Furniture Daydreams

After looking through the JIL, I started looking at the job postings for my state's community colleges. The big, local, I-would-totally-love-to-work-there college is hiring three (three!) English instructors this year. I'm guessing after this year they won't be hiring for awhile.

Soooo, can I please not think about school and work for like thirty minutes?

Instead, I would much more like to live in a fantasy world of home decorating.  This is not a world I am all that comfortable with in terms of my skill, but I'm starting to think more about it.  We've been in our house for about three years and have only bought one piece of furniture ourselves.  Everything else we got for free as hand-me-downs, which is AWESOME.  However, nothing is really anything I would have picked, it doesn't really "go", and most of it is way too big for our house.  Case in point is our living room.  It is a long, skinny room that has no real wall space because of windows, a fireplace, built-in shelves, and then doorways.  Because of this, furniture can't be anchored on a wall so we need something a little more streamlined than what we currently have.  For such a purpose, I am loving this small couch:   

Then there is this table:

What do you guys think of this?  I am really surprised I like this, but it is kind of different and useful in a small room.  The leather top makes it useful for a seat as well as a table.  Of course, it is way too expensive for me to think about, but I kind of love it.  I'm thinking that a circle table will take up less space than the normal rectangle coffee table, especially in the setup of our room.  Here are some cheaper options:

The first one is from Crate and Barrel and has some mixed reviews.  The second one is from Overstock and looks kind of cheap to me. 

Then on the other side of the table, I think I would like a chair or two instead of another couch or loveseat.  Ideally, the chair(s) would bring in a fun pattern or color, but I haven't found any that I love and would love for a long time.  I do, however, like the shape of this chair:

Well, maybe I wouldn't need a bold pattern.  The walls in the room are painted a blue color and we have two colorful paintings in the room.  I don't think I would get a white chair because how practical can that really be, but maybe another subdued basic color?

Okay, and then there is this thing below.  It is a side table made of real wood ("fallen cypress trees" according to the website) and I think my husband would think I am crazy for liking it. 

I think it would just be such a nice, unexpected piece.  The website shows how you can use it in any room, and I really like it in the bedroom as a nightstand. 

And look, there's my couch!

Thanks for indulging my daydreams.  Now it's back to the books.  

Roots--Strong & Powerful

The release of the JIL last week has me thinking about roots.  Long, strong, tangled roots.

I never really thought of myself as that rooted of a person.  I am a former military brat and had moved eight to nine times before I entered middle school.  The moving stopped then, but I kept the same rambling instincts.  I wasn't nostalgic about my home like many of my friends who had only live in one or two houses were.  I made friends slowly, and then had a few very close friends with many more acquaintances.  When I went away to school, which was only a couple of hours away from where my parents lived, I easily transitioned into calling my dorm "home."  I flirted with the idea of joining the Peace Corps and seriously considered various out-of-state graduate schools. 

Then life happened.  My relationship with my future husband hit a point and we were serious...like how-do-we-fit-in-each-other's-lives serious, not like Felicity-stalker serious.  An awful event happened in my family that severed any intention of leaving the state.  Family first, school second.

So I moved back home and went for my MA at the urban university by my house.  The real estate market started to fall and my future husband and I bought a house.  That probably wasn't the smartest idea, but we were young, had no idea that the market would crash as bad as it has, and were tempted by these houses that we normally wouldn't be able to afford.  Let's not even talk about this house thing.

Then I started my Ph.D., got married, endured another awful family thing, reconnected with friends in the area, spent time with our families, joined sports leagues, and made new friends.   

Now I can feel these roots, which is not good for this stage in my academic life.  My husband has the best job in the world for his profession--guaranteed job security.  He also has two degrees from a top university that is within two hours of our house and wants to go back for an MBA.  His job will pay for this, so bonus!  Anyways, the other night we were trying to decide how he should approach this and how many years it would take him to complete it considering he works full-time, when we suddenly realized that I'll be on the job market in a few years and who knows where that will take us?   

Roots.  I'm an only child and Husband is the chosen one of his family.  The thought of possibly having kids in another part of the country, away from our family, both scares me and fills me with guilt.  Our families would be devastated if we left, especially if we had kids and they were away from their grandchildren. 

I've also kind of been downplaying this whole issue to my mom.  I've told her that the job market is tough, but I don't think I've really stressed the fact that chances are I will not find a job for who knows how long or the fact that I will have to look out of state for any chance of employment.  Hell, I don't think I've even been that honest with myself or my husband.   His great job does allow for transfers but only to places where I would really, really, really not want to live. 

I never thought I would live my life in the same place and I never really wanted that either.  However, now that I am facing that reality, it is hard to take in and pull back these roots. 

