Welcome Back, Sweet Silence

I think we'd all do well to welcome Jen back. She's been on a bit of a hiatus, and I think it's safe to say that we all missed her. I know, I know. You might be thinking you don't even know Jen. You're sure she's quite nice and all, but you didn't really miss her. But you're wrong. You did miss her. You just don't realize it. So go ahead and welcome her back.

The different things we have to get used to as we adjust to new living spaces are intriguing to me. Having moved from the Windy City to suburban Cleveland, Jen is having to adjust to living among the Amish and the eerie silence that goes with it. So used to the noises of the city was she that she said, "On the first night I had to keep reassuring myself that silence did not equal impending doom." Ah, Jen. What I wouldn't give for some of that sweet silence.

As you may or may not remember, I recently moved and am doing a bit of adjusting of my own. As intimated by my friend who used to live there, my place is impressively noisy. The ceilings/floors and walls are quite thin. Luckily, I only have a neighbor on one side, and I don't hear anything from him. [Aside: not knowing any of my neighbors, they will all be referred to as "him." I have no idea as to their genders, but it seems to work better for me that way. I suggest that those of you who object to this type of gender bias to either stop reading or get over it.] On the other side of me is the building's foyer, which houses the stairs down to the garage, the elevators, and the mailboxes. If people talk out there, I can hear them quite clearly. Luckily for me, that's a rarity. The door to the stairwell that takes one to the garage, however, squeaks more consistently and loudly than any other door on the planet, and I can hear that anywhere in my apartment but the bathroom. One of these days, I will attempt to silence it with WD-40.

What's really impressive, though, is the noise from above. I don't know what kind of codes the building meets, but there can't be any noise suppression-related rules in there. Either that or the guy above me weighs a metric ton and is mostly deaf. I say this because I can hear every step he takes. Come to think of it, he may not actually be deaf. I can hear a low murmur whenever his TV is on, but I can't tell what he's watching or hear any words. But it's still sound pollution in my TV-watching environment, and I don't like it.

Luckily for me and unlike my friend who warned me (too late, but warned me nonetheless) about the noise level, I have heard no conversations from above and have been subjected to no sexcapades. However, the guy gets up early. It's very sad for the lightest sleeper in the world to have people walk around above him every day sometime between 4:30 and 7:30 AM. On the off-chance that I might sleep through the tromping about, he redoubles his efforts, announcing that he has arisen by violently tossing porcelain against porcelain as he makes use of the toilet. That thunk is not a pleasant way to wake up at all.

With all of that said, so far I like everything about my pad except the noise. Shockingly, I haven't hooked up my surround speakers yet (still trying to decide what to do with the cables). Less shockingly, I haven't put anything on the walls yet. (I lived in the Lodge for 6 years and never put anything on the walls in my room.) When I do those things, I'll be all settled. Before that, though, I'm going to look into some earplugs.