I Love Having Tenure and I Love My Colleagues (University-Wide)

I love having tenure because I wouldn't have the opportunity to serve in the way that I have in these meetings for the past days and into next week if I didn't. And, as I'm bleary-eyed with the service, I'll just put it out there: I'm the right lady for the job for when it comes to this service, and it's great that I have tenure so I feel comfortable doing it (and was even a candidate for doing it).

I love my colleagues across the university, i.e., the ones with whom I'm working closely for these meetings, because they're all so smart, so thoughtful, and so no-bullshit. I really do believe that we are doing work that is practical and positive and right-the-fuck-on.

I know this whole post is pollyanna-ish, and I do try to avoid that, but I love it when I'm accomplishing good things and when I have the experience of being able to feel that with people whom I respect and who have the same goals that I have. There have been no arguments or intrigues (which a slew of people insisted would be the case when I took on this assignment), and we are all working toward something that has the potential to be awesome. The only snag could be if somehow the awesome thing that we are producing doesn't actually make it to a public audience (which I think some other people want, for various reasons) but my little group here is pretty attuned to that and I know we're all people who are willing to fight to get our proposal an audience. We care as well as being practical as well as being a really freaking smart collection of people, with different areas of expertise that are contributing to some pretty awesome - and implementable - ideas.

And yes, I will be mightily disappointed if what we're doing isn't what is chosen. But I do think it's going to be what is best even if it isn't. Seriously.

And you know, that's the kind of service I'm after. Service that I feel is the best and that is rewarding and that isn't just adding a line to the CV. I'll admit it: I love this kind of service. I'll bend over backwards to do it. I feel like I have a valuable purpose and like I'm doing what I'm talented at and exceptionally qualified to do. Let's just note that lots of types of service do not fit this bill. Tenure to me means I don't have to do those types of things anymore. Huzzah!

And it means that I get to do this really important stuff from which I needed to be protected before (though I decidedly wasn't protected from service generally, far from it). Double huzzah!

You know what else I love, even though it's not in the post title? That my chair is so freaking awesome. Had a chat with him after the meeting today, and he's phenomenal.

AND I love that I've got two days off. Because I'm beat, people. BEAT.