One of the very few things I miss about my last corporate accounting job is how, on the day before major holidays, we’d get released early. Around 3 o’clock, the boss would walk through our area and wish us a happy Thanksgiving or whatever was appropriate and tell us to go home (one year I was the boss and got to do the honors, after my boss told me it was time). Here at Purple Systems, that doesn’t happen. If I’d made an effort to put in extra billable hours over the past two days, I could release myself early, but I didn’t, so I can’t. Back when the founder was still the CEO, he’d come around about 6 o’clock on the day before holidays and have a chat with anyone who was still here before he headed out; since he worked such long hours, that was leaving early as far as he was concerned. The current CEO won’t stop by tonight no matter how late I stay (he doesn’t even work in this building, for one thing—that’s growth for ya), but he did send out an e-mail earlier saying we would be getting our annual bonuses early (next week, in time for Christmas shopping, instead of in January as has been the case in the past). I’m very thankful I work for a company that’s able to keep its employees employed in this economy and even give us bonuses ( smaller ones than some years, but I’m certainly not complaining). So I won’t get to go home at 3; I’ll manage to cope.