Got to work around 5:30 (it was my turn to open the building) and got things opened. I had been out Wednesday and Thursday and during that time we were told to move into the newly renovated area. I immediately had issues with getting the monitors to work. Finally got that fixed and was having problems with web sites accepting the certs on my CAC. Decided to reboot and then the computer wouldn't let me log in at all...Went to the help-desk and was told the certs had been wiped off my cac...I ended up at MPF and got a new card. This is normally something that takes hours to do, but thankfully I was in and out... Get back to my building and get logged on. A co-worker sends me an email saying they're not authorizing any travel during the shutdown that isn't mission critical...I decided to check on the status of mine and was initially told "you will need to cancel"...My trip is Monday. I was not happy, but thankfully I reminded them they had already paid for my attendance last fiscal year and I was eventually cleared to go...I'm looking forward to it. I also have tickets to see My Morning Jacket while I'm there so I'm glad I didn't lose the money on that...
Ashley lost her job and the kids are now figuring out their next move...they have a little bit of a nest egg and should be fine. Looking like they'll end up near Steve in Alabama...This also means Patty doesn't travel to see them for Thanksgiving and they're putting off the marriage celebration for a year or so (we were supposed to head to Atlanta in June)...
Still waiting for the shutdown to end...I'm still getting paid, so can't complain much. We need to buy Patty a new car, but will wait until we're sure I won't be furloughed at some point...Since I won't be going to Atlanta, once I'm good with pay I can now plan a bigger trip somewhere...Yosemite to Sequoia is one trip I'd like to do...I'm not going to limit myself. I may also look at Iceland and Germany or Prague. Patty had Spain last year, so I won't feel too bad if I do a solo trip. We'll plan a trip for both of us in the future...might not be until we no longer have dogs...we'll see...
