I have no title for this post but have to write something here in order to post my post so this is my "no title" post.

Today I decided that I need, need, NEED a vacation. It's always right around the holidays that my job becomes....stressful. This year the stress is compounded by the fact that the state has not been hiring for a long time now and as employees are leaving, vacancies and not being filled. Now, everywhere you go you hear about how bad "the economy sucks." This is causing more people to lose their jobs or quit their jobs thinking they can get a new job (but then they can't). Now it doesn't take a genious to figure out that higher unemployment rates leads to more people applying for government assistance which would normally require more state employees to handle this rush but because we're not hiring, the higher-ups are finding new and creative ways to "handle" this. Wait, let me back up....what exactly do I do? Well, I'm a social service worker in the children and family services, economic assistance unit for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. That's fancy for "I'm a case processor for people that apply for financial assistance such as food stamps, Medicaid, cash assistance, etc." Anyways...at this time of year, people are in an especial hurry to apply and get any benefits they may be eligible for. Obviously no one wants to be without food for thanksgiving or without heat when the nights get cold. Last year the boss' boss said it was just good customer service to take on more than the already almost too many applications we get in a week so these people can get their benefits and bang, 10 more apps. Yikes. This year they have bumped us from 13 to 14 apps in a week and I have a sneaking suspicion we'll be getting another "dump" like last year. Don't get me wrong....I don't mind helping people who are in need, in fact, I like it. Why else would I be doing what I do? It's just....for lack of a better word...stressful. Even thinking about it now is stressing me out which is why I'm going to stop talking about it now. :)

It's my sister's 30th birthday today. Happy birthday Jess! As her 20's come to an end, it gets me thinking about where all the time went. Her 20's...my 14-24....just flew by! So much happened! She had a baby. I graduated high school. My brother got married. She got married. My brother's wife had a baby. I graduated college. She had a baby. I got a real job. I got engaged. My little brother graduated high school. I got married. And now she's gonna have another baby! Crazyness. Well, I think it's been a good life so far. We're all happy and healthy with good friends and great family.