Buggy: I get in anywhere between 5:30 and 6am. In general, I leave around 3:30. I also eat at my desk (that's when you might see me spending a few minutes online). I never have trouble getting a parking spot. In exchange for the extra hours I put in, I get every other Friday off - it's called a Compressed Work Schedule.

For the first time in a while (and I've been making a living at this for 35 years), I actually like a lot more about my work environment. I'm not under threat of having a contract terminated without warning. Even if job cuts come, I'll have a good amount of warning. I get good reviews and I feel appreciated which makes it a lot easier to write and maintain the many thousands of lines of code I've written on this system. Having a good time-off policy makes it even more worth it. The fact that I don't stand on ceremony when someone has a question that might be out of my specific job description's area means I have good relations with just about everyone around me. A *much* nicer work enviroment, indeed.

As I've joked with others, with all the vacation, sick and holiday time I now accrue, I feel VERY fortunate - but it puts me about on par with a secretary in Germany (although I make more than he or she would).