This furlough would be great if it wasn't for the whole no pay thing.

So, I haven't talked much about it, but before I left for the band trip last month, we received notices at work that we were going to be required to take one full week without pay before the end of March. After I stopped hyperventilating a little and talked to a few co-workers, we realized this was something that had been on the horizon for quite sometime. I mean, let's face it, with the recent closing of the Seattle Post Intelligencer (all online news now) and the Rocky Mountain News as well as the reports of the NY Times' financial issues, print journalism isn't exactly the best industry to be in. Lucky for me, everyone reads the obits.

We had a meeting with the boss, who must have taken her good medication that day, because we were told we could split our time up. This made me breathe a little easier since I'm already living paycheck to paycheck as it is and one full week without pay would not be good right now. No way Jose. My co-workers saw things differently and have each taken a full week off, that way if it happens again (and it's expected to) they can apply right away for unemployment. I can see their point and hey, to each their own but that just wasn't going to fly for me. So two of my days in Florida were unpaid and for the last three days I've been camped out on Will's couch, watching reruns of Real Housewives and John & Kate plus 8 (a show I normally don't give a fig about since I think she's a horrible shrew) or cleaning up here and there around his apartment.

And let me tell you, I could get used to this.

It's not like I've been sleeping in either. I'm up to see Will off to work in the morning, then I enjoy a cup or two of coffee while I catch up on internet things, news, blog reading etc. Tuesday and yesterday I went to the gym or the park near his apartment. The park is way cool and I plan on using it more often when I'm in for weekend visits. It's nice to not have an agenda or schedule, to not have a phone ringing off the hook with stupid questions from funeral directors who already know the answer or customers who are totally unprepared to place an ad but just know they want to place one anyway. I also like it when my other half comes home at night and we enjoy dinner together. I've had a small glimpse of what it will be like when we move in together this fall and let me tell you, it's not a bad view.

Tonight I need to go home as tomorrow I go back to work again. I'm not looking forward to it, especially since I know I'll just be turning around and coming back tomorrow night (we're going to see a production of Amadeus at the local community college). Next week is going to be hell on wheels too. One of my co-workers in our area is out all week so a large portion of her job (doing the legal notices and notary stuff) will fall to me since I'm the only one there during the day.

But then the weekend will roll around and I'll be back in my favorite place again.