It’s that time of year again. Our office is in the process of bidding our schedules for Feb 2009-Jan 2010. Everyone has his/her own priorities and strategies for bidding. Some people want Christmas off above all else. Some people want a particular start time, such as 700c, the most senior shift. Some less senior people want as many day shifts as they can get, even if it means taking some afternoons or midnights. In general, the day shift is more senior and the afternoon shift less senior. Midnight guys are scattered throughout the seniority list. Strangely enough, even though I still sorta feel like a new guy, I’m number 110 out of 146 for this year’s bid. We’re adding a bunch of people this year, which is always good when you’re on a seniority list. I still like the midnight shift, and I’ve decided that 2300c (11:00pm) is my favorite start time. It will allow me extra time for events and hanging out with Jenny and friends after Brenden is asleep. It also has better weather in general since most of the flights are in the western half of the country. It is highly unlikely that I’ll get Christmas off again next year (this year was a fluke!), but if I can get 2300c starts, I’ll be happy. We’ll find out the results at the end of June.