Hit up a local rental shop and see if you can borrow a clean one for a day. That'll tell you if your tool is the problem or if you just need more practice. Tear the whole thing apart and clean every screw and spring before you touch it again. Most jams come from dry mud crusting up in the moving parts.

Oh man, I feel like I've been in that exact chair. Best move I learned was to just say "okay, let's talk about a tough day at work - like a day where nothing went right. How do you handle that?" and see if the sunshine answer holds up. Usually the dream job people drop the act real fast when you push past the script.

Haha four hours? That's like a lunch break with extra steps.

lmao landlords really think we don't know our own rights huh. $800 for carpet that was already looking rough when you moved in? that's a bold move on their part. Chicago law says they gotta send you an itemized list of damages with receipts or estimates, not just pull a number out of thin air like they're pricing magic beans. if you didn't sign anything saying the carpet was brand new on move in day, they're basically just hoping you'll roll over and pay. take em to small claims court and watch them scramble when you show your move in photos. their faces when the judge asks for proof of pre existing damage lmao. fight that nonsense with everything you got.

What's your cutoff point before you call it done, @fox.julia?