A rather interesting confluence of events recently:
My annual salary review is a couple weeks overdue;
An offhand discussion with someone doing the equivalent of my job at Nortel revealed just how underpaid I really was (think thirty to forty percent), and;
There's an industry trade show in a couple weeks, where the recruiters will be out in force.

While I may not have an excuse for my recent absence, I do have a good one for the next week. My brother and I leave for Val d'Isere within the hour.