Annual raises

When I got back to work today, the envelope with the notice of my annual raise was on my desk. The chief engineer of our team told me about it passing me in the hall. I opened it up, looked at it, and called him up on the phone. I said "Did everyone get a pay cut this year?" (The chief engineer doesn't have prior knowledge of what the pay raise is. He's mostly there to go to meetings, remind us to bill our time, and generally tell us when we are being really mean to someone.) His response was "WHAT? YOU GOT A PAY CUT? HOW CAN THEY DO THAT, THAT'S NOT FAIR!" I said "I didn't, I was just trying to get a rise out of you." I think it worked.

Anyway, it's a little bit more than I was expecting. (Although a little of a little isn't all that much, but it's not something I'll thumb my nose at.) Most years I get a 4% or 4.5% raise, which is the most they can give. (The department average is usually 2.5% or 3%, I think. This year I got a 5.59% raise. I'll take it over a bucket of chicken.