Rant, rave, and cheating!meme

[starzki]

First, the negative stuff.


I'm feeling major frustration with this whole job search process.  I've had some interest and some phone interviews.  But now it's a waiting game and it's kind of killing me.  Academics live on university time, especially when it comes to hiring new people.  This means that they get it done whenever they're through with all of the rest of their work.  So a process that I feel should take the average company a week to do takes academics about a month.

I also don't know how well I did on the phone.  I know I was nervous, which usually isn't good.  I also think I was a little too effusive and excited about whatever ideas they put forth.  It probably smacked of brown-nosing and desperation.  But it was the truth.  Based on the temping that I've been doing and the possibility to get paid for what I'm actually good at, I'm totally stoked about anything I can do within a department.  I am also feeling really desperate for a job.

I've hit a dilemma.  I've been waiting almost 3 weeks to hear about whether I'm still being considered for the positions I phone interviewed for.  I've kept my eye on other job openings that will start reviewing applicants in the next few weeks.  I kind of want to throw my hat into the ring for those positions, too.  And I totally would, except that doing so entails me asking for yet another letter of recommendation from my letter writers.  They've already been so great in writing my letters that I don't want to ask them to do extra work unless it's necessary.  I just don't know if it is, yet.

*frustration*

So that's my state of job affairs.  It's in limbo.

But moving on to happier subjects.  aamalie made me a pretty!



Just... awesome.  I wish I had more words to express my gratitude.  I love it, and thank you.

And now, to the shipping meme where I feel I must cheat.

Day 20 - The "can't stand the sexual tension any more" pairing?

Day 20, you ask?  What happened to Day 19?  Did I miss a day?  Was I abducted by aliens and am experiencing a time skip?  Am I just forgetful?  (Okay, I'm sure most of you didn't even notice the skip, but all the recent talk of the X-Files made me want to mention aliens some more.)

No.  I'm mixing up the days because I'm not sure how unresolved the sexual tension of this pairing is going to be after tonight, so I'm going to pick them so I don't have to come up with another pairing at the last minute.  Normally, I'd just DVR the episode tonight and pretend I didn't know what was going on with this pairing and do the meme as scheduled tomorrow.

But I have a feeling that psyco_chick32 will be letting me (and the internet) know what happened.  So before I'm made a liar during meme time, here it goes.

The "can't stand the sexual tension any more" pairing is Castle/Beckett of Castle.



I will admit that I have been very cautious of the Castle/Beckett pairing from the beginning.  It seemed as though the writers knew that these were two fantastically gorgeous actors who everyone would want to pair up, so they've kind of viciously set up the will they/won't they? scenario from episode one.

I kind of dislike that manipulation from writers.  I'd prefer to see for myself whether or not the two characters have decent chemistry (more than just appreciating the other's fine forms) before I ship them.  It needs to seem more organic to me rather than something thrown in to titillate and garner ratings.

I was resistant to the Castle/Beckett pairing.  But I've been won over.

Fillion and Katic have genuine chemistry as they play their parts.  And it's not just about the characters finding one another attractive.  They've taken the time to build an honest-to-goodness relationship based on trust, appreciation for the work the other does, and even their senses of humor (though Beckett tries to hide hers).

I'm still not 100% happy with the way the writers deal with this relationship (for example, Castle's breakup with his girlfriend last episode seemed unexpected, without good reason, and rushed in order to get Beckett and Castle together this episode).

But it's not the writers that are making me ship this couple.  It's that the characters honestly dig one another and want this relationship.  I think it's something that can't necessarily be written, but comes through the actors as they play these characters.

We'll see if there's pay off tonight.  In any case, it looks like a fantastic episode.

Previous:
Day 01 - What is your favorite current ship?  Miroku/Sango of Inuyasha and Sousuke/Kaname of Full Metal Panic!
Day 02 - What was your first ship?  Laura Ingalls/Almanzo Wilder of the Little House series.
Day 03 - A pairing that needs to happen now?  Mustang/Hawkeye of Fullmetal Alchemist.
Day 04 - The pairing with the most chemistry?  Mulder/Scully of The X-Files.
Day 05 - The pairing with the least chemistry?  Aang/Katara of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Day 06 - The best kiss? House/Cuddy from House.
Day 07 - The most heartbreaking scene?  Mustang/Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist and Sousuke/Kaname from Full Metal Panic!
Day 08 - The pairing with the most baggage?  Sousuke/Kaname from Full Metal Panic!
Day 09 - The most believable relationship?  Wash/Zoe of Firefly. 
Day 10 - Why aren't these two married in real life?  ???
Day 11 - What is your dream pairing?  Arthur/Ariadne from Inception.
Day 12 - Who had the best wedding?  Xander and Anya from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Day 13 - What is your favorite television pairing?  Mulder/Scully from the X-Files.
Day 14 - What is your favorite book pairing?  Elizabeth Bennett/Mr. Darcy of Pride & Prejudice.
Day 15 - What is your favorite real life pairing?  starzki /scribefigaro :D
Day 16 - What is the absolute worst pairing?  Anything incest.  :p
Day 17 - A pairing you never thought would work out, but did?  Lorelai/Luke of Gilmore Girls
Day 18 - What is the cutest pairing?  Alphonse/Mei of Fullmetal Alchemist

Upcoming:
Day 19 - A pairing you've rooted for since the beginning?
Day 21 - A pairing you like and no one else understands why?
Day 22 - A pairing you hate and no one else understands why?
Day 23 - A crazy love triangle/quadrilateral that worked out great?
Day 24 - A crazy love triangle/quadrilateral that worked out badly?
Day 25 - A pairing that was/would-be adorable, but could never work out?
Day 26 - A pairing that you hated and ended up loving?
Day 27 - A pairing that you loved and ended up hating?
Day 28 - A pairing that you will never understand?
Day 29 - What ship had the best proposal?
Day 30 - Your favorite ship forever and ever and ever?