Okay, for about the last 35 minutes or so, the people who live three houses down on the other side of the block from us have been having some sort of outdoor party with loud music and karaoke (it started at 4 p.m.). Now, I'm not against folks having get togethers, but this is on the scale of a college frat party... there are like 4 or 5 coolers out at the edge of their deck, they've got this massive stereo and speaker set up on their deck and the music is as loud as if it were being played in our family room -- the speakers are not even facing our direction, and there is only one guy who can sing on key (he is actually pretty good, kind of sounds like Gordon Lightfoot, but the other guys sound more in line like a combination of Pauly Shore and Adam Sandler ).
Here is hoping that the rain that has been threatening all afternoon comes and a torrential downpour occurs so that they have to move everything indoors...
Better yet, here is hoping that someone else in the neighborhood decides they have had enough and calls the police on a noise violation if this goes past dinner time... Hmmm... I doubt they are throwing a block party, so I doubt they have a permit for the noise level... bwa-ha-ha!
Hmmm... maybe I can retroactively take the grass clippings from last year (see my blog ) from when my lawn was deemed "too long" and dump them on their party...
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It seems to me the only thing you've learned is that Caesar is a "salad dressing dude."
Our little neighborhood had to convince one household that having frequent underage drinking parties wouldn't be in their best interests. Thankfully, they got the message.
I think you should record them and play it back when they are done. Maybe the ones that don't sound like Gordon Lightfoot will realize that their caterwauling to the whole neighborhood ought to embarrass them.
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"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
Just wait until they are plastered, take down some Word of Wisdom pamphlets and distribute them along with some Books of Mormon.
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no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing... the truth of God will go forth till it has penetrated every website, sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done
Sorry. There was an article today in the Washington Post about people in a residential neighborhood who are frustrated and disturbed because their neighbor has chickens/roosters. Apparently in the Hispanic culture, some people like to keep roosters as pets, and so they were continuing this here. I felt badly for the lady in this article- she said if people want to have roosters they should live in the country. She is so frustrated that she is actually selling her house and moving elsewhere.
My neighbor is nice but has 4 noisy dogs- other neighbors have reported her, etc so I've been able to stay nice. She has lots of good qualities but it can be frustrating at times.
Today has been a really good day, so I'm not saying this because I'm feeling grumpy: Ya'll just need to get over it.
Unless it's past 10 p.m., they aren't violating any city ordinances. Instead of the passive-agressive approaches recommended here, my goodness, just talk to your neighbors and ask for what you want. What's the worst that could happen? They could tell you to f*** off? Oh well. Plan a barbeque and invite them over next week.
As far as chickens and roosters: We live in a majority Latino neighborhood. Many families have chickens and roosters in their back yard. They do a fantastic job of keeping the bug population under control. Yeah, the roosters crow a half hour before the sun comes up. Again, no violation of city ordinances. And if I have that big of a problem with it, I should be the one to move.
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The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life. - Julie Beck
They finally shut up about 11:15 p.m. Over seven hours of loud, non-stop karaoke that got steadily worse as the people got drunker and drunker. Even "Gordon Lightfoot" started sounding pretty bad... and he was the one who kept on getting up and starting it over again whenever we thought it was finally done (about every hour... ). And no rain, instead it cleared up and got warm... so despite it being a beautiful day where we could have aired the house out, we had to close all the windows just to keep from getting a headache, it was that loud. I assume they didn't realize how loud it really was, and I'm sure since there were folks with kids there, they had not intended it sound like a open air rock concert...
Actually, roper, our city does have laws and ordinances that were likely being violated (and there would likely be regulations against keeping chickens / roosters since there is stuff specifically in the code about residents not allowing their dogs to bark and cause a nuisance, but as of yet, we've managed to keep them latino immigrants out... something about having a high number of folks from India, Asia, and the Middle East mixed in with all us honkies I guess )... remember, we live in a "upscale" city that is even concerned about the height of grass in people's lawns
CITY ORDINANCES & RULES YOU SHOULD KNOW
We all have different expectations of our neighbors. For some of us, a good neighbor is one who takes time for a chat across the fence, or who helps with the chores when a neighbor is ill. For others, a good neighbor is one who leaves us alone.
