After all my angst today, it would appear that the gods of academia are taking pity on me. Not only did my esteemed entry give me a lectureship for next year, but they gave me the class I really wanted to teach. Despite the fact that my work is based squarely on Western classical music, I have only ever taught world music courses. I like this, actually, as I�ve learned a lot and the methodology of the course suits me well � methodology is why my department chooses to classify me as an ethnomusicologist rather than a musicologist, a distinction, which I realize probably sounds meaningless outside of my field, but is anything but if you are in it. I will be teaching the basic intro to Western music course next spring. I really didn�t expect to get another class out of my department. I�d already had both a TA position and a lecture position � more than most people get.

I went to a college with no graduate students, so even the section leaders were faculty. Most of the people I know who went to university were always hoping NOT to get the grad student teachers. And my university is one that sells itself on access to real faculty. They don�t like to give out too many courses to grad students. And yet, we need to learn to teach. But the fact is, no one gets enough experience on campus alone. You have to be entrepreneurial about the whole venture.

I really feel like I�m stumbling through this whole process, trying to professionalize myself for something that feels deeply unprofessional in some ways (good ways, mostly). The logistics of preparing for an academic job search make writing a dissertation seem like a piece of cake (almost).

But I guess I�ll be teaching. I�m terrified and elated.

[This is my third self-absorbed entry today. Click back if you wish, or you may prefer to wait until I�ve regained my sense of humor.]

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