For the past 30 days, my real life has been on hold. All those things I had ordered in the mail, and all of those tasks that I had on my plate before I left on this mission 30 days ago have been put to one side, waiting for me when I get back to Hanoi.
Diep and Megan should be down here in Danang in a couple of hours, even though their flight continues to get delayed... a little at a time. First it was just a one hour delay and then it went to a two hour delay. Not a big deal if we had a few days together, but as it is we just have two nights and some change. We will roll with the punches for now.
On Sunday I go back to Hanoi and Diep and Megan head to Saigon. Diep needs the break. She has been holding things together at home while I have been on the road. I am not sure if I will try to get to Saigon before they get back up the following Sunday, but if I get furloughed with the rest of the government employees, I think it might be just the thing I need to do.
This threat of a furlough is laughable. I think we should give the Congress an ultimatum: sign a budget or resign your seat at the end of the fiscal year. I imagine the whole U.S. population is pretty sick of it. The amount of money we have spent getting ready for a government shutdown is much more than we could ever save with such an action! Think about the salaries of those individuals who hold leadership positions of our units and organization and the amount of time they have spent, along with their staffs, determining courses of action in case of a shutdown. Not to mention the amount of money that will be lost in cancelled/delayed contracts during the shutdown. The amount of money will likely soar into the billions. Me? Well, I will enjoy some well deserved time off... pay or not!
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