There are many options in my field, to some extent. There's the hard-core research arena, the middle ground "research+teaching" arena, and then the hard-core teaching-and-good-frackin'-luck-if-you-do-very-much-research-except-for-a-few-days-in-the-summer arena. I toy with all of these, although the first on the list is really my last choice in general. (This is why I never apply to Lab positions, as those are completely research oriented.)

So besides my current medical issues, this is in the forefront of my mind. I just finally emailed a professor from my undergrad school to ask her thoughts on this, and hopefully she'll give me some insight, as she is attempting research at a strongly teaching-based institution. 

The sad thing is that if things work out certain ways, I may be leaving the 'burg as early as the fall. There's no way for sure to know this, because partly it depends on other peoples' perception of the glory that is me, and also on my ultimate decision (these two are of course completely correlated). But it may mean the end of my life here. 

My life in the 'burg is by no means permanent. No permanent job means no permanent life, and the place we end up is by no means known. This depends on just too many factors to think about, and really, this all just kind of sucks. I've been ready to settle down for way too long now. Ever since it was clear that this "thing" with Corbett was permanent (although the exact moment of that happening is unclear, it's been a long time now). So I'm in no mood to constantly move from one city to another, one college to another, anymore, and I know Dante feels the same way. 

I guess I am just sick of sending out those "Hey, we've moved!" emails. I'm sure everyone is sick of getting them.