So, 5 things.

1. I seem to be going through a post-tenure burnout/depression period.  Yes, it’s a thing. A thing that I am currently experiencing. My particular manifestation is keeping me from taking as much pleasure in successes as I would like, or not trusting them, and not really knowing what happens next.  The tenure track (and the path to getting on it) is a fairly rigid, proscribed thing. At my institution, I had a list of specifications and goals for tenure that were basically a set of ticky-boxes. It’s quite satisfying to tick off those boxes, and feel like you’ve accomplished something. Post-tenure is (right now) this nebulous, blobby thing that is fairly undefined beyond “please, don’t let me ossify” in tension with “sweet crickets, I’m tired.”

I’m talking about this because I think it’s important. When you’re goal-oriented (as I am), and you achieve that major professional goal, it’s a bit of a smack in the face when you realize that the achievement didn’t automatically make you happier. More secure, yes. But I’m going to be working my way towards happier, once I figure out what that looks like.

This may involve marathoning True Blood and eating things that aren’t very good for me. I am also publicly recommitting to my exercise program (such as it is) to compensate for the marathons that are bound to happen soon.

It likely also involves sitting down and having a good think about what I want the next part of my career to look like. I have a couple of things that I need to put together for the IMLS Digital POWRR grant (like, say, my SAA talk) in the next few weeks, but I’m going to spend some time not taking on additional things until I figure out who I want to be now that I’m all grown up.

2. Good news! The Verity! Podcast is nominated for 2 Parsec Awards! We are nominated for  Best New Speculative Fiction Podcaster/Team and Best Speculative Fiction Fan or News Podcast (Specific).

This is AWESOME. I have so much fun doing this podcast, and it’s wonderful to see it (and my co-conspirators) recognized.

3. I finally saw Pitch Perfect for the first time last night. ERMAGEHRD. I absolutely ADORED it. To the point where I’m grumpy that I didn’t manage to see it before this. Yes, friends (most of whom were non-local) absolutely told me it was relevant to my interests.  I did not listen.  And I was wrong. 

4. Brouhaha of the day: The American Historical Association put out a statement that they thought all dissertations should be embargoed for SIX YEARS. This made me facepalm. Barbara Fister  and Kevin Smith do a much better job of explaining why I facepalmed than I could.

5. There is no #5 that I can think of, so here, have an article from Tor.com about how John Barrowman kisses all your favorite people.