Our hero finds herself unsure of the future, and thinking that unemployment might not be so bad...

So, my research job here in Victoria is almost over. It's been a great learning experience and has been a nice break from my own research. The prof I am working with here is great (my mentor) and we seem to work really well together. The project is not finished, but I hope I have given him at least some foundational work that he can then build on.

I don't really feel like I've been here. I've been on the move basically every 3 weeks since I got here, with my defense, giving papers, job interviews, etc. But in any case, as is the state of my life at the moment, I've been able to get a lot of work done, visit some people, and enjoy the West Coast life (although this last one not nearly as much as I would have liked). So what's next on the cards for the Ancient Historian? Well, I will be heading back to St Andrews to graduate in two weeks. I will then be staying over in the UK for the summer for two weddings, a conference, a trip to Italy, and hopefully some other adventures, although I am hoping to stay in one place for more than 3 weeks at a time. I plan to use the time to finish the article I'm currently working on and I've just been asked to review a book for the Classical Review so I guess I'll be working on that as well.

As for September, I don't have a job yet, and there are fewer and fewer options in the pipeline. If something doesn't come up, it sounds like I'll be moving in with my sister and her husband. As much as I am not looking forward to not having an academic job, I think the little break might be good for me. I'm hoping to get a new revised draft of my PhD thesis done so I can start sending it to publishers. I can also work on a couple of other articles so that when the next set of jobs come out, I'll be ready! I may try and pick up some temp work somewhere just to feed myself and start paying off my student loan, but we'll see. All I really want to do is teach so this little road bump is a little frustrating, but the Ancient Historian will persevere.