I hate neighbors
I really love this townhouse we live in now — but there are just some things I’m really looking forward to leaving. Sharing walls with a neighbor for one.
We have this insane Russian family next door — on the side that my desk/workstation is on. And it sounds like somewhere along the ventwork our a/c systems are either connected or just very very close, because it is very easy to hear when they raise their voices. Not clear enough to make out what they say, but it is still very very annoying — especially when the old babushka starts yelling in Russian. And they’re fighting right now. Very hard to work with that in the background.
But it’s not as bad as other times. One of the people next door has some crappy little band and they practice in the neighboring basement. And of course most of what makes it through the walls is the bass, so I’m stuck listening to three chords going back and forth for hours. I don’t complain, because I know I’m guilty of using power tools that are probably just as loud (even though I doubt they’re as annoying — white noise is (in my book) infinitely more appreciated than the bass of a repetitive flunky-band).
But I hope my classical music bugs the hell out of them. 
October 25th, 2003 at 9:21 pm
Speaking of loud Russian neighbors…
When you and Jen visited over a year ago, did we tell you about the Russians below us? They have this three year-old kid with flaming red fuzzy hair named Yakov who likes to throw loud temper-tantrums at all times of day (and night). Also, whenever they get home, he sits on the steps right by his door (the same steps that we have to go up to get to our apartment) to take off his shoes. But he doesn’t sit on the side of the step so people going up or down can get by. Oh no. He sits right in the middle. And his parents never do anything to move him. The only thing that I can figure is that he annoys them as much as us and they’re hoping one of us will trip and fall on him so they won’t have to deal with him anymore.
October 25th, 2003 at 9:39 pm
Well these Russians have a little girl named Michelle who used to come by several times a day — for weeks after we first got here — asking to pet our cats. Much of the time she would bring her friends too. It was cute the first time but went really far downhill from there. Eventually we just started saying “not now maybe later.”
Then it got really bad when Jen’s parents were here visiting. The day they were leaving, as we were packing up, she just stands there in our way on the front porch while we move the luggage and a bunch of boxes and a bedframe they were taking back with them. And then, as we were all saying goodbye, and Jen and her mom were both crying, she comes up and says, “Can I pet the kitties?”
NO!!!!
We’ve just said “no!” ever since.