Big Changes

Life is full of changes.  I have come to the conclusion that while I prefer to be in control and make my mind up to make changes, sometimes the changes that are forced on you are necessary and most helpful.  For instance, I MADE the decision to take control of my weight issues and have gastric sleeve surgery.  That has gone remarkably well for me and I would make the decision again and again if needed.  Another example of my consciously deciding to change my life was when I decided I didn't want to work as a CPA any longer.  I quit my job and went back to school and then went on to get a PhD in Immunology.  That made my life better in so many ways: I moved away from sitting at a desk all day, I no longer felt guilty about making the rich richer while I continued to get poorer, I discovered that my marriage was a big part of why I was miserable and moved on from that, and I get to feel like I make a difference in peoples' lives.

That being said, I am not all butterflies and happiness.  My goal, in having obtained my PhD, was to qualify me to teach at the university level.  That has not happened and it is starting to make me a bit miserable.  About 8 months ago, we found out that we only had funding until the end of June (guaranteed).  At that time, I was convinced that I would be without a job as of June, so I started sending out applications for positions that I would be interested in.  As it goes, I felt I needed to open as many doors as possible, so I decided to apply for a couple Accounting Professorships, just to test the waters and see how that would fly.  After all, I am still technically a CPA, just not licensed.

As life would have it, I got a very excited contact from a recruiter at Saginaw Valley State University.  He said that he was very impressed with my CV and would really love to consider hiring me, but because of their accreditation, I would need to write and publish 2 peer-reviewed research papers in very short order.  As it is, I have started those papers, but I knew I wasn't going to meet the deadline.  And as life would have it again, my current boss decided to take a position with Johns Hopkins University and asked that I consider going with him.

This is where things get interesting.  Last week, the recruiter sent me a link to a Postdoctoral Bridge to Business Program.  This program, set up by the AACSB to fill the need for business professors, is a short-term program that gives the equivalent of an accounting PhD to the person who finishes the class.  I applied on a whim and was accepted the NEXT DAY!  I had an inkling that the reason he sent it was because this would make me eligible for hiring without actually publishing the papers first.  I was right.  However, they have made an offer to another person in the meantime.  He doesn't think she will accept the position, but I now have to wait and see if she does.  I have confirmed that the salary is enough for me to make the switch back to accounting and he thinks they should be able to help me with the cost of the program.  But I need the information in the next 2 weeks.  Arrrgh!

Enough of that, Here are my milestones this week:  As of Saturday, I have officially lost 140 pounds!  Less than 60 to go!  Here is a picture of a sweater tank that I finished this weekend.  I like it a lot and I think I will make a few more for my summer wardrobe.