You might, if you read my blog regularly, have been wondering what I have been doing recently. I haven’t posted for a while, so as you might guess, that answer to your question is "not much".
I haven’t been doing nothing, however. My desk is slowly taking shape, after many trials with the electric jigsaw (the supposed "guide" is surely a misnomer) and the hand saws (one goes straight but takes ages; the other is nice and quick but goes all over the place). I’m now sorting out the keyboard shelf so I shall soon be shouting at the hammer for making such an impression of my thumb, and quite possibly lobbing a few dowels across the room. Then it remains to build the final shelf for the monitor, which could prove the greatest challenge: another job for the electric jigsaw.
I have also applied for a few jobs. I want to start my working life proper somewhere stimulating and exciting: I’ll be damned if I’m forced to make friends with electronic colleagues and a calculator named "Alfred". I still want to be creative and I want to have the opportunity to present myself as an entity rather than as an employee, but chances are getting fewer and I’m looking abroad.
Stevie B 
I think it’s a good idea to check some council websites and see whether they have any vacancy that suits you. Councils seem to offer high salary… Or did you try http://www.reed.co.uk? You don’t want to start with something that has nothing to do with your degree?
I’ve been checking a few local councils – they aren’t really recruiting. In fact over the past few weeks some councils have stopped advertising jobs in the regional paper.
imho, an employee status is not bad. you can use it as stepping stone for a better job. having a job is better than jobless.