Examples:

- Do I invest the couple hundred dollars and days of labor in the garden? It's time to buy soil amendments, mulch, seeds and seedlings. The mother in me would hate to plant a garden only to leave it to wither in the hot Sacramento Valley summer. It seems cruel somehow. (I know, it's silly, but it's on my mind.)

- Mr. Trillwing isn't thrilled with his job situation, and even though he works from home, it's unlikely his current employer would let him keep his job if we move across three time zones. (The job I applied for is on the East Coast.) If we're going to move, in this economy he needs to start networking and looking for work in the region like, yesterday. (Because emergency savings? Yeah, we spent those and then some on the childbirth a few years ago, vet care for our late dog, and then the cars last year, and we never have caught up.)

- If we're going to move, we should give our landlord 60 days' notice. Thirty days is required, but from experience I've found there's more goodwill (and thus sometimes larger deposits) to be had if we give more notice. The job starts July 1. . .

- Ditto with the daycare provider. 30 days is required. 60 days would be kinder.

- There's a conference I've been wanting to attend, and it's put on every year by Awesome University. It takes place in May. If I'm going to find affordable plane tickets, I need to purchase them soon. Even if I'm not the final candidate for the position, I personally wouldn't feel awkward attending this conference because, hey, I don't really experience personal awkwardness--I gave it up years ago (too much stress, not much fun). At the same time, I wouldn't want to make the search committee members or anyone else at Awesome University feel uncomfortable. I asked one of the search committee members for advice on whether I should plan on attending, and he said he'd be delighted to have me attend, but that he needed a few days to think on it.

- I work on a lot of projects here at the teaching center, and wrapping them up is going to take a couple of months at least. Meanwhile, I'm being asked to take on other projects and campus-wide responsibilities. I'm not sure what to do.

See? Stasis. I like a bit of the predictability that accompanies my usual brand of stasis, but I also like a sense of forward propulsion, and I'm not feeling it right now.

Leave your encouragements, admonitions to be patient, or condolences--whatever you see as appropriate--in the comments. . .