A Grumpy Post About Neighbors

You know when you have a blog post all planned out and life just totally gets in the way? I won’t get into all of the reasons why today’s fun/happy post isn’t happening.  My brain is far to tired to think about it all and it is because of my neighbor.

It’s funny… when I read people’s blogs I am always amazed at how put together their homes and lives seem.  Then, after starting our blog, people started saying the same thing to me.  I realized it is just the nature of people posting about all of the good stuff and cropping the mess out of the photos. So let’s get real for a minute.

I seriously adore our apartment, messy as it happens to be right now.  Sure, I’d love a dishwasher, a washer/dryer, a second bedroom, and a bathtub if we are wishing but I am perfectly happy in our place.  There is only one exception and it is my neighbor.  She has lived there just over a year now and has been nothing but a hassle.  Let me give you a little idea of the kind of person we are dealing with… let’s call her Jocelyn.  23-year-old Jocelyn decides she wants to be an actress but has no marketable skills.  So well-off mommy and daddy pay for her to move to Los Angeles and get a nice apartment for her and her dachshund, Yippy.  Even though that name is fake, it would be perfect for the dog.  I have never seen Jocelyn work a day in her life and yet she has enough money to go out almost every night to party.  A lot of nights she doesn’t come home.  And how do I know that?  Because Yippy cries and barks ALL NIGHT LONG.  I mean it- all night.  Our building was built in the 20’s so the walls are like flimsy slabs of cardboard and I hear every yip out of that dog (as well as her screaming at the dog when she IS home and arguing with her parents over whether or not she is currently on drugs). Granted the dog is a bit neurotic, but to me this is 100% the owner’s fault.

It is no surprise that every person in the building has complained about her to the landlord (like when the dog is home alone, gets loose, and spends the night in the shared courtyard waking up everyone in the building.  Yes, this has happened at least twice). So finally, I was so happy to hear that she had several other lease violations and was being asked to leave a couple weeks ago. I would never wish for anyone to be out on the street but I’m sure mommy and daddy will just pay for her next apartment also and she’d be fine. So I was excited that she would soon be someone else’s awful neighbor.

Later that week I got an email from the landlord that Jocelyn had sat down with him and begged for a second chance. Having two daughters of his own about her age, he caved and decided to let her have a 30-60 day “do over.” Our landlord is such a nice guy and I can totally understand giving someone the benefit of the doubt (I’m an eternal optimist, what can I say?).  But UGH! I doubt she could change her ways and suddenly be a responsible pet owner and tenant in 30 days.

Fast forward another week or so and we find ourselves at May 23rd (Wednesday).  She left the dog alone overnight and it yipped all night long.  I got maybe 3 hours of restless sleep.  Then last night it did the same thing and I managed to scrape together an hour or two of light, frustrated dozing.  So I have had practically no sleep for the past 2 nights and I just don’t know what to do.

The landlord is trying to deal with the situation but I don’t know how many more sleepless nights I can handle.  And yes, I have tried ear plugs but they either fall out or make me miss my alarm in the morning so it is not the best option. I am at a loss… I don’t want to be a grump but I pay an arm and a leg to live (and SLEEP) in this apartment. What to doooooo? I am too sleep deprived to think rationally. Have you all had to deal with terrible neighbors? How did you handle it?

Alright, thanks for letting me vent a bit.  I feel better already and I even got a good chuckle of of my fake name game… I apparently think I am clever. :)

Happy Friday and have a great long weekend!