Sensitive indeed, I laughed and cringed at the same time - I know about not being able to keep the outside, well, out. Glad it was now worse than a bug!
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Sensitive indeed, I laughed and cringed at the same time - I know about not being able to keep the outside, well, out. Glad it was now worse than a bug!
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Reminds me of the day I returned to my NYC apartment after a vacation and found a giant roach on the wall right inside the front door. I screamed. They usually lived elsewhere in the big old pre-war apartment building but sometimes something would disturb them and they would end up visiting me.
In my current home the usual visitors are spiders, which don't bother me so much, and centipedes, which are icky.
When I lived in a pre-war high rise in Chicago, it was a bug free life... until they did the monthly bug spraying. They'd start on the first floor (I lived on the 12th) and as they got closer to my floor I'd start seeing roaches, by the time they did the 11th floor I was inundated! I had my official roach killing outfit of goggles/flat metal spatula/rubber dishwashing gloves, and I'd start whacking them, then cleaning up with bleach. It only lasted a couple of days, but it was every month!
I don't think I had any bug problems when I lived in Chicago. It was along time ago so maybe I just don't remember. I lived on the corner of Clark and Fullterton, in a corner apartment. Since Clark runs on a diagonal relative the main street grid, the roads are not at a right angle, so the corner of my building was not a right angle, which meant that my bedroom was not a rectangle. I loved the unusual shape. It was a fairly large 1BR with an eat-in kitchen. The only apartments I've ever had with eat-in kitchens were in Evanston and Chicago.
The only thing I didn't like about that apartment was the street noise, especially in summer when the windows were open. There were hospitals nearby so the the ambulance sirens were pretty frequent. And there were these motorcycle guys who liked to ride up and down Clark Street in the middle of the night even though they had to stop at a red light at every single intersection. Their bikes had very loud motors and they would rev them while they were stopped at every light. I really did not like them. Living there taught me the importance of finding a home on a quiet street.
(Although sadly living on a quiet street does not mean you will have peace and quiet in your apartment. My chandelier rattles with every stomping step the new upstairs neighbor takes. I have taken to sitting in my car outside the building and playing with my phone instead of going into my home after work, because no one is stomping on the roof of my car. There is too much crap going on at work these days and my commute just got way harder due to mass transit service reductions to address major safety and maintenance problems. I just have no energy left to deal with the stomping and rattling.)
NY, that is tough, not wanting to go into your home, your refuge, is really painful. Hope you can find a resolution to the situation soon.
I lived at Foster and Sheridan, nice area, just really old. I think we had bug problems because the ground floor was three restaurants... pretty sure they contributed to the issue.
So sorry NY, that really sucks. Perhaps they don't realize? Are they reasonable people that you can speak with?
My current apt is an old building with mature trees. I get beetles, spiders, sometimes earwigs or centipedes, especially in spring and fall. If I see more than 1 in a week or two then I have them spray. They only spray on request, BUT they are here every Monday so it just takes a phone call to get them here.
So excited, we are planning a trip home to Illinois in late July!! Going to see friends, eat great food, see my doc, relax... and look at a condo we might buy!!
NY...If you haven’t talked to them they may be totally unaware of the problem. If you haven't perhaps initiating a casual and calm conversation about the buildings transfer of noise/vibrations and your chandelier rattling could help in finding a solution...at least making them aware of where your chandelier is under their floor. If it doesn't i'd replace the chandelier with something that doesn't rattle....old buildings or any ones without good unit isolation can cause lots of neighbor problems...good luck in finding a positive solution....
Yup, some people just are "heel strikers" and have naturally noisy footsteps. This was brought forcibly to my attention when our son had his girlfriend over to visit. She is tall and strong, and has the loudest walk of anyone I've ever heard! Even our son who is your averagely noisy, clueless young man and slams doors with abandon, had to admit that wow, she made an impressive amount of noise coming down the stairs :-D
We nicknamed our old upstairs neighbor "Mr. Stompy Pants". He was a tiny Asian man who honestly sounded as though he was throwing bowling balls around his place, and coming down the stairs sounded like he rolled a couple of them ahead of himself. We got irritated for a while then just made peace with it, and would crack up when we heard him, it was so hard to figure out how that tiny little man could make so much noise.
Unfortunately I do not know how to make peace with such an intrusion on the limited quiet time I have in my life.
I see no point in talking to the new neighbor. This is in the residents' handbook that he received when he bought the condo:
"The association recommends that 80 percent of upper story apartment units' floor space be covered with carpet or rugs to reduce noise for the residents below. Please be considerate of your neighbors."
So he's either read this and thinks he's too good for it or he hasn't bothered to read the handbook in the first place. Either one tells me that he doesn't give a crap about his neighbors.
