There are some people with the power to turn an ordinary -- thought pleasant -- day into a fantastic one with a single sentence. For example, the chair of the department has that power, if the sentence he says is, ``Yes, I'd like you to stay on after your current contract expires.''
I've been fretting about raising the issue -- since March, really; I worry early and often -- as my contract expires in six months and a week, and to go to a new school I'd have to seriously push C.V.s now. Fortunately, (he said, risking his negotiating stance) I'm perfectly happy to stay here. The chair, turns out, hadn't thought about the question, as he didn't know when my contract ends; the school usually starts the extension process six months before a contract expires.
This keeps alive a streak I'm maybe not irrationally proud of: nearly all my jobs have been for finite-length contracts, but all my employers have wanted me to continue.
By the way, the 7th September Mars Global Surveyor Picture of the Day is a wonderful shot of the Martian north polar icecap. I loved it when it was the default desktop pattern on the Macintosh LC III.
Trivia: The first episode of Star Trek, ``The Man Trap,'' debuted 8 September 1966. The first episode of the second season, ``Amok Time,'' debuted one year later. Source: The Making of Star Trek, Stephen E. Whitfield, Gene Roddenberry.
Currently Reading: Revolutions of 1848: A Social History, Priscilla Robertson.