Facebook, which is so old that it was becoming big while I was still physically housed in Wisconsin, appears to be making the rounds of certain social circles of mine, so now I'm adding friends after having signed up and not doing anything with it. So, feel free to befriend me. Unless you are a troll.
BTW, I got a conditional acceptance on a manuscript from AJS today. I told someone about it today and they said, "You should post that on your blog, so that people don't think you are incompetent like that [reference to my recent troll] thinks." I'm not sure which of the troll's recent accusations prompted this, but perhaps the claim that I owed whatever occupational success I have had to "diversity" initiatives (whatever else might be said for being a white male, I thought I was supposed to be exempt from having to deal with accusations of that). Anyway, beyond reveling in hilarious blurbs, I am much more comfortable on here recounting the more screw-up and screwball parts of myself than whatever parts may, from time to time and for who-knows-what reasons, end up working out okay. Can we just have an understanding that episodes I present on my blog should not necessarily be taken as a exhaustive or especially representative sample of the entirety of my life? Yes, I realize this will do little to assuage those friends who think this blog is a longrunning ruinous exercise in self-destructive professional self-presentation.
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2 comments:
I think as long as you are conscious that others are reading your blog -- outside your known circles of friends and relatives -- you are already halfway there.
People find their way from other blogrolls that have linked you; you don't need a personal invite like on friendster. It gets to be more a routine -- like flipping through the morning papers, I think.
If you're aware that people reading here have no knowledge of you outside of the stories you tell, you can probably better shape your blog persona. I bet a lot of NU students will find your blog, and get to know you here before they can assess your teaching methods.
The "boy detective" professor persona will probably become funnier as they grow to know you in person. It's kind of a risk you take blogging under your own name, and including self-deprecatory stories of your flubs. But no doubt it has helped you make connections thus far (I think you've written on this), so I wouldn't go changing anything based on the opinions of people who only know you from reading here.
That NU job is tenured, right? And readers will always have opinions based on the stories read. Maybe lighten up, and don't fear your unknown readers so much?
Oh, and learn to lay out your clothes the night before and set an alarm clock? KIDDING! Even unknown readers like to give helpful advice you know. It will keep you from having an early heart attack dealing with America's service people (and I don't mean soldiers and Marines.)
Good luck Jeremy. I for one am glad you haven't password-protected this site. (Used to get a kick out of reading 'dorotha' too!) It really is a funny tale you're weaving here, but I for one do accept it as a tale, not a documentary of your life. Gotta go. Other blogs to quickly peruse before the rest of the world is up and at it...
CONGRATS (on AJS, that is!)!!! I'm jealous.
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