The daily grind of the tech professional's job is the focus of InfoWorld's Off the Record blog. In this "water cooler chat" setting, readers submit tales that we publish anonymously, sharing stories of humor or frustration or interesting situations faced by those who work in technology.

These stories from IT pros to other IT pros include the inevitable mistakes made or humbling lesson learned that make us all human: A way to cope with office backstabbing and time-wasting bureaucracy; a humorous encounter with an end-user or coworker; a way to deal with a frustrating situation; or a story that illustrates a relevant takeaway to the IT profession.

[ Read more InfoWorld Off the Record stories with memorable tales from 2009 and 2008. | Get a new tech tale delivered to your inbox every week in InfoWorld's Off the Record newsletter. ]

If you need an escape from the humdrum routine, take a look at the collection from this year's tech tales from the trenches. And to share your own memorable IT story, send your submission to offtherecord@infoworld.com. If we publish it, we'll send you a $50 American Express gift cheque.

We look forward to the tech stories that 2011 will bring. Happy new year!

The tech pro on the job

Some Off the Record stories share tales about what it means to be an IT pro. Some are humorous, others harrowing. Patience is required to deal with many of these situations, be it solving the mystery of an unexpected tech problem or finding out just how little tech skills are valued at a former company: "We spoke for a couple of minutes, and ultimately, the conversation turned to Jean's computer problems. He wondered if I could take a look sometime soon. I said something, I don't quite recall what it was, but it was said to cover my surprise. I had just been asked for technical advice at a funeral."

More "on the job" stories: