I was a good 25 minutes up the road when I realized I'd left my cell phone on the bathroom counter. After some self-condemnation (and swearing), I considered whether I could make the 90 mile journey from Sacramento to Chico without GPS*. I'll admit, it was really the opposing bumper-to-bumper traffic and not my navigational prowess that made the decision. If push came to shove, I could stop and ask for help, right?
Well, as it turns out, I maneuvered just fine and made it to California State University, Chico with no trouble. Except the bitter pain of not having my camera phone to document the process of becoming a Wildcat. (Squeal!)
After filling out a ream's worth of HR forms, saying cheese for an ID card, and buying a parking permit, I am now officially a tenure track** assistant professor at Chico State! (!!!).
And I'm sad that I don't have a single snap to share, not even of my beautiful sea foam-meets-mint chip office (with a window!). Or the rooster that guards the parking lot. Or the gorgeous leafy green campus and cute downtown. Next trip, for sure.
In the mean time, I'm busy prepping classes and counting minutes until the first day of school. Ah!
xoxo,
shawna
* To those of you who say "But it's basically a straight shot!" let me remind you that I once got lost for hours on the way home from the Phoenix airport, pre-smart phone.
** Tenure track means being on a path toward tenure, which is a protected/almost permanent position. These jobs are thin on the ground and stupidly competitive. Yours truly was on the academic job market for three cycles before landing a job, and it feels like winning the lottery.Labels: assistant, California State University, career, Chico, Chico State, communication arts and sciences, organizational communication, personal, professor, tenure track, Wildcat, work/life
