Dear Family and Friends,
Please stop telling me that you are so envious of me and my long holiday. Please stop congratulating me on having so much free time that I must not know what to do with myself. Please stop saying that you wish you were lucky enough to be a teacher so you, too, could have a month off and thus could finish all your christmas shopping early, bake loads of holiday cookies, decorate your house, and generally embrace the holiday spirit with gusto.
Remember all the previous times when I have informed you that, actually, I am busiest and most stressed out over my “holidays” because those are the times I have to squeeze in a massive amount of intellectual work — much of it excruciatingly painful and difficult — in order to keep my job? Remember when I explained to you about this thing called “tenure” that is looming in my near future and what I told you about anxiety attacks, insomnia, depression, therapy, and high alcohol consumption? Remember that?
Now double it and you’ll have some sense of the “holiday” before me.
Thanks, BSG
7 comments
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December 19, 2008 at 3:04 am
undine
If this works and they stop saying all that long holiday stuff, you should get an award for being the first academic in history to explain this in a way that sticks.
December 19, 2008 at 3:02 pm
cliobluestocking
Amen!
December 19, 2008 at 3:12 pm
disenchanted
No doubt. I still have trouble convincing them that I actually *work* more than 12 hours a week.
December 19, 2008 at 4:21 pm
the rebel lettriste
Word. My “long holiday” involves: driving 30 hours to see my long distance partner; grading 100 papers/exams and submitting my grades; revising and resubmitting an article; developing a new syllabus for a course I haven’t taught; reading the primary texts for aforesaid course; reading through and formulating questions based on 20 job applications replete withe 40 page writing samples; traveling across the continent to MLA and helping to interview said applicants; locating expensive dog care for days of MLA in now booked NYC; oh, and then also, developing a book proposal. Soooooo RELAXING!
December 19, 2008 at 9:57 pm
pocha
Indeed. Try adding one two-year-old and one closed preschool to the mix and you have the stew that I have to eat for the next two weeks. Lord.
December 20, 2008 at 3:03 pm
bsgirl
Seriously, maybe we need to create a form letter on thick paper embossed with holiday designs (a little holly dancing in the corner?) that explains the reality of the holidays for us overworked, underpaid, underappreciated academics. Then, we can send them to all of our relatives/ non-ac friends and shut them the hell up.
December 24, 2008 at 6:30 am
Notorious Ph.D.
Word.
On the other hand, I’ve become less inclined to bitch over the last few months, as more and more people will be starting the new year without a job. Ramp-up to tenure is a bitch (verdict is still out on my file), and I’m bound to be spending my “holiday” answering (or avoiding answering) frantic e-mails from students who had no idea that they were headed for an F in the course. But I have a new sense of how fortunate I am to have a job at all.
And my family has become accustomed to me not seeing them, even though I have a full month of “vacation” — Finals until the 19th, grading for the next week, conference around New Year’s… then planning for the next semester. Gah.
On the other hand, I’ll be cleaning the apartment any day now, and that will be nice.