What I've been doing while Furloughed

Time off with NO PAY, in case you missed it! And let me be CLEAR: I blame the nut job tea party for being just small enough to represent the nut job extremist Americans who voted for them, but just big enough to divide an otherwise-somewhat-credible Republican party to the point that their own leader is too chicken to stand up for what he knows is right. To be clear, the American Health Care act is a LAW, held up in court. Holding up passing the budget because you don't like the LAW is blatent abuse of power and is destroying this country. This is almost laughable if it weren't so devastating. I blame the Republican House of Representatives and I blame the Speaker of the House for his crybaby lack of spine. No I don't blame the Senate Democrats and I don't blame Obama. Those who are blaming the President certainly don't understand how the system works, they likely vote with the extreme obstructionist right, and are part of the problem. Simply blaming Obama is a real cop out based on clulessness. What's even more hurtful is seeing some of my friends and family on Facebook continually "liking" Tea Party hate messages. It shows up in my Facebook feed, whether you know it or not, and it is like a continuous punch in the stomach that serves as a reminder that people don't even know what they're really "liking". Propagating hate, fear, and obstruction is not a way to run the governmnet. One so-called-friend even "liked" a statement that said, "So the government has stopped working, how is that different than any other day?" I work hard to represent NASA, our government, and love my country. And those who can laugh and propagate crap like this will unfortunately have their day, come October 17 if these loonies in Congress fail to raise the deficit ceiling. Bankrupcy for all, and  not just federal employees will be directly affected!

Day 1 (Tuesday Oct 1)


-Went to work to shut it down. Tossed the stuff in the fridge, took home all my snacks, pictures, and just stuff that I otherwise might not see for who knows how long (and this could be long, folks). Set my out of office response to the mandated, "NASA is closed due to the government shutdown. I have been furloughed and am unable to respond until the government opens again." Or something like that. Identified the critical jobs of keeping the space station up and running, and who would be called in to support. I'm on no immediate list, so don't expect to be called in for anything unless this really drug out until the holidays. Ironically, some of my co-workers asked "what happens to our insurance benefits if this drags out and we're not paying as we would normally (it's usually deducted from our paychecks). Who the Hell knows? How ironic would this be if the very federal employee who has been furloughed due to the Republican House Reps shutting down the government over the AHA- would ultimately lose their benefits because they're not getting paid? OH the extra bitch slap!
-Canceled my 10am flight to, ironically, Washington DC that day. Fought with Hilton over getting them to cancel my reservation for that night, given that I should have given them 24 hours' notice. I gave them a lesson on sensitivity training and they canceled with no fees.
-Exchaged personal emails and cell phone numbers, and "Facebook Friended" with co-workers, because these people are also my friends, and frankly, we'll miss each other. They, too, have families and we all talk about that stuff over the cubicle walls.
-Began slightly mourning the loss of my NASA identity. Because it's more than a paycheck.
-Came home, ate lunch, and opened my laptop. Because now I actually have the time to expand The Grocery Station. Who knew? By the afternoon I had contacts and interested businesses to call back on Day 2. Now more than ever I will need this income. Time to work for it.
-Filled the hummingbird feeders. There's a cute little hummingbird right on the back patio that I can watch from my laptop at the table.
-Called AT&T who knocked $50/month off of my services just for the heck of it.
-Picked up Anna from Gardening club and brought her to dance class.


Day 2
-Why put on make up? Brought carpool kids to school as usual, came home and exercised (what? it's DAYLIGHT out and I'm exercising?). Vaccuumed (gasp!) and even showered.
-Emailed and called several more contacts for the Grocery Station. Created new grocery basket idea and updated my website.
-Had lunch with Anna at school
- More work on the Grocery Station
-Texted my aunt that we won't be making the baby shower in Louisiana this weekend (gotta save that gas money)
-Realized me life is really noisy normally
-Played tennis at the actual tennis courts with Anna
-Went to bed by 7:30 with Anna because it just seemed like a long day


Day 3
-Still no makeup. This means I can snuggle with Anna in her bed for a few minutes and wake her up (usually Paul's job as I'm getting ready for work)
-Met with the A/C guy to figure out why we have some airflow issues. Problem resolved.
-Wrote to Ted Cruz to tell him in an intelligent way that he is an idiot. Made note to self to write to the Representatives next. Because I totally have time.
-Lamented with the AC guy who sympathized that Ted Cruz makes Texas a bigger laughing stock than it already is. Glad he agreed. PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO VOTE. Although he personally is not the only target of my displeasure.
- More Grocery Station phone calls and outreach
-Picked up Anna from bus stop (it's half a day today and she's off all day tomorrow! What the Hell is this about anyway?)
-Realized I have time to blog this crap right from my laptop while Anna's in front of the TV. For years I've been blogging from my phone because I haven't had time or energy to do it from the laptop. Look I'm even using color!

We are starting to recognize that this furlough will drag out a pretty long time. And this congress is not likely to pay us back. And there are people out there who think this is OK because it doesn't affect them. And this is the apathetic America we live in. Think about it, because of sequestration, a good number of federal employees have been furloughed FOR MONTHS already. And that's died out of the news and those of us unaffected go on spending our money and living our lives.

I'm glad I spent the week I did on Capitol Hill learning about processes and this congress. Not like that makes me super informed, but it makes me understand what's really going on up there in a way that's better than how most Americans get their news: biased CNN or FOX.

Lord help us!