Sailing the Rough Waters

It's been a rough couple of weeks in Sydney. I never imagined our journey would be this rough. Apartments are hard to find and most furnished and somewhat affordable one bedroom units close to the city are run down and dirty. Nicer, modern apartments need to be leased through an agency, but require a lot of paper work and documents to support our employment/ financial stability that it makes it nearly impossible for people from overseas to find a decent place. Shared apartments are a hit and miss. Some cram as many as four people in a bedroom and even rent out their living room. And when you find a comfortable room in a shared modern apartment, the existing tenants don't necesarily pick you. They pick roomates that can move in immediately. Don't even get me started on the whole couple situation! A majority of shared apartments don't want to share with couples for whatever reason.

The temporary apartment we're renting at the moment is great. Large windows with lots of natural light, bedroom on the second floor, built in espresso machine for the early morning coffee... but all that changed since yesterday. It's been raining like mad for almost a week and a half. There seems to be a structural problem and the rain water has leaked into the whole bottom floor of the unit. Water is squishing through the floorboards, and the common area outside the door is soaked with water. I'm stuck trying to deal with the situation and the owner is out of town. He mentioned the leakage problem as we were moving in, but I had no idea it was this bad. I've made all the necessary phone calls and all I can do is wait it out. We probably need to stay here for another two weeks. Which by that time, I'm afraid there will be mould and other problems.

On a positive note, there is good news on the job front. Shortly after my stage at Kakawa Chocolates, they hired me to work there two days a week. It was all they can offer, but after weeks of searching, I now have another part time job at The Flying Fish. I can say now that I'm officially employed. So half my problem is solved. The other half is securing a decent apartment that doesn't leak water!