Friday, October 18, 2013

How to: Survive a Government Shutdown

Yesterday was my first day of work after a 16 day government shutdown. I thought I'd share how I coped in case anyone experiences the same situation. In the 12 weekdays I was workless, here's a list of a few things that helped me get through:

1. Walk the dog. Multiple times a day for different periods of time. Taking a variety of routes is key here. Also, you haven't walked enough unless you say "walk" to your pooch and he or she gives you a look like, "Really, another walk?!?"

2. Walk yourself. One time a day, for at least 4 miles, with an iPod turned up loud.

3. Bake. Now you'll want to make sure to give these baked goods away because baking and then leaving the fresh bread in the house does not help someone prone to eating her emotions (me).

4.  Watch Sex and the City reruns on the E! channel. I was able to relive Carrie's relationships from Aiden through Burger.

5. Do laundry. Even things that really don't need to be washed; throw them in!

6. Set the table for dinner at 11am each morning. You'll feel like you are really on top of things.

7. Go out for lunch. Even if you don't buy lunch, just go out. For instance, try reading for two hours in the sitting area at a Whole Foods.

8. Go to the mall. Again, don't buy anything (because you'll feel bad spending money since you're workless), but rather sit in those nice leather chairs in the middle of the mall that always seem to be occupied by bored men any other time of the day.

9. Reorganize closests and drawers. If you're up to it, throw things out too.

10. Run weekend errands. Complete tasks that are normally a pain because everyone else is doing them Saturday morning. For instance, the grocery store or the dogstore. Get them over with at 10am on Tuesday.

11. Watch old movies. Miracle for example. And cry when USA beats the USSR in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic Games.

12. Fill out your 2014 calendar. Wow, you are really on top of things!

13. Build a pumpkin topiary. This task is seasonal, of course. If it's springtime, you might try planting flowers, for example.

14. Get up early, shower, and get dressed. You'll also want to blow dry your hair and put make up on. It'll help you feel "normal."

15. Have lunch with friends who are also workless because of the government shutdown. It's nice to commiserate with others.

And check out my pumpkin topiaries....so proud.


Have a good weekend!

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