u/freakoutwithme

I applied for a Qantas Money credit card on 23rd September 2026. Got the instant conditional approval, and was asked to upload my payslips, which I did right away. Nothing since then.

It has been 9 days now (7 business days). Following up is pretty useless, because they always say that everything looks good and they are waiting for the final approval from their so-called 'backend team'.

I am not surprised because their provider is NAB (since NAB seems to be the slowest and least efficient among major providers, going by the feedback around here). But I am completely in the blind here. I am waiting on a decision so that, if approved, I can close my existing card before the next statement which will come with the annual fee.

I am not too familiar with this process since this is only my second credit card application, and my first in over 7 years. Is there any way to expedite this at all? Or is this just how it works - apply and then wait indefinitely, with no useful information from their support team?

Also, are there any 'tricks' to get this escalated and at least looked into (irrespective of whether it is approved or not)? I don't want to withdraw now because a hard credit check has already been done.

We all know what AI and offshoring have done to office based jobs in general and tech jobs in particular, especially for anyone who isn't a senior. The most common 'solution' that is often mentioned is to just 'pick up a trade'.

What about those of us who started a tech career late, and still not yet 'senior' in our 40s? I know people in this situation are a minority, but I am just wondering what to do about this. If one has only worked in office jobs, how can their body even cope with starting over with a physical job in their 40s? Not to mention the difficulty of finding apprenticeships at this age.

Also, how practical would it be to relocate to countries where tech jobs are being outsourced to - Vietnam, India, the Philippines etc. Would love to hear from those of you who actually did something like this, and how you managed to get work permits in their 40s and beyond.

Apologies if this sounds like a rant. I am just trying to figure this out, just like many others.

I am having a very weird problem, which I am unable to resolve.

I have a 6 year old gaming PC (RTX 3090 and an Intel CPU with 32 GB DD4 RAM and a 850 W Corsair PSU). Everything was fine until like a week ago, but now, starting ANY game just restarts the PC silently.

I can enter the game menus, but the moment I try to enter the actual game by choosing 'New game' or 'Continue', it just gets to the loading screen and restarts before anything is rendered.

I initially faced this issue with the Silent Hill 2 remake, and then tried to start a couple of other Unreal Engine 5 games like Black Myth Wukong and Cronos New dawn, and it was the same issue every time. I thought it was only affecting Unreal Engine 5 games, but then it also happened with Forza Horizon 6 and 007 First Light.

Every restart logs Kernel event with id 41 in the event viewer, which says 'The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. The error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly'.

Here's what I have tried thus far:

1. Reseated the GPU and RAM sticks.
2. Used different cables from the PSU to connect to the GPU.
3. Stress tested the CPU, GPU, RAM and PSU using OCCT.
4. Disabled XMP in the BIOS.
5. Reinstalled my operating system (Windows 11).

I don't have spare components to test with. The computer overall seems to be working perfectly. I find it really strange that the stress tests are all fine, but the moment any game tries to render something, the PC just restarts.

Based on people having similar issues, I am inclined to think this is the PSU. But then it could be a faulty GPU too. I can't really buy components willy nilly just to diagnose which one is at fault.

At this point, I am just considering chucking the whole damn thing and buying the parts to build a new PC (since mine is 6 years old and perhaps nearing the end of life anyway).

Just reaching out here as a last ditch attempt at salvaging something.

I worked a lot on EFHDFSI back in the day, and was also a reviewer.

But this project A seems like an entirely different beast. I am trying to attempt the qualification, but I can't even get my head around it. Nothing is making sense, and I just end up staring at the screen.

I can (usually) come up with a hard(ish) prompt, but then I fail to properly mention the steps. The order of the steps is all jumbled up in my mind. Also, the example only mentions source URLs, so what if a google search has to be performed to reach the source page? Can 'perform a google search for something and choose this result' be a valid step? I can't see something like this in the examples.

I'd appreciate some pointers here.

Thank you!

I was in a troubled, emotionally abusive marriage for close to 5 years, but didn't leave due to the hope that my ex wife may change some day. Needless to say, she cheated on me, got pregnant from the affair partner and tried to pass the kid off as mine. I found out the truth by demanding a paternity test. At this point, the kid was 5 months old and until that point, I had raised him as my own son.

We got separated, and it has pretty much been no contact (except for practical stuff like splitting assets) since around 8 months now. I will be filing for divorce after 4 more months, since we are legally required to be separated for at least 12 months before we can get divorced.

Now the thing is, I have always loved kids, and always wanted to be a dad. I know it was only 5 months, but I am just not able to emotionally disconnect from the kid. I have been going through therapy, and I know these things take time, but the pain is just too intense. I often wish that whatever happened was just a bad dream, but it obviously is not.

Adoption, especially as a single man, is next to impossible legally in my country. And at my age, even hypothetically if I were to partner up again, it most likely would be with someone around my age which means the chances of having a kid is pretty low.

It wouldn't have been so bad if I found out about her infidelity very early on and got separated, but I am unable to come to terms with the fact that I was falsely made to believe that I was a dad, and I can't stop thinking about the kid. He even has my last name. Or rather, he did but I don't know if my ex got it changed.

I have been to support groups and stuff, but they only helped temporarily.

I'd really appreciate some suggestions or advice on how I could possibly get over this and accept that me being a dad will just remain a pipe dream.

