The woes of September

Later this year, September to be exact, the airport I work in will close for a month. The city is going to dig up the runway and build it again. They will also tear out all of the electrical stuff that makes up the runway light system and replace that as well. They will also address the drainage problems that have plagued the runway. The problem with this little escapade is that no flights will be able to land (not exactly true...there's a tiny, alternate runway for tiny planes...but unless the airlines switch to tiny planes then no commercial flights will land) so I won't really work that month. We will be open a little (no one knows the details of this yet but we have to be open for one-way returns, private flights and local rentals. However, there will be too many employees and not enough hours.

Problem No. 1: No work = no pay. I know that money doesn't buy happiness, but it does buy rent, food, and opium.
Problem No. 2: I absolutely do not believe that the work will be done in a month. The city workers? The guys that every time I drive by a road crew, one guy is working (slowly), one is leaning on his shovel, two are holding signs that tell me to go slow, one is sitting in his truck, and two are sitting on the tailgate drinking whatever they've spiked their coffee thermos with. Yeah, that crack staff will be timely and efficient.
Problem No. 3: They are counting on the weather to cooperate. Um, yeah. Idiots.

So I expect to have at least 6 weeks off instead of four. Luckily I have six months to work my budget into shape. I've already planned to have very little fun whatsoever for the rest of this year. Thanks city planners! Maybe you shmoes that make these decisions should have taken into account that you may be fixing a road, but you're displacing a workforce of dozens. Why not start a fund to subsidize the airport workers? I'm certain that these same planners aren't going to be out of work for 8-12% of their work year.

I hate politics and things I can't control.

sigh.