i'm actaully happy about all of this. i hate the department and the position. working with grad students is great, but the office culture is sad. so...
1) i get to apply for other jobs now and say my reason for leaving is that the position is a bad fit
2) i get a strong reference from my supervisor
3) the department gets to fire me and re-open the position without having to wait for the hiring process, which in most cases takes months
4) i get to claim unemployment until i get the new job and focus on applying to grad schools
5) i end up with an entry level tech support position that pays better than my mid-level academic affairs position
6) i don't have to bullshit the grads i've met when i run into them on campus and around town
i don't really care who got to where they are through dubious means. life will fuck them over without me doing a damn thing, and it's a lot more fun for me to sit back, watch, and laugh. one of the best lessons my mama taught me was to chose my battles, and this one ain't worth fighting. in the short term i'll be paid better than most of the folk there for doing less work, and in the long term i'll have a more prestigious career than those wishy-washy literature types who think they can learn about people by reading books alone*
*reading is fundamental. i learned a lot through reading that's brought me to understand a great deal about human beings than i otherwise could have. but it wouldn't mean a damn if my academic field didn't emphasize actually experiencing human interaction and getting to know real people.
