As I have frequently bitched about...I frequently deal with neighbour noise. It comes from all sides - up, down and to the right. It also tends to get worse in the summer, which leads me to dislike the summer [that and the increased migraines caused my humidity]. This weekend is our first long weekend of the summer [yes, even though it's still spring for more than a month] so I guess my neighbours [all of them] decided to kick the festivities off around 10:30am. Bleh. I considered retaliating [I've recently discovered that my stereo packs quite the audio punch and was delighted with these results], but then decided to be more mature and positive about things. See, these days [okay, since I've been on the new meds] I'm trying to see the noise as an opportunity to break my routine and do something different. In a flash I was out of my cuddly robe, showered and into my clothes. However, it was still morning and I had no idea what to do with myself.
I ended up walking over to our crummy little strip mall to pick up the flyer for the grocery store [since my eflyer didn't arrive, which really bugs]. This took all of maybe six minutes. I decided to go sit in the park and read the flyer and just...sit. The park covers a wide expanse of our neighbourhood - it's not terribly wide, but it runs the length of our entire street and contains a basketball court, a bocce ball court, two BMX/skateboarding ramp areas, a soccer pitch, a playground and a community centre. In my seven years of living in this neighbourhood I've spent really no time there. It's generally pretty deserted, with the exception of homeless people and people who are evidently up to no good who like to hang out in the adjacent parking lot and drink on the weekends. The park is not terribly appealing - there are few trees and the view sucks. However, it beats sitting in my tiny apartment and listening to other people being a-holes and slowly becoming engraged and ruining my day. So, I climbed up the hill that overlooks the park, cranked up my MP3 player and just...sat there. I was a source of great curiousity to some aggressive birds and also some drunk people and/or homeless people. But, the sun was warm and I was able to sit there and let my hair dry for quite some time. Eventually I got tired of sitting on the ground and besides which my bum was getting wet so I headed home [and it was even quieter this afternoon! i felt like my efforts had been rewarded].
Apparently today is supposed to be the nicest day of our long weekend - with rain tomorrow and general unseasonable coldness for the other two days. So, perhaps my neighbours were trying to give me a sign by blasting their music/radio/TV [it really was the perfect storm of noise]. I was able to get out and enjoy the beauty of the day...they were all stuck inside potentially going deaf. As an added bonus, because I got out of the house I avoided a lot of negative energy that I know would only result in me being in a bad mood. Score one for me!
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Serious score. That sounds like a lovely break. :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you made a positive out of a negative.
ReplyDeleteAn idea for next time your neighbors get out of hand: find a CD with music you love but they would completely HATE and play it at a volume loud enough to annoy them.
"However, it beats sitting in my tiny apartment and listening to other people being a-holes and slowly becoming engraged and ruining my day."--Lol, sounds like my apartment building. We also have contruction all the way around it. Sometime you just have to get out and have that change of scenery. I will be so happy when we move. Only 2 neighbors because we got a 3rd floor corner apartment and the view is of the city and trees--not a dumb parking lot. Ahhh! =)
ReplyDeleteWe used to have a corner apartment that only had one neighbour [the other side was a stairwell]. It was quite heavenly - the wall we shared with our neighbours was our kitchen, so they probably got more noise from us. Construction noise doesn't really bother me - it's music that is my most troubling thing.
ReplyDeleteKathy, I've considered doing just that, however we have a lot of neighbours. A big problem is that once our upstairs neighbours get things cranking...then our other neighbours get pissed off about it and start in with their own music. So, I don't like to escalate things. But, in moments of immaturity and anger I have responded with really loud radio [which I find annoying as the sound is terrible and radio adverts are not any better played very loud].
I live in the middle of nowhere, with quiet neighbors on one side, farther away neighbors on the other side, cows across the road. You'd think it should be heavenly, right? It would be if it weren't for the annoying television that has to run in the other room sometimes. When it starts to get on my nerves, I either a) try to ask in a polite tone for whoever is watching it to turn it down (I realize that won't work with loud neighbors) or b) find some music on my hd or on youtube or at a club in Second Life (which is good if you find a dj you like and your streaming is good). Anyway, I try to deal wtih it nicely when possible and can understand your dilemna.
ReplyDeleteLiving in the middle of nowhere sounds lovely...although I don't think I could exist outside of the city, so I should probably just get used to the noise.
ReplyDeleteIt's good that you've figured out coping mechanisms for your noise. I think for me, while I am annoyed by the music [but never by television - it's the bass mostly of music that bothers me]...I'm mostly just annoyed by the rudeness. I mean, apartment living is far from ideal and there are many unavoidable inconveniences...I just think you should try to be as considerate of others as possible.