I don't feel well....I'm not SICK, mind you, I just don't feel well. Like I'm on the verge of coming down with something. Kinda achy, tired, low-grade-feverish. Of course, the lovely weather probably isn't helping much. 26 degrees as I'm writing this with a wind chill of about 19.
As I came up I-81 to work this morning, I noticed a little portable pop-up sign beside the road that said "Accident Ahead". About 3 miles past the sign, I decided someone had just forgotten to retrieve the sign after clearing up an accident, since nothing was in sight. Just as I approached Exit 7, though, I saw that traffic was backed up in the northbound lanes. I took the exit, went over to Lee Highway, and took that up to Exit 10, where I got back on the interstate (north of the accident). It didn't add a lot of time to my commute, even though traffic diverted onto Lee Highway was unusually heavy. After I got to work, I learned that there'd been an accident at 6:00 last night just around the 8-mile marker. A tractor-trailer carrying cosmetics (headed south) lost control of his truck, veered across the median, and collided with a tanker truck carrying sulfuric acid. The tanker is still in the median; they're trying to get another tanker moved in to transfer the acid. They say that the interstate will have to be completely blocked during the transfer, and that the interstate probably won't reopen until late this afternoon. Sounds like I'll be going home by "back roads" today. Luckily, we're only having light snow showers, so running two-lane roads shouldn't be difficult. In fact, it may even be scenic. *keeping a positive attitude.....or trying to, at least*
My upstairs neighbor left a note under my door last Friday complaining about Meggie barking while she's trying to sleep (she has insomnia, she has sleep apnea, etc., etc., etc.). As soon as I came home and found the note, I went to talk to the apartment manager, who is a gem if ever there was one. I asked her advice in the matter. I proposed to respond by a note explaining that I make it a point never to leave Meggie alone during "quiet hours" as established in the lease. (Which is true....she's never alone overnight...hasn't been since the first of March, 2007.) I asked the manager if she'd look over the note after I'd composed it to see if she thought I'd said too much or too little. She agreed and said she felt I was taking the proper steps. I went home and composed the note and e-mailed it to her so she could look it over first thing Monday morning. In the note I also stated that I try very hard to be a considerate neighbor (no vacuuming, laundry, etc. during quiet hours), and that I commiserated with her problems with insomnia and sleep apnea, both of which have plagued me in the past. I also mentioned that a CPAP machine had helped my situation tremendously.
When the apartment manager came to work Monday, she looked over my note and e-mailed me that she thought it looked great. I was off work that day (holiday) so I printed it, signed it, and slipped it under my neighbor's door. I didn't hear anything from her until she and I happened to be at our (side-by-side) parking places at the same time when I came home from work Tuesday afternoon. I passed a few pleasantries with her (weather, etc.). As we approached the stairs, she said that she supposed she was just going to have to put up with the barking dog.
I told her that, as I'd said in my note, I fully intended to see that Meggie is never left alone during "quiet hours", but that there just isn't much I can do while I'm at work.....and I HAVE to go to work. (She doesn't. Must be nice.) She commented that the barking didn't bother her as much as it bothered her nephew. (Which is interesting, since he's not on the lease. She supposedly lives alone. Also, he'd griped earlier about the fact that she has only one assigned parking space. In addition to that, when he comes in and out, he stomps on the stairs so hard it rings in my living room. Anyway.....) The entire time we were talking in the breezeway, the neighbor who lives diagonally across the breezeway from me was trying to get his Pomeranian to stop barking. It was really raising the roof! My upstairs neighbor commented that she didn't know how my dog could bark all morning long without making herself sick. I brought to her attention that the entire time we were talking, the Pomeranian was raising Cain, but Meggie hadn't made a sound. I actually think that she may be blaming Meggie for ANY barking she hears, and that's just not so. Oh well.
Then she said that maybe I should just bring "the dog" to her apartment when I leave for work and let her stay there. That way she'd be quiet. I was honestly stunned. I don't even KNOW this woman. We've had a total of three conversations, including this one; one of the other conversations involved her nephew's displeasure with the assigned parking situation. So two of three conversations have been gripe sessions for her, and she wants me to trust HER to take care of Meggie? Oh, I don't think so!
I told her that I'm leaving a radio on in the living room and a television on in the bedroom to make a little noise so that it will hopefully mask outside noises, making Meg quieter while I'm gone.
I stopped to talk to my apartment manager on my way home yesterday afternoon to fill her in on the conversation I'd had with my neighbor. She said that she didn't much care what the woman upstairs wants, that I've done everything I need to do in the situation. Sheesh, there's always ONE in the crowd, isn't there?
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