Best-case scenario
So my latest best-case scenario has been realized, albeit a couple of days late. A couple of weeks ago in the first couple of days of my real vacation, I received notice that my solo piece "Rivers of traffic: The spatial fragmentation of US ports" was accepted by Regional Studies. This means that my recontracting is now almost guaranteed. Only one of three Korean papers in progress has to be accepted for me to meet my requirements. Needless to say, this is a great relief to me. It's nice that it's going to be published, but much nicer is that I can keep feeding my family and teaching my wonderful students.
Once I return to the US from the joint AESOP-ACSP conference in Dublin, I will post my author's version of the paper.
[Somehow it's still a bit difficult to relax completely, though...]