Too Quiet

The quiet creeps me out sometimes.

It was never quiet in our Brooklyn apartment. We lived on a busy corner, so in the daytime you could always hear the chatter of the people on the sidewalk. In the summer, patrons of the restaurant and bar downstairs provided a pleasant hum. In the winter, the radiators pounded. At Christmastime, the pharmacy downstairs and a few doors over piped carols over a speaker. Throughout the year there were the horns of the ships in the bay, the creaking floors above us and, of course, always the traffic -- buses, garbage trucks and regular old cars.

If you happened to wake up at about 3 in the morning, you might catch a couple of moments of quietude. Until a car alarm interrupted.

Columbus, by comparison, is silent. I think it's funny when anyone complains about the noise from nearby Route 315 -- I barely notice it unless it's pointed out. I also often hear the distant train horns at night, which I actually enjoy. Reminds me of those ships in New York.

Traffic is moderate. If I hear an outdoor noise, it might just be one of the neighbors opening a garage door. Lately the most annoying noise has been a few empty branches brushing against a side window on our house.

As annoying as the cacophony was when we first moved to New York, I miss it. Sometimes the quiet here is just too quiet.

A Good Night's Sleep, Every Night

My biggest source of frustration (at least at home!) was suddenly and unexpectedly eliminated last week.

The bar downstairs closed.

Faithful readers of this blog know that the bar/Mexican restaurant two floors below us has been the cause of many middle-of-the-night awakenings. Fights. Drunkards shouting obscenities. More fights.

These things didn't happen every weekend, but often enough to make it a major annoyance. We never called the cops because of the noise, but we came pretty close a few times.

You may also remember that several months ago our landlord told us that the bar was on its way out. A week, a month, three months later the bar was still there and I had given up that it would ever be gone. That's why it was such a lovely surprise to see the windows papered over when I came home from work one night.

Now we have a different problem. Paul said he woke up in the middle of the night because it was too quiet.

So family members and friends: Come visit! I can now guarantee fight-free Friday nights and a good night's sleep ... as long as you don't mind the regular din of traffic and the incessant tune of the ice cream trucks.

An Apology to Whoever Lives Below Us

I'm surprised our downstairs neighbors haven't yet used the handle of their broom on the ceiling.

We're always dropping things on the hardwood floor or dragging the coffee table a few inches this way or that. And if it's not us, it's the cats. I don't know how many times Will has knocked off the remote control.

I still haven't memorized the spots of the floor that squeak when I step on them. And I'm sometimes afraid I turn the TV on too loud.

A couple of nights ago I was even reading in bed and I hiccuped so violently that the book flew out of my hand, knocked into my mug of water on my nightstand and landed with a thump on the hardwood floor. At midnight.

I've never had to worry about this before. I lived in a couple of apartments in college, but c'mon, that was college. If a couch on fire in the middle of the street doesn't bother you, then I'm pretty sure heavy footsteps in the apartment above you won't bother you either.

The Rare Sound of Silence

I briefly awoke at 5:13 this morning to the sound of ... nothing.

It was so quiet, I probably could have heard myself breathe if I had been conscious enough to notice.

I've often written that I've gotten use to the chaos outside of our corner apartment, but it still amazes me that at times it can be as silent as my bedroom in Defiance. Not often, but sometimes.

Last night was by far better than a night last month in which a car alarm went off about every 10 minutes. I'm not exaggerating. All night. I finally fell asleep, but it was a restless one. When I awoke to the beeps in the middle of the night, I started counting them-- about 30 blasts at a time.

When I walked to the subway the next morning, it was still going strong. Luckily, that doesn't happen too often either.

Taking off the rose-colored glasses

I love our apartment and I love living in New York, but it's not all sunshine and lollipops. Here's a few things bothering me so far:

1: The noise. Our apartment is on a busy road above a bar, so that means traffic at all hours and people talking (and screaming) until the wee hours many nights. Drunk patrons in yelling matches are not at all uncommon.
On the plus side: Living on a busy street means there's a lot of stores and restaurants nearby, the sidewalks are well-lit and I never feel unsafe walking back from the subway.

2: Walking outside in bad weather. I got my first taste of that last weekend, and how I longed for a car and garage! As I found out Saturday, my boots aren't exactly rainproof. Luckily, boots with cute designs on them seem to be quite popular, so I think I'll be getting myself a pair.
On the plus side: We spent a lot of money on gas in Ohio. We're spending a lot less here on transportation, even with monthly subway passes for both of us.

3: Not having a thermostat. I didn't anticipate this one. The landlord controls the heat throughout the building. He turned it on yesterday and it was about 90 degrees throughout the building. Everyone here had all their windows open. Luckily it's off today. I always thought nyc apartments were supposed to be cold.
On the plus side: It should be nice and cozy this winter, and I don't have to pay for the heat.

4: Grocery selection. Who would have thought 6-inch flour tortillas would be so hard to find? These were a staple of my diet in Columbus. Now I'm rationing all I have left from the move. A few other faves are expensive, hard to find or both. For example, a small jar of peanut butter is about $2.50, and I can only find graham crackers in one shop (a drug store), and they're $4 a box. I guess we'll be putting all the money we saved on groceries into food.
On the plus side: A Greek grocer less than a block away has pitas in all different flavors at reasonable prices, and the larger grocery store in our neighborhood has several varieties of couscous. Also, the fruit and veggie grocer across the street is quite convenient.