career

career / teaching / The Recession / Uncategorized — No Comments
11
Jul 10

Lessons in Impermanence, Part III

This continues the “Lessons in Impermanence” series, with continuing some thoughts directly after “Part I.”

Life after grad school also had its share of impermanence as I continued at the urban community college and had a brief stint teaching English at the FIDM. I then tried jumping ship by getting a more “regular” job at one hot mess of a labor union’s headquarters. That lasted for six months, followed by six months of unemployment. Then, during that time, I courted English department chairs and a director of a foreign language school, and I found myself on the freeway flier circuit in the fall of ’07. After a year and a half, I didn’t return to any classes with one district, continued to work for another until I got laid off.

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blogging / career / technology / The Recession — No Comments
22
Feb 10

Lessons in Impermanence, Part 1


David Bowie singing his signature anthem of impermanence, “Changes.”

If there’s anything to learn from this recession is that nothing is permanent. Way before our economy tanked to where it is now, corporations adopted the layoff as a quick road to profits during the Clinton years. Downsizing, reducing redundancies, etc – it became the popular way for companies to slim down their expensive American workforce and seek cheaper labor abroad. Even when times appeared to be prosperous, such as the late Clinton years or the middle Bush years, the stable job was not as easily obtainable as it once was.

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blogging / career — 2 Comments
10
Feb 10

2009, 2010, you’ve taken my voice away. Now go frak yourselves!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Considering that everyone’s been affected by this economy, I’m no exception. After getting laid off last semester from the adjuncting, I felt a variety of emotions, ranging from relief that perhaps I wouldn’t have to do this anymore to anxiety about where my next dollar was going to come from. Apart from that, I couldn’t break into the library field with the city in hiring freeze and other places perhaps putting my resumes in the digital bin. To add to those injuries, I lost my MacBook during last autumn and that also knocked the virtual wind out of me. Long story short, it has been an extremely painful and disappointing year and I retreated into silence on this blog. On some level, I might have done myself good by not posting my anger about the situation. I let these situations take away my voice. I don’t want them to continue to do so.

Recently, I have been more active on my Facebook and Twitter accounts, but neither is any substitute for blogging. On Facebook, I have expressed myself more through posting interesting links (at least interesting to me) and some of those can be interesting jumping points for topics. I’ve tried to keep the twittering up, though it’s not something I do every day now. Last week, I recently jumped off the iPhone train, so I’m not going to post lunches or anything else as frequently. Unfortunately, my fingers still itch to touch a glass screen and text updates. I feel like I’ve given up cigarettes.

On the plus side, a friend loaned me one of her Macs, a PowerBook. It does the job, but I’ll be happy to have my own computer again, especially one more “modern.” I’m also working (which I won’t discuss*) and I’m teaching a night course (which also won’t be discussed*). And, I have a few good friends, a valuable resource in hard times.

I’ve been reading plenty and I’ve been working on some fiction. But, I want to get the momentum back in writing, which the posts should help. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, no flight plan, no problem. All I need to do is fly.

*not to be discussed at this time. I know, it limits my topics, but CYA.

career / library — 1 Comment
7
Aug 09

Gorilla Suit – The New Interview Costume

What’s a man to do when he’s properly qualified for a job, yet seems to have a hard time finding one? Perhaps suing the alma mater university is one option, but when he really needs a job, some more immediate action is necessary. Dumb down one’s resume, play down job accomplishments, or just talk it up are some options. Here, a desperate man resorts to dressing up like a gorilla, which appeals to some warped affirmative action, British style. Gotta love Monty Python for that.

career / college — 6 Comments
5
Aug 09

Sue the Bastards!

On the surface, this woman should be my hero. She’s a David who has taken on the crass Goliath of the education industry. After all, schools, especially private ones, seem to promise the jobs of one’s dreams. Trina Thompson, however, has failed to procure hers, even after getting a degree and working with Monroe College‘s Career Services. What is a frustrated Oleanna of an alumna to do? Sue the bastards!

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blogging / career / college / teaching — 2 Comments
13
Apr 09

Doing the Limbo

I really hate discussing education and employment practices though it’s been on my mind a lot. Various factors, including small paychecks and increasing expenses, are guaranteed to put those things at the forefront of my thoughts, even though there are more important things that need my attention (like my lessons and my students’ homework assignments). While I have been polite about the subject, it is no secret how I feel about the issue of adjunct teaching. I often find articles and blog entries that confirm my feelings, such as a recent piece in The Nation.

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career / teaching — No Comments
12
Mar 09

Rubric’s Cube, II

If I’m not interested in teaching college English as a long term goal, then why do it? Ironically, I find my several semesters of being in the classroom something of value, especially as I’ve been getting my act together. Yes, I used the past progressive, not the passive voice in past tense. I have been working on being a better teacher, but I am also working on skills that will help me in my new career path.

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career / teaching — No Comments
7
Mar 09

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

After writing this post, I found “Dear Professor: I Hate You” in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Here, professors mention the cruel or strange comments they have received in evaluations from students. The article definitely compliments what I mention about my relationship with one nasty class.

Just thinking about that awful class in writing “Rubric’s Cube” brought back a lot of memories. I had a really cute and clever title and a great example of a horrendous experience that taught me to be better organized and put some time into my classes. With the adjunct lifestyle, this can be quite a challenge, but the customers, I mean students, can be merciless. They may not know if a professor is an adjunct or full-time. Even if they do, they may not care. I never did, but I treated my teachers with respect when I was in college. Now that I’m on the other side, I must keep in mind that not all students are like me.

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career / science fiction / teaching — No Comments
6
Mar 09

Rubric’s Cube

cube1

I haven’t blogged, Twittered, or even Facebooked much lately. I got caught up in the Rubric‘s Cube.

In getting back into teaching this semester, I found that I needed to have a system or else I’d quickly sink. Students may not mind a teacher without structure in the beginning, but that soon gets old. If they become restless, students will eat the scattered professor alive.

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career / teaching — 5 Comments
24
Feb 09

We’ll Just Put The Books Anywhere!


Parker Posey as the accidental librarian in Party Girl.

Last week, I got started on a new career path. I just got accepted into the Master of Library and Information Science program at San Jose State University. I have contemplated applying ever since I was working after graduation from grad school, mainly because adjunct teaching is so unstable. Also, I like libraries a lot. I always have. I finally took action back in November and applied.
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