ah.. ok, this is in the status line (main menu bar), it's the field all the way to the right before the channel box/attributes editor/tool attributes icons. It may not say "abs" due to the current selection. Might be "rel" "sel" or "ren" or something like that as the field has four different uses depending on which is selected. Click the drop down arrow and switch it to "abs."
AIM: mhcannonDMC
"If you love your job, you'll never work another day in your life."