November 30, 2011

Living on top of other people is a normal thing in Germany. I’d venture to say most people here live on top/underneath/beside annoying people. Amount of space versus population, and all that.
One of the necessary evils about living in such close proximity to other people (in apartments that aren’t typically adequately sound-proofed) is that you have to sometimes adjust your schedule. It’s not always possible to sleep when you want due to neighbours watching their TV full-blast at midnight or having loud sex at 5:30 in the morning. Sometimes people even run the washing machine for six hours straight. Likewise, it’s not always possible to study or write papers when you want, for similar reasons.

It’s not just the neighbours in your building, either. Garden crews may be out in full-force at 6:00, which is okay, after all, since you were up at 5:30 anyway. *ahem* Either that, or the sticky-faced children from next door are running around your property, screaming at the top of their lungs from dawn until dusk (which is especially true during the summer months).

In case you haven’t noticed, there are a lot of things that bother me about my neighbours. My living situation, I admit, is far from ideal, and considering my building is one of many which was thrown up in minimal time after the war, I recognize that it wasn’t built to be particularly, ermmm, sound-proof.
Maybe it’s because I naturally avoid confrontation or have been in Germany too long (and have thus become more passive-aggressive than need be), but I mostly just try to ignore the fact my neighbours annoy the fuck out of me.

After all, I figure if I do my best to ignore all the annoying shit they do, it gives me license to play my music loudly every so often, or not worry if Maxie is running back and forth across the linoleum when we’re playing.

About two months ago, a neighbour of mine came to talk to me to complain that Max sometimes barked between the hours of 10:00 and noon, when he was trying to sleep. (Likely because he is tired from all the morning sex.) Despite the fact everyone in my building has a dog (or two, or three), I understand how annoying it can be when a dog is constantly barking/whining. So, I went and got some aids to try to make things better for when I’m away at uni. I even ignored the whole opening “Ist nicht böse gemeint, aber…”, which, in my opinion, is akin to saying “No offence, but…” and saying something ridiculously offensive after.

Anyhoo…

Last week was a stressful week for me (as if they weren’t all). I’d just gotten back from Vegas, and was scrubbing the crap out of my flat after an acquaintance stayed here to look after my puppy while I was gone.

As I was cleaning the bathroom and throwing in another load of laundry, the doorbell rang. It was Mr. Creepy again, telling me that Maxie had been barking while I was away, that I should have come up with a better dog-sitting alternative while I was gone, that I should be ashamed for letting someone else let him bark while I was halfway across the globe, ad nauseum.
All the while, he was staring at my boobs.

Of course, he also finished off with a classic “Ist nicht böse gemeint, aber…”

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so violated.

I mean, okay. The whole thing happened a good week and a half ago, so I’m not still feeling particularly violated, or anything of the sort.

So, why today?

Because it’d be nice to be able to do my fucking work, but the ass has got his TV on so loud, I could be having the damned thing on in my kitchen.

So, why is it that I prefer to give him evil looks when I see him rather than tell him to STFU because I’d rather study than write a pointless blog post to pass time?

1) I really would prefer NOT to escalate this into a war of wills.
2) I want some ammo in case he ever complains (not about Max), but about music, laundry on Sundays, etc.
3) Procrastinating is cool.