How the US avoided a total government shutdown

There is nothing like leaving things until the last minute for action to be taken as can be seen in this article on the Washington Post.

Congressional leaders headed off a weekend shutdown of the federal government with a $1 trillion spending deal. The agreement will fully fund most of the government, including the Defense Department, Education Department and Environmental Protection Agency, for the rest of the 2012 fiscal year.  

Congress had a whole 27 hours to spare when the deal was struck.  Boredom,tiredness and the fact that everyone wanted to leave for their Xmas breaks probably assisted in making the deal happen.  

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congressional-leaders-negotiating-key-bills-to-avoid-government-shutdown/2011/12/15/gIQA6nPwwO_story.html?tid=pm_politics_pop