(diaryland) August 20, 2010 - 2:12 p.m.

Yeah, I'm working for the election. That's over twelve hours of ruling off people's names and then counting votes for the tidy sum of three-hundred-and-forty-ish bucks. I think it's actually 339.83. I thought that was good money, but the guy at the shop around the corner from work and my mother seem to think it's quite poor pay.

The thing is, if I find a ten-cent coin lying around on the pavement, it raises my level of pay for that day quite significantly. So I think it's worth it. Not that I've done the job yet.

I will be working in the seat of Melbourne, which is probably the most exciting seat in the whole of Australia. This is the one seat that could actually go to the Greens. That would be a historic thing.

There are so many rules to remember about what's a formal vote, and what's an informal vote. If you forget to write a number in a box, it's OK. But if you don't write a number in a box, and you put a squiggle there, your vote is totally wrecked and I won't count it. If you invent a new candidate and draw a convincing box neatly down the bottom, that's OK too as long as you give it your last preference.

You are allowed to vote with Roman numerals, but please don't do that below the line in the senate because I might die.

We are living in interesting times, my friend. The country could be a different place tomorrow.