As requested...

As implored by Gavin's Aunt Laura, I write to give the latest updates.

Last weekend Nicole had to go to Salt Lake City for a conference for work and so Gavin and I partied all weekend like it was 1999. Well, at least neither one of us really slept, so it felt like New Year's Eve 1999.

He started to get a bit congested on Saturday evening when Nikki left, and from Saturday to Sunday I saw every hour the clock offered...many of them I was lucky enough to see twice! Sunday night he slept, but only for an hour and a half, followed by a 2 hour 2-4am fussiness-party (not nearly as enjoyable as said New Year's Eve...though as frustrating as the hangover the next day), and then we had another 1.5 hour bout o'sleep (thankfully). His mother returned late Monday evening and saved us both.

Despite his not feeling well, Gavin handled Nikki's not being here like a champ. Well, I think he at least fared better than his mother.

Beyond that, life if fairly uneventful...well, at least no food poisoning this week. Thank goodness!

Though I should mention that we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of another of Gavin's cousins as Travis and Sherry are expecting any day now. So, aside from working frantically to finish my dissertation (and then defend it), we wait patiently for news of the new addition to our extended family.

Guests, Food Poisoning, and A Trip Out West: what a week

My extended absence from posting has been the combined result of a serious battle with food poisoning and a 4 day excursion to San Francisco...but we'll get to those things in due time.

On March 6th, Nancy and Joe came for their latest visit. Aside from just wanting to come down, they had specifically planned to be here and give Nikki a hand with Gavin while I was in San Francisco--which is something we really appreciated.

On March 7th, we all went out to lunch at Moe's in downtown Clemson. I was the only one who ordered the pork on my burrito...and lucky me, I ordered double meet! Four hours later, the initial grumblings began. An hour after that, severe stomach pain. After that, my body began to expel everything. At one point, I think I saw the rear tires off a Hotwheel's car I accidentally swallowed when I was 8 years old. I believe the saying is "turning oneself inside out." A few hours later, Nikki and I ended up at the emergency room: uncontrollable shakes, difficult breathing, numbness in limbs--all sure signs you should probably go to ER. Roughly about 5 am we made our way back home, with most of the symptoms under control. Luckily, because Nancy and Joe were here, Gavin didn't have to go to the hospital with us...no need exposing him to that kind of infestation. So, of all the times to get food poisoning, this was, I guess, "opportune."

Slept most of the day March 8. Liquids only--and limitedly so.

Began recovering well March 9. Crackers and a sandwich!!! Felt not so great that night.

March 10 went to work. Marginally better.

March 11 drove to Charlotte to fly to San Francisco. Right up until I boarded the plane, I debated cancelling the trip and returning home . But, upon landing in San Francisco, I started feeling noticeably better and got better each day during my stay out there--good thing I didn't have to do my presentation until Saturday.

Took the "red eye" home from SF on March 14/15. Got back in time to have breakfast with Nancy, Joe, Nikki, and Gavin before returning to Greenville airport with them so they could fly home.

It was, to say the least, quite a whirlwind past several days.

Aside from my dramatics, I think everyone else had a fairly enjoyable visit. Nancy and Joe even spent several days in a row as Gavin's daytime care provider. I'm not quite sure who had the most fun in that exchange...I think everyone learned some new tricks.

Pseudo Press Release: "We know where we're moving in the fall"

Though some of you already know the news, I figured it was time to officially issue a statement (a pseudo press-release) as to where Nikki, Gavin, and I will be moving next academic year. And though the manufactured picture (above) may give it away, let me first set the scene a bit.

Like any other job market right now, there were significantly more applicants "on the market" than positions (and things don't seem to be improving any time soon, for any "markets"). During the job-search process this year, which included a fairly extensive number of applications, there were several university who simply had to cancel their searches because of financial issues. There were also a few others who, while not having cancelled their searches, have officially postponed them. I even heard of schools "pre-offering" a position to candidates only to learn later of budget cuts that forced them to rescind those offers. In my own case, I had an invitation to interview at a campus in Louisiana and but they had to put it on hold because of a "University budget freeze." Also, because of various state's budget issues, many universities are waiting to see how the Obama-Stimulus will help, which may or may not allow them to continue their searches—which, at this point, are not officially cancelled, nor officially postponed, but rather just seem to be on pause.

Taking all these factors together, we were happy to be offered a job at all in this given economic climate. But for the position we were offered to be what many in my field consider to be "the" position this year, it really is unbelievable for us to have this opportunity.

As such, later this summer Nikki, Gavin, and I will be moving to Lance Armstrong's hometown, also the city where Office Space was filmed, also the title of a song by Blake Shelton, and also the state capital of Texas. . .

. . .

. . .

Austin.

I have accepted a position with the Department of Rhetoric and Writing (DRW) at the University of Texas. Not only is it a top 15 university, academically, but it is also home to the Longhorns—a college sport juggernaut! (Including Heisman runner-up Colt McCoy and potentially next year's college football National Champions—though, to be sure, we will have to wait and see about the latter as I still hold out hope for the Clemson Tigers. It is, I believe, the curse of "bleeding Clemson orange.")

In terms of a potential career path, it is hard to top the DRW at Texas. That alone is enough to make one want to accept the position. But their faculty went out of their way to make sure we knew that we were wanted there and that we knew they cared about us making the right decision for us—not just about making a decision in their favor. It seems a small thing, but it was such an important gesture for us.

While these factors, of course, do not move Austin any closer to home, it does make our choice seem to be the right one for us at this point in our lives. And while we are moving further away, in terms of geography, this move actually makes us closer in terms of air travel (as there is a decent sized airport in Austin which has direct flights [on Southwest, among others] to/from St. Louis. Thus, no more of the 2+ hour drive to and from Atlanta, nor even the hour-long trek over to the Greenville/Spartanburg airport).

We don't know what awaits us in Texas, but we know with your continued love and support we can make the most of this opportunity. Of course, the irony is that even though we are moving further away, we should have more opportunities for visits (and to visit for longer periods of time). Such is the way of these things I guess.