Sunday, November 22, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Neighbors
So you know how I used to complain about Bigfoot upstairs and the punks downstairs that were always slamming doors and smoking and letting their dog howl without ceasing? Well, I got lucky and both sets of neighbors moved out at the same time in September. I had a glorious few weeks of peace and quiet. It was all I'd dreamt it could be.
In October I got new neighbors both upstairs and downstairs. The downstairs neighbors ticked me off right away by taking up two parking spots with their big, stupid SUV. Fortunately, they straightened up quickly and kept me from having to point out the error of their ways. They do smoke outside a lot but in the winter it's not a big deal. (And sometimes, if I'm in just the right mood, I don't mind smelling cigarette smoke out on my patio. I can deal.)
The upstairs neighbors are another issue entirely. At first I thought it was another particularly exuberant Bigfoot. But then it became obvious that Bigfoot II has a partner and dogs and they like to play croquet or badminton or some other lawn game in their living room at 9:00 PM. The only thing that kept me from complaining to them or to the management was that they usually quieted down by 10:00 PM. A couple of times I awoke to hear stomping or thumping in the middle of the night but it didn't keep me up long.
Until last night. Last night was scary. There was slamming of doors, crashing of large items, shouting, cursing, screaming. It was awful in a gut-wrenching, horrifying, sickening way. I called the police. The police didn't get any where, but not for lack of trying. They knocked on the door, pounded on the door, yelled through the door, tried to get someone to open the door for nearly two hours. The scary person or persons upstairs never opened the door.
I have a bad feeling. It's a sad, scary feeling. I'm not comfortable in my own home because of the nastiness upstairs. I don't want to be here. It was better when they were just annoying, inconsiderate idiots. But now I know that someone is being hurt up there and it's terrifying.
February can't come soon enough.
In October I got new neighbors both upstairs and downstairs. The downstairs neighbors ticked me off right away by taking up two parking spots with their big, stupid SUV. Fortunately, they straightened up quickly and kept me from having to point out the error of their ways. They do smoke outside a lot but in the winter it's not a big deal. (And sometimes, if I'm in just the right mood, I don't mind smelling cigarette smoke out on my patio. I can deal.)
The upstairs neighbors are another issue entirely. At first I thought it was another particularly exuberant Bigfoot. But then it became obvious that Bigfoot II has a partner and dogs and they like to play croquet or badminton or some other lawn game in their living room at 9:00 PM. The only thing that kept me from complaining to them or to the management was that they usually quieted down by 10:00 PM. A couple of times I awoke to hear stomping or thumping in the middle of the night but it didn't keep me up long.
Until last night. Last night was scary. There was slamming of doors, crashing of large items, shouting, cursing, screaming. It was awful in a gut-wrenching, horrifying, sickening way. I called the police. The police didn't get any where, but not for lack of trying. They knocked on the door, pounded on the door, yelled through the door, tried to get someone to open the door for nearly two hours. The scary person or persons upstairs never opened the door.
I have a bad feeling. It's a sad, scary feeling. I'm not comfortable in my own home because of the nastiness upstairs. I don't want to be here. It was better when they were just annoying, inconsiderate idiots. But now I know that someone is being hurt up there and it's terrifying.
February can't come soon enough.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Good News
My last post may have led you to believe that my life sucks, but it doesn't. At least, not for the most part. There are good things that have happened in the last month.
The weather has been phenomenal. We had a fantastic snow storm. And then it warmed up, the snow melted and we went about in short sleeved t-shirts with the air conditioning on full blast. In case I haven't mentioned it lately, this is one of the reasons I love Colorado.
The kids had fall break and therefore, so did I. They left for a couple of weeks and I got caught up on laundry, grocery shopping, house cleaning and all sorts of other fun stuff.
Another of my family moved to the area. Yay! Denver is getting better all the time.
Paul and I enjoy spending time together. A few weeks ago he had surgery, came through it pretty well, and is recovering now. Things are mostly back to normal.
