Thursday, February 22, 2007
Little things (or mountains out of mole hills)
For the most part, I've gotten exactly what I wanted out of my condo. I was looking for the cheapest place I could find so I could start building equity while still living a lifestyle I had grown accustomed to (cruises, Caribbean, Europe, Hawaii, etc.).
But something that shouldn't bug me about my neighborhood does. It's when my neighbors show disrespect either to me or to the neighborhood or to themselves. Last night, my neighbor decided to have a kind of "Chest of drawers" party. They took 3 or 4 dressers and threw them off their balcony onto the street, along with various other pieces of garbage - err - I mean 'prized collectables'. They gathered up some of the larger pieces and put them near the dumpster under the sign that says "Do not dump furniture here" [non sic]. They took the few largest pieces and put them in their carport (lovely). The little pieces they just left in the street.
Then, they took a very large (say, 8' x 10') zebra patterned rug and hung it over the balcony - supposedly to dry in the rain that came down this morning in buckets.
To say that we are leading different lives would be an understatement. I really don't feel like I belong in this area. This attitude of disrespect is prevalent among many of my neighbors, but this one in particular seems to push my button for some reason.
This is the same neighbor that stored a washing machine in their carport for weeks before my complaints got them to remove it.
This is the same neighbor who has the bulk of the boom-car friends visiting at all hours of the night.
This is the same neighbor whose many many children have been destroying the greenery in the area by pulling, hitting, stomping, etc. it into submission.
This the same neighbor who makes me not want to live here. This is the neighbor who demands respect from everyone else, but is unwilling to give any.
What bugs me is not that they make the neighborhood trashy. It's not that they show no respect to anyone. It's not the many reasons I have to hate my neighbor. It bugs me that this is the neighbor who I am called to love, and that makes it tough for me.
I know that no matter how I approach this issue, I'll get, "mind your own business" thrown back in my face. But I think this is my business. They're decreasing the value of my property. They're taking money out of my pocket with every abandoned mattress - every car up on blocks.
At any rate - pray for me, eh?
But something that shouldn't bug me about my neighborhood does. It's when my neighbors show disrespect either to me or to the neighborhood or to themselves. Last night, my neighbor decided to have a kind of "Chest of drawers" party. They took 3 or 4 dressers and threw them off their balcony onto the street, along with various other pieces of garbage - err - I mean 'prized collectables'. They gathered up some of the larger pieces and put them near the dumpster under the sign that says "Do not dump furniture here" [non sic]. They took the few largest pieces and put them in their carport (lovely). The little pieces they just left in the street.
Then, they took a very large (say, 8' x 10') zebra patterned rug and hung it over the balcony - supposedly to dry in the rain that came down this morning in buckets.
To say that we are leading different lives would be an understatement. I really don't feel like I belong in this area. This attitude of disrespect is prevalent among many of my neighbors, but this one in particular seems to push my button for some reason.
This is the same neighbor that stored a washing machine in their carport for weeks before my complaints got them to remove it.
This is the same neighbor who has the bulk of the boom-car friends visiting at all hours of the night.
This is the same neighbor whose many many children have been destroying the greenery in the area by pulling, hitting, stomping, etc. it into submission.
This the same neighbor who makes me not want to live here. This is the neighbor who demands respect from everyone else, but is unwilling to give any.
What bugs me is not that they make the neighborhood trashy. It's not that they show no respect to anyone. It's not the many reasons I have to hate my neighbor. It bugs me that this is the neighbor who I am called to love, and that makes it tough for me.
I know that no matter how I approach this issue, I'll get, "mind your own business" thrown back in my face. But I think this is my business. They're decreasing the value of my property. They're taking money out of my pocket with every abandoned mattress - every car up on blocks.
At any rate - pray for me, eh?
Comments:
Links to this post:
<< Home
#1. It is rather funny that all the Rap People talk about is "getting money" when their time is often spent decreasing the value of their homes.
#2. It's not that different here. All the wanna-be's make this area seem trashy too. The difference is that we don't own our home here. (We can't afford this little slice of the American Dream.)
#3. There is no such thing as the American Dream anymore. You're either filthy rich- or you live in the suburbs with that guy's clone on every block. So unless you live in a mansion, you live in the ghetto.
#4. Besides decreasing the value of your home, I would venture to say that he irritates you as much as he does partly because you love him already. You're angry because you want the best for him. You see him in a way he doesn't see himself. You see a person who is fully capable of living a decent, respectable, happy, healthy life yet who CHOOSES to live his life in a way that is empty, shallow, selfish, destructive, unsuccessful, unsatisfying, and unhappy. (He probably blames his circumstances for his unhappiness and never gives it a second thought.) Think of it this way: He decreases the value of his own life WAY more than he decreases the value of your property. And the truth is that his life is perhaps more important to you than his own life is to himself. And certainly more valuable than any piece of property. And it makes you frustrated that he doesn't seem to see what is so obvious and seems like it should be so easy. And your frustration makes you resent him. And that resentment resembles hate. And that feeling like hate makes it nearly impossible for you to remember that you already love him. So, you see, you're more than half way there. It seems so far away becaue it's unbelievably close.
#5. Welcome to my world.
#6. If it makes you feel any better, you could always put a rattlesnake in his car.
Post a Comment
#2. It's not that different here. All the wanna-be's make this area seem trashy too. The difference is that we don't own our home here. (We can't afford this little slice of the American Dream.)
#3. There is no such thing as the American Dream anymore. You're either filthy rich- or you live in the suburbs with that guy's clone on every block. So unless you live in a mansion, you live in the ghetto.
#4. Besides decreasing the value of your home, I would venture to say that he irritates you as much as he does partly because you love him already. You're angry because you want the best for him. You see him in a way he doesn't see himself. You see a person who is fully capable of living a decent, respectable, happy, healthy life yet who CHOOSES to live his life in a way that is empty, shallow, selfish, destructive, unsuccessful, unsatisfying, and unhappy. (He probably blames his circumstances for his unhappiness and never gives it a second thought.) Think of it this way: He decreases the value of his own life WAY more than he decreases the value of your property. And the truth is that his life is perhaps more important to you than his own life is to himself. And certainly more valuable than any piece of property. And it makes you frustrated that he doesn't seem to see what is so obvious and seems like it should be so easy. And your frustration makes you resent him. And that resentment resembles hate. And that feeling like hate makes it nearly impossible for you to remember that you already love him. So, you see, you're more than half way there. It seems so far away becaue it's unbelievably close.
#5. Welcome to my world.
#6. If it makes you feel any better, you could always put a rattlesnake in his car.
Links to this post:
<< Home