Recently the condo board president emailed me to ask me to chair a committee. I told her I didn't have time and that I was actually spending as little time as possible in my home due to the noise from the new neighbor. She didn't respond because she knows there is nothing I can do. They won't make a clear rule requiring 80% carpeting because it would require a change to the bylaws which they are not willing to do. They don't seem to care about what it does to the property value of condos like mine -- no sane person would ever buy my apartment if I tried to sell it. I wouldn't be able to rent it, either. All because of a stupid decorating trend.
So when he's up there stomping around I turn up the volume on my TV as loud as it will go to drown out the noise. It hurts my ears to have the TV that loud but at least it keeps my blood pressure down.
NY, that stinks. :(
Maybe a good pair of noise cancelling headphones for while you're awake, and earplugs to sleep? Not ideal for sure, but it might help you get some peace.
I wouldn't rule out approaching the neighbor, though. Rules on paper have a whole different emotional vibe than being alerted to the fact that he's disturbing another human being that he can see and talk to.
This is true. When we lived in a carpeted apartment on the third floor, we were mortified when our downstairs neighbor came and knocked on our door one night to tell us that we were being too loud. We were rolling our (small) dog's ball down the hall for her to retrieve, and I guess her running back and forth was amplified, even through carpet and padding, to sound like a thundering herd of elephants down below.Quote:
Originally Posted by OakLeaf
We had NO idea and felt bad! We never played with her in the apartment again.
Now, your upstairs neighbor may well be an AZZhole who could care less, AND I don't know if I'd ever have the guts to confront him, but it if you do, it might turn out that he is more amenable than you think. He may well have no idea, as we didn't, that his footsteps are causing such a cacophany below.
I hate apartments and condos for this reason. We have lived on the bottom floor and the top floor, and neither are ideal. On the bottom, we were constantly bombarded by noise from above, and on the top, we had to worry and be paranoid about making too much noise just living our lives. Never again.
Good luck NY -- I really do feel for you!
I would at least talk to the neighbour upstairs, NYbiker. And he's a new neighbour. He may not know.
I've lived in my present condo over the past 5 yrs.: only...5 times, seems to work out, once per year. I've asked the residents upstairs to turn down their music -which only occurred in evening. It stopped in 15 min. Yes, I saw a party going on... I was polite in my request.
In Vancouver for 8 yrs., we occasionally heard some rolling noise...it might have been dog and toy. :) Meaning several times per year.
In Toronto, in a condo for 14 yrs., I did have a problem with someone that had their treadmill upstairs over my bedroom. It started only in the final yr. when I had my place before I moved to Vancouver.
I am fortunate to live in a building configuration where there are only 3 units per floor. So I'm never bothered by any noise (and rarely hear noise) from neighbours on my floor.
Some jurisdictions allows wood frame in the condo highrise structure..that makes a huge difference vs. buildings that are more concrete based which latter will deaden abit more floor noise.
Pulse - Orlando. I am utterly heartbroken. You'd think, after being out for almost 40 years, I'd be used to being hated, be used to having people wish harm on me and mine. But it never gets easier.
I'm just about speechless regarding this terrible event, so heartbreaking that I can't even watch the news any more on this right now. So...terrible.
I get that there are those who will never agree with us - and that unfortunate young man who entered the club last night wasn't the only one in this country with that level of hatred of us. This graphic says it all...
Attachment 18054
What it is unpleasant (to me), are media reports and some people saying it is an act of terrorism. It is not religious based. It's just simply hatred and homophobic. The father of the shooter emphasized this and knew how mentally unstable his son was. It is that simple. And people worldwide really need to focus on this. The act has nothing to do with terrorism. (which I associate with political motivations. It's disappointing how the word "terrorism" has become twisted in its use.)
2 days, a friend and I chatted up with a Canadian light-skinned black guy at a sushi place, who had just returned from Los Angeles living there for past 18 yrs. He was university educated, involved in screenwriting, directing and teaching writing at a college.
He was so thankful to return to Canada: he hated the easy access to guns because of U.S.' gun laws compared to Canada. (This wasn't the only reason why he was glad to return to Canada.)
Devastating. That's all I can say.
It's what I woke up to this morning, and then the next time I logged into my computer the headlines had the two other smaller mass attacks that happened today.
I don't know how I can live in a world with so much hate.
I saw this while at the Philadelphia airport, waiting to fly home from my DIL's shower. Alsthough I had been using my phone for email, etc, I didn't hear the news until I saw it on a TV at the airport. My first response was "What the Hell?" It feels like we are becoming used to these things happening, myself included. I feel a high amount of fear, generally, for friends, and especially, my brother.
