Keeping up with the neighbors

My residence has been a recurring topic on this blog, so get ready for the latest update.

The neighbor who lived below me has officially moved out. I suspected as much when I returned from New York City, not to mention the fact that it seemed like she and her daughter weren't here often, but confirmation arrived on the last day of August. Of anyone in these units, I had spoken to her more than the occupants of the four other apartments, mainly because I'd encountered her a couple times in the parking lot. While her smoking pretty much meant I could no longer keep the sliding door open in cooler weather or sit on the balcony when she was around, I appreciated that she and her child weren't loud.

Now I bide my time waiting to see who moves in next. Since the other apartment in this unit was filled relatively quickly after the last people moved out, I wouldn't be surprised if someone is in there by the time I get back from Canada.

As for the new next door neighbors, a second one is here now. A young guy was already there. A young woman moved in last weekend. I don't think they're a couple. The names on the mailbox are different, so I don't think they're siblings. If I were to guess, one or both are Ohio State students.

They've been much better neighbors than the previous occupants, at least so far. Noise hasn't been an issue. For that matter, they aren't in and out and in and out and in out like the last ones. (They didn't necessarily go anywhere. If anything, they were here too much. They just had lots of dogs to take out, and sometimes they'd smoke in the stairwell.)

Tonight the guy did do something that never ceases to confuse me. He came out of the apartment talking on a cell phone, conducted some of the conversation in the stairwell, and then walked into the parking lot to continue it for a good long while. If you have your own space, why would you do this? I can't hear it if you're in your apartment. I can, and so can several others, if you're outside.

I've become the old lady keeping tabs on everybody, haven't I?

Randomize!

-I drove by an apartment complex that had a sign outside with "Pets free" on it. I assume that means there is no charge to have a pet while residing there, but couldn't one reasonably think that it means there are no pets in the complex? (I'm not going to propose that one might be misled to think they are giving away pets.)

-Difference I noticed between visits to New York City in March and August: going up flights of stairs from the subway platform was less taxing. Exercise on the recumbent bike has made a difference.

-I need a vacation from coming back from vacation.

-It would seem that my new common wall neighbor is quiet. Since they've moved in, I've not heard anything from that place. Color me relieved.

-While I was out of town, I think the person who lives below me moved out, but I can't say for certain. If so, I can open up the glass sliding doors and sit on the balcony more. The previous (?) occupant smoked really rank cigarettes.

-While working out tonight I saw an ad for a pizza place I haven't been to in a long time. So of course I picked up dinner from them on the way home. Advertising works sometimes.

Fingers crossed

That didn't take long.

The Friday before last I noticed that a maintenance worker had removed the lock box from the door to the recently vacated apartment next to mine. Would somebody be moving in so soon? As it turns out, yes.

Since I've not been home much these past couple days, I haven't seen who lives there now or if they're even fully moved in. There are two names on their mailbox, so at least two people will be occupying the adjoining apartment. Fingers crossed that they're already settled in because there's been no noise at all so far. I welcome this continuing.

Clippings

-In the parking lot I saw two Indian women hitting a shuttlecock back and forth, back and forth. There was no net and, as far as I could tell, no points being kept. That's kind of how I felt about the writing I worked on today. While I was accomplishing something, I wasn't really getting anywhere with it. At least they were doing it for fun, or so I presume.

-It is official. My noisy neighbors have moved out. In observation I may have waking moments when the television isn't on. (I'm joking but there's an element of truth.)

-Three working days until I take some much needed and extended time off. Can I make it to Thursday without losing my mind? Stay tuned.

What's happening

-I made it to my first knit night of the year. I think it's my first since last October. My absence is mostly due to having nothing I was knitting, although being busy in general and some Thursday night film series have kept me away too. (The latter will probably have me skipping knit night the next couple weeks as well.)

-I'm going back and forth whether to run in the 4th of July 5K road race. I've been exercising, but I haven't been running. The question is whether almost 75 miles a week on a stationary recumbent bicycle translates to running endurance. (OK, let's face it, what I would be doing is called jogging.) Part of me is really keen on the idea of going out there Monday morning and letting it rip. My legs do feel stronger. Another part of me says that this is a way to get an injury or paying to find out that I'm not up to the challenge, which is what I sort of suspect. Then again, I've run in this race before with less overall preparation. Decisions, decisions.

