Things are Looking Up!

I felt lucky to be in Australia the day that its first female prime minister was sworn in. I had no idea it was going to happen, most people didn't. I found out when I turned on the TV on Thursday. It was all abuzz talking about it. Apparently the night before a vote had been taken within Julia Gillard's party - the Labor Party. They voted her the new leader of the party, which I guess automatically made her prime minister since the Labor Party is in power, replacing Kevin Rudd. Not knowing much about parliamentary democracies, I found it quite odd and I'm still getting up to speed. (So if anyone knows this story better than me, feel free to correct me) I think it's an interesting political process. Some say it's a tactic being used because Rudd is slipping in popularity polls. So if Gillard uses this time to prove she is a worthy PM, the Labor Party is more likely to win the next election. But whatever the motives or strategies involved, it was an historic moment and encouraging for women around the world that yet another barrier was broken for women somewhere in the world. I really found it inspirational to see her being sworn in.

Also, on the heels of a good job meeting in Gladstone, I was invited for another job interview, this time in Mackay, another small Northern Queensland beach town. It's with the same organization, but would be a higher ranking position. So I did another one-day fly up and back. I thought it was a successful meeting, so I hope they thought the same. In the next week or two, I will hopefully have made a decision and be officially employed!