Forced Update...

I don't really have much to update right now. But my semi-abusive husband told me if I didn't update our blog, then I would have to suffer the consequences. I think that means either a beating (if he has the energy) or I have to go without dinner tonight.

People told me that marriage would be hard, but I didn't think it would be this hard. Ah well. I made my bed and now I've got to lie in it, right?

So an update...hmmm...

I think I'll update about our neighbors who live upstairs from us. We live in an apartment complex. There are neighbors to each side of us (who we never hear) and neighbors above us. We didn't always have these neighbors, they moved in about three months or so ago, we remember hearing them walk around a bit, but nothing too major.

But then they got louder. And louder. We've determined this about them. They're of asian ethnicity and don't speak much English (that's kind of important later in the story) and they're young and they're loud. Really loud. We know there's a girl that lives up there and she has the most annoying laugh. It's really bad. And really loud. And not just loud during awake hours, but loud at night when we're trying to sleep. On a weekday.

But we were able to live with that. Until a disturbing trend started. We started noticing that several nights (on a school nights too) their door would buzz (our building works so that people outside buzz and you have to buzz to let them in, very Jerry Seinfeld) around 11:00 or so. The guy would be let up and we'd hear them talk and that annoying laugh would filter on down through.

So Matt and I head off to bed and all is well, right? Wrong. About 1am is when the dreaded guitar gets taken out. And it's not just quiet singing they do (we're pretty sure there's more than two, but usually its only the guy singing) but it's loud. And off key. And not very good. And often if he doesn't get the right chords, he'll go back and do it again and again. You know it's loud when you are sound asleep and are woken up. And you can't get back to sleep. No matter what. It's at these times when Matt and I start talking about what we can do to shut them up. Throw a rock at their window? Possibly. Go outside and buzz them pretending we're the police and we've had a noise complaint? Good one, but we need to improve our accents first. Go upstairs and knock on their door and when it opens push past them and head straight for the guitar and then break it? That one has come up more than once. Being sleep deprived will do that to you.

The worst thing isn't that they've ruined some of our best loved pop songs. Its that they have a particular liking to one song, a song we both used to like. But not anymore. This song is 'Torn' by Natalie Imbruglia. I personally think it's the only one in English that the laughing girl knows. I've actually heard her practicing by herself in her flat during the day. And it always gets played. Every time. More than once. Without fail.

These guitar sessions? They'll last until 4am. Not cool.

So we've talked to the porter, we've heard other neighbors knock on their door and complain (and get into a nice swearing match with the offenders) but nothing changes. What can be done?

Well, Matt and I are petty people. We know that. We accept that. And we have our own little form of revenge. Every morning Matt leaves for work and this has occurred. He buzzes them. They haven't had much sleep being up so late singing (of course, neither have we). But when the buzzer goes, you think someone is at your door. It makes them get up and check. We'll also buzz them when we get in at night. Yes, it's petty. Yes it doesn't do as much damage as we'd like it to.

But it makes us feel better. And really, when you're as sleep deprived as we are, you have to hold on to what you can.

Hopefully this update is good enough for my tyrannical husband. Do you know what he just did? Made me lunch! Doesn't he realize that I'm an independent woman who can make her own lunch? See what I mean? Abusive.