This show is proof that history remembers
We lived through times when hate and fear seem stronger;
We rise and fall and light from dying embers
remembrances that hope and love last longer
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/vid...miranda-902090
This writer nails it for me, I know I'll find peace at some point, but right now I'm angry.
https://medium.com/@JohntheCraptist/...784#.vifvjdwgd
Pax, I just wanted to say to you and all the other LGBT folks here that I am thinking about all of you. I've been reading posts from my LGBT friends on Facebook, and I can feel so much pain in their words. I don't know exactly how to express what I am feeling other than to say that I am with you in spirit and sending love, peace, hugs, and empathy. <3 <3 <3
Thank you, Emily, been a rough few days. Two of the kids here at work lost friends in Orlando.
Oh my, I just saw this. Hope you are ok. Such a terribly sad week.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pax
I feel like I no longer understand the world in which we live. I just don't get it....why does everyone hate so much.
I am so tired of the "thoughts and prayers," spouted by my friend, who thinks she is liberal. The same friend, who told my husband he was "so gay," because he was wearing a V neck sweater a couple of years ago :eek:. I am just angry. I spent 2 hours yesterday, processing this with 2 of my clients, as well as another hour on Monday. I am just spent from this.
I hear you, Crankin. I'm helping the kids at work process this, they are so young and so bewildered, they cannot fathom that their fun, loving, wildly alive, friends are gone. Their generation has experienced the upwelling of support, both legal and cultural for gay people in America; they've never experienced this extreme hatred from their peers so it's all very startling to them.
Sadly, when I heard, I was not shocked in the slightest. My generation has grown up with this hatred, we know it's there, lurking beneath the surface of acceptance. For me it was never if, only when. I am so tired.
((((((Pax)))))) - and hugs also to all who have lived your lives under the threat of hate.
Because the link you posted is worth a read - this forum software edits out certain words, even from links: in place of the four asterisks in the link, paste a four-letter profanity beginning with lower-case f.
I thought this one was really well written too: http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement...e_are_not_okay
Take good care. My heart breaks for you. And I'm angry too, angry at things that are done in the name of my sexual orientation, my race, the religion I grew up in. May all of us straight, cis, white people also stand up and say Not One More.
((((Oak)))) Thank you so much. Having someone acknowledge this happened and it's awful, helps.
Talking with a few of the students at work last night, one young gay man lost two friends, another lost nine friends (they grew up together, or knew each other in PR, or were family friends), one young straight woman lost her BFF who was dancing with his fiance and died protecting him. These kids are wrecked, but are also resilient. Already making plans for how they're going to honor their friends, they are kind and compassionate and hurt.. It's an honor to know them.
It's taken me few days to get over the anger of this hate. My anger is not of hate but rather anger at the senseless act, an act of self-hate, an act of prejudice.
One can call it a terrorist act or use any other name but does it make any difference to those who were killed for what? It's not going to bring them back. It doesn't make the hurt go away... Yes I'm appalled by our gun crazed society. And it makes me very angry at our culture which seems to glorify violence, be it in movies, e.g. london has fallen, Bourne movies, or video games grand theft auto and the like.
The whole thing is so sickening. There is nothing glorious about violence. It just begets misery and more hate and even more endless senseless violence. I wish there were comforting words for the victims and their families and friends.
Random musings here.
The weather has been so unbelievably wonderful for more than a week. So un-New England like. No humidity and temperatures in the 70s, or not higher than 82. It is supposed to last through the weekend. It will be hotter next week, but no real rain, except at night.
I just came back from seeing a client in her home, as she recovers from surgery. It's not more than a mile and a half away from my home, yet a world away. Sad.
"Bike and Bar" here this weekend. Thousands of cyclists show up and cover a seven mile loop that encompasses about 12 different bars, stopping to drink at many of them. Lots of wobbly cyclists tipping over as they make their way to the next bar... made for a challenging drive to the grocery store today.
That sounds like a fun, albeit dangerous, ride. Wonder if any cyclists got pulled for DWI?
No the police just have to escort a few of them off of roadways. Last year one drunk fella tipped off his bike on the drawbridge, they had to remove so they could raise the bridge. They do block off a lot of streets so the cyclist are relatively safe... but then a lot of them ride home afterward.Quote:
Originally Posted by emily_in_nc
Yikes, I won't even have a beer at lunch, if I am on a ride.
The idea is fun, but no-go for me.
Most everyone is on beach cruisers, they were "team" tshirts, and decorate their bikes. It's fun to watch but I know if I tried to drink and ride I'd just fall over.
Way too much riding home drunk when I was in law school. I'm lucky to have survived. Down there I'd worry about heat exhaustion on top of everything else. Probably going to be some wicked hangovers tomorrow (or later on tonight)!
Last summer they had a bunch of people go to the hospital for heat stroke, this year it started storming a few hours ago and the temps dropped to the mid 70's. So they're just drunk and wet this year. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by OakLeaf