Things You Discover When the Day is Tucked to Sleep.
I went to bed at 8:30p in an effort to pre-empt a migraine and just stop the ache of a headache due to I don't know what. Well I awoke at 1:15 am and here I am. The night is quiet, which just reminds me that we are midweek. If this were Saturday or Sunday morning folks would still be closing car doors or strolling home chatting louder than they think .
My neighbors with the apartment next to us, a Chinese family of I don't know how many,maybe 4, keep odd hours. Someone is currently in the shower as I type- I can hear the shower running. Besides that and the random furniture moving in and out of the apartment at 12am during the week, I have hardly seen or heard them. I think there is a young girl of maybe 7 years- could be 8 years. There is a mom and a dad. I think there is also a teenaged daughter. The parents come home at around 11pm, the teen girl seems to be around midday, and I see the young girl come home from school every now and again.
The neighbors across the balcony from me, the guys with the Saturday beer fest are gone. THeir old place is currently being worked on. The folks next door to them, Gonzo and Nora, are due to get up in a couple of hours. Gonzo heads to work around 5 am- he's a foreman. I forget what Nora does, she usually leaves around 7am.
In about 4 hours, Lynn will walk by with Dominic. They will go out onto the side walk in their house shoes and robes- she'll catch a smoke and he will ask endless questions about random things that fascinate a 2.5 year old.
They will head back in and a half an hour later, Dominic will head out with his dad, Ronald, to go to preschool on the way to Ronald's job. Will Lynn gets ready for work and be out of the house by 7:15am.
Mary Jane in the Apartment next to them will not be going to work this week. Her breast cancer is out of remission and she is due back at the hospital today to undergo surgery.
The sprinklers just turned on to hydrate the lawn and plants around the complex, in perfect timing with my neighbors' shower shutting off.
My neighbors down the way, the one with a one year old girl named Kelly, are tucked in tight. They own the pizza place around the corner and work nights. The father is Mexican, the mom, is Polish. The family is woven tightly in support of each other. His mom has been living with them for a year now, helping take care of Kelly while they got the business off the ground,but is due to return to Mexico in December. In the meantime, her mom,and brother have been coming by to transition Kelly from her abuela to her "baba." Kelly's uncle is not the kind of guy you would expect to be caring for a lil one- he seems more apt at fixing engines than changing diapers, but to see him with her, you'd melt in a minute- she has him wrapped around her lil girl finger.
Nine minutes- that's how long the sprinklers take. I suppose our neighbors up the street here could get a lesson from that. We are in a drought, and they lay their sprinklers out midday for a 30 minute jaunt to flood their lawn and garden. The results are quite pretty, but the waste of water-- not so much.
Gordon, my downstairs neighbor is up. The shower is going full force. I never really here him much during the week except for the shower and the occasional morning greeting on our way out. Now that I don't have to leave for work before 7 am, I don't see him in the morning. I can, however, tell you when it is Saturday by the nonstop trance and electronica that comes pulsating from below my rug all day long. It never bothered me, but Anthony seems to really take note of it.
Dana, Francisco and their little one are barely audible until god ol Cheeks (official name, Lucas) can no longer take the pain of teething and wails the very last tear from his 5 month old eyes.
The fellas (two apartments of gay guys) usually come and go quietly. they seem to work the 9-5 (6 or 7) job that has them pulling in and out of the garage at fairly predictable hours. Neither apartment is very talkative- though the ones next to the laundry room are much friendlier than the ones across from it.
The girls of the complex (two apartments with a lesbian couple in each) come and go at different hours. Leah and Will next to them are fairly predictable. Will's roofing job has him out by 4:30-5am and Leah drops some food for Gimli by 6:30am because that's usually the time he comes sauntering back from his all night adventure and starts meowing at the door for breakfast.
By 8am, Charlie is let out for the day as Parrish and Reilly leave for work and school. I still haven't figured out what her recently returned husband does, but Reilly often gives Charlie some parting advice to stay away from the mean grey cat. (LOL- she still doesn't know that Charlie tries to eat Gimli's food.)