-I noticed last night that the air conditioning seemed to be running an awfully long time. A check of the thermostat showed that it wasn't moving, and looking at the unit revealed ice around the pipe coming out of it and going into the wall. This again, eh? Even when it was recharged a month or so ago, it seemed like it took an unusually long time to complete the job. It did get cooler in my place, but I couldn't help but feel as though the unit was having to work harder than is typical. Hopefully this takes care of the issues for good.

Four years

Four years ago this weekend I moved to my current apartment. It hardly seems possible that it's been that long, but the calendar doesn't lie. It's safe to say that this was a move for the best. Although I wish that my neighbors for the last ten months would turn down their stereo system some more, I'm otherwise pretty happy here. (One of the two people living next door has changed since late summer and the fall, which I think has kept the noise a little more in check, but I'd prefer to go back to how things were with the previous tenant, ie., not hearing any thumping bass or noise. Still, they're better than they were.)

Since I have to work the equivalent of two days tomorrow, I stayed close to home today. I saw two movies, dropped off recycling, popped into a couple chain crafts shops to look at yarn, browsed at a bookstore, and got all three meals. I was able to do it all within two or three miles from where I live. I renewed my appreciation for where I'm staked out. I have a lot at my disposal without having to venture far from home. Sure, the traffic can sometimes be on the heavy side, but I can get around relatively easily and have learned some alternative routes to circumvent the biggest backups.

Who knows how long I'll stay here, although I have no imminent plans for going elsewhere. Yes, it would be nice to have a place to my own, where I have no common walls with neighbors, but that's not in the cards for now and would be a big luxury. Really, this place suits my needs very well. When the time comes that I leave it, I hope the departure will be on my terms. This may be just a rental, but having inhabited it for this long, it feels like it's mine.

Zip

I finally got around to signing my lease renewal for another year. I hadn't been in any hurry because I wasn't planning on going anywhere, and there wasn't any rush to get it signed. OK, fine, the rent's going up slightly for the next twelve month stretch, but that's pretty much to be expected. Has anyone's rent ever gone down?

As I initialed and signed the document in the appropriate places, I realized that when this new lease kicks in, I'll be entering into my fifth year in this apartment. Can that be right? Have four years gone by? Yes, just like that I've zipped through four years in this place.

Of the six units in my building, I've occupied mine the third longest. It seems hard to believe. Where did that time go?

Tidbits

At the risk of an All About Me! entry that may or may not interest you, some stuff that's going on...

-I've not been entirely sure who's living in the apartment next to me since I returned home after Christmas. One of the young women in the loud apartment resided there before, but I don't know if it's just her in there or if someone has replaced her roommate. It certainly sounds like they're down a couple dogs. (They had at least three, plus a minimum of one cat.) I'm assuming two departed with the neighbor with the loud car. I'm also assuming that she was the one more likely to listen to the sound system at louder volumes. Yes, it didn't come down some after I knocked on their door, but it's not been as intrusive since it seems she moved out. Or maybe it's just temporary. Who knows?

-My parents may be moving before the season is over?!?!

-Oh yeah, you saw the woman knitting on The Office tonight, right?

The sound of silence

I arrived home around six tonight, and I haven't turned the television on yet. I'm likely to watch something once I'm done with this blog entry, but so far this evening I've been enjoying listening to something: silence (for the most part).

This fall I've written about the bass coming from my neighbors' apartment and reverberating in mine. It would seem that my request for them to turn it down has been successful. The volume has been reduced. That said, I still can hear the thump-thump-thump pretty much whenever they have their sound system on. The low frequency finds it's way through the wall.

I'm hesitant to say anything else simply because I don't want to press my luck. The fact of the matter is that subwoofers weren't made for apartment living, especially for people who like to listen or watch at loud levels. I can mostly deal with where they keep it now, even if I prefer to receive less of it or, ideally, none of it.

Tonight, though, they've either not been home for stretches or are keeping the stereo/home theater system off. That means I can sit in my place and not need to manufacture offsetting noise. (I can somewhat block out the current doses of low frequency I get by having my TV on at what is a low to average volume for most people.) You don't know how much I appreciate simply sitting in my apartment without any auditory intrusions.

