Noise Complaints
Tonight, for the second time this week, my neighbor pounded on my door and said, “Can you turn it down?” The thing is, I’m not blasting music; no, I’m listening to music or the radio at a reasonable level — if I had it any lower, I wouldn’t hear it. Living in an apartment, a little noise is expected; there are people living near you, people make noise, and their schedules are different.
I know all to well how ridiculously thin the walls are in this building — you can hear people breath, which is why I switched my bedroom with my workroom. The only times I’ve complained was when the couple next door screamed and threw things at each other all day and another guy, also next door, had loud drunken parties until 4 in the morning. If I was doing something like that I could understand. I’m sorry, listening to NPR at a low volume at 12:30 AM on a Saturday night doesn’t warrant a pounding on my door and a pissy attitude, blaming me for not being able to sleep. The last time she complained, I was listening to music, again, at a low volume at 9 o’clock at night and she said she was studying — go to the library.
It’s odd, after putting up with four different noisy neighbors in the apartment next door (I should have complained more), now I’m the one getting complaints. I’m not a loud person by any means and I’m respectful to others (I often wonder why I bother), but this is ridiculous. She’s lived next door since August or September, I’m not doing anything different or louder since then, so why is she complaining now? Is she going to call the cops next? Should I complain that I can hear her loud, gas-guzzling, pseudo-monster truck over my music?
I need to move.