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I have wonderful neighbors, really I do. Friendly, understanding when our daughter throws a screaming tantrum, willing to help lift heavy objects when needed, etc.
But still this one neighbor finds the occasional moment to irritate me, or at least have me slapping my forehead with my hand.
The way our apartments are set up, there are four individual residences for each stairwell. There's a front stairwell and a rear stairwell, and both are set up pretty much the same way. Apartments 1 and 2 are on the lower landing, doors facing each other, and apartments 3 and 4 are on the upper landing in the same arrangement. There's an exterior door that requires one key to get into the stairwell, and each of the four apartment doors also lock with a second key for security (doorknob locks, plus deadbolt and chain). There are doorbells next to both exterior doors, clearly numbered for the apartments. Also, as an added note, at least one resident of each apartment in the complex is a student of the University, which to me adds to the feeling of security.
Hubby and I are in apartment #1, and a very nice Asian woman and her student son are in #2 across the landing. Several times this year alone, visitors of hers have rung our doorbell and then looked incredibly confused when I, a tall Caucasian woman, answered instead of the Asian woman. It's gotten to the point where I can guess who they were trying to get and just tell them, "You want this doorbell, not that one."
She's also managed to set things on fire in her kitchen a few times (we've all done that), but instead of airing out the kitchen, she shuts it up and the smell starts to permeate the stairwell. It's freaked me out once or twice when I'd go into my daughter's room and start to smell smoke, and the building-wide fire alarm hasn't gone off yet. Twice, I've called the housing office to report it so they could contact the fire department or send over maintenance or whatever. I suspect she's the reason they finally installed hoods with fans over our stoves, and I overheard them at one point advising her that if it happened again, she should open the kitchen window to vent it out.
Worst, though, was when she had one of her friends over (who rang the right doorbell, in case you're wondering) and they managed to burn some "Asian medicine," as she explained it to me. That stuff smelled awful. I don't know what it was, but the whole stairwell and our apartment reeked for the rest of the day, and I had to open all the windows to let fresh air in despite the fact that it was November in CT and therefore far from warm enough for open windows. Brr.
But still this one neighbor finds the occasional moment to irritate me, or at least have me slapping my forehead with my hand.
The way our apartments are set up, there are four individual residences for each stairwell. There's a front stairwell and a rear stairwell, and both are set up pretty much the same way. Apartments 1 and 2 are on the lower landing, doors facing each other, and apartments 3 and 4 are on the upper landing in the same arrangement. There's an exterior door that requires one key to get into the stairwell, and each of the four apartment doors also lock with a second key for security (doorknob locks, plus deadbolt and chain). There are doorbells next to both exterior doors, clearly numbered for the apartments. Also, as an added note, at least one resident of each apartment in the complex is a student of the University, which to me adds to the feeling of security.
Hubby and I are in apartment #1, and a very nice Asian woman and her student son are in #2 across the landing. Several times this year alone, visitors of hers have rung our doorbell and then looked incredibly confused when I, a tall Caucasian woman, answered instead of the Asian woman. It's gotten to the point where I can guess who they were trying to get and just tell them, "You want this doorbell, not that one."
She's also managed to set things on fire in her kitchen a few times (we've all done that), but instead of airing out the kitchen, she shuts it up and the smell starts to permeate the stairwell. It's freaked me out once or twice when I'd go into my daughter's room and start to smell smoke, and the building-wide fire alarm hasn't gone off yet. Twice, I've called the housing office to report it so they could contact the fire department or send over maintenance or whatever. I suspect she's the reason they finally installed hoods with fans over our stoves, and I overheard them at one point advising her that if it happened again, she should open the kitchen window to vent it out.
Worst, though, was when she had one of her friends over (who rang the right doorbell, in case you're wondering) and they managed to burn some "Asian medicine," as she explained it to me. That stuff smelled awful. I don't know what it was, but the whole stairwell and our apartment reeked for the rest of the day, and I had to open all the windows to let fresh air in despite the fact that it was November in CT and therefore far from warm enough for open windows. Brr.
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