Update

I think I should do an update before I forget to!

Yesterday my housemate called me and said the landlord won't exterminate until next Saturday. Sleeping at work for another week is unacceptable to me, I told him that that isn't proper, and that I'd be looking to move apartment. He said he won't let me move without two weeks notice. I still have a week of rent paid ahead. I said to him if he tries to stop me from moving I'll take him to court to have the contract broken, and I will definitely win that case. I have to be careful though, because you're not allowed to withhold rent here until things have gone to court - I may have to pay and sue him later if he doesn't let me leave peacefully. If I take him to court, he'll also be criminally charged $4000 for not securing my bond properly, and $1000 for not declaring me as a subtenant. His choice!

The bed bugs I trapped on sticky tape a week ago went "splat" inside the tape. I guess I must have put something heavy on top of them. Today when I go home I will collect more and stick them to heavy white card. I think it will look better in court, too, to illustrate just how many of them have been biting me.

I went to see 13 apartments this week. That was gruelling!!! Luckily I have a good boss who gave me the time off work to do it. Most weren't right for me (unfurnished, too expensive, or too small or run down). I picked the best one and applied for it yesterday. I will hear back on Monday if I'm succesful, and be able to start moving my things on Wednesday. The new apartment is not as good as the one I'm in, but it's close and appears bed bug free. During the inspection I ran my finger under the beds to see if anything came out and saw nothing, but I'll actually turn the beds over to check when I move in.

I'm actually a LITTLE bit worried because one of the rooms had a funny smell in it, the kind of smell my current room has in it. I'm not sure if that's the "window hasn't been opened in a while" smell or if it's really a bed bug smell. So I'll check thoroughly on my first day in there.

My plan for moving is this.

• Wash all of my clothes and have them double-bagged in plastic. That way I can leave them in my room, unbag the outer portion to take it to the new place, and know I haven't taken anything on the outside of the bag.
• Only take shoes after they've been heated (which mine have, execpt one pair I will do shortly).
• I'm going to put my books into bags, seal them up with a hair dryer, and dry them for a few minutes. First I'm going to test this out on a bag with a bug in it to make sure it is effective in killing them and their eggs.
• Take apart my computer before moving, and make sure there is nothing in it. Same with my keyboard and mouse. I'll heat the computer up in my new house by turning one of the fans off.
• I will put some barrier around my monitor (double sided sticky tape) when I move it and blow it with a hair dryer just to see if anything comes out.
• Anything else I'll wipe down and inspect with the black-light before bagging and taking with me.

So thinigs I need to do:

• Collect more bugs for court.
• Test if double-sided sticky tape traps them when walking across.
• Test if a bed bug can survive in a plastic bag with a hair dryer.
• Get the rest of my rent receipts from my parent's house tomorrow.

Things I'm waiting for:

• My UV black light hasn't arrived yet.
• Waiting for Monday to hear from the real estate agent - I think I have a good chance as the apartment has been on the market for a while and nobody has moved in. If I don't get it, I will have to keep trying. If I do get it, I will have to get a signature from my housemate that he releases me from the rental agreement, else I will have to take him to court to get that. He will be fined $4000 for not securing my bond properly, and another $1000 for not declaring me as a sub-tenant. That's his choice, I won't see that money though, those are criminal infractions.
• Waiting for a hair dryer, will get one from my mother tomorrow.

My life seems so complicated. Signing on for a two bedroom lease is very expensive, it's going to cost me $3000 just to move, plus $2000 a few days later, not to mention other costs like cleaning and buying household products and things. I have to be very careful that things go properly otherwise I could be in big trouble financially. I'm loading up my credit cards to make the move and borrowing what little money my family has.

I'm almost going nuts with the amount of things I have to do and the amount of stress I'm under. I notified my boss I might be taking a few days off next week to move house. He said that's okay. My work actually owes me two days off + 2 weeks of holiday. I will have to be sure to put time away from work down on my court application though, that's time the owner should pay for.

I contacted Today Tonight, which is a current affairs program on TV here. Seeing as the owner has more than dragged their heels with this, it's time for them to be outed and to suffer like I've suffered! I'll post if TT want the story and contact me back.