The thrill is gone, or something.

On Friday, Dan was off, and so were a bunch of other people. So when US Airways broke the news of a new financing deal with GE, I was given the story. Reported it, wrote it, made Saturday's page A1. On Sunday, my lofts story appeared on the front of the Business section.

I barely looked at either.

Yesterday, I checked online and saw that I had had seven stories published in about two weeks. That was gratifying, but in a way different from the initial thrill of seeing my name in print. What's gratifying is the sense that I'm attaining a new level of productivity.

Out with the old thrill, in with the new.

I got an email from Steve, who was off yesterday, thanking me for stepping up on the US Airways story and expressing appreciation for all my work; and David complimented me on the lofts story. Which makes me feel more confident that they intend to keep me.

A few days ago, I asked Steve if, after putting a story idea on the budget, I needed to wait for a go-ahead, and he said something like, "rare would be the day that we would say don't do it."

So, they apparently intend to keep me, and to publish pretty much anything I give them. Now the challenge is to deliver, and deliver, and deliver.

The last two weeks have shown that I can.

And now that I know that I can, I must.