Oh right, guess I should put that on my blog

I'm feeling slightly less panicked than my last post although the pressure is still keeping me up at night. But enough about that. During an email conversation with K.S. it came to my attention that, in my blogging absence, I have neglected to share some possibly good news.

Now, before I keep writing, the pessimist in me feels that it is prudent to warn my readers and myself that nothing is certain. Everything following this paragraph is all very up in the air and probably doesn't amount to much more than wishful thinking. That being said . . .

As I mentioned, funding is very tight in the world of science which is affecting everyone who relies on grant money to pay salaries and such. Because of this, there are few posted jobs in my field and I have taken the Balls Out approach of trying to find a job. The Balls Out method involves identifying relevant organizations, e-mailing them my CV, and basically praying that they're looking for someone. I've been sending out my unsolicited CV for several months now and so far I've mostly been ignored. I have gotten a few replies along the lines of "You sound awesome but we're broke. We will keep you in mind should something become available. Sorry." Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but not entirely unexpected.

And then, a little shining glimmer of hope, came a lone reply. . .

One of the places I contacted was Vanderbilt University. The director of the group that I'm interested in wrote me back several weeks after I first contacted her. To summarize, she didn't have the funding to support me currently but she did have several grants out for review. If the the grants were funded, she would be happy to have me (although I assume that I would have to pass some sort of interview but details, details . . .). She went on to say that she was negotiating with the Dean to try and create a post-doc position for me as a back-up option of funding.

In a brief email exchange yesterday she explained that she was still trying to find a position for me but that it is simply a matter of time before she'll be able to tell me anything for sure. So I wait.

While this potential position is very exciting, it also adds to the tension because there's a great deal of uncertainty. But still, even if it doesn't pan out, she at least wants to hire me and that is doing wonders for my self-esteem and level of motivation.

And just to keep everyone up to date, I've applied for positions in DC, Boston, and New York. I never thought I'd say this, but of the four cities, I think I'm most excited about Nashville. Go figure.