Ah, summer. The sweet sound of birds singing, the dulcet ringing of drilling, the musical noise of builders burping. Oh, how I love the wonderful cacophony of sounds that drift through our open windows -- not! With each and every one of my neighbours seemingly embarking on a renovation project this summer, I am about to lose my mind.I live in a row of Victorian terraces that backs onto another row of Victorian terraces, parallel to ours, with only small gardens in the middle. This means we have a perfect conduit for all the sounds of the neighbourhood to travel, ricochet and echo their way up and down the red-bricked exteriors of the buildings, straight to my ears. Even without the constant drilling, it can be a bit trying at times.
There's the neighbour who lets his dog out three times a day to bark, endlessly, at God knows what. There's the American couple who live somewhere nearby, having a BBQ in their courtyard each and every day the sun makes an appearance -- nearly smoking us out of the flat. The family torturing their children with French lessons; the birthday party with 50 screaming kids; the graduation do where for some reason, they just couldn't seem to stop playing Deacon Blue... and on, and on.
Add tooth-jarringly-loud drilling to the mix and you get one crazed writer! And so to my drilling friends all around the block: please, I beg you, have mercy. Co-ordinate all your drilling to the hours between 10 and 12. Then let me have the rest of the day in peace. Deal?
I thought not.
UMMM...try to think of these as gifts from your muse. Does that work? How about earplugs at least?
ReplyDeleteI feel I should apologize for the BBQing Americans....
Helen - I wish! But having lived here for six years I still don't know my neighbours!
ReplyDeleteBossy Betty - I love BBQs. And Americans. I just don't love it when their dinner invades my living room. :)
Intra-auricular earbuds do wonders for me at work... Except that they don't block the cigarette smoke wafting up through the window to my desk. :þ
ReplyDeleteAlesa - Now that *would* drive me mental!
ReplyDeleteOh, it drives me mental(er?)...
ReplyDeleteI get flights of violent fantasy in which I bodily escape my office run home and struggle vainly to get a novel published for three years, wind up broke and giving English lessons again, slowly spiralling out of the system til I die, clutching a tattered copy my MS to my chest, after getting hit by a car while chasing a publisher across the street.
Instead I close the window until they leave. : j
Alesa - dear lord! Yes, in that case, I do think closing the window is the better option!
ReplyDeleteDogs barking madly, on and on and on, drives me INSANE! I can't stand it, I have a dog, two actually and I never let them bark nonstop like a ninny.
ReplyDeleteAnywho, good luck with all that, maybe you should practice a little meditation or something ;)
Aw, that does not sound pleasant. The most I have to deal with is the stupid stray cat who whines outside my bedroom window all day when my male cat won't let him near the food bowls. But I always write with music on so that helps drown it out.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if music is part of your writing process, but it might help if you want to give it a try. Sorry about the noise. And happy Monday!
Crystal - I think you're right! Meditation might be in order!
ReplyDeleteShannon - I wish I could write with music. I just find it too distracting. Happy Monday to you too!
And you can add to that car alarms and faulty burglar alarms if your area is anything like round our way. We ought to organise a coordinated scream. That would shut them all up. Say midday on a Friday ;-)
ReplyDeleteTime to visit the air-conditioned library for some writing time and space? That's where I'm planning to spend the school holidays, as it gets intolerable around here with home renovations and kids screeching.
ReplyDeleteOh Talli, good luck. It said to say but maybe you need to go somewhere else. How bad is that--you have to leave your own house to get some quiet.
ReplyDeleteGood luck sweetie!
How about on the next day all the neighbors are out doing 'special' things, aim your stereo speakers outside to your own courtyard and blast some AC/DC or Whitesnake or some other appropriate rock and roll.
ReplyDeleteCan you write with your own music blaring at you? Something soothing/classical that you could turn up to block their noise but is pleasing to you?
It sounds like you need to invest in some serious noise-canceling ear phones. I bet the kind that air traffic controllers might work nicely. :) Good luck, Talli!
ReplyDeleteWant to toss some psychotic cats into the mix? That will really mess up your concentration!
