Sleeping on the Job never sounded so good!

Unless you have been in outer Mongolia or anywhere similarly far from the clutches of social media (or my persistent pestering) you will no doubt be aware of a little thing called the Sealy Australia “Sleeping on the Job” competition that after being run from mid August to mid September, came down to a final five of judges choice to see who would be crowned the coveted sleep ambassador for the month of October.

And just like you see on Reality TV, apparent talent will only get you so far. Once the fab five were shortlisted  they are then thrust out to the mercy of the voting public who shall have the final say in whether it’s a yay or nay in terms of victory.  It’s a bit Australia’s Got Talent meets your Federal Election… Perhaps political perseverance will pay off while vying for votes  or perhaps true talent will reveal the rightful winner! It's anyone’s guess but what is guaranteed is that you have to give it your all while you wait to see what will eventuate…

So, for the next 96hrs I morphed into campaign manager mode and began the desperate drive to secure much desired votes to win this (literally) dream job.

I was pitted against superior competition so I knew all stops had to be pulled out. That then equated to me constantly badgering and harassing every single person in my email address book that I’ve ever crossed paths with in my 32 years of life (no matter how briefly and how long it had been since we last spoke!) but also attacked Twitter in earnest.  And by earnest I shall give you an example - I tweeted 167 times in 96 hours on the subject. It would normally take me 4 weeks to issue that many, not 4 days!  I also bombarded Facebook and begged shamelessly for votes and was thrilled to see some friends even made my pleas as their status update to help share the load.

I upped the ante a bit by tweeting my all time idol Oprah, tried my luck for a RT with my fave Kardashian (Khloe) and even sent the Gap Year boys Hamish & Andy an emergency tweet to see if they might help my cause. And when my beloved footy team was bundled out of the NRL finals I even beseeched sympathy votes by way of making up for their loss that people pass a vote on to me.

I blogged about my desire to win, how the past few months have been mentally tough, confidence zapping and causing me to second guess myself often. And how this opportunity would herald the professional writing chance I so badly yearned for.

Even the local paper got in on the act, interviewing me, and I also let the local radio station know of my mission.  I was determined that no stone be left unturned in my quest for success. I did not want to look back with ANY regrets. Even if winning was not to be, I wanted to be secure in the knowledge I gave it my ALL. 

Even though I was shackled to the computer, and that the husband and son felt largely neglected during campaign time I battled on. As each day came to a campaigning close, I felt I needed a long shower to scrub away the lingering scent of annoying lobbyist from my skin (and psyche!).  I honestly began to foster an admiration for public office life and felt relieved my quest for success was only (thankfully) to be short lived

And it was with utter relief and ecstatic joy that it came to be that I was eventually crowned winner of the inaugural Sealy Australia “Sleeping on the Job” competition! With 38.6% of the final vote I was hailed victor.

But like all campaigns there are some significant thank you’s to be issued – firstly to my fellow finalists.  We should stand proud that out of hundreds of entries our collective five were judged finest.  If only we could have all won this most amazing prize….

Some special gratitude goes to my number 1 fellow polling place companion, Susan Whelan, who made draining campaigning far more bearable. We are inextricably bound for life after this taxing lobbying experience and I’m honoured that I’ve gained a friend from it all.  Susan, thank you for the laughs and for keeping me in check, and spurring me on! You and I, lovely lady are due to have a big glass of bubbles together one day soon!

And finally to all who supported me in this crazy campaign, by either casting a simple vote or spreading the word far and wide on my behalf,  I am in an eternal debt of gratitude to you for helping this dream come to fruition.   

Vanquished after a hard fought campaign (and three glasses of Moet later celebrating with the husband!), being paid to sleep on the job never sounded so damn good.