Two Weeks and Counting (aka Congratulations to Me!)

Remember that post where I told you all about how depressed I've been this year and how long it took for me to get help (again) because of that depression? I wrote that four weeks ago and, well, things have changed quite a bit.

The exact same day that I posted that, just as I was handed a dirty martini at a happy hour with some friends, another friend called and asked how I would feel about working at the school that rejected me in April for the job that would have been perfect for me. A teacher resigned somewhat (but not really) unexpectedly and they needed to fill her position for a year while the curriculum is being restructured. They were very clear that it is only for a year, not a long-term position. Needless to say, I could care less. I need experience in an independent school because I obviously can't count on a TT job (seriously, is anyone out there still counting on that?) but I love teaching and don't want to stop.

I need out of Delaware. I need out of my parents' house. I need out of the adjunct "life." I need a change.

Long story short, it has been a crazy four weeks because I'm moving to Reno. I finished my adjunct classes, found an apartment, hired a moving company, and gave my notice to my bartending job - so long, suckers!

I also have to find time to hang out with the people I want to see before I leave and somehow this feels like a more permanent goodbye. I knew when I moved to Canada that I would most likely move back to the States, if that dream job in Scotland never materialized, that is. Obviously I hope that this year teaching in Reno will help me land a job at another school, but it's starting to feel very real that I won't live in this area again. That's a little sad because now I'm remembering what I like about this place, especially the beach. If only there was something for me to do here other than bartend, work in retail, sell real estate, or teach in a public school (no, thank you). That's always been the problem with Rehoboth, though. The exact reason I love it is the exact reason I can't stay. There just isn't enough for me here, no matter how much I wish there was.

In the meantime, I have to sort through boxes and boxes of...stuff to decide what goes with me and what gets donated. A lot of stuff is still packed from my move back from Canada, but I've somehow accumulated a ton in two years that needs to be packed. Did I mention I'm not a fan of packing? And how I have two boxes of toiletries, I have no idea! The moving company picks up my stuff in two weeks and I have so much to do!

A Brief Glimpse

I felt like myself the other day. It only lasted for a few hours, but it was wonderful.

I got off work, put my bathing suit on, and jumped in the ocean that was cold and choppy thanks to an impending storm. Then I just sat on the beach and stared at the water for awhile.

When I left I had sand all over my feet and glorious beach hair. I was me again and it was amazing.

I need to practice my French!

I haven't told many people this, but I'm just too excited to hold it in much longer. It looks like my paper was accepted for the Jacobite Studies Trust conference in July!

This is big. Huge. ENORMOUS. I may be more excited about this conference than I was about presenting at the last NACBS. I presented at the last JST conference in Glasgow a few years ago and loved it. Back then, I didn't even consider myself a Jacobite historian, but that conference changed things. Yes, I work on Scottish Episcopalians who were, for the most part, Jacobites, but I approach them from a religious angle, not a political one, so while I technically have always been a Jacobite historian, I didn't actually embrace that until the Glasgow conference. 

To say I'm really looking forward to being around "my" people for an entire weekend is an understatement. It's just so nice to get to enjoy an entire conference, rather than having to pick and choose from the panels you might most be interested in and hope you're right. Plus, I need to network again (I haven't been in Scotland in over a year and I constantly worry that people are forgetting about me), pitch my idea for my post-doc project, and see if any of the big whigs bite, I suppose. 

As usual, funding is the big problem. I'm hoping there's at least some funding available for grad students. I'm looking for other grants, too, but I'm a bit behind the ball because I didn't hear anything at all for months. I still have time, so I'm hoping the good luck continues and I get enough funding to go. I feel like my future is riding on this conference. I know it sounds silly and very dramatic and is not necessarily true, but I want this post-doc project to work out and I want it to happen in Scotland.  

So. Interwebs, send me all the good juju you have, please! I could use it.

Did I mention the conference is in Paris? Naturellement!