Disclaimer: The thoughts and feelings expressed in this post are solely the author's and do not represent the official position of any government agency.
Okay, so maybe I had more than one glass of wine last night.... But I ate grapes! Very Ancient Greek of me..or Roman...one of 'em...possibly both of 'em.
Anyway, I crawled into bed at 11ish last night next to hubby, and randomly trolled the Internet for an hour on my iPad because I was bothered and nervous, anxious and frustrated.
Went back and forth about whether to let John Dickerson know, somehow, through a tweet or Facebook post, about my little Shutdown Diary.
Decided against it for fear of losing the job that will not pay me for the foreseeable future.
Chew on that one.
Plus, I don't really want the notoriety.
What if something freakish happened, like he wanted to interview me? Would our lives ever be the same again after that?
I'm probably the only lawyer in America who wants never to speak with the press. (I have, actually, spoken to the press, though, in connection with a certain sports team's bankruptcy case. But only to say, "We have no other comments other than those made on the record in court or in our filed pleadings." I hated even saying that. Very uncomfortable.)
Then again, maybe it could lead to a career to freelance journalism, which seems a lot more stable than my current non-employment right now.... Also reminds me that I need to edit my piece on stress incontinence and submit it to Runner's World to see if they will publish it.
Anyway, you want to hear about Day 3, if you're reading this, right? So here goes:
Woke up involuntarily at 6 a.m. again. Hubby was already awake reading the news.
Still no progress.
He and I agreed that it's probably best to skip the boxed wine tonight as it's probably not helping our sleep.
Became re-infuriated that certain members of Congress want to fund only the "popular" parts of government while leaving the parts that are kind of a drag to a lot of people, like the ones that employ spouse and self, closed.
Those members of Congress can eat my shorts. Thanks for caring about patriotic American civil servants who stick their necks out every day on the government's behalf to enforce your laws. It's good to know where we stand.
Not that I don't care about cancer patients who want to participate in clinical trials. But the National Parks? Doing it piecemeal -- picking out only the parts of government that are "popular" would mean that this furlough could go on for months for those of us not lucky enough to be a park ranger...because if people get to go camping in Yosemite during the shutdown, they're probably not going to complain to their Congressman about the shutdown. To end the shutdown, it must hurt more Americans than those who are out of work on account of the shutdown. So phooey on that piecemeal thing. Sorry.
Next, wondered aloud with husband re what happens to our insurance coverage and 401k loan repayments during a prolonged shutdown, both of which come out of our paychecks as automatic withdrawals.
Attempted to find out via web searches.
Husband discovered loan repayments may be suspended for up to a year, upon request, during a furlough. I found appropriate forms and instructions on how to do this on the Thrift Savings Plan website.
Also found federal employee furlough handbook on opm.gov. Handbook says insurance will continue during a furlough, even though the employee portion of the premium is not paid. Such amounts will be withheld from first paycheck after returning to work.
Felt a little better about finances and health of family.
Husband discovered that back pay for "excepted" employees is guaranteed by statute, so I should get paid for the Day 1 work (unless Congress decides to change that statute, I guess).
I don't trust them one bit.
Became indignant (again) that Congress gets paid to dither around and prevent me from doing my job that I mostly like to do.
Felt incredibly frustrated and helpless.
Realized that it's not even 7 a.m. yet and I've written a novel here already.
Decided to put running clothes on and focus on other things for awhile.
Checked cat's blood sugar. Fed him. Gave insulin shot.
Sat on sofa with boy watching Fireman Sam, inventorying Hot Wheels, and feeding him yogurt.
Got boy dressed for school, into hubby's car, and off to school.
Started laundry.
Checked work Blackberry for 8 of my allotted daily 15. Forwarded messages.
Went running in new running shoes. (C25K, week 5, day 2, 2.35 miles.) Like them so far. At first, they seemed a little stiff, but by the end of the run, they were forming to the shape of my foot just fine.
Did yard work...mainly just removed an out of control trumpet vine from the Texas sage bushes in effort to save their lives. Massive undertaking. Bigger than expected. Took out most of three bushes, along with the vine. Got to feel macho using a saw. Encountered no snakes. (Yay!)
Took shower.
Realized I hadn't eaten breakfast yet. (It's only 10:30 a.m. by this point.) Ate an apple and yogurt. Drank water and coffee.
Got confused about whether today is Thursday or not. Asked hubby to be sure.
Got confused about whether today is Thursday or not. Asked hubby to be sure.
Suddenly felt very tired. Chilled on sofa and watched Chuggington for about 30 minutes.
(By the way, hubby is doing his hubby things while I do all this: physics homework for Coursera, playing the piano, exercising, checking our credit card balances....)
Folded laundry. Tried to watch the news on CNN and then CNBC. How can the "news" channels not have news on them? Switched to DVR'd episode of Nature about birds of prey.
Made eggless salad for lunch. Had lunch with hubby. Watched Charlie Rose about the shutdown. No real insight.
Did my remaining 7 minutes of BB time.
Decided to update iPhone to iOS 7.... Hmmmm. This thing is really hideous, isn't it?
At around 1:47 p.m., read about the U.S. Capitol being on lockdown because of shooting outside. Wow. I'm mad, but I'm nowhere near that mad.
Fretted about the violence.
At around 1:47 p.m., read about the U.S. Capitol being on lockdown because of shooting outside. Wow. I'm mad, but I'm nowhere near that mad.
Fretted about the violence.
Did stuff for sorority alumnae chapter, both because it needed doing and because I needed something to take my mind off of the shooting incident.
Changed sheets on beds. Washed sheets.
Put out Fall/Halloween decorations. (Squee!)
Changed sheets on beds. Washed sheets.
Put out Fall/Halloween decorations. (Squee!)
Practiced guitar.
Made vegetarian spinach mushroom pesto soup for dinner. (Recipe: Saute two chopped shallots, two chopped yukon gold potatoes, and a package of portabella mushrooms until shallots are translucent. Add one box of vegetable stock and two cups of water. Cook until the potatoes are tender. Remove from heat. Blend with immersion blender or regular blender -- but messy! -- until smooth. Add package of baby spinach and allow to wilt. Add 1/2 cup of pesto. I had some in the freezer that I'd made earlier this summer, but you can use store bought. Serve. It's not super pretty, but it's tasty.)
Marinated chicken for the boys' dinners.
Marinated chicken for the boys' dinners.
Picked son up from school.
On the way there, heard that Wendy Davis is officially running for Texas governor. Wondered if Anita Perry might follow suit (but probably not).
On the way there, heard that Wendy Davis is officially running for Texas governor. Wondered if Anita Perry might follow suit (but probably not).
Played Fireman Sam with The Boy.
Did bath and bedtime routine with the boy and put him to bed.
Came downstairs and sat on the sofa to edit this post...and to drink some camomile tea, only. For realz.
Nighty-Night!
