The saddest truth is those groups of people holding signs at street corners are paid to stand there - not volunteers, and most don't even truly support that particular politician. It's a real shame to see the people (for lack of a more accurate analogy) still believe in Santa.

...and since it is so very similar, I have to say I'm a hair disappointed in these "journals by journalists." Personally, I have always hoped for a real inside perspective - what goes on working from day to day. I realize this is a particularly touchy subject in the UK, but it isn't just your paper's journals which disappoint.

Of course I can pass it off as getting used to the format, and you're perhaps a bit disgruntled about doing "more work for the same pay." Who knows - I have no clue what is going through your head about this whole process, and that is exactly what I would love to know most of all.

Certainly the masses who congregate to cheer on a victory aren't paid (or at least I should hope so) - I'm referring to the groups with bull horns and big signs urging people to vote for the candidate. Not all of these groups are paid, but if you look close enough, you can tell the difference. There's plenty of this sort of thing in every campaign, and to be completely honest, I'm completely baffled as to why any politician would hire these sorts of groups - unless they are trying to capitalize on the fools who vote to be on a bandwagon... but I digress.

You can say your day-to-day lives are boring until you're blue in the face, but I won't believe it. I'm just a work-at-home freelancer and every person I've encountered absolutely has to know every detail. They may not realize it yet, but they want to know what it's like to evaluate a possible next step in their career - and that is very much along the lines of my reasoning too.

If I had known then what I know now, I might have been able to avoid some of the bigger bumps in the road. I don't have any close personal friends in the field, so I am petrified of not knowing what I am getting myself into. Although I have trucked on through these last 3 years, I still have a bit of "glass ceiling fear" because I don't completely understand what would be expected of me, provided to me, or conned from me - be it material or simply mental.

Take for instance, I had no idea how much I would have to change what I value. In a typical working environment, if you do a good job you can pretty much expect that someone will praise you for it or notice. Working from home as a freelancer is lonely to begin with - then you have to factor in the absolute lack of praise. Getting paid is your only thank-you. I didn't understand why I was so disgruntled about "living my dream" until I sat down to really think about it and re-evaluate what I value and appreciate in my work - which became, quite simply, the quality of my work.

And, no offense to your colleagues, but I don't follow politics through media. It's just not my cup of tea.