The new tenants have been there most of the year and as the months have gone by, they've become more and more like the old tenants. Maybe it isn't the tenant's fault at all...maybe the unit is possessed and just turns people into rude, loud slackers over time.
Or maybe it's just that the owners sublet to anyone who will agree to pay the astronomical rent and they don't care if they're going to make good neighbors. (I really can't believe that anyone pays as much as our payment is to own!)
They've had mattresses in the back patio for weeks and weeks now. Rain soaked, nasty, ugly mattresses. And our friend congratulated us on our "new baby neighbor" yesterday, and I was like, "Wha??" and he told us a stroller had been jammed into the front bushes for weeks. I peeked out front (I've become accustomed to parking out back lately so I hadn't seen it) and sure enough, old stroller jammed in the bushes.
I know I'm not super patient. I admittedly have gone over there at 10:30 at night and knocked on the front door to ask the unsupervised teenaged daughter to turn the music down. And, when one male houseguest got snippy with me, I did say I'd call the police if they didn't knock it off. Look, I like Eminem as much as the next person, but when I can actually understand the words through the walls? No. When I have to turn up the TV to cancel out the noise? No. I'm not Mrs. Olsen. I'm not Mrs. Kravitz. But this is not how I want to live. If it were an apartment, I'd probably be more lenient. But this is our home, we own it, we can't just pick up and go.
So, I sent a note to the HOA this morning asking for their help. The homeowner asked me to let her know if these tenants acted up, but you know what? Not my responsibility. It's up to them to do a drive by of the property regularly to see if it's up to par. I know they wanted the heads up so they could avoid the fines, but maybe if they pass along those fines to the tenants, the tenants will start acting right.
On a happier, non-ghetto-neighbor note, we had a nice weekend. I'd been plotting something for Steinvic for WEEKS and somehow managed to keep it a secret, even though I was dying to tell him about it.
We saw a painting at the gallery opening we attended last month. Steinvic loved it for a lot of reasons, most importantly because it reminded him of his son (who is a spectacular percussionist). I told Steinvic I'd talk with the owner about buying it and the Monday after the opening, I did.
But I didn't tell Steinvic. And, when he thought to ask me about how she was doing since the reopening, I told him that she was fine, but that she'd sold the painting. He was so great about it, saying that it was okay, that we didn't need to spend the money now, that we didn't really have a place to put it...
But what I didn't tell him was that she sold it to me.
I will never forget the look on his face when he walked into our place and saw it. It's a housewarming present that I hope he treasures every day. And I believe he will!
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