Saturday, April 2, 2011

Loud Music and Another Interview

By 6 pm last night the clouds were rolling in and the sunny day was over. Today it is much colder and raining.

I don't know if it is the time change or allergies or stress, but I have not been sleeping well for the last few weeks. I came home from my interview on Wednesday and I was just exhausted and it was day four of an afternoon of loud 70's music in my house. There is my house, then my yard, then my garage, then the alley, and then my Harley-riding, karaoke-singing neighbor's yard, house, and electronics store.

This neighbor appears to have outdoor speakers pointed towards my house and prefers a 70's rock radio station playing everyone's favorites, like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Pat Benatar, and Bob Seger. What about The Clash? The Ramones? Bob Marley? All made music in the 70's that I can stand. Most of the time the music is going, but there is no one in the yard. I can hear the music over my TV and a nap is out of the question. So, Wednesday afternoon I walked over to ask the Harley-riding, karaoke-singing neighbor if we could find a music compromise. There is no one outside anywhere, so I walk in to the store and there is the Harley-rider, a younger guy that might be his son, and a woman that might be the son's wife, who is also probably the karaoke singer.

The son is very apologetic, said they were working outside and listening to the music and should have turned it off. The wife apologizes as she sweeps with her back to me, I will call her a passive-aggressive. The Harley rider, who must own the electronics store and the house, is not mean, he just doesn't get it. He also stood there holding the door and leaning way back away from me, like he thought I was going to take a swing at him. This was really odd body language that I still can't interpret. I don't think he is a bad guy, he just doesn't understand why the whole neighborhood would not enjoy his music. I asked, why am I listening to your music over my TV in my house when you are all in here not listening to it at all? He said, but it's daytime. What?

After a long enough delay to let me know that they are really in charge, the loudness of the music went way up and then off. That was Wednesday and it hasn't come back on since.

The Disability Determinations Service for the state of Idaho called me for an interview on Friday. The list for a trainee to do disability determinations was canceled because the Social Security Administration froze hiring, so the state appears to be filling the spot with a temporary clerical worker. At least that is my educated guess. The interview is Thursday. I'm hoping I get the job with Vital Records first, but it feels good to have a back-up interview.

It was so great to walk around in my bare feet on the grass and get my hands dirty planting that blueberry that I am trying to resist planting more. It is just as well that it is raining today. The University of Idaho Extension website has an abundance of information about what to grow in Idaho and how to grow it, from what varieties of berry grow best in the Boise area to how to plan an Idaho vegetable garden. There is nothing wrong with buying plants at Home Depot, but they will often have varieties of plant that do not grow in the area and it is a good idea to educate yourself. I bought the right variety of blueberry, but they are picky about soil. I may have to put the blueberry in a pot and plant a blackberry in the ground. Blueberries also like another blueberry nearby, so maybe I need another blueberry, too. See what I mean? If I had my choice and more money, there would be no grass left in my backyard.

No comments:

Post a Comment