ReplyDeleteYou definitely need a set of great ear plugs. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteMason
Thoughts in Progress
I can so identify. I've often thought of finding a home away from home, like a hotel lobby or my neighborhood Borders coffee shop. Just to get some peace & quiet.
ReplyDeleteThat sucks. I live in off-campus student housing, and I tend to write at night. BUT I go to a party school, and so at night is when the parties are. Any given night (even Monday or Tuesday) I can hear a party going on somewhere. On the weekends I can hear parties coming from EVERY direction. And the floor of my apartment is really thin, so I can hear the girls downstairs whenever they have loud conversations.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I have purchased Bose headphones <3
I know it is not funny, but it did make me laugh! Headphones to block out noise when you are writing maybe?
ReplyDeleteAlexandra - that would drive me crazy. I'm a very light sleeper and that would keep me awake for sure.
ReplyDeleteLindyLou - Sure, laugh at my expense! :)
Kath - That's a good idea, actually. I may have to hear to the library.
And yes, earplugs are on the list to buy!
hahahaha hang in there!!
ReplyDeleteOR use it as an excuse to leave the house and write outdoors! hmmm??
hehe
Oh, the sounds of summer! Seriously though, if the dog is barking all the time, can you call the dog warden and file a complaint? It's not really okay for the dog to be disrupting the peace like that! And it sounds like the poor pup might not be too happy outside if it's barking all the time too :(
ReplyDeleteOur neighbour is putting some shelves up right at this minute on the other side of the wall. Any moment, the drill will appear through the plaster and enter the side of my head if he gets any nearer. Or louder.
ReplyDeleteEar plugs! And maybe a gas mask?
ReplyDeleteBad/annoying neighbors are the worst!
~JD
Burping builders made me smile.
ReplyDeleteNeurotic Workaholic lives in Chicago and recently wrote a similar post.
When I first moved to my neighborhood, it was noisy. Across the street, a neighbor blasted the song "Let's get it on 'til the early morn. 'Til the early morn, let's get it on" all the time. And it was hot so I couldn't shut the windows.
I had to call the police twice for fights.
It's calmer now.
Hope it's quieter tomorrow.
That's why I live for headphones!
ReplyDeleteI'd go insane!!!! I'm with Alex bring on those noise cancelling headphones b/c it sounds like you are in need of one!!!
ReplyDeleteOMG I can relate! I have the worst effing sounding dog that barks ALL day and ALL night next door, and the stupid birds chirp outside the window and make me want to scream!
ReplyDeleteThat would drive me bonkers!! Thank god I live in the countryside on a quiet street!!
ReplyDeleteI think you might have to invest in some ear plugs!!
C x
I would go mad if I had to listen to all that.
ReplyDeleteThankfully we only have two neighbours and fields on most sides. The noisy dog is ours (he does get told to be quiet, promise) and the incinerator burning weeds from the garden is the only occasional smoky thing around here.
It's amazing you aren't completely bonkers! I'd be crazy if I had to deal with all that while trying to write.
ReplyDeleteI drink hot tea. I write. And then I whine. My urban fantasy, FRENCH QUARTER NOCTURNE, is set to be released come the next cold front in Hades.
ReplyDeleteI live in a close-cropped apartment complex, Tali, so I know only all too well the wonderfulness of neighbors who seem intent on driving their neighbors crazy.
May some peace and laughter soon come your way. Roland
Eww... that's no good. Sorry, Talli. I hope your neighbors get it together soon.
ReplyDeleteAww, sorry to hear about the distractions. Sounds like you're due for another Bloody Mary.
ReplyDeleteHoly Cow! Mad noise. Any way you can get to a library to write?
ReplyDeleteStuff it all in the next book, Talli. Then its inspiration, not irritation? (and then send copies to the neighbours!)
ReplyDeleteI sympathise. It's fine for people to have parties etc., b ut at least be kind to the neighbours and tone it down. If we aren't invited we don't want to hear it as if we are there. lol.