For a bit of context, these were my previous posts:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AusRenters/comments/1t168np/no_access_to_meter_room_how_do_i_resolve_this/

https://www.reddit.com/r/AusRenters/comments/1thf8ib/what_could_i_possibly_do_to_avoid_disconnection/

So this is what is happening:

• I am a tenant in a Strata Building where the electricity meters are located in a meter room which is locked, and the meters themselves have been locked in separate boxes with glass panels (so that meters can be read without opening these locks), 15 meters per box.
• The meter for my specific unit is not working, and I have been getting estimated bills. The electricity retailer threatened me with disconnection, saying lack of access to repair the meter. I provided them the details of the building manager (Name, phone, email) but they say they can't directly contact this person, and as a customer, it is up to me to arrange access. They finally backed down about disconnection, but still maintain that a malfunctioning meter can fail and stop electricity supply altogether, so it needs to be repaired as soon as possible. I too wouldn't want estimated bills.
• Their meter repair guy has the keys to the meter room (which is supposedly controlled by Strata), but not the specific meter box inside the room which houses my meter (along with 14 others). He apparently did try asking Strata about this, but they told him that they only provide access to the meter room but have no idea who has the keys to the boxes housing these meters.
• My property manager (from the real estate) isn't taking this seriously enough. I have emailed him several times with the details and followed up with calls, but he just says he tried calling Strata, it is just going to voicemail etc. He did say that ultimately if no one knows who has these keys, Strata has to get the lock changed but he is just too slow and it is really hard to keep following up.
• I tried calling the Strata company directly, but I was told point blank that I need to go through my property manager.
• I tried getting in touch with NSW Tenants Union, and left my contact details a couple of times but no one called me back.

I am just wondering how I can escalate this, since everyone involved seems to be clueless and no one is is taking responsibility for those locked meter boxes. I don't suppose I can escalate it to the Energy and Water Ombudsman, since this is basically an issue with an ignorant and uncooperative building management and not my electricity retailer. At the same time, I don;t know if I am even eligible to raise it with fair trading, since I am only a tenant and form what I read (I could be wrong) only owners can raise issues against the building management.

This is my previous post, for context:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AusRenters/comments/1t168np/no_access_to_meter_room_how_do_i_resolve_this/

The repair guy managed to obtain the keys to the meter room from Strata, but then he called me to tell me that there is another locked door in the meter room and he needs the key to that. I just gave him the entire bunch of keys that I was provided, but none of them fit this lock. And he was supposedly told by strata that they can provide keys to the meter room but they have no idea who has the keys to these meter boxes inside the meter room. He just left, and marked it as 'locked premises' just like before.

I took a picture of the locked meter box, circled the faulty meter for the unit I am renting and the lock, and sent an email to the real estate agent, practically begging and pleading to get this resolved through the landlord because I have been threatened with a disconnection and no one knows who has these keys. I haven't heard back from them for a few days now, and when I call them, I am just told that the property manager will call me back, but he never calls. I contacted the electricity company, but they said that since I am the customer, they have no other point of contact so it is up to me sort out access issues. I tried asking a couple of neighbours, but they have no idea about the key for this meter box.

I was informed by the electricity company that my supply would be disconnected if they are unable to read the meter for three consecutive months, so if they go by that, then the disconnection day will be somewhere during the third week of June.

I am totally lost here. Do I contact the tenants union? Should I register a complaint with the Ombudsman? I know that no-fault evictions are now banned in NSW, but if I go through official routes, I am worried that the landlord may retaliate by significantly increasing the rent or something like that. It hasn't even been a year since I moved, so it would be really hard for me to pack up and move again, especially since I have no family or friends in Sydney to assist in any way. Since I also have a close up photo of the lock, can I actually get a key made from a locksmith, or are these one of those 'do not copy' types of secure locks?

My previous post got a lot of helpful suggestions, so I am just looking for some tips here to avoid disconnection. Sharing the photo for reference (the faulty meter and the lock for which no one has the key, have been circled).

https://preview.redd.it/p752r3mmn12h1.jpg?width=1375&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37d63ac6c4c89014c7c7e3d3048edac44639125f

I am renting a unit in a Strata complex, which has a common meter room to which I don't have access. I moved here in October 2025.

I got a call one day from some company saying they have a work order to fix my faulty meter, and if I can provide access. I told them that I am just the tenant, so I don't have access or any contact details of the building management. I just passed on the details of my real estate agent, and told them to arrange access through them. I didn't hear back after this, so I assumed the job was done.

Yesterday I received an email from my electricity provider, mentioning that they have repeatedly been unable to access the meter due to 'locked premises', and I will be liable for disconnection if access is not provided during the next meter reading.

I called up the electricity company, and they told me that my building actually has smart meters so ordinarily they wouldn't require physical access, but there appears to be a fault with the meter so they need to raise a new work order and I need to provide access. I explained to them that I have no access, but they said they will come back with a date and time for repairs and since the electricity account is in my name, it is up to me to arrange access.

My real estate agent does not respond promptly. And if they aren't ok with the date and time provided by the electricity company, I have to be the middleman, conveying information back and forth. I have already sent an email to my real estate agent, but I'm not sure if or when they'll respond.

This is stressing me out no end. I am not sure how to resolve this. Is there a way for me to obtain the contact details of building management and request them for access directly, instead of going through the real estate agent? In the worst case, if they do end up disconnecting the electricity supply, is moving out my only recourse?

UPDATE: Thanks a lot for your responses. I looked up the strata company, found their contact details, called up my electricity provider and told them to just get in touch directly with the Strata company for any access related issues. Hopefully I won't be bothered about this matter again, and they'll sort it out.