Although we may not agree on all the fine points of neighborliness, we do tend to agree on certain basic standards which allow residents to enjoy their homes and property, preserve peace and quiet in our neighborhoods, help maintain property values, and prevent disputes among neighbors.
NOISE & PUBLIC DISTURBANCES The City of (________) has ordinances against causing loud noises and public disturbances as well as against fighting or causing harm to another person or property. Please contact the Oakland County Sheriffs Department with questions during normal business hours at (___________).
Since the "noise & public disturbance" was not occuring during normal business hours, I suppose no one was able to call and ask... Of course, it did all the sudden just kind of stop, so maybe someone did call the sheriff's office and someone came by to tell them it was too late for holding an outside party like that and still be considered polite to neighbors...
Anyway, I admit it (and proudly too ) that I have low tolerance for people who move into neighborhoods and then feel they can hold loud parties. It comes from having lived in townhomes that were in family neighborhoods and invariably having single college age "kids" moving in next door that decided they needed to bring their campus party atmosphere with them. They were invariably rude, loud, drinking, smoking, making messes outside and leaving them, and a whole host of other things that made peaceful enjoyment of our townhome impossible.
We, and another neighbor fear this is what has moved into that house... young single people who are basically just party animals. It doesn't match with a family neighborhood where there are young children. Three weeks ago, had my son been playing in the side yard where he had been just five minutes earlier one morning, he would have been hit by a car driven by someone going to that house... the guy lost control of his car as he was turning the corner going probably 35 mph, hit the curb straight on and then drove up into our yard and continued to drive for about 15 yards in our yard (all four wheels, driverside a full 5 feet in from the curb) before deciding he needed to get back on the street. He didn't stop or slow down or come back to say sorry. I saw the whole thing too, but was unable to get license tag.
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It seems to me the only thing you've learned is that Caesar is a "salad dressing dude."
I think you should have called the cops on them the minute the party made it so you couldn't enjoy your home in peace.
I had neighbors that somehow felt it was appropriate to have garage band practice every Sunday afternoon. After three Sunday police visits in a row, they got the message, and I didn't have the problem any longer.
You should be able to enjoy your property in peace. And you should NOThave to confront drunks personally to do it.
ArrghhHH! This is one of my big pet peeves. Somewhere nearby our house there are some folks who insist on having huge parties on Sunday nights about once a month. They go to after midnight. It's hard to go to sleep to mariachi music being blared until after midnight on a high end sound system!!!! I've had fanatasy about using and EMP to blow their entire system out!
All day yesterday, they basically left the remnants of their party out in the yard. Sure, they cleaned up to where there weren't tables and chairs and garbage out there, but their deck still had the trappings and all the coolers were upside down in the grass ostensibly airing out.
About 8:30 p.m., we started seeing folks emerge from the house again. And, the next thing we knew, there was swearing and yelling going on. 4 men and 2 women, and then two of the men started pushing one of the women around while they were yelling at each other and yelling at someone else on their cell phones. Eventually the one woman got pushing down pretty hard on the deck and the men started yelling at whoever was on the other end of the phone as if it was that person's fault (and apparently she was the mother of one of the men) that she was down and had a bloodied face... They then all went back inside.
Should any of this go on again, we will call the police, as there was definitely some sort of domestic disturbance that was escalating into violence. Will need to get the address of the house first. What I can't figure out is why none of the neighbors closer to them seem to be aware of the problems...
