It really takes three days to make a weekend. Two days to get errands done, house cleaned, laundry washed and dried, garage cleanup continued. The third day makes the day of unwinding, of relaxation, if there is a third day off work, that is.

As a way of cutting costs, our pay was cut. The means to accomplish the pay cut was to give us furlough days. I must say, if I have to have a reduction in my pay (which I do), furlough days are the least painful way to do it.

Now if only we could take furlough days on Mondays or Fridays, there would be some nice 3-day weekends spread out over the year. But mostly we have to take them when the company says we do. It's called a "shut down" and supposedly all the offices are closed, thus saving on custodial expenses, electricity, etc.

In reality, there is always a skeleton crew on hand, so the savings are real but not so large as projected. Employees have exercised much ingenuity over how to describe their positions as absolutely critical to life and limb and the company's bottom line, so their taking required furlough days must needs be out of the question--for them.

Perhaps if they exercised as much ingenuity in saving money all year round we wouldn't be taking so many furlough days. (snark)

Paycut or no, I'm looking forward to being off a week at Thanksgiving and a week and a half at Winter Break (to be ecumenically correct we don't call it Hanukkah or Christmas), another week for Spring Break (Easter/Passover ditto), and a few more days here and there.

Scattered, the reduced paychecks are fairly easy to absorb. The week and a half all at once--more than a quarter of one paycheck--will be more difficult. I'm saving up now.

If money gets tight, maybe I can rent out a cat. 10 cents a purr.