The more things change...

So, what's changed in the past eleven months?

A few things...

I've moved jobs. Again. Back in early 2022, I made the conscious decision to take up a 0.8 EFT part-time role with a community arts organisation. I did the maths, and I could make it work. I wanted to shake off the so-called golden shackles of public service, roll up my sleeves and get into the "real world" of the non-government arts sector, and get some creative work done on my one day off a week.

It would have worked out too, had it not for the insane rise in the cost of living that has ensued over the past year. By June last year, the maths no longer added up, and so I applied for a job back in the ACT Public Service, and long story short, I'm now working as a Marketing Coordinator at the Canberra Theatre Centre.

It's not where I planned to be, but I feel incredibly lucky to be working in a large Marketing / Communications Team, with some incredibly talented people, supporting a creative sector that I'm passionate about. I also earn a living wage which has, for the most part, been more than sufficient - though we'll see how that goes as interest rates continue to rise.

The other big thing that's happened is that about six months ago, I made the conscious decision to work more on my health. I've never been the physically fittest of people, but I acknowledge that for most of my life thus far, I've taken a lot of my health for granted. But I know that I can't do this for much longer.

It's still a work in progress - a mixture of spin classes and resistance training, 4-6 days a week. I'm trying to find the right balance, that doesn't leave me in too much muscular pain for several days a week, but also makes me feel like I'm making some progress, and setting myself into a weekly pattern that's sustainable for the long term.

I find that the hardest thing is the early mornings - many of my sessions start at 6am, because it's the only time I have available, especially with show rehearsals in the evening. So, the biggest change I've needed to make is actually going to bed at a sensible hour... preferably around 9.30pm.

Of course, I write this at 11.30pm, which brings me to my final big change coming up. I've been up late working on the IFLA Library Services to Multicultural Populations Section Newsletter, for which I am the editor. I'm also coming up to the end of my four-year term on the section standing committee, and looking forward to hanging up my hat. As a volunteer, it hasn't been a *huge* amount of work, but it's been enough of a disruption to some of the new changes in my life, that I know that it's time to stop. But more on that later, I guess.

But overall, the more things change, the more they stay the same. I'm still on a meandering career path which never feels like it's in control in the moment but in hindsight there's definitely a trajectory at play. I'm still overcommitted to a point where it impacts my health, but I'm actually doing something about it this time. I don't feel like I'm hitting many of my personal goals at the moment, but it's a weird time - not weird in a post-COVID "we've been living in lockdown" way, but in a "everything's just a bit harder than it used to be" way. Same as it ever was.