Then, on the other hand, while I was posting my note yesterday above about the city ordinances, the neighbor right behind us did something really kind of rude... she was out cutting her lawn, and then, as is their custom since there is a one lawnmower width of grass that is technically their lawn behind their pine trees that separates our properties (no fences, remember), and stopped her mower and then came walking like halfway up into our backyard just "looking" and then went back to her yard. I see the whole thing and increduously say out loud "Excuse you?". This is the same neighbor family who yelled at my four year old a year ago for going into their yard, the same neighbors who water their lawn and look down on us to some extent in disdain because we don't water ours (it has been really dry here in Michigan since early June and our grass is more brown than it is green). I mean it was as if she were looking at the patch of tall grass by the water hose and turning her nose up at the tomato plants and other items we had on pots on our porch. Anyway, beserker son who had been told off by them hears me say "Excuse me?" and then runs up to the open window and yells out at her "Hey! What are you doing in my yard?" rather rudely. My wife goes to the window and calls out to her "Sorry for my son being rude" and the lady has the audacity to come back, all the way up to the window this time and acuse him of ripping chunks of bark off their tree because it was going to allow insects into the tree. I went out later in the afternoon and saw the tree and was incredulous. The tree is a shagbark maple / oak / hickory, and so chunks of bark are going to slough off from time to time as the tree ages, particularly if you have some high wind -- which we have had the past week. And the spots where it looked like the chunks had fallen off were all higher up than a four year old can reach. Anyway, it was kind of like if we had acused their son (who happens to be in one of our daughter's class at school) of coming over and peeling the bark off our paper birch tree because we found scrolls of it lieing on the ground... Uh... duh... the bark is supposed to peel and slough off... failure to understand the nature of your foliage does not constitute an act of destruction on our children's behalf...
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It seems to me the only thing you've learned is that Caesar is a "salad dressing dude."
If you witness domestic violence, call the police. I'm all for live and let live, and being tolerant of parties occasionally. But I have absolutely zero tolerance for domestic violence. If I even suspect, I call.
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The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life. - Julie Beck
Cat, why didn't you call the police and complain yourself? Does your upscale city not have after hours dispatchers?
Don't know the address of the house (see my just previous post about what went on yesterday evening). And besides, I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that maybe this will be a one time only occurence.
Besides, I was too busy putting the PS-2 console I had just repaired under test evaluations as to if it was working properly now...
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It seems to me the only thing you've learned is that Caesar is a "salad dressing dude."
They don't have to know it was you, do they? And I'm sure if cat gave them a general "couple houses south of blah-blah, just follow your ears" they could've found it.
Luckily, we haven't had much problem with noise in our neighborhood.
Here's a funny story, though-
MrCoco and I had been working on re-doing the hardwood floors all day (which was our first project as a married couple) and were laying out on the back lawn. The two older kids were with their dad for some summer visiting, so it was just the two of us. We started laughing and stuff... talking, you know... All of a sudden, we hear this shriekey witchey voice, "KNOCK IT OFF!!" MrCoco yells back, "We're not doing anything!" Then this silence... just silence in the pitch black, except for the yard lights... MrCoco says, "Are you still there?" A little voice says, "No..." Just kidding about the "no" -- there was just silence. It was pretty funny, though. Whenever something irritated us for the next several weeks we'd say, "Knock it off!" in our witchiest voice. These are the same neighbors that, while the man was pretty easy-going and loved to toss his grass clippings and leaves and pruning junk over the fence into our goat pen, the wife called the cops and we had to get rid of the goats... grr....
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
yeah... and I have experience with that awkwardness too from both sides... we had to do it to some folks down the road when we were in a townhome because of a party... and, we unfortunately got targeted by mistake for a "non-functioning" car on the road by a middle aged single lady neighbor across the street while in that same townhome... we're sure it had been meant for the party animals that lived next to us who kept a junk out front in addition to their lawn cutting truck / trailer. The junk had not moved for weeks on end, but as luck would have it when the police code enforcer guy came out, the only car there was an older model vehicle my mom had lent us, so we got our tires chalked and the lecture from the guy, despite the fact that the car ran and was moved on nearly a daily basis (and that it was parked there solely because we didn't have a spot for it in our assigned parking in back -- each townhome only had one spot in the back, and there was no visitor parking, so second vehicles had to be parked on the street) and despite the fact there were cars further up the road that had flat tires, had not been moved for 6 - 8 months and had leaves and stuff under them from last fall...
I despise the feeling of living in close proximity to neighbors or everything outside the house is "common" property. I guess there are a lot of people who like that "park like" feeling. I don't. I hope that if the time ever comes we move, our next house and subdivision is one where fences are allowed. Oh the feeling of "secure" privacy...
