Pitter Patter of Pink Piddy Paws!

I stuck this letter in an envelope and taped it to the door of my upstairs “naked, combat boot wearing, elephant man” neighbor last night.

March 5, 2007

Dear Sir,

I have been your downstairs neighbor for two weeks now and feel it is time to address the noise situation.

I know that apartment living does not afford us the peace and quiet of having our own home, that we must expect “some” ambient noises from our neighbors. But, I feel that the normal “acceptable” noise levels I should expect have been well exceeded.

I tried to let you know, subtly, that loud noises are an issue for me.  Twice, I spoke to you in person and apologized for any excess noise that *I* might be making and each time you said “no problem” and closed your door on me.  The subtle method did not work.

So, I am taking a more direct approach with you now.

Sir, I don’t know if you realize it, but you make a lot of noise when you are home.  I know the minute you get home because I can hear you immediately.  Your footsteps echo through your floor/my ceiling like thunder.   It is a constant symphony of “tromp/stomp/tromp/stomp” that does not end until you decide to retire for the evening.

I hear thumps, bumps, and what I can only interpret as free weights being allowed to crash to the ground.  That is how loud it can be.  There have been two separate occasions when something hit your floor/my ceiling with such suddenness, such force that the resounding crash actually caused me to yelp in fright!

I can tell you what your schedule is, because the noise you produce doesn’t allow me to rest until you do.  You generally don’t go to bed until at least 11pm and sometimes as late as 1am.   I also know that you get up around 4am and are out the door at around 5am, because even though my alarm doesn’t go off until 6am, I’m awake the minute you start moving around your apartment.

I don’t know how you function on so little sleep, but I know it’s not going well for me!

You’ve vacuumed your floor on a Thursday night at midnight.  The sound of your vacuum moving over my head as I tried to sleep was a most unpleasant and unwelcome experience.

Your television sound system drowns out everything in my living room when you play it.

And then there is the radio.  Now, to be honest, I can’t actually say the radio noise is yours or not.  If it’s not, I deeply apologize.  But if it is, please, please turn it down.  It filters through my bathroom, clear as a bell, and comes through my dressing room directly into my bedroom.     And it’s almost always on, which is absolutely maddening.  From late night to wee hours of the dawn, the radio is on and there is no way for me to drown out the noise.

Sir, I’m not trying to be a nuisance or a complainer, but there has to be some sort of resolution we can come to regarding the noise I hear from you.  I don’t want to be the angry downstairs neighbor that is hitting the ceiling with a broomstick.  That’s just not my style and certainly doesn’t solve anything. 

So please, if you would just consider the fact that someone lives beneath you and try not to walk so heavily, or play your TV / radio so loudly and not vacuum late at night, I would be ever so grateful and we could be happy neighbors.

I am giving a copy of this letter to the leasing office, so that they know I have attempted to work this out with you.

I thank you for your time and understanding and I would be more than willing to speak to you face to face, should you wish.

Sincerely,

Wendy, your downstairs neighbor

When he got home last night, he was much quieter than normal and I was actually able to get to sleep by 10:30.  And this morning, I wasn’t woken up until 5am when his door slammed shut, heralding his departure for work.

Did my note work?  I don’t know.

I have to admit, I’ve been slightly apprehensive that he might retaliate in a less than polite manner.

Who knows…he may still, but I figured that by giving the leasing office a copy of the note, might afford me some protection in that matter.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he and I have come to a peaceful accord.

So goes another day in my life.