Chat Radioactif Part Deux

Part I is here.

Yes, for the second time in our five Canadian years, we have a radioactive cat. Ya-Ya was diagnosed with hyperthyroid this summer, but we couldn’t get him in to the vet before we went to Australia. This would have been ideal for us, as we wouldn’t have had to live cat-free for a week as we are now. Children were looking for him at last night’s chair reception for faculty and staff and we had to say he was on vacation. Watching TV is not the same without a cat. Neither is coming home, since Ya-Ya always comes to greet us (Tet did too back in the day). It’s weird. But on the upside, apart from the hyperthyroid, he’s in good health, and Tet lived for like 18 months after the procedure (and wasn’t in as good health to start with). So we are optimistic.

The main difference from the last time is that we now get pictures, and I know that you don’t caption cat pictures on the internet with word balloons. You caption them like lolz.

Still need Canadian help, but now I can accept it.

First, apologies to those who tried to comment on the last post and couldn’t. I accidentally checked a box that is now unchecked in the control panel, so please, Canadians, I still need your help. How can I, a nonvoter, help prevent a conservative majority?

I don’t have a lot to say about the beginning of term except that my summer was so good I think I forgot how intense it is to be a chair. There is just a neverending stream of sensory input from all angles. All of my cleverness is being funneled into a SSHRC application today, so in lieu of something better from me, I am reprinting an email exchange in the form of a confession. There are some ways in which we will never be fully Canadian.

Hey Greg:

Under pre-NFL season conditions, I would say yes to this fine idea. But Sundays are all about the NFL for us – NFL Sunday ticket and all. This is one way in which we are both unashamedly American in our preference of football; I think I can safely speak for Jonathan here too.

We’ve been wanting to see an Alouettes game since we moved here as well. Are all the games on Sunday afternoons? If so, there’s simply no choice for me to make. The NFL will always win, even if I must choose televised over live.

–Carrie

On 9/7/08 10:55 PM, “Gregory Taylor” wrote:

Hey football-loving profs.
Mike Baker and I were thinking of going to an Alouettes game on Sept 21 (I think it’s against Edmonton but I’m not sure). You can get tickets for about $25 and I haven’t been to one since I moved here. We thought we’d see if you two might be interested. Might be a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon. If we get enough there might be a group rate.

Think about it. Hope you guys had a good weekend.
greg

Election Season Squared

After watching little bits of the Republican convention (okay, more Daily Show than convention), I can say that I am excited for the candidate debates, especially the vice-presidential debates. To be honest, it is not a high-minded political excitement, but more akin to the excitement I feel about the NFL’s opening Sunday today. Will my Steelers do alright with a weakened offensive line? Can the Vikings’ defense stuff Ryan Grant? How hilarious is it that Chad Johnson actually, legally changed his name to “Chad Ocho Cinco” so that his jersey can carry his nickname? (As one friend put it, that’s commitment to the joke.) Will Sarah Palin’s one-liners and “aw shucks” populism overcome Joe Biden’s actual knowledge of federal government? Will McCain’s specific town-hall style catch Obama out on one of his fancy “hope” routes? It’s all the same. I know what teams I’m rooting for, I know their strengths and weaknesses and I know the outcome I want.

The Canadian election, which was called today, is a little more complicated. I know I don’t want another 4 years of Harper. I know the Liberals are something of a sham, but they are likely to do less damage to the backbones of Canadian society — education, the arts, healthcare, and yes the economy — than the Conservatives will. The only problem is that they’ve foolishly picked as their leader a Francophone man who is widely reviled in Quebec and not a big vote-getter out west either. But he’s a loyal party insider! And one of the insane things about Canadian politics is that parties pick their leaders without consulting their electorates. Meanwhile, in my electoral district, Papineau, Justin Timberl. . . I mean, Justin Trudeau is running against Vivian Barbot of the Bloc Quebecois. We’ve got the white guy pretty boy son of the former prime minister whose main claim to fame is fame, and we’ve got a black woman who is pretty righteous on most issues, apart from the fact that she is very strongly in favor of independence (as is always the case with the Bloc). And this electoral district is actually contested. It would be a tough call for me, since a Liberal gain is one more crack in the Conservative edifice and a Liberal minority government is my only realistic hope at the moment. On the other hand, as an opposition party, the Bloc is much closer to me on most issues.

Of course, it’s all hypothetical. I will not be eligible for dual citizenship until sometime in 2009. I would really like to vote in this election, as it will likely affect me in all sorts of concrete ways. I can feel it now, I just can’t officially do anything about it yet.

Applying for a Job When You Have One

Tenured Radical is also in the academic advice business, and has a wonderful post on applying for a job when you already have one. I started writing a comment and it got so long, I thought I’d just post it here.

WHY NOT TO USE LETTERHEAD. I actually don’t think people should use their current institution’s letterhead when applying for a new job (most of the time). You are, after all, selling yourself and trying to separate yourself from the institution where you work. The letterhead is a reminder for the committee of where you’re at and doesn’t necessarily confer any advantage: either you’re at a “good” place (please note ironic scarequotes) and they wonder if you’re really serious about leaving (or why you are) or you’re at a “bad” place and therefore get no points for being there. Also, you’re applying as a person, not a functionary of the institution (as opposed to using the same letterhead for a recommendation). Basically, I think it’s the “don’t use letterhead for personal business” rule; don’t do it for the same reason you don’t dispute suspicious charges to your credit card on letterhead.

THE STORY OF WHY YOU WANT TO MOVE: I think the #1 rule is simply to speak in positive terms — why you are excited about the new opportunity and place and what you hope to accomplish there. The less you say about where you are (beyond the standard “I am currently an assistant professor at such and such a school”, generally speaking, the better.

IS IT UNETHICAL TO APPLY FOR ANOTHER JOB WHEN YOU HAVE ONE? No, never, unless you are actively deceiving someone about something. No matter how much capital people spent to get you to a place, it is a market, you are absolutely entitled to test it any time you want and for any reason. Of course, you can’t keep approaching your institution for counteroffers, and I don’t recommend going on the market frivolously (if you’re not serious about it, there is really no point and a lot of damage to be done) but those are other issues. Colleagues may be mad that you applied for another job, but they are either naive or they resent that you have the possibility to move (either because of your life situation or the quality of your work).

NEGOTIATING LEAVES AND TENURE CLOCKS: These issues totally depend on a) the school and b) how badly they want you. In a unionized environment there may be strict rules about progress toward tenure. McGill’s nonunionized environment also offers no flexibility on sabbaticals, for instance. Elsewhere, it may be up for grabs and a lot depends on the attitude of the chair and the dean. My attitude is always that once a person is a legitimate candidate for tenure, it’s wise to tenure the person. Of course the downside of early tenure for the candidate is the increased service expectation post-tenure.