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Hi Austin,
My first scope was a 50mm Tasco refractor. It was my only scope for some 12 years. In that time I flogged it mercilessly, pushing its capabilies, and my eyes to squeeze as much out of it as I could. This ment that once I got my first 'big' scope, all the hard work had been done in understanding how scopes work, how to use them effectively, and had trained my eyes really well.
That is what I suggest you do.
Fine tune your use of the finder and align it well to your scope. You will struggle to find anything otherwise. Use both your eyes with it, as once the object you are chasing is centred in the finder, and its image combines with that seen in the 'naked' eye, the object should be in the field of view of your scope, if the finder is aligned.
You have five planets easily within your grasp with your scope. Saturn still being available to you in the early evening, with Jupiter coming into view around midnight.
There are dozens of open clusters, globular clusters and nebulas available to you too.
If you can, try to get to a star party organised by a club or one of the several ones held by IIS members. Around Sydney you have The Pony Club at Mangrove Mountain, and Katoomba Airfield, both by IIS members. Check the 'Star Parties' forum for details. Take your scope too. You'll benifit from the experience from the older hats, and you may be able to borrow an eyepiece to try out in your scope.
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