A Very Dreary Washington DC

So this is day 10 of the government shutdown, or day 8 working days off for me - a furloughed government employee. It's dreary enough with a pretty empty town, but the rain makes it even more dreary. And it is expected to last another several days. The rust is more obvious, the sandbags cover the metro access grills, construction has come to a halt. The only bright spots are the neon colored orange cones that are blocking the way to every park entrance, the neon yellow rain gear of the Capitol police - who appear to be the only ones working- and the somewhat colorful umbrellas of the few foreign visitors (who must be really disappointed!) arriving by the fewer and fewer bus loads only to view things from a distance. The neighborhood sidewalks on Capitol Hill are empty. It is very strange around here, and both my husband and I have had a flu/cold thing since it started. It kinda all goes together - don't you think?

Two Things for Sure

A sleepy man, parcel, and couch
make for a perfect combination

Our friends are visiting from our home town this weekend. So we decided to take a trip to Tysons Galleria in Virginia. We had a great lunch and took a spin around the mall. Of course the ladies were enthusiastic. The men? While my friend and I went to one last place to check something out, my husband took this photo of an unknown comrade who was taking a break from his wife. My husband was making up for not taking some pictures of the cherry blossom festival parade this morning when he and our friends were taking their walk. I was too exhausted to join them because of the psychological torture that was endured all week long about a government shutdown and slept in. The light in the Capitol building dome was on when we passed by it at 10 PM last night. We were going to walk over and see the action but decided not to. I have to say I was disappointed about having to go to work on
Monday. I was prepared to have the day off. But we know two things for certain. There will probably be another major budget battle, continuing resolution, and potential government shutdown AND another sleepy man at the mall.

Government Shutdown-Please Make Up Your Mind

The message that greeted me in the office this afternoon was to be sure that the email and phone notifications be changed before going home to something like "in the unlikely event of a temporary Government shutdown due to a lapse in appropriations, I will respond to your email once government operations resume." And, don't forget to empty out the refrigerator, unplug the coffee pots, secure personal and work related property, turn off computers and other equipment, and of course, water and or remove any living plants. It is a very dreary day here, and feels like a ghost town. Maybe this evening we will walk over to the Capitol and watch the players in person. Anyone can deal with a decision - it's the bobbing on the water that drives people nuts.

Capitol Visitor Center

Eager visitors await their turn as "Freedom" observes

My colleague and I took a walk over to the Capitol Visitor Center this
afternoon to see if there was any visible action on the potential
government shutdown. There were a lot of visitors mulling around and
we watched a bit of the Senate debate on the monitors. Back at the
office there were emails about the Employee Assistance Program that is
available in case anyone feels the need to talk to someone about
whatever is ailing them. The names of the essential staff were
circulated and everyone is playing the waiting game. It's just another
day in this very unusual week.

Government Shutdown- For Real?

I wanted to take a picture of the news station camera crew interviewing people on the corner at lunch time as they walked by to get perspectives on what people are thinking about the possible government shutdown. Unless something major occurs, it is scheduled to begin on Saturday- IF it happens. For how long? No one seems to know. The news crew was gone by the time I left work this afternoon. But, we received more notice to prepare for the inevitable - all the time cards need to be validated by Thursday afternoon so they can be processed. Generally this activity would occur on Monday.  An official document with questions and answers was distributed. All the tables in front of Bullfeathers were occupied by suit and tie types, and there were a lot of black limos lining the streets. I just wish someone would make up their mind! We have guests coming from our old neighborhood for the weekend. I'm not sure what will be open or closed. It's hard to plan for anything. But it is an "exciting" time. When the last shutdown occurred in the 90's, I don't think that we hardly noticed we were so far removed from the action. I'm glad we don't need a passport. I hear that the DC trash collection will be affected. I was going to submit a request to get the grass on the corner lot next to the condo cut. But I have a feeling that it won't be addressed for a while.  It may be interesting to walk over to the Capitol and watch the madness, but if the government is officially closed, we probably won't get in!

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!

BUDGET WOES

The need to be efficient and cut back has reached us here in the work place. The idea of being accountable and maximizing resources has been on my radar screen since the 70's. All during my "first" career in healthcare, that lasted 30 years, we were managing productivity, looking for best practices, and monitoring outcomes. I thought I had escaped the constant conversation about budget talk when we moved here to DC and I started working for the federal government. Today we had a meeting where the likelihood of consolidation and improving processes is being tauted. I feel like I'm back where I started. Darn it! But it always made sense to me then, and it makes sense to me now. I'm not sure others feel the same way. Time will tell.