Overwhelmed. But happy.

I feel like I owe you all several posts. I spent last week in New Orleans at my annual theatre conference and had some truly unforgettable experiences, as well as taking on some new responsibilities. I plan to write more about that this weekend.

The big news: I have a new job! Except I'm still in my old job... Well, here's the set-up: I am the new interim director of the campus language and technology center. The former director got promoted elsewhere in the system. She has a few months of leave without pay to see how the new job works out, and then she'll let the deans know whether she plans to return here. If not, a national search ensues for her replacement. If she comes back, it will probably be either at semester or at the end of the academic year.

Thus, my bosses needed to find someone to perform the essential duties of the position who was willing and VERY flexible schedule-wise in terms of end dates for the position. Thus, I am now working mornings in the deans' office at my old job, and afternoons at the center in my new job. Coverage is a bit problematic but they plan to hire someone half-time by next week to cover the deans' office phones in the afternoons.

As part of my new job, I have a staff of three people, one of whom supervises a language resource library with a staff of about 20. I have a staff! I've gone from being the person who makes copies to the person who has copies made for me! You should have seen the look on the program assistant's face when I asked him what my copy code was for the machine. He said, "Well, usually, you ask me and I make your copies." Wow. Also working at the center are an IT professional who keeps all the computers and equipment healthy, and a tech specialist who's really a language and pedagogy person. I'm going to learn a lot about foreign language instruction, staff supervision, budget structures, and so forth as a result; this is really a great opportunity for me.

The eventual hope is that if the former person does stay in her new job, I'll be able to transition into a lab-only position for the rest of the year and work, say, 8-2:30 and then go pick up the bug. I'll keep you all posted but wanted you to know that all your thoughts and prayers on my behalf have been very helpful in my recent job search. I'll still be on the market for a job for next year, but this gives me a great set of experiences in the meantime.