Wow, been teaching non-stop all week! Had an overdue meeting with the fellow they finally hired to help out with first year - let him know how good a job I think he's doing, and made sure he knew about a few things coming up. This was going to be my make-it-or-break-it year, and it looks like they've finally stepped up and given me appropriate support. So I'll probably keep running first year.
We actually once got an email from the admin welcoming us "back" after the summer. It created a bit of a stir, as where the heck did they think we were??? Here, churning out that research that they keep bugging us about.
My mother also keeps having the misconception that I'm 'not working' when classes finish, even when she knows I do research, and even when the working I'm doing is actually marking exams!
Thought a bit more about the promotion thing, and I think I will probably go for it as soon as I get a grant. It appears to be money that talks louder than words here, as I got SL on the basis of 4 grants (2 PI) and 11 papers - if another grant and 17 more papers doesn't get me Reader, another grant and 18-19 more papers won't, unless they're all in the People's Journal of Judea (or maybe one in just Judea :) ). And there's nothing to lose, as I can apply again 2 cycles later, which would basically be as long as I'd have to wait for a paper or two anyway.
Don't really want to go elsewhere, as I like it here! We have promoted some internals fast, but it seems people are more interested in what you've done recently, so you need be quickly productive, which things like mat leave really impact.