After closing on Thursday for Thanksgiving, the University of Wisconsin-Madison also will be shut down Friday as a state-mandated furlough day for most of the school's employees.

This unpaid day off is one of eight required of state workers in each of the next two years of the 2009-11 budget cycle. Each year, four of those off days for UW-Madison employees are designated as campus-wide furlough days. Workers have much more leeway in deciding when to take the other four days off.

Are any UW-Madison employees out there truly upset that they can't head into work today?

During the 2009-10 academic year, the three remaining campus-wide furlough days are: Wednesday, Dec. 30; Friday, April 2; and Friday, May 21. On these dates, the university will be closed for all but "essential services."

For the record, most Cap Times workers also are being forced to take another round of furloughs. Friday is a furlough day for yours truly (this post was written on Wednesday).

Sure, the pay cut stinks. And yes, the work will continue to pile up. But being away from the office for a long weekend with family and friends is a bonus. A big bonus.