Earning a crust

WORKING 9 to 5 would be a bonus. But now I've finally secured some full time employment, full time is exactly what it is.

I leave the house at 8.20am and get home for 6pm and the days are long for this working girl who hasn't earned a cent since December 23.

I know, I know... I shouldn't complain. I'm on the ladder to employment success so I should consider myself lucky. But half of me just wants to put the clock back and have me sitting back at my Leader workstation looking after all my loyal correspondents and having the odd daily giggle or two, three, four, five or six with my colleagues.

I have made the right decision in coming out here and I realise it's going to be difficult to re-discover a mirror image of the fantastic job I voluntarily gave up - but the facts remain ... it's taken the best part of three months for me to be back on the payroll and I thought finding work would be so, so much easier. I mean... I'm such a good worker. Loyal. Trustworthy. Dependable. Punctual. Flexible. Personable. But work for me out here hasn't been forthcoming. At all.

In fact, a part time office role I know of has, in the past three days, attracted some 180 applications. Competition is fierce and the pressure is on but having spent the best part of two months on a daily prowl of the pages of the Australian job websites, paid work is minimal and you should count yourself lucky if you've got it.

So I do. Count myself lucky. I'm working at a fast-paced publishing company and have been thrown in right at the deep end. I showed up to clock on well within time on Monday morning all bright eyed and bushy tailed only to have the wind taken out of my sails after the MD told me my fellow 'graphic designer' was off on holiday for the week. Sink or swim were the options so I got my waterwings out of my handbag and sailed through the week. I say 'sailed' in the broadest sense... spluttered would be more like it.

So, I survived the week ... just. I now know all there is to about Adobe Photoshop, tifs, jps and artwork to follow. Granted, I had a fair understanding of all this before but flying solo and coming up with the goods single-handedly is a totally different ball game. I was spoilt at the Leader. I had my picture desk colleagues at my constant beck and call and I only wish they'd been with me this week to help me in my 42 and a half hours of need...