The awards dinner last night was fun. We sat with Sandra's co-workers, a couple of whom were also receiving awards. The presenters pronounced Hakkarainen correctly one of two times. The meal was good and the entertainment was funny and of professional quality. Humor by and about technical writers, however, is something of an acquired taste.

The economy has improved quite a bit, but "Are you working?" is still the standard greeting. A few people made announcements regarding companies with job openings. On the way in to the dinner, I received a cell phone call from a recruiter regarding another job prospect. This morning I will send a couple of resumes and brush up on my 25 difficult questions

It's still an overwhelmingly white profession. About 60% are women. The median age of the attendees was in the upper 40s, somewhat higher than what I see around the office.

The meeting was held a hotel near where I used to work. It was the first time that I've driven those roads in many months and it stirred up all of the feelings that you might expect.

I learned that I needed to work 1040 hours to qualify for holiday pay. I have 1041. So, Monday, Presidents' Day in the U.S., is a paid holiday for me. I'm still not sure about taking the day off or not. Right now, I'm tired enough that a day off seems great. My work is also coming together (or at least has stopped flying apart). It would be nice to defer the day off until the release is complete.

We missed our chances to pick up Fawlty Towers and dogs playing poker paintings (but prints are available).