Even without the noise from next door, I've probably been prone to turning the TV on as background noise, even if I'm not watching it. I'm not necessarily trying to fill the silence, not in the obnoxious way that so many public and private places do, but it can be comforting to have it droning within range while I'm doing something else. (The exception would be while I'm reading a book.)

But for this night, it's been calming to unwind at home and soak up the silence. With my neighbors, who knows how precious this time may be?

Housekeeping

I admit that I usually don't do a great job of keeping my place in a pristine state of cleanliness. Add it to the list of shortcomings.

Anyway, there is some motivation to pick up when a note from the rental office is left on the door that someone will be in my apartment to change the furnace filter the next day. I found that on my doorknob today, so my energies have been directed to literal housekeeping this evening.

I really wish I didn't have to go into emergency mode in these situations, but I haven't learned yet. Maybe next time.

Overcast

I can't think straight with the jackhammering bass coming from the adjoining apartment, so this photo is all I have today. (I left the apartment for the better portion of the evening because the thought of dealing with this seriously stressed me out.) I think I've figured out that it's a video game rather than music, which may actually be worse. I expect these younger guys will be playing it until the dead of night.

Ugh.

Holding my breath

For a little more than four months the apartment next to mine was empty. The father and two kids that previously occupied the unit rarely made enough noise for me to hear anything coming through the one shared wall. That is how it should be.

The vacancy wasn't going to last forever, but you better believe I had been enjoying the little bit of extra quiet. I wasn't overjoyed to see someone (or someones) moving in yesterday, but it was inevitable that the apartment would eventually be rented.

It should be noted that aside from those who live below me slamming their door too often for my taste, I've been satisfied with the lack of noise in the other five apartments in this unit during what is now the start of my fourth year here. Worrier that I am, I fear that the relative silence may be coming to an end.

It started last night. Sometimes I sleep on the futon in my living room because the sun pokes through the blinds in my bedroom and into my eyes too early. Such was the case Thursday night. At 3:20 a.m. I was awakened by a barking dog in, you guessed it, my new neighbor's place. That was followed by someone opening and closing the door a few times. Seriously? Eventually the dog quit barking, and I fell back asleep.

Early this evening my neighbor (or neighbors) cranked their stereo so that the subwoofer was audible in every corner of my place. *%@! That low frequency thump is enough to drive me crazy. It did come down some to a level that, if not pleasing to me, is more like a steady rumble in the background than a pulse invading my head. I hate to say that if that's as noisy as it gets, I can deal with it, but it may be the consolation I have to make. The occupant (or one of them) would appear to be someone who likes it loud. His car has an aftermarket muffler that's more like an amplifier--it sends additional noise out the tailpipe--so I'm steeling myself for what I may now have to live with.

One of my hopes is that this new resident or residents will become aware of what kind of volume emanating from the apartment is appropriate. Having been in a bad situation before, I'm not optimistic on that count but we'll see. My other hope is that the people living on the other side and below will make their complaints heard if it comes to that. I certainly don't want to be the lone griper if it comes to me needing to do that.

I've been looking forward to getting out of town for vacation in the near future. That excitement may have increased due to this development. If the noise becomes a regular problem, my knitting productivity may return to what it was in my early knitting days, although I'd rather not return to that situation again.

Spruced up, in a way

Christmastime doesn't necessarily feel like Christmastime without the decorations, but what am I going to do, put stuff up in my apartment? As busy as I can be, the holiday tends to sneak up on me as it is. By the time I might even consider decking the halls the big day is almost here anyway.

Last year I bought a string of multicolored lights that I draped across the thing holding the blinds in place by one of my sliding glass doors. It was lame, but I kind of liked having the lights there for me. That's the most I've decorated my own place to generate the holiday spirit.

This year I decided that I needed to get a little artificial tree. Of course, when you first look for one on December 9, the pickings are slim, at least if one doesn't want to get something enormous. Luckily, it only took me four stores to find something like what I had in mind.

I bought a three-feet tall artificial pine tree that came with white lights already wrapped around it. (Since it's a pine, can I technically say I've spruced up the place?) I wanted one with multicolored lights, but none of those were available. Buying additional lights was out of the question because everyone seems cleaned out of their inventory of them, but I do have those I bought last year that I can add to the tree.

