Finally made it to the laundromat, body aching and tired, having finished cleaning everything (EVERYTHING bar the fly screens/windows and insides of cupboards!) and bought groceries and inspected a rental and made dinner and washed all that up too. And god I hate mopping the floors but it does make the place feel nice when I do remember to do it. Just a shame I won't be here much longer. No more attachment.

Half a day of work tomorrow... and long-awaited therapy sesh after. I'm gonna sleep well tonight tho.

::: spoiler Got through to Tenants Vic and got a better idea of what my rights were

The onus is on the LL to demonstrate that I'm in breach of S61 of the RTA (causing damage) and they cannot unreasonably restrict my quiet enjoyment of the property that I have exclusive use of. If it ends up at VCAT the timing of the claims and notice will be very much taken into consideration - namely that it followed a request to have the rent increase reviewed, and wasn't an issue beforehand.

Feeling a bit more relieved. Still gonna be ugly if they try to breach me anyway and we gotta do the whole thing, but at least I know I'm not doing the wrong thing here.

:::

Sox was quite unwilling to leave, but once we coaxed her out from under a couch she was surprisingly compliant with getting into her carrier, thank god - it's taken two people upwards of 30 mins before (and many scratches). I think I've cleared out anything and everything cat related in the apt. Anything else I find can be hidden in the car.

Now, time to dust, check for dust/stains on balcony, vacuum like mad and mop the floors while it's still light out, then laundromat time. Gotta cook dinner too. It's hoppin' John tonight, the beans are soaking away and there's a new brand of vegan snags at the shops that aren't too bad. Once dinner's done I'll clean the stove, have a shower, clean the shower glass and then I think I'm done. Ugh.

Totally. It's like a 180 deg change from how she used to be all these years. I'm glad I've decided to move on from it, but the next challenge is finding another place that'll tide me over. Think I need to get back onto fb and scour fairy floss and the like for lease breaks that aren't popping up on realestate.com.au.

Yeah it definitely smacked of retaliation but now that they seem to be engaging an agent again sounds like maybe they've decided to keep quiet. Sadly got booted off the hotline after being on hold for 45 minutes, I'll have to try again first thing at 2:30pm or first thing tomorrow at 9:30am.

Operation Cleanup is progressing decently. The real rush is gonna be after sox leaves around 2ish. Time to start consolidating every single cat item though so that none of it is in the house during the inspection, not even in the cupboards or rubbish. I've decided I won't be at home for the inspection as (a) I have a viewing to go to an hour after they arrive, and (b) it will be emotionally draining to hold back my resentment/negativity. Best that all communication is in text.

Poor poor sox. She's been glued to me all day and been so cute and snuggly. She has no idea that in a couple of hours she's going to be forcibly bundled up and whisked back home where she won't get to jump on the bed or get fussed over like a child. C'est la vie my little furry friend.

Meanwhile, finally got onto the magical hold music on the Tenants Vic hotline after 11 tries. Gonna just double check what my rights are regarding the demand to remove all my plants (which I have yet to receive evidence for claims that it's damaging property/upsetting neighbours, so I haven't moved anything. I'm not going to be bullied. And I sure as hell won't be breached over it). Got another rental viewing in five, chances are I'll have viewed it and still not gotten through on the hotline...

So nice to have Fisk back on as a cozy Sunday night treat. Just lighthearted and relatable and low key. The North Melbourne trams are like their own character. Also: I have been guilty of steaming milk so loudly it sounds like a pig being slaughtered 🙋‍♀️

Looking forward to Aaron Chen's character's grandma next week.

Speaking of other cozy shows I binge-watched Ludwig over the past two nights; nice little romp as well. Recommended if you like David Mitchell.

Shrinking S2 is on too and I'm looking forward to that on Wed/Thu now that Slow Horses s4 is over.

Ninigh. You gotta do what you need to to recharge. That's often more important than the "should"s we tell ourselves to do.

I'm gonna watch Fisk at 8pm and then call it a night too and do most of the cleaning tomorrow.

Yum. What flavours?

Please tell Tommy he is the loveliest floof and give him a scritch from us

Ugh... Tempted. Gave up on cleaning the house today and been in bed all afternoon as I'm just beat. Craving a cheesy treat. But I think I'll leave that for tomorrow when I'm with a friend and have my leftover pasta for dinner tonight.

Yeah it smacked of over-involvement. No thanks! Luckily I'm not being made to vacate so I don't have as much pressure, I'll keep looking.

How did you miss that quality opportunity to make a mushroom compost pun. For shame

Yeah he seems like the kind of guy who lives nearby and might get... too involved in a bad way. He told the REA to send him a report of all the applicants immediately for his review, within earshot of us all. I can't think of any reason why a LL would prefer a single tenant over a couple except that a single person is easier to bully/manipulate. I think I'm going with my gut on this one

Sucks because I really might've seriously considered it for the quietness and the cleanliness. Light filled and still convenient for work. I was sat in the park wondering if I stuck on my own fly screens and everything else worked okay, could I still stick it out since there's a REA intermediary... Esp as this is probably one of the few times I have an advantage (??) as a single renter. But it's for entirely the wrong reasons

At my second inspection. Crusty old dude rocks up and talks only to me and asks if I'm viewing the apartment, then asks if I'm single and gives me this creepy grin and says he'd prefer a single to move into the apartment. Oh and of course he's the owner. Shakes my hand and encourages me to apply. Completely ignores the other attendees (male).

I might've seriously considered this apartment despite the very dated kitchen and bathroom and no fly screens, it's pricey but in a very quiet green location and has a sunlit balcony... But after the above interaction I am definitely not applying wtf

E: I am meant to be cleaning the house but our purritude has other ideas. Purrhaps she has sensed my overall distress. I'll miss this lil sweetie when she leaves on Monday

::: spoiler little nugget on my lap :::

I definitely get caught out by American spellings. I managed to get it in 5

::: spoiler wordle with FIVER as the fourth guess and then not even registering the X as an option for the middle letter :::

Yeah this is looking like a major issue. Who the fuck rolls out a system update on a Friday night/Sat morning

Sent you a message. Check your DMs

I have had pretty good luck with the IUD cutting out a lot of the nonsense. Probably is having some kind of an effect on the rest of my body but I'll take it over the nightmare of the monthly bleed and weep

Ah fuck, that sucks the worst when it happens on a weekend! I hope they can fix it up asap. I once had a monthly rent payment duplicated when the REA payment systems changed and that damn near gave me a heart attack