Don't hate me, but I love working

Yes, I love Mini Me. BUT, I miss working.

Most people hate going to work. Not me. I love it. 

Don't get me wrong, I have 'I don't want to get out of bed' days. But four out of five days I actually enjoy going to work.

I love the structure, the people and even the challenges. I love my job - even dealing with ignorant people, unjustified complaints and office politics. I thrive on solving a community member's problem, finding the best way to tell people about the projects and disruptions, turning a negative perception into an ally and building relationships.

It's by no way anyone else's dream job, but being the Public Transport Authority's communications person for projects is mine. It defined me for a long time.

That brings me to this bittersweet day. 

Today the Fremantle Line tunnel for the Perth City Link went operational. It follows part one of the biggest train network disruption Perth has seen. You'd think it would give everyone a platform to whine, but Perth didn't, despite the heavens raining down for most of it. 

Mini Me fast asleep on her first train ride.

 

The reason for minimal complaints was the team effort to put in place a flawless communications campaign. It was a strategy that started in late 2012 involving people from a number of organisations. The core team at Transperth and the Alliance deserve so many accolades for doing a brilliant job.

So why is it bittersweet? For purely selfish reasons. I feel like the person who was a key player for the entire season, only to be injured and side-lined for the Grand Final. No one remembers the people that got you there, only the players on the day. After working on the project for three years, putting the groundwork in place, this was the once in a lifetime opportunity; my crowning moment. Then my 'injury' came and I'm benched.

It's times like this that I miss the daily grind and wonder whether I should go back to work sooner. 

Mini Me... the youngest member of the comms team

But then it's moments like this that show me there are so many different types of once in a lifetime opportunities and maybe this is the job I should be jumping out of bed for. For the time being anyway.

Mini Me's first photographed smile