Mondays suck

Mondays are terrible.  They flat out suck.  This week especially.

I didn't have a very restful or peaceful weekend.  It's my own fault.  I have 10 million projects and side jobs going on right now and I'm over extended a tiny bit and grumpy about it.  Getting paid for these extra jobs makes me a tiny less grumpy. Coffee and/or booze also helps.

There were some snow flurries when I woke up this morning.  For me, that's not a big deal, for the rest of the D.C. area, you'd think the sky was falling. Traffic sucked even more than usual, which means it's not a great way to start the week. 

And on this particular Monday, the exhaustion from last week, coupled with the non-restful weekend, plus lack of good coffee creamer for my joe, makes for a really crappy Monday.

To add insult to injury, this week will seriously blow at work.  This week I get my formal letter stating Congress officially can't do their job, forcing the Defense Department to drastically cut spending.  And by cut spending I mean cut my pay by 20% starting next month until the end of September.  Fucking glorious.

It's like a pink slip, but worse. It's a slow-moving amber slip.  This is a warning signal to let you know to slow down (especially your spending) and brace for impact. I'm going to have one day off a week to figure out how to live off of 20% less of my income.  (Did I mention that I live in one of the most expensive places in the country to live.  If I could find a job elsewhere with as much career growth potential, I'd move.)

I've begun applying for second jobs.  I've updated my sitter-city profile. I've been taking on crazy ass projects to make extra cash. All in the attempt to survive this. 

What blows my mind is I don't think people across the country understand how this budget crisis can and will affect them.  It's not just going to be me taking a cut.

For example, in my home state of Michigan, the mitten will lose approximately $22 million in funding for primary and secondary education, putting around 300 teacher and aide jobs at risk. In addition about 25,000 fewer students will be served and approximately 80 fewer schools will receive funding. (Don't believe me? Or just want to know more about how much your state is going to lose? Check this out.)

And that's just one state.  People are up in arms about military service members' tuition assistance being suspended because of the budget cuts.  And I get it, I used TA when I was active duty.  But who is worried about the medical care they're not going to get because 40% of the medical staff in military hospitals are furloughed just like me?

Oh, and I love how everyone supports hiring our veterans... even the federal government.  But what they don't tell you is that they've hired us (yes, I'm a vet) and now they're giving us yellow slips.  So much for the support of the country's heroes. (Where's the Facebook petition on that?!) 

It's exhausting to think about how much this is going to suck.  I've been preparing for it for weeks.  But now, today, this Monday, the week is finally here.  The week my life as I know it for now comes to an end and I'm going to have to get creative financially and craft my way out of this financial burden. And right now, there's not nearly enough coffee or hot glue for that!

Mondays seriously suck.

Make Monday a little better, and come check out some great blogs linked up with Mod Mom.