The hassle with Centerlink is primarily because my current job is casual... and even though some weeks that can mean like, 22 hours or more, some weeks it means nothing... which according to Centerlink, puts me in the category of still being reliant on them... and yeah, that's true.

If I go study full time, I will actually get LESS money from Centerlink than I am now, which I can in no way afford, specially not with transport to and from uni, rising petrol costs and cost of textbooks!!!! They also wouldn't give me rent assistance for my share of the rent I pay, which I couldn't do without.

So, I go part time. But then, Centerlink tells me "if you're not studying full time, then that has nothing to do with us, you do that on your own time, you still have to come in here and fulfill every one of our obligations" which means going on a 35 minute trip to the office every fortnight to hand in forms, go to Assisted Job Search appointments, look for 9 jobs a fortnight, do whatever shifts I have at work, and also do Work for the Dole... and then my study, which is done in "my own time". I actually spend hours and hours a week, doing all the stuff for Centerlink, but if I go fulltime study, my money from them drops by about $75 or so they worked out, which is much too much to lose. Even cheap Coles brand food is getting expensive.

So long and dreary.

Everyone here keeps telling me to go see a counsellor. I've been to see various ones on a couple of occasions... They can be so awfully annoying... I mean, you tell them about how your best friend one night while you were drunk practically raped you and you woke up to find him on top of you going hell for leather, and you're crying your eyes out and the doc says "now how do you feel about that?"
You just wanna scream "How the f**k do you THINK I feel you loser???"

I am totally not going to be like that when I am counselling.