Over the past three years we have lived in the same house. Over that time rent has been increased and service from the agent and landlord decreased. We have though now been given our marching orders and must vacate by the end of May.
The grounds are “no grounds”, however the notice was sent the same week that the hot water system died and the oven element committed suicide. The hot water system had its required maintenance neglected for many years. It certainly has not been looked at since we have been in the property. The oven is just one of those things that happens.
Over our long standing tenancy we have claimed very little. When we have it has taken weeks to months to get something to occur. A highlight was when a leak in the air conditioning had water running down from the roof and through a light fitting. The air conditioning service man had to cut a hole in the roof to locate the fault. It took 3+ months for that hole to finally be fixed. Other things just get ignored, such as the reported leaky roof that has damaged the upstairs bathroom ceiling.
The landlord is clearly from another planet and expects to take money and spend nothing. We are therefore seeing this enforced move as a blessing in disguise in some ways. The timing though sucks as we are now part of an ultra competitive and tight market. Rental shortages in the Illawarra rival Sydney. We are therefore maintainng a steady vigile on the various web sites.
Our other drama was the escape of our Indian Ringneck Custard. The little beggar has found her way into the outside world and left a hole in our hearts. Custard adopted us about 18 months ago when she flew into the kitchen and began consuming a banana on the bench.
On Wednesday night she was very rowdy and both Bobbie and I had been through challenging work days and wanted to watch a TV show in peace. I moved the Custard into the hallway. After the show I moved her back, unknown to us was that the refuse catch tray had slid forward leaving a way for her to escape. In the morning my Mum opened the doors, due to the lack of fly screens (another landlord decision) Custard then had an open doorway to the world, and she dutifuly took it.
I like to think that Custard has now injected herself into the life of someone else, much like Lassie, Benji or The Littlest Hobo. I do wish she would reappear in her cage, but that hope is sadly fading.
We did have a scare yesterday related to Custard. A foul odour of decay was emanating from the garage. Bobbie and I both an “Oh God I hope Custard wasn’t trapped in the garage” moment. Thankfully, after an extended look we located the source as being a tray of Chicken wings that were accidentally left out of the deep freezer. My lungs are still recovering!
We are now well into packing mode and as part of that endeavour I have located the old 1991 and 1992 editions of the Hamilton Senior High School year books. I am planning to upload some scans of these to Facebook progressively over the coming days. Planning to start after dinner tonight whilst I shred old no longer required documents that do not need to move with us. People will be named and tagged wherever possible. So be warned all my high school friends!
