Interview with the Tower

Folks, the ivory tower is not just an obscure "progressive metal" band (thank you, Google, for enlightening me and providing the cover of their 1998 album, seen at left). It's also a pejorative term for the academic way of life. I hope to one day be in the tower for good.

Today (in a few minutes) will be my closest brush so far with securing a tenure-track job in academia. A medium-sized University in the Midwest is looking to hire someone like me, and the chair of the search committee will be calling this morning to conduct a phone interview with me. I anticipate that this could lead to an invitation for a more formal interview on campus, but that's getting ahead.

So, I'm sitting here, waiting, not drinking too much caffeine, putting off some things that I would like to get done today (including a long drive to pick up the poster that I had printed for tomorrow's local conference), getting ready to take notes, composing my questions for the chair, and wondering how things will turn out. I'm pretty sure that I will eventually find a position, but precisely how is one of those things which is incalculable. I will simply have to wait and see. A phone interview, though, is a good start.