I'm still trying to find the right place for it, namely because I'll need two outlets if I add the other string of lights to it. I haven't been home much in the day-plus since I got it, but I look forward to having it add a little seasonal cheer to my dwelling. At least for a little while the place won't seem so decoratively sterile.

Equilibrium

It's been slow going, but I believe that things are finally getting back to the way they should be.

Today is one day shy of five weeks since I last had a radio in my car. Five weeks! (Sure, the insurance company didn't assign someone to the matter, but I added several days by purchasing the radio online and then not having the time to take it to get installed.) A new radio is where it belongs, meaning I can drive without humming or singing to keep myself preoccupied.

I came home this evening to find that the heat (or lack thereof) in my apartment was repaired. Initially a maintenance guy felt that there wasn't any problem, but Friday I snagged one who was knocking on a door to another apartment in my building.

I figured I needed to show someone to confirm that I wasn't crazy regarding the cool air that should have been warm coming out of the vents. He agreed that the heat pump wasn't operating as it should and wrote down my concern about the looseness of the thermostat. The heat pump (or whatever) has been fixed. Even better, the thermostat was replaced. I can actually set a temperature without a bunch of give/slippage in the bar used to do so.

I feel like I've been extremely busy and getting battered from all sides, but with these things taken care of, it seems like normalcy is returning. Not for long probably, but I'll take what I can get.

Lifted

The day did not get off to the best of starts. Late last night I was convinced that my apartment was blowing cool air when the heat was on. Someone came out from the apartment complex and claims to find no problems. For heat, it sure doesn't feel very warm, but it seems to be moving the thermostat up.

But that's a problem for which any possible repairs are not being paid directly out of my pocket. Which means that, you guessed it, my car has manifested another problem. The front passenger door will not unlock and cannot be opened manually. (Believe me, I've tried.) When pressing the unlock button on the remote and in the car, the lock will move like it's supposed to but immediately bounces back into a partially locked position. It's as though something's in there blocking it's path to an unlocked state.

Obviously this automotive development does not please me one bit. The saving grace is that it could be related to when my car was broken into three weeks ago. If it's related to broken glass getting into the door, then insurance ought to take care of it. That's what my hope hinges on.

Luckily my day ended with seeing Andrew Bird and St. Vincent in concert. Talk about a relaxing night of music. It wasn't as intimate or mellow as the five-song set in the video I've posted below, but the show was a terrific demonstration of two fine artists in peak form. I highly recommend checking out the video.



All but the final song ("Your Lips are Red") of St. Vincent's 45-minute set were drawn from her second (and current) album. Annie Clark and band put together a smoother sounding show than what I saw from them in Newport, KY in June. There were a few noisy flourishes, particularly on the last song, but it seemed like some of the roughness was toned down to jibe with the headliner and the Southern Theatre, a great and gorgeous venue that's the polar opposite of the typical rock club.

Although Clark joined Bird for three songs, including a cover of Bob Dylan's "Oh, Sister" for the encore, and the rest of her band came on stage for a couple songs, the stage was Bird's and Bird's alone for most of his set. He's essentially a one man band who records and loops various violin, guitar, and whistling parts as the layered accompaniment to his singing and live instrument playing. He builds the songs on stage by recording each part there and then adding another and another. It probably shouldn't work as well as it does, but the effect is seeing how songs come to life and hearing the different parts within the collective sound.

All in all, it was about two and a half hours of music wonderfully performed and sung. As poorly as the day began, it concluded quite pleasantly thanks to these talented musicians.

Something doing

Books, music, movies/TV, web...this week's posts have ended up being about what media I'm consuming. Keeping up the theme, today is devoted to what I'm doing.

-Work. The ol' occupation has been keeping me busy. At this point it's a matter of holding on for a few more weeks until the summer break arrives and, in theory, eases the load somewhat.

-Exercise. Except for today I've been able to get out and put in a couple miles every day this week. Along with getting control of what I'm eating, this has gone a long way in making me feel reenergized.

-Moviegoing. There's been one to attend every night this week, and three more beckon over this holiday weekend.

-Laughing. Tonight I went to see a legendarily bad six-year-old film that was pretty funny during but has been hysterical in retrospect. Whether I've been reading about it or watching a clip online, I'm really tickled by how entertaining its badness is. (This is not very common for me, actually.) I haven't laughed so much and so hard about a movie in ages.

