The Shutdown Diary: Yuletide Edition, Days 7 through ???

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.

Well, Congress gaveled open and then, moments later, gaveled closed again yesterday, ensuring that the shutdown will last into the new year when the 116th Congress convenes on January 3rd.
So we are guaranteed a shutdown through, at a minimum, January 3rd. But the reality is probably a shutdown through the 4th or longer.

Yippee.

Hey, but it’s fodder for my blog, right?

You know, I’m not the only one in my office with a quirky online shutdown presence. One of my colleagues had posted cute shutdown pictures of her new Frenchie puppy. Awwww. 🐶

Another, issues elaborate curses on the ineffective lawmakers.  The most recent involved fire ants in their shoes. 🐜🐜🐜🐜 They are exquisite. Like my blog, the curses are her shutdown "thing." She issues them every time a shutdown rolls (all too frequently) around. I think in another life surely she was a voodoo priestess. And the objects of her curses should well take heed. Powerful juju emanates from her scornful evil eye.

Why do we do it? The blog, the curses, the adorbs puppy pic?  It blows off steam. It explains our world. It holds us together.

So what’s up for the day for The Working Mom?  The boy, his dad, and one of the boy’s uncles are working on the boy’s Pinewood Derby car. And a long walk and a shutdown mani/pedi are in the works for me. Oh, and my 15 minutes (no more no less) of work emails, of course.

Guess we shall see what happens when Congress reconvenes in the new year.

Cheers!

The Shutdown Diary: Yuletide Edition, Day 6

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.

Cup of coffee in hand, I did my 15 minutes of email-checking.

Before that, I checked the news: Congress has no votes scheduled for today, so we are virtually guaranteed to be shutdown tomorrow as well.

On the docket for today (get it? docket? I’m a lawyer who is furloughed and, therefore, has no docket?):  laundry, straightening the house, and a family outing for ice skating. Except for the "I might not get paid" part, it’s a far more enjoyable plan than the day of hearings I had scheduled if I were working. Of course, the essential attorney at the office has to cover those hearings, so I feel bad about that. But she does have guaranteed pay when the shutdown is over, so....  Nah, still doesn’t balance out. I feel bad about it. It should be me suffering those hearings.

Oh and I’m wearing my new Christmas Porg sweater to go skating!

Happy Thursday, folks!

The Shutdown Diary: Yuletide Edition, Day 5

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.
Orderly shutdown procedures have been implemented. I did my out of office due to lapsed funding voice message. I did my out of office due to lapsed funding email. And I checked emails for what’s essential, forwarded them, and then logged off.
With Christmas over, the reality of the shutdown starts to sink in. How long will it last? No one knows. But with Congress not reconvening until tomorrow, you can bet it lasts through Friday (e.g., Day 7).
From now on, until and unless I am recalled to work, I will check my emails for up to 15 minutes a day, no more, and will forward pertinent emails to the attorney on duty.
And other than that. I hang out and do stuff.
Today’s stuff was taking down the outdoor Christmas decorations. Mission accomplished!
Now I’m going to watch a Disney movie with my boy!

The Shutdown Diary: Days 2 through 4

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.
With Congress is in recess until December 27th, we are guaranteed to be closed through at least Thursday.
And Mick Mulvaney predicts that the shutdown could go into the new year.
With such certain uncertainty it seems there’s nothing to talk about in re The Shutdown. At least for a few days, "shuttered" is our status quo.
But we still have Christmas celebrating and Christmas cheer to keep us happy an occupied.
Have a great holiday, folks, see you on the flip side when Congress reconvenes.
Merry Christmas!

