No bonus and no pay rise this year, unlike every year up until now in this job, but it could be a lot worse. At least I still have a job, touch wood.

After "9/11" I lost my job and couldn't find another for three years. I became suddenly involuntarily self-employed, getting work where I could find it, but never really having enough clients to make a real go of it. Then, when I did get a full-time job, it turned out not to match the job description they gave me, which was dissapointing, so I quit in less than a year to take this job, and I've now been here about three years I think. This recession is making me nervous. I don't want to go through all that again.

After the lean years when we couldn't afford to fix anything, everything we own is breaking down and falling apart, e.g. refrigerator, clothes dryer, car, computers and even the roof of the house and the ceilings. A bonus would have helped with some of that, past bonuses were very generous and would have been big enough for a new fridge, a couple of computers and a cheap used car, but alas, I didn't get one.