Did I mention in my previous blog entries that Missy (the next door neighbour) is a musician? Yeah! Big time! She plays the piano. Actually, she started a music teaching degree but never finished it (or so I’ve heard…). She also gives private lessons. Yep! Her students practice, and practice, and practice… over and over and over again. And guess who is lucky enough to hear it all happen!? ME! (You must have a pretty good idea where I’m heading with all this now!!!)
I came home this week after a looong day at work (these teenagers are sucking the life out of me!) and all I wanted was peace and quiet. I have this bad habit of always turning on the TV when I get home. I usually sit on the couch, have supper, take a shower and go to bed. But lately, with all the commotion in the classroom, all I want is to have a glass of wine and enjoy the silence. You can imagine my frustration when Missy’s students started practicing Christmas songs on the f#% keyboard. A full hour of piano tapping and repetitions! Oh, MY GOD!
I didn’t think talking to Missy was a good idea. First of all, I felt uncomfortable doing so…! And second of all, I wasn’t up for a confrontation and uneasy feelings again. So… I decided to go see the landlord (AKA Missy’s brother)…
I have no idea if I worsened the situation or if I defused the whole thing (I guess I’ll know soon enough!) but talking to the landlord seemed like a decent enough way to go about it. And, by the way, I’ve known Missy’s brother for 12 years now. I’ve never complained about anything in the past, I pay my rent on time, I take care of the place and I used to look out for his apartment when he was away on vacation. So I was polite and sweet and repeated over and over again that it made me feel quite uncomfortable to have to do this but I wanted to enjoy the silence of my apartment after a long day’s work. It may sound harsh as you read it but I was quite sweet about the way I approached the situation.
I guess we will all find out soon enough if my approach was useful or not…!
As Ellen always says, “Be kind to one another!”
Ally L.