The Shutdown Diary: Yuletide Edition, Day 1

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.
Day 1, of course, is a Saturday, so there’s no real change to my routine.
The day started with a walk with my lovely friend and our dogs wherein we attempt to solve the problems of the world.
But not the shutdown. Alas, we have no solutions for that. None that all parties in DC would agree to, at any rate.
We do agree, however, that tamales are an awesome Christmas treat. If you aren’t talented enough (or do not have enough time) to make them yourself, go buy some. Add them to your holiday menus. Take the advice of two lady lawyer and every Mexican grandma ever, eat tamales at Christmas.
The rest of the day has been last minute Christmas prep:  a little gift-wrapping, a little baking.
This is in the oven right now:

It’s from this book, a favorite of my husband’s from childhood.

It will be our post-tamales Christmas Eve dessert. The Boy’s been wanting to make it for a month. (You know, since Thanksgiving, when we read the book.)
As for the shutdown, well, seems like nothing is happening anytime soon. From the Washington Post:
"Few lawmakers were in the Capitol on Saturday morning, and no votes were scheduled in either chamber. Many lawmakers took off Friday night to return to their home states as they await word of the talks, having been assured that they will get 24 hours notice before any vote occurs to reopen the government."
So we’ll watch and see, but I’m thinking we do orderly shutdown procedures come December 26th.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find my easy baked Brie recipe.  I’m taking it to a little get together with friends later today.
Cheers!

The Shutdown Diary: Yuletide Edition

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.

Oh, hey!

Happy Winter Solstice!

Merry Christmas!

Joyous Kwanzaa!

And (maybe even) Happy New Year!

We are headed into another government shutdown.  Just in time for Santa!

So, to recap:  The President and Congress, once again, disagree about funding the government.  As of about 7:00 p.m. Eastern, the House had adjourned with plans to reconvene at noon on Saturday, December 22nd.  And the Senate has no deal.  That means, barring a miracle, that the government shuts down at midnight (Eastern) tonight.

Welcome to the Yuletide Shutdown!

We won't go into the whys and wherefores of the reason there is yet another impasse.  You know the whys and wherefores.  And you know that at least one side of the budget tussle predicts that it will be a long shutdown.

I don't know about you, but this governing-by-crisis is getting kind of old.  And not just because I am a to-be-furloughed government worker . . . but because I am an American who wants a functional government.

Meanwhile, the stock market is on track for the worst December since the Great Depression.  Yay.

This week alone has been the worst week for the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 2008.  Super.

You remember the market crash in 2008, right?  Here's a graphic to remind you:

Same website, The Balance, has another graphic highlighting the ten biggest one-day losses in the history of the Dow.  Guess what years have had 4 each.  Hint:  They both begin with "20" and end with an 8.  Here, see for yourself:

But, don't give up on 2018 just yet.  It still has 10 days left to surge ahead of 2008 and win the title of DJIA Shittiest Year Ever.

My cup runneth over.

To add to that happy news, and, as a reminder, non-excepted government employees have no guarantee of being paid after a government shutdown.  In the past, we have gotten back pay.  But we are not guaranteed the back pay.  Only excepted employees are guaranteed back pay.  (Excepted employees still have to come to work and will get paid, but not until the shutdown is over.  So it could, conceivably, be weeks before even they see a paycheck.)

Here's a fun fact:  A lot of us were planning to take paid annual leave over the next week or two to spend time with our families.  So you might think that this is No Big because we can just take the paid leave during the shutdown and not suffer the economic consequences of no pay.  Alas, no.  Paid leave is not allowed during the shutdown.  So you're just furloughed and you can't draw salary from your annual leave time.  Also, if you were an employee who had "use or lose" leave hours that you were hoping to spend during the holidays, those hours are now going to fall into the "lose" category on account of the shutdown.  Total bummer.

So here we are, just before Christmas, and we may not be paid for what could be a long time.  So bills, mortgage payments, food, incidentals . . . all that has to come out of savings or be charged up on credit cards.  And so . . . that really, actually, totally, and completely sucks.

So, yeah, I guess I'll just watch the news and wait and drink a liberal pour of mulled wine.

Merry Christmas!

P. S.  I wonder if NORAD's Santa radar will still run on Christmas Eve.  Probably will . . . probably deemed essential . . . national defense and all.