update

Hey Folks...
Sorry things have been too crazy to update. Perhaps I would have if it weren't for the fact my computer (well, my advisor's) computer broke. So I have literally done no work this week and even had Audrey reading me my emails over the phone. We are getting the computer situation fixed but of course that requries time I don't have. So I've been "off the grid" :)

To catch you up on the basics: Today I am in Asheville visiting friends I haven't seen in months. Aud is in Spokane. I drove the 6 hrs from Charlottesville, VA to here yesterday, through snow-covered and moon-lit mountains. The interview (at UVA) went fairly well, but I'm afraid they might be too psychoanalytic for my tastes.

The day before (thurs) I was in Boone, NC... driving the 4 hours from Knoxville to there (which should have been 3 if it weren't for the major snow falling)... and I LOVED Boone. I just felt at home. The people were amazing, the landscape even more so, and their counseling center very well run! I also had an amazing sandwhich I've been going on and on about: it was ham and granny smith apples and cheddar cheese with a "special sauce". Delicious. Perhaps I am a little biased about App (my heart already belonging to the land and all)... but I swear I almost wanted to not like their program. That would be easier than getting attached at a time I really can't afford to get attached to anything-- between the randomness of my own process and the added variable of Audrey and her job uncertainty.

Wed. (this is like telling my week in reverse): I was in Knoxville to teach and catch up on other things. So far my class seems like a good bunch, though our space this semester is certainly sub-par compared to the nicer room I had before.

Tues. I was at GA State in Atlanta, where I decided I would not really want to work. The atmosphere was very stressful and the interns seemed unhappy. I didn't feel their program was very well run. The rather disappointing day was saved, however, as Audrey drove up to visit. We went out to dinner at a delicious restaurant-- the Flying Biscuit-- sharing an amazing chicken sandwhich and generous protions of buscuit and southern-style macaroni and cheese (which I long for so much after Gran's death). And then we went to a book store where Audrey promptly continued her obsession with oragami. It was a great little break where we pretended we weren't both stressed about our larger job situations.

Monday I began the whole interview week at Emory, and I enjoyed their counseling center... especially appreciating its laid back atomosphere, and the diverse staff (I would probably be in the minority there, as a white girl). I like that. Also I should mention that Emory offers same-sex benefits for partners, so Aud could be on my health insurance. That's a plus.

Meanwhile, I have done three phone interviews: Idaho State didn't seem to go that well. They were so silent on the other end, so cold and unresponsive... it left me feeling more anxious and jumbled. So I'm not convinced I did well, or even if I would want to work with such folks. An in-person visit may clarify that in the future.

Washington State U and West Virginia University (phone interviews) were much better-- both very nice folks on the other end who seemed like they had some active listening skills at least, so taht I wasn't left with the silence of a potential abyss through the phone lines. So those two schools are still on my "good list"...

My "bad list" at this point is potentially Idaho, definitely the Johnson City VA and the GA State Counseling Center.

My good list is App and Emory and maybe Wash State U or West Virginia... not sure until I meet them. I am waiting to book my flight out west depending on whether Aud is in love with their church, you know? Because neither of us are hot about moving so far away from our family, but I told her I'd be willing to give it a shot if she loved the job... like she fit with them and such.

Maybe all this "good list" "bad list" sounds crazy and excessively comparative... but remember in 3 weeks I have to rank order all these schools from 1 to 12 essentially, and hope to God they rank me and I end up somewhere in my top 3 (of course I would prefer my top 1!)... so rather than be overwhelmed with the task of linearizing/numbering my thoughts at the end I'm trying to kind of keep them in order now and revise as I go along.

Next week: in-person interviews at: UT Knoxville and Va Tech. Phone interviews at: Akron, OH and OSU and potentially Uni of South Carolina. I had to cancel my in-person interview at U of SC at the last minute because of scheduling issues. This is not uncommon, I am told.

In the fun world:
Aud and I had a BLAST at Beech Mtn. Awesome time had by all. And it was so meaningful for me that she got to meet some family folks she hadn't yet met-- Uncle David, Aunt Margie and their two kids, plus Ginger (my grandmother's best friend since childhood). Needless to say, everyone was very cool and welcoming of Aud. Plus they like her. :) Which is always good...

The funniest moment for me was when Brendan-- my 10-year old cousin who is the soccer star, etc-- saw Aud playing volleyball and came up to me to give his highest possible complement: "wow-- your girlfriend is really athletic." :) I told Aud-- that means a lot coming from Brendan, who plays soccer, basketball, and baseball and wants to go to the Olympics. :)