Don't expect a Xmas card!

If my own mind is not a large enough obstruction in my quest for a good nights sleep, my neighbor certainly is. When I finally ventured to bed, I was met with loud voices and bad music coming from the other side of the wall where my head rests. The party, it seemed, was in full swing.

The first night in a new apartment should hold a bit of excitement. It’s a new beginning in your life and new sense of ownership. It was a few hours into my first night in this apartment over a year ago that I was woken up suddenly by the screaming. There was one of the foulest arguments I’d ever heard going on in the next apartment. It startled me as if someone was in the room right next to me. The man screaming at the top of his lungs was also using every awful combination of f*ck and other profanities that anyone could imagine. The language honestly turned my stomach.

Since that night there have been many more of the same. Sometimes I am lucky and it only lasts for an hour, sometimes it’s the whole night, often starting between 3-4a. I feel guilty on those rare occasions when the fight moves to the front porch. It is obviously disturbing more people, but it’s quieter for me down there.

An obvious question would be why don’t I just call the cops. That first night in his ranting, the man also threatened to kill his neighbor and the cops were called. His fire escape is just inches from mine and it scares me. I’d rather him not know anything about me or where I live. His downstairs neighbor sometimes calls the cops. And sometimes they show up and tell them to quiet down. I have very little respect for them. I can hear them talking to him like they’re actually sorry for having to disrupt his fight. On one occasion an ambulance came. I had heard what happened. Screaming neighbor pointed at the man he was fighting with and the man bit his finger. More screaming “You bit me!” and the ambulance was called. No one was arrested.

Neighbors shared his story with me. He’s been there for years and his apartment is nicer than anyone’s on the street. It’s rent controlled and he get social security and he has a job. His live in lovers rotate frequently and most of them are closer to the homeless side of the spectrum. He fights with them mostly about drinking and money. He claimed their mooching off of him and that’s probably the truth. He’s always drunk.

Me? It’s 10a and my eyes are puffy and the few hours of sleep I got were spent curled up in the living room. It doesn’t give me a lot of positive energy to start the day. It will definitely be a struggle. Normally a drink would calm me down. I’m resisting. It’s difficult.