Bonus!

Today there was an envelope in my mailbox at work. There's rarely anything in there, and this was on office stationery, with my name and address printed on it, so I was a bit puzzled as to what it could be.

It turned out to be a letter from our two top bosses, informing me that I will be receiving a bonus with this week's paycheck. I had known that the company awards bonuses, and that they would be announced near the end of the fiscal year, but I was not hired as a full-time employee until a year ago; before that, I was here for almost 18 months through an agency on an ongoing temp assignment. So until this year I was not eligible for a bonus, and I had more or less forgotten about it.

I thought a worker bee like myself might get maybe a couple hundred dollars, but it turned out to be significantly more, and certainly more than I would have expected. This is the first time in my entire career that I've ever received a cash bonus. I used to get jealous around Christmas when I would hear about the bonuses my friends and family members got. Over the years I've received my share of company-logo-embroidered hats and fleece clothing; I've gotten paid time off; I've received gift cards and gift checks, and there were plenty of years when I got nothing more than a "Merry Christmas!" from a manager.

So this is kind of a big deal, and needless to say, I'm quite pleased. I don't even care that it's not happening at the holidays. In fact, the timing is really good, because the Mrs. and I are going to New York this weekend, and this way we can enjoy ourselves without guilt, and maybe even splurge a little. We're already being sensible by banking our tax refunds and the forthcoming stimulus check, so this time we're going to have a little fun.