Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Thankful for small blessings...and a few big ones

It's been a rough few months. I'm still trying to find my feet outside the Ivory Tower. Haven't gotten any interviews yet. I'm guessing that this is because 1) my cover letters don't really stand out and 2) I don't have anyone on the inside vouching for me. I have adjusted my resume slightly so that skills and experience are on top and have redone my cover letters to have a bit more personality. I've also extended my network a bit and they've offered to help me out if their company has an opening. So, hopefully I'll be making more progress in this dimension soon.

Given some of the stories floating around the post-academic blogosphere, I am glad that most of my academic friends are supportive of my move and do try to be sensitive about what questions they ask. I don't actually converse with my old advisor for a variety of reasons. I'm sure that helps some. It lessens the stress a bit.

In the meantime, Boyfriend has been supporting me with no complaints. He works all day and the only thing I can offer in return is good food and saving money on dog-walking. I am so thankful for having him around. He even swings by the public library on occasion and picks up DVDs. We're catching up on Dr. Who, from the beginning. The number of people having hysterics is fairly annoying and I'm not a fan of William Hartnell as the Doctor. And we're getting into The Living Dead. Far less hysterics despite the greater number of zombies.

Family also help. My parents are still willing to support me a little on my own bills. They also drive several hours and show up with things I left at their house when I moved. If I ever make it big as a writer, I definitely need to refill their retirement savings. They also help me build an inventory for my etsy shop.

Privilege is one of those topics that keep coming up in conversations about higher ed. I have to say that though I am by no means the 1%, I am thankful for the privilege I have and the friends I've found.

Aaaannnd, here's some more shameless promotion of my stuff.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your books are fab. I bet you could make a killing at local fairs and craft shows. If you could handle large orders, maybe you should try trade shows too. I know someone who makes a living doing this and your stuff is much better than hers.

Pi said...

Thanks! Unfortunately, I'm not to the point where I can handle large orders and I don't have enough inventory to support a table at a craft show. Working up to it though.

Hope things are improving for you across the pond!