No Beer

I’m not a patient person. I’ve been off of work for two weeks because of the Minnesota state government shutdown.

The company I work for (I work for the state as a contractor) gave me an assignment for another state that lasted two days. I got my last partial paycheck today. I might get a week’s worth of unemployment. And I have savings to tap into. I’m lucky.

But I’m still impatient. I have fears of losing my job, my house, my security. I want the governor and legislative leaders to agree on something and let’s get this shutdown over.

The cost of this shutdown far outweighs the $1.4 billion difference between the governor’s and the legislature’s budget. There are unemployment costs for 23,000 state workers, including me. There is the loss of state park revenue. All state road construction has come to a halt.

As each day goes by, something else comes up that can’t be done because of the shutdown. We can’t buy lottery tickets. People can’t get licenses needed for their jobs or businesses.

And worse of all, Miller-Coors has lost its license to sell beer in Minnesota. In a few days, the Miller-Coors brands of beer, and there are 39 of them, will have to be pulled off the liquor store shelves and from restaurants.

The shutdown has affected a big company’s (Miller-Coors) profits. And now there is movement.

Governor Dayton resurrected the GOP’s final offer (with some changes) before the shutdown began this morning.

The governor and the legislative leaders are meeting as I write this. I’m hoping, even though this budget is far from perfect, that it will be adopted, the legislature is called into session, and it’s approved. Then I and 23,000+ other people can get back to work and we can get Minnesota back on the map again.

Compromise means no one is happy.

I’ve spent too much time this week listening to radio and have been pulled into all the problems for the USA as well as Minnesota.

The debt ceiling is a major issue. People scoff that President Obama has mentioned social security cuts, but he’s trying to indicate the seriousness of this issue. If the Federal Reserve chief is predicting financial disaster, then we all better damn well listen.

But, as usual, Americans are lazy, and draw into their TVs and listen to the attractive people with their shrill sound bites and believe whatever they say. Americans don’t want to read newspapers or research issues online and listen to other points of view. They want to watch “Dancing with the Stars” and “American Idol” and listen to Nancy Grace screaming and yelling about Casey Anthony, even though most normal people have long since lost interest in such a minor little courtroom drama.

And I’m getting shrill, too, so I need to go back to work and think about other stuff besides political drama.

I went to yoga last night and was surprised at how easy I could move into various poses that I normally struggle with. But then I haven’t been chained to a desk and even though I sit on my a$$ a lot, I get up and move around a lot during the day, so my muscles and tendons aren’t as tight. It’s something to think about when I go back to work.

It’s been rainy today and that’s because a warm front is moving over us bringing along a record heat wave. We’re due for several days of 90 degree temperatures.

What happened to our cool spring?

Joe is feeling much better. He went to the doctor today and got some additional prescriptions. He stopped rubbing his head all the time. His eye is less swollen. We’ve been able to spend more time together and that’s been good for us.

And now I wait, impatiently, of course, to see what our elected officials have decided to do about the shutdown.