Its been a hard days

It’s been a hard days night……..

Well what a night it’s been and what fun I’m having now. Actually, things are great. My new apartment is very nice, the neighborhood is clean, new and elegant, I’m less than five miles from my office and there is a Radio Shack, Office Depot and ice cream place less than one mile away – nirvana, I have arrived.

Then there is that little word, “but.

OK, so I’m not really whining, this is just a recap of my first night “in the hood.” I finally went to sleep about 11:30PM, Saturday. It was a long day of moving, unpacking boxes, dealing with the cable company and Vonage (voice over IP telephone service – this is about the be cancelled). I was tired and wanted to get some rest. And rest I got for about one half hour until one of my new neighbors came home with his “urban SUV” complete with a million watt radio amplifier. Actually I didn’t know what the noise was at first as I awakened to the rattling of my sliding glass doors. I didn’t get to hear what song or songs he was playing because all I heard was the pounding of the base frequencies. Of course, I would have like to have heard the pounding of his head at that point, but I didn’t think it would be neighborly to start up on the fist night here. Besides, I’m no big shot, and now that I’m gainfully employed and pay lots of taxes, that’s for the local police to handle. I didn’t call the cops as you may be thinking because I’m getting mellow at my old age and held a wonderful conversation with my multiple personalities and reminded them that we don’t live in a perfect world and that things like this do happen from time to time. There could have been any number of possible reasons for his actions. Who knows, it finally stopped after about ten minutes and the parking area was secure for the rest of the night.

As the placed stopped shaking, I checked my email again, (I’m not real sure what I am expecting in the middle of the night. I suppose when it gets here I’ll know), and then tried to get the cat our from behind the water heater. She found her new hiding place after about ten minutes of bass pounding. With all that going on she must have  convinced herself  to seek shelter far away from human folk. (I am getting a bit concerned because as of 4PM this afternoon she has only come out once.)

So, with the parking lot concert over, I attempted to get some rest, once again but something was in the cards, and sleep wasn’t in mine for the night. Just moments after returning to bed I was awaked by the sound of running waster, so loud that I thought a pipe had burst in the bathroom. As I followed the noise trail I led myself to the drain hookup for the washing machine that has yet to be installed. I figured out what was happening and realized that my washing machine drain must be connected to a common drain feed that services all the apartments in this section of the building. So, I suppose without anything hooked up to the receptacle the future of my rest will be dependent on when my neighbors shower or bathe. Wonderful. I suppose a washing machine will now come before a new living room set. Oh well, drainage happens.

Rolling your eyes yet? There is more. Let’s now talk about car alarms. I am convinced that car alarms that do nothing but keep honest people honest and bring smiles to the faces of would be car thieves. By now it was about 2:30 AM. I’d had my concert and plumbing experience and now it was time to “catch a thief.” Actually I have no idea if there was an attempted break in or not, but what I do know is that someone’s car alarm works well, is extremely loud and has wonderful alternating sirens. Over the course of about thirty minutes I heard variations of the standard wobble American siren, and alternating European sirens, staggered horn honking and maybe even Elton John singing “Bennie and the Jets.” Actually, scratch the Elton John reference, it must have been all the coffee I’ve had today.

Eventually I did fall asleep and here is where I’d love to write that all was well. NOT TRUE. As I was dreaming about being President of the United States I was awaked once again by some sort of alarm sound. The sound was very familiar and muted but it was constant and remained on for a very long time. I waited for it to stop and when it didn’t I had to once again, get up and find the source of the intrusion. I tracked the sound to one of the 20 sealed moving boxes that the movers placed in the living room tore open the box and removed the battery from the culprit alarm clock. At last something under my control.

So, that’s it for night number one. I can only imagine what’s in store for me tonight. I have to work in the morning so perhaps that’s good, I can finally get some rest, (at the office). In Sugar Land, Texas, it’s me.