Pencils Sharpened

There's something of the feeling just before taking a standardized in all the preparations I've just completed - pencils sharpened, confirmation letter in hand, nought to do but take a deep breath and wake up early the next day. The cover letter, in its various incarnations depending upon institutional demographics, is ready. The writing sample, a re-write and Americanization of a portion of my thesis, is finished. The CV is stylish and up to date and preposterously flattering. The endless list of addresses has been prepared for the dossier service. I've summarized the entirety of my research and my beliefs about teaching into a paltry few pages, and indicated how I'll change the world and do the grunt work too, with a smile on my face and a one-handed juggling act no mortal has attempted before. All that's left is to copy and paste a bunch, print out the first 18 sets with ever-so-slightly-different requirements, and head down the post office.

And then, of course, it's hurry up and wait. As I've been hurrying-up-and-waiting for nigh on a year now, however, I'm getting good at it. While, of course, attending to back up plans, back up back up plans, and weighing my alternatives' alternatives. Procrastination has taken the form of cooking and a compulsively clean flat. The recent dip in my standards of neatness is, however, a comforting testament to the actual accomplishment of work. I'd love to press the great fast-forward button in the sky to mid-December, when the calls, in'sh'allah, start coming in, but I've way too much to do before then. Including a paper to write, to be presented in between interviews, as I'm a fool, a nut, or just desperate to be perceived as sufficiently inside the accepted confines of the North American academy and therefore willing to face the hyper-exposure that comes along with it. It'll either prove to be tactically savvy or a horrific, career-ending embarassment. Or, worse, largely irrelevant. Moderation, it's the new black...