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It seems to me the only thing you've learned is that Caesar is a "salad dressing dude."
Cat, maybe you and I should trade places. I'd really like to live in a neighborhood with that community park-like feeling. Every new subdivision around here has houses seperatd by six (and sometimes eight) foot high "privacy fences." No sense of community. Go to work, come home, and isolate yourself from the rest of the world.
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The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life. - Julie Beck
I've lived in both types of neighborhoods. With the way cocokid#3 liked to "take off" it's good our backyard is totally fenced. But while we had the "community" backyard thing going on, that was kind of nice, too... that was in Kentucky, btw.
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
I couldn't live in a community type backyard. I like tall fences. It makes me feel a bit more secure even though a 44 Mag would punch through the fence like butta!
Cat, maybe you and I should trade places. I'd really like to live in a neighborhood with that community park-like feeling. Every new subdivision around here has houses seperatd by six (and sometimes eight) foot high "privacy fences." No sense of community. Go to work, come home, and isolate yourself from the rest of the world.
I've seen that down in Dallas... and Las Vegas... and I don't like that either, unless of course that is just part of the overall land on which the house is on... kind of like a private zen garden or something that you could still get out of and have room to move yer elbows without hittin' up against a neighbor's hosue. While those high concrete / cinder block privacy walls do have some advantages, that is not exactly what I had in mind. I'm thinking more in the lines of just the basic hedgerow type fence... ya know, the chain link fence that has gotten overgrown with volunteer shrubbery and trees... keeps the riff-raff out and the beserker warriors in and provides a sense of semi-privacy...
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It seems to me the only thing you've learned is that Caesar is a "salad dressing dude."
About five years ago, we had a few bamboo shoots come up in our back yard. I cultivated it along our back property line (which is along an alley) and now we have a dense 15 ft-high natural barrier back there. It's really invasive, and I'm always mowing over little shoots in the lawn, but it's better than any hedges I could have planted. I'm thinking of putting a little fountain and pool back there, with Koi and everything, plus a little Japanese rock garden, to create a whole Zen experience. If I could just block out the noise from the trains.
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The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life. - Julie Beck
MrCoco wants a pond thingey in the back, but I'm too scared of the tragedy factor... little kids... I just can't bring myself to let him do it, regardless of how cool it would be.
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
Well, I don't know. But both times after the cops stopped by the grunge band house, they (West Valley City's Finest) immediately made a beeline for my house to "report." I thought that was not the best idea (what if they decided to take vengeance?).
But, I think the cops were annoyed that I had called, and were sort of passively trying to punish me. Whatever. I called them the next Sunday and the Sunday after that, and I would have kept on calling them as long as the problem continued.
Oh, and on the address thing? I walked down there with a pen and pad to write it down in full view of the garage band; hoping they'd just tone it down voluntarily. They increased the volume. Jerks.
In the last 2 years of college I lived next to a greek house. The partying kind. The LOUD partying kind. One night it was so bad that our house was literally SHAKING. We tried calling but they couldn't hear the phone. So we called the cops. You don't even have to give your name when you call the cops. They had the noise down in about 15 minutes.
Otherwise in the same vein, one night after a party in that greek house I was lying in bed and heard outside my window: "The president is drunk and the vice president passed out so that puts me in charge so give me the gun!"
).
) from when my lawn was deemed "too long" and dump them on their party... 
). And no rain, instead it cleared up and got warm... so despite it being a beautiful day where we could have aired the house out, we had to close all the windows just to keep from getting a headache, it was that loud. I assume they didn't realize how loud it really was, and I'm sure since there were folks with kids there, they had not intended it sound like a open air rock concert...
Just kidding about the "no" -- there was just silence. It was pretty funny, though. Whenever something irritated us for the next several weeks we'd say, "Knock it off!" in our witchiest voice. 
These are the same neighbors that, while the man was pretty easy-going and loved to toss his grass clippings and leaves and pruning junk over the fence into our goat pen, the wife called the cops and we had to get rid of the goats... grr....
