Today is a holiday in some places and to some people. Can someone tell me if my bank is open, or if I'll get mail? I wonder how much inefficiency results from such uncertainty.
I know it's a court holiday, because all the courtroom calendars showed red for today. A public servant I've known since law school is available for lunch in my neighborhood for a change, instead of near the courthouse. In some ways, today is special but not because anyone is celebrating Lincoln's birth.
My staff will be in the office today. We have a rule that if the courts and schools are both closed, we close. Some schools are closed, some are open. I guess the staff figured out how the rule applies, or maybe they're coming in because they couldn't figure it out.
We don't count today for most deadlines, because it's not a court day, and anything due today is extended until tomorrow, unless it is a deadline counting back from some date in the future. Got that? I have a guy who bugs me whose staff can't seem to count right, but it's not that hard - it's a little joy we joke about to make these days fun.
I really liked it before we started worrying about building in 3-day holidays for employees. Every February 12th was Lincoln's Birthday, and the 22nd was Washington's. None of this President's Day crap, where no one pays attention to presidents, except a few politicians giving speeches, and always the same date every year. None of this moving dates to make long weekends, and if Lincoln's birthday fell on a weekend, we might extend it to Monday.
I don't mind when everything is closed on a mid-week day: A nice breather, breaking the week into two short pieces. [Not really everything, just the holiday things like schools, banks, and government buildings.] I can justify running personal errands mid-day, rather than real work.
I used to like it when most of our deadlines were measured in calendar days. Now, most that we deal with are measured by court days: 16, 9, 5, and 2 days court days before a hearing. What a pain when you can't do it without a complicated computer program or a calendar.
Guess I'll get coffee, and go see what's open.
