I’m into my first week of unemployment. Reason? Lack of funds. There is work to do, but no money to get paid to do it. The boss knew it was going to be tight this winter, so the crew was asked how they wanted to distribute the 240 hours they could work between December 1st and March 31st. I chose to be laid off for a month, and will work a reduced schedule the rest of the winter.

Recently the president told federal employees to step up and do their part for the federal budget deficit. So no 1.4% wage increase in 2011. This is not the first time we will not get our cost of living increase. Then I heard that the average salary of federal workers in $81,000. Must be all those folks who work back in DC…people at my level don’t see even half of that average.

It’s enough to make a person cynical, especially if you look around and see what else the government spends money on. My cynicism doesn’t last long when I think about all the people who have been out of work for over a year. At least I have a job to go back to. At least I have health insurance. I don’t know what the future holds, but I am reasonably sure I’ll be OK.

In the meantime, it’s all right to be pursuing other interests and catching up at home. I am finding other ways to structure my days. Snow shoveling, for instance…