Ready for work and nowhere to go

They actually did it. Threw hundreds of thousands of people out of work to make sure millions of people won't get healthcare. I just went from having a big bonus and all my leave planned out through the end of the year to being out of work -- it's not just the Government that shuts when the Government shuts in this company town.

"No end in sight."

That's what the news is saying. "No end to the shutdown in sight."

Last night at 11:59, I was well off, had a small savings and a large cushion in the bank, had budgeted both my leave and that cushion responsibly, and was expecting an excellent job appraisal, hopefully with even a raise. I was also Day One into a week-long renovation by contractors of my shower stall and kitchen wall.

This morning at 11:59, without having done a single thing, I'm essentially flat broke, out of leave, and unemployed.

Some facts:

The last government shutdown ran for 21 days. There is strong talk that this one will run for at least two weeks so that it can be rolled into the debt ceiling discussion.

A government shutdown costs the taxpayers about one billion dollars a week.

Personally, I ran out of "spare" paid leave today. I will run out of earned leave Thursday morning. I will run out of all potential 2013 leave the middle of next week. Any leave I take that I wouldn't have "earned" by December 30 will be taken out of my last 2013 paycheck.

When I am out of leave (or earlier if I choose to gamble), I have to go to leave without pay. I will not be given back pay later.

The contractors, who are being paid predominantly by my parents as a birthday present, are continuing to work. I will still owe between $500-$1000 for the work being done.

My last guaranteed paycheck arrives Friday. It and my current household budget ought to take care of the bare minimum bills for this month. This doesn't include general living expenses, although my gasoline consumption just dropped drastically.

Paying down credit cards is now, officially, a luxury. If I'm very unlucky, not *using* the credit cards might end up a luxury.

I still intend to go to NYC for Night Vale because I've prepaid most of that trip. Lodging is going to have to be rethought; I certainly can't afford the fancy hotel or possibly any hotel in the area. I've partially prepaid ChicagoTARDIS, but if this situation does not improve by the end of the week, I'm going to have to make major cutbacks to that. I truly hope that it doesn't come to the point of my having to eat the plane ticket and stay home.

I am ALREADY, with "no end in sight" assuming that I will have to dip heavily into my savings and then not be paid for my time, and thus reclassifying everything as "bare necessity" or "not now" to make sure that it stretches as far as possible.

Yesterday, I was prosperous.

Today, I am poor.