ReplyDeleteCan't you tell my neighbours kept me awake having a bbq/party until 4am on Sunday morning. :(
I so know how that feels. Try sleeping on a sunny Saturday with lawn mowers, hedge cutters, bar-b- cues, and kids on school holidays! I sometimes feel like getting the lawn mower out at 2am on Tuesday mornings *evil grin*, but I'd be arrested or taken away in a straight jacket :-)
ReplyDeleteI am so glad I'm not alone in my noise-hating!
ReplyDeleteEliza - I do think you should get out your mower at 2 am!
Sally - You're right. I need to work it into a novel somehow!
Lindsay - I feel your pain. That's awful.
Roland - haha! Love your little blurb there!
Ouch. That's grim. We have construction on three sides right now, but it's temporary, and the noise levels are otherwise fairly manageable in our more spacious street. There's an annoying barking dog, but it's quite a long way away; there are irritating macho revving bikers, but not very often. And we hardly ever smell someone else's barbecue in our garden, let alone in our house. Sounds like you need earplugs. And noseplugs. :-( Commiserations.
ReplyDeleteOh dear. It does sound like a bit of a nightmare!
ReplyDeleteMaybe if you set a cold bucket of beer in front of them , they'll give you some peace!
ReplyDeleteYou've got a problem, girl. If I were in your shoes, I'd ring doorbells, introduce myself, explain what I did, and ask for reasonable considerations. I'm American and feel as though your neighbors would move their BBQ, make adjustments if they knew about the smoke. If they aren't the kind to cooperate, blast loud music while they're eating. This will drive home the point; they'll cooperate (trust me on this one). About the dog, if there's no cooperation call the SPCA, and keep calling until things change. I've never met a dog owner who realized/admitted h/h dog barked. About the drilling, earplugs, my dear. (These are contract jobs that will end, tho.) Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I gave you a shout-out on my blog today.
A few weeks ago we had to get some work done on the lobby - it must have involved taking up the carpet because I had bzzbzzbzzbzzbzz just outside the front door... And they came at the weekend! *boggle*
ReplyDeleteMy advice...just open a bottle of wine! Wine makes everything better.LOL
ReplyDeleteOh you poor soul!!! How annoying for you!!!
ReplyDeleteOh external noise just makes my skin crawl so I do empathise!
I think that's why I live in an area where I'm the youngest and we are all single! LOL!! We like our peace and quiet...!
I hope the drilling stops soon, I hope you get the RSPCA to confiscate that poor doggie, get the NSPCC to rehome those screaming kids and I hope England beat USA at footie!
GOOD LUCK!
take care
x
Yikes! That sounds like such a nightmare. I have to put up with 3 little siblings at home during the summer, which is bad enough. I can't imagine having to deal with all the noises you're dealing with. :(
ReplyDeleteWish I could send you some open space, Alberta prairie quiet, my friend!
ReplyDeleteHi Talli,
ReplyDeleteOld Kitty put it best about calling the proper authorities about the incessantly barking dog.
1 of the biggest problems in any city is the noise pollution. Too bad you can't write w/ music as it would drown out the background noise.
Hope the earplugs work, as you stated they're on your list. Maybe they will be the solution.
The Americans need to stop that darn BBQ'ing. It always reminds me of a bunch of cavemen & women. Too bad you can't nicely tell 'em to knock it off. ;)
You have my sympathy. Best of luck!
lol I love that your title drew us all like bees to honey! ;o)
ReplyDeleteYep got to love all those 'sounds' that make life better (you know when the drilling is done...yeah I don't care either when its happening)
Thankfully the worst for me is lawnmowers..thank goodness we no longer live in an apartment!
Visit My Kingdom Anytime
I hear ya...
ReplyDeleteOur birds have been starting at 4:30 every morning for the past 2 weeks. Our neighbours just got a new dog. The other neighbourhood dogs keep trying to get it to talk back... *sigh*
Sorry to hear of your noise troubles - it's the entire reason I live out on an acreage - no neighbors to drive you crazy.
ReplyDeleteIn France I lived in an apartment building with all tile floors throughout. The woman in the flat above us wore her high heels inside, rather than kicking them off at the door when she got home. At all hours of the day and night, we heard her clickity-clack from one end of her place to the other. I swear, she was a nervous woman. A pacer. I wanted kick her legs out from under her and snap off those talons!
