at Long Last, the Expected Non-Good News

 Are those my hopes,

Against the ropes?

Porridger’s Almanack (Breakfast of Ganglions)

If any part of it doesn’t seem to make sense, by all means call it to my attention. I’m not trying to send you out “on the road” in search of Valhalla, but merely pointing out that it is not necessary to accept the choices handed down to you by life as you know it. There is more to it than that—no one HAS to do something he doesn’t want to do for the rest of his life. But then again, if that’s what you wind up doing, by all means convince yourself that you HAD to do it. You’ll have lots of company.

— Hunter S. Thompson, letter of 22 Apr 1958

As noted here, I applied (not expecting much) to an open Assistant Professorship in Composition at a school on one bank of the Charles. Had I expected anything, it would indeed have been the message received yesterday (the only direct communication I have ever had from the Institution regarding my candidacy.)

Dear Karl,

We sincerely thank you for taking the time to apply for the Assistant Professor in Music Composition position at [REDACTED.]

We are writing to notify you that the search has now concluded and we have hired another candidate. It was a large and extremely competitive pool, and we enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about your research, teaching, and future plans.

We wish you every possible success in your career.

Kind Regards,

The Search Committee

There was an extra space between Dear and Karl, underscoring the automation behind the sincere thanks. I may say that I very much doubt there was any individual who enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about [my] research, teaching, and future plans.