And Just Exactly Where is Gary?

Seriously. I've been MIA for a while now, except for the occasional Yip!

I feel it proper to report in before Robbo sends an e-mail to my wife inquiring as to whether or not I've suddenly and unexpectedly assumed room temperature.

Yes. An explanation is long overdue.

(more below the fold)

Those long-time dear readers may recall that last year I received the same pink slip that has been ceremoniously presented to far too many of our fellow citizens in these difficult times. Having spent eighteen years with the same uber-conglomerate I had thought that seniority made you less vulnerable to such vocational catastrophes. Actually, when you consider the cost of post-retirement benefits and other perks that are due to a company's more tenured associates it makes more financial sense to riff the more seasoned talent.

I was - literally - home bound without active employment for a full year. In early February I was hired in a consulting capacity by one of my old company's competitors and continue to commute an hour (more or less) to this assignment in the hopes that it will lead to something permanent. Really, I can't remember the last time I worked this hard or tried harder to impress every person in the organization beyond expectations.

This, of course, brings me to my recent absence. I've been working long hours and doing my best to balance this with family needs for almost the last three months. Even if a permanent job doesn't result, I've done everything I can to cultivate the best possible references.

So, needless to say, I have been exhausted when not working and I've self-imposed a ban on posting at work (anticipating the most draconian of sooper-sekret workstation tracking procedures) to "keep my nose clean" in this respect.

I've actually not even been monitoring the almost weekly flubs of "dear leader" since that time so on these topics I've been more of a laggard than my colleagues here at the Butcher Shop - particularly the LMC.

I'll try harder to pop in from time to time - especially now that it's baseball season - but I beg the patience of all of you who've come to expect more of my mental diarrhea here on a daily basis.

In the meantime, chins up. There's hope on the horizon. Things are beginning to turn.

May we all persevere.

Cheers.

- Gary