ReplyDeleteHang in there, Talli! :))
I do hate it when people allow their dogs to bark endlessly. My two dogs like to bark as well, but the minute I hear them, I scare them back inside. xD
ReplyDeleteBut hey, this could turn into an idea for a book! I can already picture it...
Talli,
ReplyDeleteI certainly don't want to say my noise is louder than yours....but, I will say I can relate to your noise concerns. This is a real drag. I have been wanting to blog about the same thing. Across the pond here in the States, they have leaf blowers, home improvements, tree cutters, rapping teenagers, condenser units that keep me up all night, and even birds that make so much noise you think you are in a Hitchock movie! So.... you might try meditation, which has helped me. Also,I agree with Kittie Howard's comments. She is usually right about things.
Good luck with your new book!!!!
I say it will bring you luck...
Our last house was on a very busy street. In the summer time, every motorcycle, every car with muffler problems and every delivery truck heading to the grocery store around the way went by our house. It was so annoying!
ReplyDeletePart of me sympathizes with you and the noise. It's so hard to concentrate! The other part of me (the one green with envy that you live where you do) grins vindictively. I'll try to keep her tied up for ya!
That's too bad they are so loud! I live in townhouses, all connected, but it doesn't seem as bad as what you're going through. Ug!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried ear plugs? I have in the past and it is helpful. Crazy and obsessive, but helpful.
ReplyDeleteGood luck getting everyone coordinated so you can get some peace and quiet! You're making me appreciate my nice big yard that keeps my neighbors at a safe distance. :)
ReplyDeleteI have a neighbor who thinks he can sing. CAN'T.
ReplyDeleteTop of his lungs, off-key.
*sigh*
Oh gosh, that's horrible! Have you tired going to a quieter location, like a library or the beach?
ReplyDeleteAt least you don't live next to the highway like I do!
This really made me laugh! We live in a row of Victorian terraces so I can sympathise as we experience exactly the same problems!
ReplyDeleteOnce you accomplish this can you work on my neighbours and convince them to all have their loud all-night parties on the same night so I know that it is only going to be once a week rather than three or four nights?
ReplyDeleteWishing you the best with your writing and hoping things settle down for you soon.
Ah Talli, this made me laugh - sorry!! My first thoughts were ' earplugs' but not sure you could wear those while writing? Sounds like such a busy neighbourhood - lovely and chirpy but when you want peace and quiet thats hard. We're about to have builders in next-door so am sure I'll be turning up my music to compete with the devils! xx
ReplyDeleteLord, I couldn't help laughing as I read this, because I know how you feel! The sound of birds is quite possibly the most irritating sound right now, and my fiance's neighbours have cats that love to fight (loudly) in the wee hours. I like cats. I love cats, even. But I could honestly kill them.
ReplyDeleteHope things get better on your street!
Hehe... love the graphic that you put with this post! Very cute.
ReplyDeleteI bet if you went to spend a week in the country it would make you INSANE... teehee. So at least all this noisy agony has enabled YOU to amuse ME... and that's important...
ReplyDeleteEar plugs? As soon as the sun's out, there's always someone cutting the grass, trimming the hedges, digging up the road... it's neverending.
ReplyDeleteTalli, thanks for stopping by. You're a sweetie! Hub and I discussed your American neighbors last nite. Hubs a businessman and thinks your neighbors are the same, overseas with a fat COLA (cost of living allowance). Because the dollar has been low for so long, especially against the pound, companies here have had difficulty getting people to work in the UK. So the incentive has been/is a huge COLA. If your neighbors have guests, that's entertainment money at work. Hub doesn't think these people are the slightest bit interested in your chicken-scented, smoke-filled writing area. So, we think perhaps to explain the situation to them. If that doesn't work (and probably won't), then blast music that infuriates their age group. It's not in your national character to do this, but it may be the only solution. A businessman can't entertain over obnoxious music. And, Tali, we Americans don't BBQ as much as they seem to. I'm surrouded by Americans (ho ho); no one barbequed this past weekend. (Know you're busy, no need to drop by. :))
ReplyDelete