-Wondering. A couple months ago I asked at the rental office if I had overlooked something because I hadn't received any information about signing a lease renewal for my apartment. (Last year I got a letter more than five months before it expired.) I was told they were sending them out closer to renewal time this year.

I still haven't received anything and checked on it today. My lease is up at the end of June. I don't think there are or should be any issues. I'm hoping that some paperwork just got overlooked and am awaiting a response. Still, the thought that I could be out of an apartment in about a month's time unnerved me for awhile until I convinced myself that nothing shady is afoot.

The dishwasher and the delivery

An entry in the infrequent but recurring series "Things I Love About My New Apartment":

-A dishwasher

I enjoy cooking, but I hate cleaning. I'm sorry to say that in my dishwasher-free apartment I lived up to the single man stereotype of a sink full of dirty dishes and kitchenware. I didn't feel good about it, but apparently I didn't feel bad enough about it to clean the stuff before mold made an appearance. It's shameful. Those days are behind me, though, as I bask in the wonder that is the dishwasher. OK, so the first time I flooded my kitchen floor not unlike Bobby Brady and the washing machine, but we'll chalk that up to inexperience. No longer do I wait until I've run out of plates or until the stack in the sink starts to smell. (Sadly, that's not an exaggeration for comedic effect.) Thanks to this glorious invention I am a reformed man on the matter of kitchen cleanliness.

-Package acceptance at the rental office

This is what spurred today's topic. I arrived home and found a sticky note from UPS on my door. They tried to deliver a package to me, but I wasn't there to sign for it. No worries. The delivery person dropped it off at the rental office, an option I didn't have at my last place. No more hassles of needing to be home at the right time or having to go to the shipping company's office. This isn't an issue except when awards season kicks into high gear. Then the packages requiring signature confirmation arrive regularly.

Earlier today I read that Fox Searchlight is already sending awards screeners, although I didn't think I was high enough on the list to be getting them yet. My birthday is in a couple days, so most likely this unexpected package was a birthday gift. Whatever the case, I love getting mail. I located the box with my name on it and knew from the address that it was a present. Since my birthday isn't until Friday, the package sits unopened until the big day.

Nah, just kidding. Of course I opened it, although I knew what was inside before slicing the packing tape and prying open the cardboard lid. The return address was a giveaway. My parents sent me the Knit Picks Options needle set. (Rather, I should say that my mom sent it as my dad probably has no idea what gift they gave.) I can't wait to begin knitting with them, and I have a project (or projects) in mind. I want to make log cabin blankets from Mason-Dixon Knitting for Christmas gifts.

Everything in its right place

I feel like I have regained some focus after a couple weeks adrift. In other words, two projects are on the needles. I have knit just four rows of each, but I'm encouraged that I have a quick knit and a more substantial project to keep me occupied. I'm making another Arkansas dishcloth and the Asherton reversible scarf for the Red Scarf Project. I'm using Dark Horse Yarn-Fantasy in cherry for the scarf. I've been knitting with cotton so much lately that the soft texture of the half nylon, half acrylic yarn was a pleasant surprise.

The day concluded a lot better than it began. I drove to a screening that didn't take place because the print was going to arrive an hour late, meaning we wouldn't begin until at least ninety minutes after the designated starting time.

Picking up some extra time wasn't so bad. I had two friends and their baby over tonight, so additional time to straighten up my place--translation: unpack or find a place for stuff that had sat untouched since I moved--was welcome. It also gave me the chance to squeeze in a trip to Jo-Ann's to get more needles. I'm hoping to receive the Dish Rag Tag box Saturday, so I needed to get US 7s to knit my dishcloth while the Arkansas dishcloth occupied my other needles. Of course, the store had almost every size except what I wanted.

Mildly aggravated, I popped in at Michael's. I found what I came for, but hold on, what's this? Aluminum needles in different colors? I put back the metal needles I was going to buy for the aluminum sticks in a nice shade of blue. That's right. Color was the determining factor in my needle purchase.

I wonder if cleaning up some of the remains of moving has helped me become unstuck. I've felt very much at home here, but I've had the nagging feeling that the move isn't truly finished until everything is in its right place. I can't claim I've achieved that level, but my apartment no longer looks like I'm still moving in. Getting it to that point made it possible to have a relaxed evening at home with friends.