The end has come

After what seems like forever, we at the MN legislature have finally reached a budget decision and have ended the unprecedented 20 day government shutdown.  Translation: Corinne now has a life again!  My job is very exciting but there are definitely stressful days.  I'm sure most people will never know how hard we worked - a general framework of the deal was announced Thursday night, and we worked around the clock Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to hammer out the details and get the bills passed.  There wasn't a single night in that time that I got more than 4-6 hours of sleep, because we'd start at 8am and not leave until midnight, 2am, or 4am.  I'm not one to pat myself on the back but I'd say our leadership and staff did a damn fine job. 

It's funny what sleep deprivation & stress can do to a person when you add in the fact that we hadn't gone to the grocery store in, like, 2 weeks.  You know when you get home in the middle of the night and are running out of food at home and start fighting over the last of the pizza because you've had no time to get groceries that you need a break.  It was a tough end to the session not only from the frustration of dealing with an uncompromising, unpredictable head of state, but also because of all the personal things you miss out on.  I had to miss visiting my friend in the hospital when she had her first baby, had to miss hosting a shower for another friend that I had planned, and barely saw my husband all week.  Others in my office missed a family member's birthday party, had to give away their Twins tickets, sacrificed time with their families, etc.  It was all for you, Minnesota.  I hope you know you've got a skilled, dedicated group of people serving you at the Capitol who truly care about your needs.

It amuses me how people dealt with their stress once we finally passed all those bills at 4am.  Personally, I was in no mood to celebrate - all I could think of was getting home to bed.  Now that the budget's done I have the rest of the week off, and intend to spend it sleeping, relaxing, catching up with friends, and seeing the latest Harry Potter movie everyone's been raving about.  I'm super excited to see it in 3D.  Hopefully the whole thing will be in 3D, not just 5 minutes of it like the last one.  Can we say rip-off??