A job that changed me: I spent a year reading electrical meters – and rediscovered the joy of writing (opens in new tab)

I was bitten by dogs; I made friends with so many dogs. One time a horse appeared, tearing in my direction. All the while, the war with the creative part of myself continuedIn 2011, I left Melbourne and took a job as an electricity meter reader in the country. The offer came from an ex-bandmate of mine, working in administration at the meter-reading company. They were desperate: the person before me had only lasted a month. During my undergraduate years, I’d walked the inner suburbs on meter-...