So are the big wigs trying to fill any of these empty slots in your department? Or do they just expect you all to take on the extra work with a smile on your face and a skip in your step?

They'll fill them, slowly. In the meantime we shuck and jive.

Don't do it! I heard the people in Ann Arbor are arboreal.:cool:

Ya know, Infi, if you were a hobo, you could just off yourself.;)

See, this is the value of brainstorming.

To be killed, I could just wander around Ann Arbor in an Ohio State shirt. ;)

I wanted to say thanks, again, for your comments. It's nice to know somebody cares. :)

Also, I did express to my boss that things are going to continue to suck because I just can't do it all. She says we'll meet and discuss that.

I still believe my job should be separate from this dept. I could do all the processing and reconciling I'm charged with if they could cut me out of the customer service aspect. I spend most of my time putting out fires; I'm supposed to be spending most of my time reconciling I won't tell you how many millions. A lot. A lot of millions...to the penny. THis takes time, concentration. Plus I have a bunch of other responsibilities that could probably be enough for one person and keep them very busy.

I hope for change. But I'm not holding my breath.

I can't say I know how you feel but it does have a familiar ring to it, infini. I would be sick, upset stomach, butterflies, dread, the whole enchilada before work and I worked the very sucky inhumane hours of 7p to 7a. Believe me, when you get to 6:30 in the morning it takes every molecule of your being to NOT bolt. but, I digress. I guess I LOVE to talk about my (old) problems.

I AM in your shoes except for the dreading work part. I do dread some parts of the day - when I'm most likely to lose control, etc., and this month I am getting a new storm door as my old one is 1)original to the house built in 1957; 2)suffering from wood rot and 3) won't close properly and the plastic 'window' is broken. so. this month I'm searching out sources of poor people food (beans and rice, right?) and i won't be driving anywhere that doesn't involve an AA meeting. The month of Oct. is already spent for me. My kitchen floor is a mess, my 1/2 bath doesn't work, I need a new bathtub, new windows (they, too, are 55 years old) and I've virtually NO insulation in this house. I get ice on the INSIDE of one of my bedroom windows.

That said: I thank Goddess every day that I have shelter which I have made at least as beautiful as I can, and food (though it's hot dogs when I want steak) and a car even if it DOES make a funny whining noise which wasn't there last week. I'm healthy. I'm not wealthy. And that will be okay.

There are always options, although they may not fit into the mold of your ideal solution.

Motorbike instead of car, bus instead of car, cheaper car, working remotely, multiple part time jobs instead of 1 main, DIY repair/replacement, barter/swap for help, internal transfer, and if all else fails, drugs. ;)

Good luck and hang in there! I did at my company, for 5 very long, understaffed and underpaid years. Finally got staffed up (although a couple are total nitwits :() and got a raise. There is something to be said for perseverance.

Oh, and infini - when they pile on the work, can you just look at them and say, "What is the priority here b/c one person cannot do all of this in the timeframe you are suggesting," and then whip out your badge and make a citizens arrest.

I have a 35 mile commute into a busy large city...almost all interstate. No way am I motorbiking. Also, I like my head. You may not know this, but people have a tendency to run into me (some dwellars know all those stories) and I'm not chancing that on a motorcycle.

No public transport from the rural area into the city. ;)

I need insurance. Multiple part time jobs would be hunky dorey if I were, say, married and on husband's insurance.

I think some of it is Monday blues, too. Gridlocked traffic due to a few bozos driving like idiots and wrecking all over the place. An issue popped back up that I've been trying to deal with since I got here (hence my talk with my boss.)

I have been perservering and it all just hit me badly today. All I can really do is keep my eyes open (which I do: at area colleges and within this one, also county and city job opportunities) and wait to see if anything changes as a result of the consultant findings.

I probably should have just offered a hug...

((((((((((Infi)))))))))))

Why didn't you say you just needed insurance! My buddy Rafe has pretty good insurance at the septic tank company. He's been looking for a good woman since his last one ran away. He even has most of his teeth! Do you want me to let him know how desparate you are?

Oh stormie, you know women. We don't really want solutions we just want to be heard. ;)

But I have thought of many of the things you've suggested. It's been on my mind for some time. Didn't mean to seem ungrateful. :)

Sarge: Welll HAWT DAMN hell yeah...gimme Rafe's phone number. Does he build septic tanks or clean them? Also, why did his last wife run away, and how many have run away total?

Wife ???

I thought Sarge said she was Rafe's 1st cousin. :rolleyes:

Is that a distinction without a difference?