Hello!!!

OK. This is kind of exciting, having my own blog. I know, I know, there are thousands out there, and I'm probably the only person who's going to read this post, but at the same time, its a bit exciting. I might be sitting here in my dressing gown, with fluffy slippers on (which, incidently I discovered have a big split in the sole that let in water when I had to go outside to shift my car the other night...hate that!), but I'm kind of talking to the world, so it's all good!

What can I say? Jen Lancaster (author of Bitter is the New Black has a lot to answer for here. I just finished reading her book during the week and was inspired by the idea of getting my thoughts out into the world in a way that doesn't involve going through editors, publishing, and journalism. The fact that my thoughts are irrelevant to most other people is not going to deter me, so anyone unlucky enough to stumble across this should be warned right now...There was also the thought that I work in an industry that's being tipped to implode any minute now, and this would at least give me something to do other than thumb twiddling should my job fall by the wayside. I can't say that I'd be exactly devastated by that (anyonewhothinks architecture is an exciting and glamourous career shourd spend a day watching us agonise over the choice of toilet bowl for a primary school for A WHOLE DAY. They might change their mind after a glimpse into the mind numbing world of attention to detail...once they woke up, that is), but I do like getting a pay cheque every so often. It seems to make my world run that much smoother.

For anyone else, here's a thought for the day...With the new financial year just started here in Australia, everyone was wondering just how the new round of tax cuts was going to affect them, expecting a slightly larger pay packet. So, you can guess how surprised my Mum was when her pay came out to be almost exactly the same. After all the fuss that was made about this round of cuts, you'd think that there was going to be twice as much money in your pay at the end of the week. Instead, my Mum, who works 20 hours a week in retail, one of the lowest paid and least appreciated jobs around in my humble opinion, found herself the proud owner of an extra 81 cents. That's right. Not even a whole dollar. So, the next time you're in a shop, have a think about that. Pro rata, shop assistants can boast that they have $1.62 more per week to spend. That almsot buys them a litre of petrol. Well, it does this week, but next? Who knows...

So, I officially have a ranting blog to vent spleen...and spleen has been vented accordingly...Let's see how long I can keep up the enthusiasm for doing this...Given how bored I get at work (does Ebay count as mis-use of office resources? I'm in trouble if it does...) I can see the posts coming thick and fast for the next 98 days...beyond that, who knows...