Noisy Neighbor

Day two of my blog about the Midwest and I’m not going to write about the Midwest!  I’m going to vent about my noisy neighbor.  I’m starting to believe that the biggest mistake I’ve made since arriving in Northern KY is to buy a condo.  Why did I think I could tolerate being that close to other people?  Well, actually, I’ve lived in apartments over the years in the various towns I’ve been in and have never had this problem.  This time, I think I’m just unlucky enough to have a very loud person living next door to me.  Maybe he’s hard of hearing… no, he’s just loud.  You know the type… bold, arrogant, self-absorbed, just plan loud.  I paid a contractor to install soundproof dry wall on the wall between the two condos.  It was winter at that time and I was sick of listening to his stereo, TV, and telephone conversations (I know more than I should about this man because the conversations were quite clear and let me tell you, F bombs were dropping all over the place, he’s loud and easily angered).  Well, the soundproof barrier worked; no more hearing him through the wall! 

Unfortunately, the peace and quiet only lasted until the weather warmed up.  Now he is on the balcony, which is right outside my bedroom window, talking nonstop!  This guy is on the phone more than a teenager.  He has a new girlfriend too and she’s often out there with him… talking loudly as well, but I think this may be just so she can get a word into the conversation.  I picture him as a hand talker, waving him arms around as his voice bellows out for the entire neighborhood to hear.  The kind of person that is large and obnoxious in everything he does.

OK, so, have I vented long enough?  What’s the solution?  I’ve ordered a soundproof blanket from a company in CA that specializes in acoustics.  It is made specifically for windows.  The person I spoke with assures me that human voices are easy to block.  Dogs and trains are a different story, but I don’t have those problems, thank goodness.  Therefore, I have confidence that this blanket will stop the noise from coming through the window.  My fear is that I will still be able to hear him through the exterior wall of the building.  I may have to call the contractor back out to put up more soundproof dry wall.  I guess I’ll wait until the blanket arrives and see if I can still hear them.  If I can, I’m soundproofing the exterior wall as well.  If that doesn’t work… I’m moving!!!

Heck on it, I’ll put the condo on the market and be prepared to take a horrible loss on the place (it’s new construction and I only bought it last Dec, no way can I break even this soon).

Oh, I do have a little something about the Midwest… yellow watermelons!  I’ve never seen them before and I have no idea if they are actually exclusive to this region of the country, but they are delicious, crisp, and super juicy. I found them at the farmer's market, which runs seven days a week here in the summertime.  I bought some great peaches and tomatoes too.  I love fresh produce!