Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Jerk Alert

UPDATE - thanks all for the encouragement! I just called the management office at the complex and they are going to give him a call to let him know about what to expect when living in an apartment, the normal noises that you can expect to hear in an apartment, etc. They also will mention to him about the loud noises he's making and how they are unacceptable. They told me there are quiet hours from 10 pm to 7 am so I am really going to make an effort to be quieter after 10. I don't want to give him ANY ammunition, ya know? They are also going to let him know that they spotted his garage door open today and that's unacceptable, so that way its not like I tattled on him about the door. Sigh, I really hate confrontation.

The continuing adventures of the neighbor chronicles...

Last night, I got home around 8:15 pm, fixed myself and the kitties dinner and then washed my dishes when I was done. I watched tv while I ate (at a reasonable volume, nothing was blaring) and washed my dishes without the radio or anything else on. Then around 9 pm, I unpacked my bags and organized all my goodies up for my blog picture. I guess all this ruckus was just too much for my neighbor. After all, I'd been home for 45 minutes and I guess he thought that was more than enough time to settle in for the night and go to bed.

I'm not sure exactly what he's doing, but it sounds like he has a softball that he's hurling against the walls and ceiling. I swear I can hear it bounce around down there. Then he proceeded to walk into his kitchen and bathroom and SLAM every cabinet door that he has. SLAM! THUMP! (bounce, bounce) SLAM! THUMP! (bounce, bounce) This went on for about 15 minutes or so and then he settled down and all was quiet. I then talked on the phone to my darling boyfriend, wrote my blog post, checked some email, etc. Then I headed off to bed around 10:45 or so. I watched the news for a while with the volume on low. Gigi unfortunately was not ready for bed and was playing with a toy mouse out in the living room. She was running around (all in the living room, not in the bedroom) and I could hear her, but its not like she's crashing around, knocking things over. Apparently this noise was also too much for my wonderful neighbor and he voiced his complaints by banging loudly on the wall.

Then this morning when I left for work, I found that he had left his garage door open. We share the garage, so the open door means that anyone could get to my car. That's no biggie, since that's the same as if I had parked in the parking lot. But this also means anyone could take the lawn furniture in my garage or get into the building. I don't know if he left the door open deliberately or if it was just a mistake - he has things in his garage too that could have been stolen. But I'm going to move my furniture upstairs this weekend. Its getting nice now anyway, so I'll put my chairs out on my balcony.

I've chosen to just ignore his childish behavior. I feel like he's trying to bully me into keeping quiet, which is ridiculous. I pay to live there too, and I'm not holding wild parties or screaming at all hours of the night. Its totally ludicrous for him to expect me to not walk around my apartment at 9 pm. I don't want to start a war, stomping on the floor/ceiling at each other so I'm going about my life, pretending I don't hear his THUMPING and SLAMMING. But its not really fun and I don't really look forward to going home at night like I did before he moved in. Jerk.

Sigh. The joys of apartment life, huh?

6 comments:

Sam said...

Got to love it. Sorry he is being such a jerk. My old neighbors used to smoke pot all the time. I could care less what they do in their own apartment, but I could always smell it in mine! I was always nervous that when I went to work I would smell like pot. Not sure why the LL never seemed to notice or do anything.

Chicagolandia said...

If you want to kill him with kindness, next time you see him, act genuinely concerned about all the noise you heard from his apartment. Maybe even say that you could hear some noise, but that you didn't want to intrude on his privacy by bringing it to his attention, but in the future if he could keep the noise level down - that it disturbs you as well as your other neighbors. Thank him as sincerely as you can (without laughing) and walk away. Just an idea.

Just call me Yankee said...

Just to make sure I have it right, you lived there first? If that is the case and you have not had complaints before about neighbors, I would go the the management office and let them know what is going on. Perhaps other folks are also complaining about his behavior. If he is slamming doors and such and there is more than two apartments per building, then the others in the building can also hear it. If everyone complains, perhaps the management will evict him or at least move him.

Amiyrah said...

I agree with Central...if you were there first, you have "seniority" at the office, and they will appreciate the updates. Especially, if he's hitting things on the ceiling and walls. I don't live where you do, but most apartment contracts are the same: you CANNOT damage the floors, walls, closets and the like. From what you were saying, it sounds like he might be doing that while trying to be a jerk.

The plus side is that you won't have to even acknowledge him...the office will take care of everything lol

frugalsuz said...

Sarah,
Ugh, I had that same problem in college, what a pain!

Chicagolandia,
LOL, I love it!

central,
I've been there 4+ years, and he moved in several months ago so I'm top dog here. I've never had complaints from any other neighbors and I've never felt the urge to complain about anyone else either. This guy's just starting to make me feel a little unsafe, and that's not cool.

Amiyrah,
Good idea!

Lindsay said...

Yikes! I'm thinking good thoughts for you Suz! We used to have some really crazy neighbors ..... I remember those days very well!

I agree with Chicago - kill him with kindness...