Too Much of a Good Thing

Ah, I had almost forgotten the joys of adjuncting!

The uncertainty!

The low pay!

The need to drive to multiple schools on multiple days and find that balance!

Honestly, I shouldn’t complain too much.  There are plenty of professions where part-time gigs like this would be heavenly.  But for me, right here and right now, I’m finding myself slightly more than overwhelmed with the response I’ve gotten.  Two schools (online) are interested in me, one wanting a phone interview and another asking for transcripts.  Multiple ground campuses wanting to talk with me, meet with me, and sign me up for classes.  Definitely not a bad thing! But trying to figure out which classes to take, which ones will work with scheduling with the others, and which ones will help me get the most out of my teaching hours is crazy when I won’t know anything for certain until a day or two before classes start.

I hate to use sports metaphors since I know nothing about them, but it really feels like I’ve suited up and am waiting on the bench for a call onto the field.  But I’m only going out if the first stringer gets injured or doesn’t bother showing up.  Or, to be more of a direct parallel, if enough fans show up in the stands.

So I wait to hear anything for sure, and I try to feel confident that somehow the schedule and money will work out.  And I keep looking for that new, magic full-time gig that will let me get connected again…

Full-Time Job

Okay, who knew that being unemployed was a full-time job?

I’ve been applying for jobs like it’s going out of style, and while it’s kind of interesting to see the different applications and styles out there, it’s also amazingly tiring.  I have discovered that sitting up between midnight and 2 AM is a great time to submit applications, though.  The house is quiet, and I have nothing against sitting in bed with my computer, cutting and pasting from my resume to the online apps that just about everyone has gone to.  I’ve only had to actually mail one resume – and that I could have faxed, but, really, who has a fax machine in this day and age?  Especially when something requires about 10 pages, in addition to the five page application?

Ah well, but the holidays are coming up!  I am going to take next week off from applying and actually enjoying having a bit of a “vacation” for a change…

Rejection

Last year, my boss sent me an Amazon gift card for Christmas.  This year, I got a pink slip.  I was employed by an unnamed for-profit university up until last week.  Now I’m on the hunt for a job.

I’m a writer. So I should know about rejection. But I wasn’t at all prepared for what happened last Tuesday.  While I may want to sit around and whine, it could be worse.

What have I learned, not even a week into my job search?
I’m resourceful.
I’m creative.
I’m flexible.

So let’s see what happens next…