Being Busy and Hugs

Again with the longer than I ideally want absence from blogging.  The past two or three weeks have been insanely busy with reading, meetings, classes, and working.  Tuesdays are going to be the worst as I'm leaving home in the 8 a.m. hour and returning close to 10 p.m.  I am really, really not used to that.  What really sucks is that since this semester has begun, I have not been able to read anything for my quals.  That will obviously have to change but from this teeny tiny spot I'm at now, it seems impossible.

So what has been going on for the past two or so weeks?  I attended my first official staff meeting, which seemed like the most pointless thing I could have possibly done with that afternoon.  I can't remember anything important that was said, except we were introduced to a couple of new professors so if I ever see some strange person in the hall, at least I'll know who it is.  We were promised a little party afterwards, but that consisted of a cold cut platter thrown on a table.  A party to me equals wine.  And guacamole.  And chocolate.  And music...maybe a live band.  And a disco ball!  Am I expecting too much?

As first semester TA's, we are not teaching until the next semester.  Instead, they have us doing another service to the University.  I'm not sure how much I should tell since I don't know how many schools do this with their TA's and I have to have some sort of anonymity here.  Not like I think the handful of you will actively search to find me, but you know.  If anything interesting comes up, I'll share, but as of right now, let's just say it is eating its fair share of my days.

My fellow newbies (my cohort?  I guess that's what I'll be calling them) seem like a nice bunch.  I have really yet to develop any relationships with anyone from school, which I have the feeling is pretty unusual.  I guess we'll see what happens.

I did get slightly nervous about those potential relationships.  I was standing on one side of the street and noticed one of my cohorts on the other side.  Another grad student came up to this person and to my surprise, they hugged as their hello.  Neither of these people struck me as a hugger (and there is nothing going on between them).  A normal person would think nothing of this.  However, my mind automatically raced towards "If I become friends with those people, will I have to hug them?  Please, don't make me have to hug these people." 

As you have figured out, I am not a hugger.  I like hugging my husband, certain close friends (who live far away), and when the spirit moves me.  That's it.  I'm not a touchy person.  Even a handshake feels forced to me unless I'm in an interview.  I prefer a noncommittal wave with a "What's up?"  My husband's parents, who we see a lot, are huggers.  In fact, my husband gives his mom a hug every time we see her, which, again, is a lot.  Like biweekly.  I always feel like a cold fish when we leave, he hugs, and I'm just standing there.  Because of this, I always try to be carrying things when we leave. 

It's not even so much that I don't want to hug, it's that I don't want people to think I am cold and distant because I don't hug.  I'm sure this will never come up, but that is where my mind went.  So that has been my week: school, school, school, and stressing about hugs.

What I Learned From Orientation

Like I've mentioned, I've made the switch from adjunct to teaching assistant.  This means I had to spend a week at a Graduate Teaching Assistant Orientation.  A week during the most beautiful week of summer.  Some things I learned:

1.  There is nothing more awkward than meeting new people.  Apparently, this may not be true.  I told my supporting (or so I thought) husband this and his response was, "It's not awkward."  Thanks for that.  So maybe I'm just awkward.

2.  I am way less awkward by the third day.  Seriously, anyone who meets me just needs to stick around until the third day and they will be pleasantly surprised.

3.  Even after an hour discussion about not dating your students and not dating your professors, someone will still ask if there is an actual official policy about dating your students.  Dude, we're all looking at you now.

4.  Not everyone wears deodorant, but everybody should, especially on hot summer days.

5.  No one loves free food as much as graduate students.  It doesn't matter what it is, we will eat it.  (I ate a wet, soggy sandwich.  It was disgusting and I ate the whole thing.)
6.  After seven hours of presentations and seminars, even the most diligent student will start to get antsy.  I am not the most diligent student, so I was ready to go hours ago. 

Last, but not least, let me tell you about this one T.A., Grouchy.  Grouchy is a grouch (surprising, no?).  No smiles, no nice words, and just loads of downer comments.  I saw Grouchy twice and each time Grouchy did something that stuck out.  First, Grouchy argued with a Department Chair about the responsibilities of a T.A.  I'm sure that in Grouchy's mind this was just a discussion, but to the rest of us it was aggressive, disrespectful, and went on for far too long.  The D.C. was very nice and polite, but Grouchy would continually interrupt to pretty much say the same things over and over.  It was uncomfortable.

During break time, I saw Grouchy talking to a group of people that included some professors.  One professor was talking about how his/her first name is mispronounced all the time, being a foreign name that we don't encounter here too often in the U.S.  Grouchy interrupts and enthusiastically says, "Oh, I know just what you mean!  It happens to me all the time!"

Okay.

Grouchy's name is the equivalent to John or Sue.  A very simple, everyday name that you would know how to pronounce and spell.  I had no idea where Grouchy was going with this. 

Grouchy continues: "My name is Anne and people always say Annie!"  or "My name is Eric and people always call me Erica!"  or "My name is Joe and I always hear Joey!"  Get the drift? 

The professor with the actual difficult name kind of paused, smiled, and moved on.

Other than all that, free food!  The cookies were delicious.