I Plan to Sequester Myself Near a River

I suppose I should be concerned by this panic-inducing headline in the WaPo's Federal Diary: Furloughs likely would exceed 1 million; feds feel ‘undervalued, unappreciated’!!! It all sounds very dire, and needs a lot of exclamation points.

I've seen the official Department notice, so I know the possibility of unpaid furloughs is quite real. And yet, it rolls off me like water off a duck's back brown trout. Preferably a trout in the Rose River, certainly in a river somewhere in the Shenandoah Valley.  

Ever since I enrolled in the Department's retirement seminar I have adopted a whole new laid-back vibe. I won't actually retire for a few more years, and I won't stop working even after that, but the mere act of planning for retirement has me feeling downright giddy. Undervalued and unappreciated? Speak for yourself, WaPo. Personally, I'm feeling pretty good.

Spending a couple weeks fishing sounds like a great alternative to the daily grind. My fellow feds have my sympathy, and I know that furloughs will cause real hardships and disruptions to families. But at least I won't be contributing to the misery.