For Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm, federal politics is a bit like a Wagner opera.
For independent Jacqui Lambie it's not that different to the military.
And for Nick Xenophon, another independent, it all reminds him of the refrain from the Woody Allen movie Annie Hall: life is full of misery, loneliness and unhappiness and it's all over much too quickly.
The three crossbench senators all admitted they had no idea of the long hours and hard work ahead when they were first elected.
Senator Leyonhjelm said he hadn't anticipated the intensity of life in federal parliament.
The moments of pleasure were limited to when he felt he had really made a difference.
"But they are a bit like a Wagner opera - moments of sheer bliss interspersed with utter boredom," he told the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday.
"I'm really glad we don't do that 52 weeks of the year. I think it would kill me."
A sitting day was a minimum of 12 hours and quite often 14 or 15 hours.
Senator Lambie said her colleague clearly wasn't putting in the required hours.
"Because I'm doing about 20," she said.
Just as well she loves it and feels honoured to be a part of the political establishment.
The former soldier said her time in uniform helped.
"It runs very similar in a way to what it does in headquarters in Defence," she said.
"I don't care if they need me 24/7. That's what I signed up for, that's what I promised Tasmanians and that's what they will continue to get."
Senator Xenophon arrived in Canberra after a decade in politics in South Australia.
"My 10 years in state parliament didn't prepare me for the relentless pace of federal politics," he said.
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