In which I interview myself

Naptime Writing blog has issued a blog challenge!  My answers to the questions posed:

1. What is your favorite word? bejesus, Clackamas

2. What is your least favorite word?  schedule (British pronunciation--no offense!)

3. What turns you on?  humor

4. What turns you off?  bitterness, racism, sexism

5. What is your favorite curse word?  Oh shit!

6. What sound or noise do you love?  crickets at night, laughing (especially little kids)

7. What sound or noise do you hate?  neighbor's wind chimes at night

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? war correspondent, NGO work

9. What profession would you not like to try? soldier

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?  Ha, you were so wrong about me!  But no biggie.  Go check out the ski hill.

Now you--post your responses in your blog (or here in comments)!  You'll see--it's really fun.

How do baseball tournaments fit into my work-life balance?

We had a parents meeting last night for the "competitive league" baseball team that my son is now on.  The season doesn't begin until March, but never hurts to start early, I guess. 

The coach is a very friendly, likable guy.  Wants the kids to come out of this loving baseball--says that's more important than winning.  He is also extremely organized, and distributed an information sheet that should become a template for campus memos and information packets, which are typically dense and not so informative.  And he even blocked off a week and a half for spring break, so that we could all go on vacations (if that sounds routine to you, you either don't have a child on a sports team or you have an abnormally reasonable coach like us).

I'm already accustomed to getting him to practices 3x/wk.  But I hadn't realized what "tournaments" involve.  They are 3 day trips to other cities!  And there will be 4 or 5 of them.  How, exactly, does that fit into my already hectic life? 

Actually, the more I think about it, all I have to do is drive some kids 2-4 hours away, watch a few games, make sure they don't burn down the hotel or something in their off-hours, and then drive them back.  If spouse and I trade off rather than both go, I could get a lot of work done.  My daughter is much more time-consuming than that!

Students with faces are better

My university is trying hard to get tenured and tenure-track professors to teach online courses over the summer. They are offering $5k to plan the course over spring semester, plus the usual pay for teaching the summer course, plus a grader (paid 3.5times more per student than graders normally are).  There are about 20-25 students.

It is tempting, the extra $5k.  But I just don't know how I feel about contributing to the online course trend.  I don't want to be a Luddite.  If that is the direction universities are headed, then I should take the $5k while it is still being offered.  That said, I don't think this is a good way to learn.  And frankly, I would much prefer interacting with students face to face rather than via email.  I nearly always really like a student in person--not so much in abstract.  I don't know if I would want to teach if this became my only option.  And I don't know that students will learn as well--especially the best students.

So I'm wondering, do I really want to contribute to this trend?  Is this what university teaching will become? Or is it just another option, not threatening to replace face-time teaching?  What is lost and what is gained for the professor and student?

A publishing contract is not a contract

There's a shakeup at one of the university presses that has tenure implications for people in my area.  I have reviewed several books for the editor at Biggish University Press.  I respect his work.  Plus, I wanted to support that press because it has been so good about publishing books by tenure-track faculty in my narrow area.

He told me he was retiring.  I was disappointed, but I assumed the press would continue its interest in this line.

I sent in my latest review about 6 weeks ago.  He contacted me last week.  It seems that even though he had extended a provisional contract to the book I reviewed, the press was reneging on that contract now that he was gone.  The book had gone through two revisions, and I had reviewed three different versions!  And the university committee had also approved it.

My old advisor from grad school had his edited volume canceled late in the game by the same press.  The editor is now working with another press (part-time, semi-retirement), trying to get these books published there.  Problem is, while this second press is pretty good (and getting better), it is not a university press.

It probably won't matter too much for the edited volumes.  But several of my friends got tenure based upon their monographs being published by Biggish University Press.  And one of my colleagues here at my Univ. had sent his manuscript for review at the beginning of summer. I'm scared to ask him about it.  He needs publication by a university press.  And it needs to happen in the next 18 months.

Life after professing

I had dinner recently with my old grad school advisor.  We were at a conference, and it might well be the last time I see him because he's retiring after this year.  It was a great dinner. He is a neat guy.  I'd love to have had him as a colleague. 

All in all, I was pretty lucky having him as the person that controlled my future.  He does have his quirks, but at least he is fairly aware of them.  When you call his house, he answers the phone with "What?" Even if he told you to call!  Intimidating for most of us--especially grad students. 

He also was on a panel once when he became exasperated or simply bored with the person presenting their paper.  So he took out his fingernail clippers and started clipping his nails! Right next to the guy and right during his talk!  The guy had to ask him to stop.

