Anonymous
Post 10/16/2025 09:17     Subject: How are you spending your furlough?
Anonymous wrote:I was supposed to be on annual leave this week anyway, so it hasn’t really hit me. I don’t think it will change the rhythm of my life much unless or until the furlough stretchies into the New Year, after my kids are back at school. I then have huge ambitions about exercising, organizing clutter, cooking meals from scratch, and essentially doing all the things that SAHMs do.

What are your plans?


We are in England on a trip planned over a year ago. Five more days until we go home. Do have to work off and on though (we are lawyers and a lot of the courts are not continuing things because of this).
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2025 08:40     Subject: How are you spending your furlough?
Wondering can I retire while furloughed (at least I would get some kind of income). If I did could I work a few days to transition files ( 35 years so I still have paper). and provide notes to coworkers...or just drop the laptop and badge off.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2025 08:02     Subject: How are you spending your furlough?
Anonymous wrote:Working towards a certification and preparing to apply for private sector roles. Wish I could be watching Netflix but I feel stable, fulfilling federal employment is over.


I'm also applying for a new job. But I don't know if it's worth $700 to get a certification?
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2025 07:31     Subject: How are you spending your furlough?
Working. I’ve been excepted everyday but I don’t even know if I will be excepted again until the day before. So working without pay and unable to make any plans.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2025 06:51     Subject: How are you spending your furlough?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Reading for pleasure. Trying some restaurants. Private galleries.


Federal employees really live in a different universe. But enjoy the vacation that the rest of America is paying for. Nice gig. Enjoy your restaurants and galleries. And cash that nice check when the shutdown is over. Living the dream while doing nothing.


All I've ever wanted to do is my job. I like it, I'm good at it, I wish I were doing it now. The closure is not in my control and neither is whether I get paid.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2025 06:37     Subject: How are you spending your furlough?
Working towards a certification and preparing to apply for private sector roles. Wish I could be watching Netflix but I feel stable, fulfilling federal employment is over.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2025 05:49     Subject: How are you spending your furlough?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Working. I'm a furloughed, excepted employee who is expected to work everyday with no promise or expectation of on-time pay. It sucks monkey tails, to say the least.


Same here, and DH too. I'm tired. If they're going to try to weasel out of backpay anyway I'd rather just be furloughed.


If you work, you should receive back pay.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2025 05:45     Subject: How are you spending your furlough?
Working. It sucks. Very demoralizing and worried this isn’t ending anytime soon. Work at FBI and glad agents will be paid but sucks for the rest of us.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2025 05:40     Subject: How are you spending your furlough?
Anonymous wrote:Working. I'm a furloughed, excepted employee who is expected to work everyday with no promise or expectation of on-time pay. It sucks monkey tails, to say the least.


Same here, and DH too. I'm tired. If they're going to try to weasel out of backpay anyway I'd rather just be furloughed.
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 21:36     Subject: How are you spending your furlough?
Doing the work necessary to prepare to sell our house and move to Europe in case the US keeps going in this direction
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 21:25     Subject: How are you spending your furlough?
Worrying about whether I’ll still have a job after all of this.
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 20:21     Subject: Re:How are you spending your furlough?
Gym and walking every day, decluttering, walking the dog, trying not to spend any extra money, napping
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 18:49     Subject: How are you spending your furlough?
Working. I'm a furloughed, excepted employee who is expected to work everyday with no promise or expectation of on-time pay. It sucks monkey tails, to say the least.
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 18:36     Subject: How are you spending your furlough?
Cleaning out the garage, hanging blinds, basically doing all the things I haven’t had any time to do over the past few years. Keeping very busy to try and divert my brain and keep the stress at bay.
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 18:31     Subject: Re:How are you spending your furlough?
Car repairs, cleaning, organizing, small home improvement projects.