Emerging

Well, I've successfully relocated over 1,000 miles. Stuff seems to have arrived intact, and we've been setting up the house.

Still to be done: moving books into office, sorting out files and papers, final planning for the class that will start in just over a month.

Abstracted

I've finished the formatting changes on the article, but I need to write the abstract. I hate writing abstracts. The finished article is over 11,000 words exclusive of footnotes. It's kind of difficult to boil that down to 200 words. Bleh. I'm writing a draft version now and I'll let it marinate for a day or two, then rewrite it.

Taking stock

Thanks for the good wishes on the last post, everyone!

I missed this blog's anniversary. The year (plus a bit) that I've had this blog have been fairly momentous for me. When I started this blog, I had just come finished a job that nearly burned me out. I had a one-year contract at a different school, and I was starting to explore non-academic career options. I thought I'd make one more try on the job market and then do...something else.

That one try on the job market, though, produced interviews, and an offer. I always said I only needed one offer, as long as it was the right one, and this job is practically my ideal. So now I make a transition from a contract lecturer to a tenure-track professor. I look forward to the transition, but also find it daunting.

My original intent for this blog was to focus on my research interests, on topics related to women's monasticism in the Middle Ages. Looking back, I can see that its focus has drifted a bit, to include more discussion of teaching and of my life in academia in general. I am sure it will continue to evolve over the next year. I think chronicling the transition from contract to tenure-track may be useful, but I also expect to fold more discussion of research and writing back in. 

Thanks for reading and commenting, everyone!