Tis the season?

....for being really busy at work. You'd think I was in retail trying to handle holiday shoppers with the hours I've been working. But no, I'm just working a really big, really out of whack project, leading a team with seven guys local and four more in India. One problem with a booming market is that, not only is the labor pool drying up, but the overall quality of labor is dropping. Listen to me, I sound like some kind of economist. Basically, companies are figuring out they need to pay well to hold on to their strong people - which has certainly been good for me this year. Problem is, there's too much work for just the good people. So, companies are now competing for people that no one would consider hiring a couple of years ago. It's tough because it is effecting all the technical disciplines. Which means, that guys like me are working extra to recover from some of the damage that others are inflicting. But, at least it's paying me more than I ever thought I'd be making, so I'll make due.

It's been busy on the home front as well. Tis also the season for Christmas parties and the kids have also had birthday parties scattered along as well. The tornado was supposed to have a Christmas program on Thursday night and I was hoping to have a video link to share. But, after having everything set up and ready to record, the boy got scared and Momma had to get him from the stage. We think Momma probably should have stayed longer with him back stage before they went on. The show got started late and, even though his class was first, he was away for a while. He'd already been at school all day and doesn't like to be away from Momma after he's had a full day at school. Better luck next year.
Finally, we did manage to get our annual Christmas card and letter sent out to friends and family this week and the response has been favorable. For anyone who's missed it, here is our Christmas greeting for the rest of the web. I hope everyone else is having a good holiday season.