Happy birthday to AV! I’m sure glad he was born! 
Since Lilly arrived things have been very dog-centric, and not just on the blog. We’re both having a hard time separating our general being from being dog owners. What’s needed is a clear rhythm for walking, feeding, etc., and AV has effectively established one. It will have to adjust a good deal once school starts in earnest (a mere three weeks away … thanks, Democrats!). I hope I’m up to the task.
In the rest of my life, things are chugging along. I’ve put together a document I’m calling a “PhD Prospectus.” It’s out for evaluation right now with various interested parties who will help me to determine whether or not PhD is a reasonable step for me. As my advisor explained, the investment in a PhD program is – especially now – no guarantee for a permanent tenure-track position somewhere. I’m keenly aware of the number of applicants out there for tenure-track jobs. I will have to do something wholly remarkable to keep myself in the fray. Of course, there’s that small matter of getting into a program, first.
It seems like the last three years (and yes, three years will have passed since that first, hugely disappointing first round of applications) haven’t shown much in the way of the process changing. I’m a much different applicant now, though. I have more skills, more publications, and just a better sense of the process. None guarantee anything, though, and so the risk is great.
I am not restrained by much, but the choices we make as we get older are much different and cast different shadows than a similar choice would have eight years ago. That’s a dark thought for a sunny day, but it’s continually looming over my work as a teacher and a thinker. I’m expecting that I’m going to hit a wall here, and a PhD program would be helpful in terms of innovating – not just the content of an intro class, but how to teach that well. My practical life almost requires this next step, and I don’t want to be an adjunct for the rest of my life.
What PhD programs/schools are you looking at?
Overall it’s still very vague – I have an advisor who’s connected with people on committees, and so she’s suggesting a kind of staged process. She’s talked with the people she knows about the state of admissions (i.e., what I need to have in order to be a competitive candidate). We’re working in a kind of piece-meal fashion, so the next step will be to evaluate my personal statement and writing sample against students she’s worked with that are in the most competitive programs (SUNY Stonybrook, Boston College, etc.). She’s taking an interesting approach – it’s very hands on, and I appreciate it!