Averted

It’s Thursday, September 28, and we’re 50-some hours away from a Federal government shutdown that seems very likely to occur. I dodged a bullet with the last one, but I won’t be so lucky this time. I’ll be at least partially furloughed and as a contractor, I won’t be made whole as Federal government employees are. Yes, I know that I’m still relatively fortunate and I also know that there are people who will suffer more than I will, but right now it’s all about me. Well, it’s all about me and about 10 Members of Congress representing less than one percent of the population of the United States, who are gleefully steering us directly toward the edge of a cliff. Way to own the libs, assholes. 

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It's Friday now. It's payday; possibly my last one for a while. I am still awaiting word on my furlough status. No rush or anything. Take yer time. 

Everyone has known about the funding lapse deadline for some time, but things only started to get real this week. Wednesday and Thursday felt very much like the week of March 9, 2020. Everyone knew that everything was about to change but most of us didn't know exactly how. We found out and we're about to find out again. That's how this works: Lunatics in the House of Representatives fuck around, and the rest of us find out. 

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There is a silver lining, because there's always a silver lining. Even if I do end up on the excepted list, it will be part-time, and so I’ll end up with some time off. Yes it will be unpaid time off, and I’m more than a little anxious about this, but I do have some money saved and my husband is still working, and we’ll be fine, as far as paying the bills goes. Meanwhile, a day or two off would not be a bad thing at all. 

*****

It’s Saturday morning, a really lovely Saturday morning, in fact; and I still don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know if the government is going to shut down (although it seems almost certain that it will) and I don’t know if I will be on the excepted list if it does (that’s a 50 - 50 proposition). I can’t really plan anything today because until midnight, anything could happen. At 0800 on Monday morning, I could be at work as usual (let’s say 0807 because I can’t get there at 8 to save my soul from Hell) or I could be at home still in my pajamas. 

If it’s the latter, then I’m going to make a to-do list. I’ll cancel some subscriptions and memberships to improve cash flow, and I’ll do some fall cleaning. Maybe I’ll drive to Philadelphia to see my family. Maybe I’ll get all of my Christmas shopping done. Maybe I’ll try out some new recipes. 

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Or maybe I’ll just go to work tomorrow morning like usual. It’s Sunday morning now and in the most unexpected of unexpected developments, the shutdown was averted and it’s business as usual. Stunning, really. It’s just a stopgap, and we’ll very likely be right down to the wire again in 45 days, but for now, all’s well that ends well. See you at 8:07 tomorrow morning.