Huh?

About ten minutes ago I stuck my head in Mr. Squirrel's office to say hello.

He's busy, fine. As I'm leaving - because he's so busy - I suddenly get:

Him: "Why do you study gender and sexuality?"*
Me: Uh... I started studying it in my Master's program, and I still do...
Him: "Right, but why?"

Apparently in 30 seconds or less, I'm supposed to explain this to my partner of six years? He's too busy working on lecture notes to give me the time of day, but this we can cover? Because apparently he hasn't been paying attention for.... six years?

Then suddenly he's saying how odd it is that I discuss these issues on the phone with my parents and my siblings. Right, because the first two weeks of a new semester, no one on the face of the earth discusses the topics their classes are covering. Especially not on the phone, with family. And especially not when members of the family also teach university.

[* I figure it's pretty obvious I teach about gender issues... since it's just a sub-field in what I do, it's not really that compromising, identity-wise.]

Vibes needed...

In a couple days, Mr. Squirrel has an on-campus interview for a tenure-track job about four hours away.

I have no idea what we would do, if he got this job. It's close enough that I could stay here and teach, if my chair would give me a Tu-W-Th schedule and a contract... I'm not opposed to renting a studio (or a room) and spending two or three nights a week by myself.