Or perhaps I should say a 106%.
You know how the parents always say- and imply, and encourage- that all our hard work will someday pay off, and that perseverance will be much more valuable then any short sighted distractions? You know? This is the kind of thinking that lands you in grad school, people, so mind your words closely.
This is also the kind of thinking that doesn't mind you are working 60 hours a week, commuting several hundred miles a week for a job that by any measure isn't "dream" quality. But good, encouraging and supportive friends and family says "stick to it," " someday you'll get noticed, promoted, whatever," "they don't pay you to complain- you're a professional, they pay you to make it look easy" (actually, Dr. Rockstar said this to me). And you keep working, with little more then a sigh of disappointment when you get passed over for raises and promotions and more interesting opportunities.
And then your grump of a boss calls you into his office while you are shooting the breeze with the few other lonely types who are still working the day before Christmas Eve. And he slides a slip of paper across his desk that spells out in dollar $ign$ that he has noticed your hard work, and your talent, and your perseverance, that he'll be damned if they'd let you go now, and that even though your annual review passed with little more than a cost of living increase he wanted you to get what you deserved after all.
Even though Matt isn't the sentimental type, I know for a fact he is still carrying this slip of paper in his pocket, and standing about a foot taller.
Alternate ending- my boss sent me an email today to tell me I am "Awesome." Looks like everyone is going to have a good vacation. Merry Christmas!
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Well done, both of you. As a boss, sometimes I'm very uncertain how to show the right kind of appreciation for my best employees or just their best efforts. But you can't go wrong with money. I know that Matt would rather be somewhere else but that industry is roiling in difficulty that takes no mind of the needs and talents of hundreds of thousands of its faithful workers, let alone its ambitious new-comers. Its probably cold comfort when he's grinding away, but I, at least, remain profoundly grateful that he has honest, satisfying work at hand and isn't facing the corrosive challenge of unemployment like so many autoworkers. Extra points for everyone that his work was noticed and honored in the pay envelope. And congratulations to our sweetie for the first steps toward Sandlicillin or perhaps Sandlimycin.
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