My life is officially a non-event.

Less than two weeks from today I hit my five year anniversary with my employer.

I’ll cut so you can avoid my whining here.

Today, in a meeting with all the other developers who share my lead, most of whom I’ve never actually worked with, I received “an award.” It came in this great big heavy box; there’s a pair of small cards in it — one “signed” by our illustrious company leaders, and one by my team members. I looked around at my teammates, and realized: I’ve been there nearly as long or longer than any of them (‘cept my manager); I’m at least as good at my job as half of them; and they all outrank me.

Also in the box was a strange crystalline structure, with a line of blue in the middle.

I have never felt quite so depressed by my choice of careers as I did at that moment; I didn’t feel warm or fuzzy, or any comraderie — I got a piece of colored glass, cold, solid, and the same as everyone else gets at five years. Bland, expressionless, impersonal.

Oh well, at least my manager got me chocolate cake to celebrate (she might know me a bit).