Compostable Kate

I've lost friend s over my personal views about “not doing” Christma s, but it's just as well that I'm not into Christmas in a big way, as I am totally skint at the moment, and can't even afford postage for Christmas cards. I'm hanging onto my home internet connection by the skin of my teeth, so may be able to send out a few virtual seasonal greetings, although I'll probably just tweet something (it shows up on facebook, too, you see). If I submitted to the social pressure of Christmas I would be feeling even worse than I already do about being so poor, and so far away from my family. I can't afford cards, or gifts, or festive food, or any kind of party or gathering*, and can really appreciate why this is such a difficult time of year for many people. Of course, I miss my family at this time of year, and if I had the money I would definitely travel to go and see them. If I had the money I would probably also send them gifts, because I love them a...

I haven't fallen literally on my arse for at least two weeks (had a bit of an incident in the shower at Hotel KaznSteve , but it didn't even leave a bruise, so it's hardly worth mentioning), but I have well and truly fallen down in a metaphorical sense. Fallen down and scraped both knees, and even though I'm 40 years old, I feel like crying to Mum about it. I came to this uni course full of confidence, straight from a job I felt I was good at, to do something that I was sure I would be great at. I felt that the stars and planets had all aligned to make my high school teaching ambitions come true, on the second time of trying. I was available, and – at QUT at least – qualified. I could get financial assistance from Centrelink (Austudy is more generous than Newstart, so it would marginally easier to survive without working). Friends and family all thought it was a great idea. Then I started. By the time I got over the physical shock of uni life I had fallen...

Yes, I have a debt with Centrelink. I had problems trying to report my earnings when I was completing my forms online; I was reporting monthly, but could only enter 2 weeks' wages each time. When I went into the Centrelink office to sort this out, with the staff person laboriously checking off my payslips against my records, I was told that everything was fine, and I'd even have $20 paid into my account the following day. What I got, along with my $20, was a letter telling me I owed them $1200, because I was overpaid for the weeks that I wasn't able to report my income. It turns out that the person I saw did know this, as it would have been immediately flagged on my record once she had input all my info, and could have told me about it at the time, but she chose not to. They are supposed to tell us about these things straight away, but often don', in order to avoid difficult situations. I thought it was pretty cowardly, especially as I was being really straightfoward...

I've not been unemployed for at least 10 years. There were a couple of weeks when I moved back to Australia in 1999 when I didn't have a job, and a few weeks when I had to withdraw from university in my first year, back in 1995, but other than that, I've always had a job (I haven't always been paid , but I've always had a job). I certainly didn't plan to be unemployed at this stage in my life, and as I had only been getting paid for my last job for 6 weeks, after two and a half years as a full-time volunteer, I am definitely not in any financial state to be jobless. I had already planned to take a week's break after finishing up at CH, which is just as well, considering what else has been happening, so I've only been jobseeking for a week so far. I had been hoping to find some casual, straightforward work, to fill my time and pay my rent, but without any stress or sleepless nights as a result. However, many options are closed to me now: bartendin...