Seriously. This economy stuff blows.

I just talked to someone at a school I applied to and, though the search hasn't been cancelled, it sounds like it's been put on some serious kind of hold. It also sounds like the job may morph in some way when it is out of this holding pattern. I am thinking it might not be tenure-track anymore or something. I said, I picked a great year to finish. She kindly pointed out that things are going to continue to be sucky b/c there will be a backlog of qualified people from this year, and, therefore, even under better circumstances, more people per job than usual for several years to come. Awesome. I barely had it in my to finish. Do I have it in me to work my butt off for some publications just to maybe, possibly be able to get an academic job in a few years? Not to mention issues of money, possible additional children, and Josh wanting to get to do something he actually likes.


But look...Eli is cute...and "crying" has maybe worked (though I refuse to say it has definitively b/c I don't want to jinx things...I probably just did), although it actually involved a lot less crying than ever occurred when we used to go in his room to "soothe" him back to sleep. Apparently, we cause crying. Also, maybe it was too cold for him.


Oh, and in other news, Eli is over 9 months old now. He weighs approx. 25.5 lbs and measures close to 31 inches. He is still off the charts, but he's a little slow in terms of moving around - nothing close to crawling, pulling himself up to stand, or getting himself from lying to sitting. We are currently working on said skills as well as the "pincer" grasp - the last skill with the aid of Cheerios. We are officially a family: there are mutilated Cheerio bits everywhere you turn.

Exhausted

Not an exciting post, but just in case you care to know...

I am having no luck on the job market. I just found out I wasn't even shortlisted at a school that I had high hopes for (I interviewed with them at ASA. It was a good interview. The position fit me really, really well. They encouraged me to apply.). Argh. So, I may just be unemployed next year (and we may just possibly end up back in DC but who knows???) - though Eli will certainly keep me busy, busy, busy.

Speaking of Eli...the poor kid is sick. I think it's just a bad cold, but he has a little bit of a fever. We're going to the doc in an hour or so. Josh is also starting to come down with something, and I can't begin to imagine how I'll avoid it. Eli has basically been covered in snot for 48 hours. And that means I'm covered in snot. This morning he actually took his hand, which had been in his mouth (which, of course, is directly under his nose and therefore covered in snot), and stuck it in my mouth and grabbed my teeth. Then he coughed directly into my open mouth. I will be very impressed with my immune system - especially since it's running on 9 months without sleeping through the night (okay, add an additional few months to that for the last trimester of pregnancy but subtract the one glorious month in which Eli did sleep through the night). Last night, of course, was particularly bad. I can't even begin to count how many times he got up. It was basically constant. We are waiting for him to be well again before we institute some changes that will hopefully result in better sleep for us all. And, yes, after 9 months, those changes are going to involve some crying. I really hate for it to come to that, but I am obsessed with sleep and a super-duper cranky-pants, an that's not good for anyone.

Nap cut short with a scream so no time for a picture!