A day of sun and contemplation

My afternoon reading and snack - a banana, p-nut butter, and nutella.

Today was one of the warmest days of Spring and first glimpses of approaching Summer in Melbourne. This afternoon it was around 83 F and it felt fantastic. I committed to an afternoon of leisure reading in the backyard and had to put on sunscreen several times, the sun was scorching!  I've been told that the sun is relentless here and that daily sunscreen is a must. Luckily I am a sunscreen fanatic so I have plenty.

The other part of my title - contemplation - has also been a prominent element of my days lately. It is that time of year that job openings are being spread around email listservs and the time that I should be deciding my next career move. There are a surprising number of faculty positions open for developmental psychologists (me) but I'm not convinced that a faculty position the place for me, at least not right now. My advisors from UGA have also told me that they didn't think I was very competitive for a top tier university so they recommended either applying to smaller schools or looking for a post-doc (an in-between position after Phd and before being a professor). There are several postings for schools in the northeast, the midwest, or other countries but I don't want to move to any of those places. And I don't want to move somewhere I don't particularly like for a job that I don't particularly like. I have yet to see a posting that was even close to fitting my skills and interests in Florida.  As most of you know I am already applying for a post-doc at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD but it is a long shot and I should have back-up options. There is a faint, very very very faint, possibility that I could have a research position in a hospital in St. Petersburg but I'm not holding my breath for that one.

I'm terrified of spending even weeks unemployed when I get back to The States, much less months or longer. I have money saved, and will financially be fine, but I can't remember the last time I wasn't bringing in an income. I'm also not looking forward to living with my parents, even temporarily. As much as I love them, and the kids, and their dog Dewey,  I just can only handle living in a relatively small house with 5 people and 3 dogs for so long.

Every day that goes by I see on my to-do list "email potential jobs" telling myself that I should just start by applying to one or two positions, emailing people to create positions, and really just get the ball rolling. That has been on my to-do list for, oh I don't know, at least a month now. I know for those of you in my position I'm creating anxiety in you as you read this, sorry.

Alas, I think today is the day. I am aiming to write one complete cover letter and identify 5 potential places to send said cover letter in the next 5 hours. I'm hoping by the next time I post I can say I did it. In the meantime if you know anyone who is willing to just make these life decisions for me so that I don't have to, or perhaps wants to just give me money for no apparent reason, please send them my way.