The government shutdown was initiated yesterday, due to the fact that congress could not agree on a spending bill. This is a budget that must be passed in order to allow government funds to be spent.

Many questions have been raised in response the stalemate. How does this affect me?  Is this when I retreat to my underground shelter? Will school be cancelled? What does the government do, exactly?

Here’s an idea of what to expect in the impending future:

1. Finally getting around to that deck project! First and foremost, many federal employees will be on furlough- meaning they are on unpaid leave temporarily. The shutdown may also begin to affect the private sector as companies postpone hirings.

2. That tropical vacation is just a mirage Thinking about traveling abroad in the near future? It may not be possible due to closures of government passport and visa offices. And no, you still can’t go to Cuba.

3. Is that okay to eat? The FDA is a government program that provides routine health inspections of food companies. This isn’t guaranteed under the shutdown.

4. Wake me up when October ends You or your family may see a delay or stoppage of government benefits. Agencies like the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program will stop distributing funds to needy families. However, most agencies have enough money right now to hold out for a couple weeks.

5. No more Ol Faithful National parks and museums, including Yellowstone and the National Zoo, will be closed. These bastions of educational fun are supported by the government.

6. Follow blindly Some government websites and twitter accounts may shut down. However, Chuck Grassley will continue to tweet grammatically questionable sentences justified only by his lack of age and therefore confused use of technology. Example: “4Times the Republican House passed bills to fund govt(no shutdown)  4times Reid&54Dems said to house”jump in lake”  so Result is shutdown.”

7. Cough cough The Centers for Disease Control suffer cutbacks, meaning their efforts to fight disease are curbed.

8. Wait.. huh? Ironically, the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which started this whole mess, went into effect yesterday.