Government Shutdown- Furlough?

It's been up in the air for the last few months, but the official email notice came out today that instructs everyone what to do if the government does shut down on Monday. No one seems to believe it, but that does not stop the planning for it in case it does. I can only imagine the amount of time a lot of people have taken to create and/or revise these documents. Along with that goes the uncertainty for all the employees who have to figure out what it means to them personally, all the way to applying for unemployment benefits. Since I never worked for the Federal Government before, this is so odd to me that a budget cannot be approved. Having been in health care, we were always measuring productivity, watching expenses, closing down units and sites, etc. Some people around here just don't get it, and I'm not sure that they ever will. Some of the out of towners will be disappointed when they try to visit all the free museums and find them closed. Do you think the timing was done on purpose to coincide with Spring break and the cherry blossom festival? Stay tuned!