Day 129

Waking up to an alarm this morning for the first time in nearly three weeks was rotten. The good news is that I returned to fewer than 100 emails in my inbox, which I read through after catching up with coworkers about their various non-activities over the long break (we are all living on tighter budgets, after all). During the furlough, I read about half a dozen books and watched "An Affair to Remember" at least a half dozen times. I wrote a song, knitted a scarf, and learned how to make a classic French Bechamel sauce. I most definitely spent more time in my pajamas than in all other forms of attire combined. But the best part was the long periods of quality time I was able to spend with friends and family. Overall, the break was wonderful.

But now, back to business...

In his last State of the State address, Governor Schwarzenegger recommended that we amend the state constitution to require that we spend less on prisons than on higher education (state spending is currently quite the opposite). While I am absolutely delighted with his acknowledgment that state funding priorities are a bit out of whack, I frankly believe that the last thing this state needs is more bench-marked spending. I'm not saying the idea is a bad one, but that perhaps it is a bad one for this state in particular with the current state of our government and budget. One of the greatest problems with our budget is that the legislature has so little to play around with after all of the legally bound funds, that if we mandate educational spending without fixing the rest of the system, all the state will have is prisons and universities with a few dollars to spare for all the rest. But again, I'm relieved that he at least acknowledged the twisted priorities of a state that will allow it's education system to crumble in the interest of larger and better equipped prisons, which we will of course need to house all of our uneducated criminals.