when the domino falls

When one domino falls, they all fall.  I was in intensive care now. Not working as professor, not working on my "stuff", not working... In one ironic twist of fate I became a domino. I had fallen and I couldn't get up. I was a patient now. For a control freak like me that was a serious concern. Who make sense of things? Who would take care of my dogs? Who would take care of my house, my car, my students, etc.?  My identity changed when the domino fell. 

I HAD been an associate professor teaching visual communication at the University of Nevada, Reno. I had many colleagues around the world who valued my work. I had a book that I was about to finish. I had a column to write for a research journal.  And a research paper that I had finish. Oh, and several places to go in the next few weeks to interview. I was in throes of seeking tenure and I was not at all certain I could survive the politics. Like any good lemming I was determined to scurry so if all else failed I would survive.  This was right after Thanksgiving.  I just had to make it until the first part of January...