At least he has a nice life set up after retirement, with great travel plans.  This is unlike several professors I've known lately, who teach until they are physically or mentally unable to do it anymore (and maybe even continuing a semester after that!).  Not much of a retirement after that!  I understand about loving your job.  But you also need a life, I think, beyond it.

Manly professors bond over meat and poker

My friend just told me about the Men's Night Out that the male faculty members in her department hold monthly.  At my two previous institutions, the men in my department similarly indulged.  There was a "Meat Night" (manly dinner at a steak house) and a poker night.

My friend is tenure track at a research university.  There are quite a few untenured women in that department, but none ever objected publicly to being excluded.  This is understandable, given the power differentials and the pressure to get along.  But criminally, no tenured faculty objected--man or woman.

My friend brought in a co-author--a man--to give a talk and meet other faculty.  She could not schedule a department dinner for him because of this Men's Night Out.  So one of these guys told her to just let co-author come along to their Men's Night!  He thought it was a great idea!  My friend declined.  And she was embarrassed to have to explain to her co-author where most of the men were that night.

Men's Night has the effect of excluding women from crucial opportunities to bond and network with others the department--including the powerful men who will hold a lot of sway in terms of tenure. 
It took a new, untenured man in the department to forcefully point out how problematic Men's Night is.  Not coincidentally, his wife is also in the department.  Now many of the men finally get it.  Geeeeez. 

I'm wondering, how common is Men's Night?  Is it just my discipline (still male-dominated)?  Is it OK to have women faculty events (under the argument that women are clearly disadvantaged in terms of salary and promotion plus work-life balance issues)?   Are men whose wives work in the same department more tuned in to ways that women are disadvantaged/discriminated against?  (And is this one of the unrecognized benefits of spousal accommodations?  If so, deans take note!).

Cat murderers attend a wedding out-of-state

Went to a wedding in a nearby state--my S.O.'s niece. We drove half way Thursday, arrived Friday mid-day, went to wedding in the evening. And then drove home all day today (Saturday). 

We were rather ambivalent about the whole thing.  There was no question of not going, but that doesn't mean we wanted to go.  We haven't talked to Niece in four years.  She stopped talking to us after we murdered her cat. 

Let me explain.  It only gets better from there (and by that, I mean worse).

Four years ago, soon after we had uprooted ourselves from one state to move to a new one--and were completely stressed out and not coping all that well--my mother-in-law's health declined rapidly due to spread of cancer.  We all piled into the car on the quick and drove the 8 hours to see her.  We hadn't yet formed a strong support network of friends and neighbors ready to take care of our pets, etc.  So we took the dog with us.

We were staying at S.O.'s sister's house.  She is officially a dog-lover, has two dogs herself and even does dog-sitting as a side business.  And our dog was pretty low-key and extremely friendly.  She (the dog) stayed in our bedroom at night and in the day was either in the car or tied to a tree at the far end of their big yard.  So we thought things were fine.  Sister's husband (the brother-in-law) and daughter (the niece) also lived there, and neither complained about the dog.  Plus, we were distracted by the fact that S.O.'s mom was dying.

We said our last good-byes to his mom, spent some nice quality time with her.  Then we drove home.  When we arrived home, a voice mail was waiting for us.  Brother-in-law was screaming about how he had just scraped his cat off the street with a shovel and blamed us for killing it--oh, plus a lot of bitter, raging swear words.  This all shouted into our house phone message machine that our children could hear! Yes.

Apparently the cat had ran off out of fear of our dog and then gotten run over a street or two away.  A tragic pet accident, yes.  We're sorry for the kitty and would hate to lose a pet this way (or any way).  But to unleash such an attack on someone who's just said good-bye forever to his mom?  Can't you cut a guy a break in that situation? 

So, when we returned a week or two later to help with burial arrangements and attend the funeral, we steered clear of brother-in-law.  But niece was to help select flowers, etc with S.O., and she absolutely refused to speak to him. 

So four years later, we were not happy at the thought of attending her wedding.  The bride barely said hello to us (she did--but barely).  And my daughter, who loves princesses and thus loves a bride, could barely elicit any attention despite her best efforts.  That family hadn't seen my daughter since my daughter was a toddler--practically still a baby.

And my son (unfortunately) caught her garter when it was thrown.  And she did not acknowledge even knowing him.  They're cousins!

Sadly, each of S.O.'s three siblings has their own disturbing set of attributes and histories.  At least the main problem in terms of his sister is her husband and daughter.  I'm really hoping that S.O. and his sister can start reconnecting.  She says she wants to come out to visit--I hope it happens.  My kids need some better connection with that side of their family--that much was clear from the wedding.

Anyway, I just asked S.O. and he says he's glad he went.  So I am too.