So we made it through the whole week! Most importantly, Oliver's surgery went well. But the rest of the week was pretty exciting, too.
First things first -- how is Oliver? He is doing really well! We were able to take him home that day. Which seemed great at the time, but at about 3 a.m. seemed like a horrible idea. He woke up with such a scratchy, wheezy throat that we almost took him to the emergency room. It was probably from the breathing tube that they used during surgery, but it just sounded so bad. But since he was able to eat, I figured his airway must be clear. So we waited it out and he was fine. We also realized, thanks to my mom, that the Oxycontin pain medication they prescribed was unnecessary since he has no feeling below his knees. Thank goodness I only gave him one dose before we realized this. So he has been med-free since Thursday night and he seems to be fine. It's always a little disappointing to get more confirmation that he really has no feeling down there. Of course I know it to be true, but sometimes wonder if maybe they were wrong and that he has a little sensation. I think that this proves beyond a doubt that he doesn't. But he is healthy, alert, and suffering no side-effects of anesthesia, so I proclaim the surgery a huge success!! Of course, one cast seems to be sliding down already, so I suspect our two-week follow up might turn into a one-week visit.
Wednesday I had my Penn State interview, which I think went really well. It was at the Abington College campus, which is located in Eastern PA., about an hour from our house. It is a beautiful campus. It was once an elite women's college attended by Amelia Earhart, among others. It is a much smaller school than I am used to. Although it is part of the Penn State system, it is also sort of a stand alone school. I would liken it maybe to Rutgers Camden (but probably safer). So the academic rigor isn't as great, but they are really nice people who seem interested in letting whoever they hire (me! me!) develop a good research agenda as well as teach. I liked the people who did the interviewing, and they seemed to like me. I also had to teach a class on PR theory, which actually went really well. All in all it was a good day. They told me I can expect to hear back anywhere from next week through mid-January.
On my way home from Penn State, I got a call from Montclair State University. They said that I had made it to their short list and that they wanted to schedule a phone interview for FRIDAY! So of course I said yes, even though Friday was already packed with my pre-proposal presentation. But how could I turn down an interview? So Friday morning I "met" with 4 faculty members from Montclair State for a 30-minute phone interview. They are a bit of a bigger school with more of a research focus than Penn State Abington. They seem to follow the Rutgers model of expectations a lot more than Penn State. So more opportunity and a larger department of colleagues, but less time to develop my own interests and/or have down time with my family. I didn't get into a discussion of pay with them, but I suspect I could also make a bit more money there. Of course, I have to get the job first. They said that they would further narrow down their list, and get back to candidates in late January - mid-February. The interview went really well, but I think that not having my dissertation done might have counted against me, so I'm not sure what to expect. More waiting.
Finally, I had my pre-proposal presentation on Friday afternoon. Basically, I just presented what I have written so far of my dissertation in front of faculty and colleagues at school. Luckily, it was a small audience. As I watched the person before me struggle through her presentation and then get totally blasted with questions, I just sank lower and lower into my chair. I could sense no good presentation karma coming my way. I hadn't really had time to practice (at all!) and figured I was about to pay for it. But it wound up going really well. I was able to get through the presentation and answer any questions that people posed. I had one or two GLARING typos in my PowerPoint ("two" instead of "to" -- I don't even know how I did that!), but it worked out okay. So now I am onto the next phase of my dissertation. It's a sort of false milestone, kind of like graduating from Kindergarten, but still one that I needed to get through in order to get done. So now I'm on my way!