The kids went to their first school skating party. It was my own special little hell, but they really loved it. I'm trying to figure out how to help them have more fun next time and how to get me out of it.
I met with all the kids' teachers this week to go over their progress during the first trimester. It was all good news. All three teachers said that my children are a bright spot in their classrooms. All three kids are working hard, learning well and behaving themselves.
I am looking at some where else to live. My lease will be up in February and we need 3 bedrooms. This is a stressful, daunting, frustrating task. I don't like moving, but it is kind of exciting.
Paul and I have seen some excellent movies. Inglourious Basterds was fantastic. Of course, it's by Quentin Tarantino so do with that information what you will. The Invention of Lying was highly entertaining, but I warn you that not everyone would agree. Think: questioning the existence of God and How Things Came to Be. Most recently we saw The Men Who Stare at Goats. If you have a problem with George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey and Ewan McGregor making you laugh your hiney off, you probably shouldn't see it.
So that's how things are here. We are trudging along to the end of the year, the end of the school year and we are another year closer to the Empty Nest.
The weather has been phenomenal. We had a fantastic snow storm. And then it warmed up, the snow melted and we went about in short sleeved t-shirts with the air conditioning on full blast. In case I haven't mentioned it lately, this is one of the reasons I love Colorado.
The kids had fall break and therefore, so did I. They left for a couple of weeks and I got caught up on laundry, grocery shopping, house cleaning and all sorts of other fun stuff.
Another of my family moved to the area. Yay! Denver is getting better all the time.
Paul and I enjoy spending time together. A few weeks ago he had surgery, came through it pretty well, and is recovering now. Things are mostly back to normal.
The kids went to their first school skating party. It was my own special little hell, but they really loved it. I'm trying to figure out how to help them have more fun next time and how to get me out of it.
I met with all the kids' teachers this week to go over their progress during the first trimester. It was all good news. All three teachers said that my children are a bright spot in their classrooms. All three kids are working hard, learning well and behaving themselves.
I am looking at some where else to live. My lease will be up in February and we need 3 bedrooms. This is a stressful, daunting, frustrating task. I don't like moving, but it is kind of exciting.
Paul and I have seen some excellent movies. Inglourious Basterds was fantastic. Of course, it's by Quentin Tarantino so do with that information what you will. The Invention of Lying was highly entertaining, but I warn you that not everyone would agree. Think: questioning the existence of God and How Things Came to Be. Most recently we saw The Men Who Stare at Goats. If you have a problem with George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey and Ewan McGregor making you laugh your hiney off, you probably shouldn't see it.
So that's how things are here. We are trudging along to the end of the year, the end of the school year and we are another year closer to the Empty Nest.
Why I Will be Happy for the Kids to Grow Up
Disclaimer: This is a Debbie Downer post. I'm fully aware of that. I'm not usually in this state of mind and you know it. But this has been a difficult couple of weeks and I need to vent. Thank you.
When the kids grow up there will be no more:
When the kids grow up there will be no more:
- mysterious stomach symptoms, followed by puking
- obsessive-compulsive throat clearing
- remembering who gets the first computer turn today, who gets to sit where, who gets the 'special' fork or who gets any one of the numerous things they argue about
- invasion of my bed at 6 AM with tossing and turning, flicking at my ears, asking for food, wiggling incessantly and finally running frantically to the bathroom to pee
- peed beds
- homework wrangling
- coordinating of visits with the ex-husband
- coordinating of anything with the ex-husband
- deciding where to live based mostly on where they will go to school
- book fairs, skating parties, volunteering at school or scheduling parent/teacher conferences
- backseat fighting
- "Move!", or "Don't do that!", or "Stoooooop iiiiit!"
- crying over computer games that are too difficult or too violent or too everything
- being afraid of the dark or monsters or spiders
- disgusting yellow stains on and around the toilet or stale urine smell in the bathroom
- discussions of why I think drinking alcoholic beverages is okay and the ex-husband does not
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