MY WAR WITH THE NEIGHBORS


About three years ago the comfortable utopianism of my squalid apartment began to take some hits. Prior to that, my neighbors were a deaf couple upstairs (and a lone survivalist prior to that), and an immigrant nuclear family next door. They didn't talk much, and left me alone.

I remember the exact moment that changed: Wednesday, July 5, 2006 at 8:10 am. The night before, my father, who was staying with me, wondered if my steroe bothered my neighbors. Nah, I assured him; they never said anything.

When I left the apartment that Wednesday morning, there was a note taped to my door. it was from the neighbors next door, complaining that I had awakened them with my music that morning and asked me to turn down after 11 pm on week nights. That'
s the short version. I didn't save the note, but they lectured me on consideration of others, blah, blah, blah, all concepts I don't even pretend to understand.

Since then, it's been one dance after another. I admit, there's been times I've been outright egregious, like the time last January when I brought a gurl home at 3 am and blasted the stereo. That merited a knock at the door. Fair enough. But for the most part I've restrained myself and my volume.

Last weekend the guy stopped by on Saturday morning to complain -- it was early and it was loud. I almost argued that it wasn't that early, and the music wasn't that loud, but dropped it. And the guy knocks on my door once or twice every two weeks, before 11:00, asking me to turn it down. I apologise, and turn down the music. Simple enough.

I think that's been a mistake. Last night at 10:53, we went through it all again, and he walked off grumbling that this was getting irritating. I agree on this. I'm now thinking I should start refusing to turn down the music if it is in my opinion at a reasonable time and volume. I was fine with 11 pm, but they're getting gruffy because I'm not turning it down earlier and earlier -- one time, he stopped by at 10:15. So, next time it comes up, assuming I'm in the right, I just have to remember to remind him of the 11:00 agreement, and tell him that if I ever see him before that, I'll call the police Hopefully I'll remember, rather than just being so darn polite.