By 8:30am most of the cars have departed and while the world is waking up, it is generally quiet until around 10:30am when the street cleaners come racing down the street as if they were running the winning touchdown over the goal line. If I am not up by then, there is NO hope of sleeping through that. Peeking through the window you can spy the random forgetful neighbor running to their car to, hopefully, avoid a ticket. The ticket is always there before you, tho. I know that all too well.
If it's a leisurely day, 11am is a good time to stroll up to the cafe and enjoy a good book and a delicious cup of coffee. Then it's off and running with a nod and a smile directly into the afternoon.
I'm going to hop back into bed in hopes of getting at least 5 more hours of sleep. Night
My neighbors with the apartment next to us, a Chinese family of I don't know how many,maybe 4, keep odd hours. Someone is currently in the shower as I type- I can hear the shower running. Besides that and the random furniture moving in and out of the apartment at 12am during the week, I have hardly seen or heard them. I think there is a young girl of maybe 7 years- could be 8 years. There is a mom and a dad. I think there is also a teenaged daughter. The parents come home at around 11pm, the teen girl seems to be around midday, and I see the young girl come home from school every now and again.
The neighbors across the balcony from me, the guys with the Saturday beer fest are gone. THeir old place is currently being worked on. The folks next door to them, Gonzo and Nora, are due to get up in a couple of hours. Gonzo heads to work around 5 am- he's a foreman. I forget what Nora does, she usually leaves around 7am.
In about 4 hours, Lynn will walk by with Dominic. They will go out onto the side walk in their house shoes and robes- she'll catch a smoke and he will ask endless questions about random things that fascinate a 2.5 year old.
They will head back in and a half an hour later, Dominic will head out with his dad, Ronald, to go to preschool on the way to Ronald's job. Will Lynn gets ready for work and be out of the house by 7:15am.
Mary Jane in the Apartment next to them will not be going to work this week. Her breast cancer is out of remission and she is due back at the hospital today to undergo surgery.
The sprinklers just turned on to hydrate the lawn and plants around the complex, in perfect timing with my neighbors' shower shutting off.
My neighbors down the way, the one with a one year old girl named Kelly, are tucked in tight. They own the pizza place around the corner and work nights. The father is Mexican, the mom, is Polish. The family is woven tightly in support of each other. His mom has been living with them for a year now, helping take care of Kelly while they got the business off the ground,but is due to return to Mexico in December. In the meantime, her mom,and brother have been coming by to transition Kelly from her abuela to her "baba." Kelly's uncle is not the kind of guy you would expect to be caring for a lil one- he seems more apt at fixing engines than changing diapers, but to see him with her, you'd melt in a minute- she has him wrapped around her lil girl finger.
Nine minutes- that's how long the sprinklers take. I suppose our neighbors up the street here could get a lesson from that. We are in a drought, and they lay their sprinklers out midday for a 30 minute jaunt to flood their lawn and garden. The results are quite pretty, but the waste of water-- not so much.
Gordon, my downstairs neighbor is up. The shower is going full force. I never really here him much during the week except for the shower and the occasional morning greeting on our way out. Now that I don't have to leave for work before 7 am, I don't see him in the morning. I can, however, tell you when it is Saturday by the nonstop trance and electronica that comes pulsating from below my rug all day long. It never bothered me, but Anthony seems to really take note of it.
Dana, Francisco and their little one are barely audible until god ol Cheeks (official name, Lucas) can no longer take the pain of teething and wails the very last tear from his 5 month old eyes.
The fellas (two apartments of gay guys) usually come and go quietly. they seem to work the 9-5 (6 or 7) job that has them pulling in and out of the garage at fairly predictable hours. Neither apartment is very talkative- though the ones next to the laundry room are much friendlier than the ones across from it.
The girls of the complex (two apartments with a lesbian couple in each) come and go at different hours. Leah and Will next to them are fairly predictable. Will's roofing job has him out by 4:30-5am and Leah drops some food for Gimli by 6:30am because that's usually the time he comes sauntering back from his all night adventure and starts meowing at the door for breakfast.
By 8am, Charlie is let out for the day as Parrish and Reilly leave for work and school. I still haven't figured out what her recently returned husband does, but Reilly often gives Charlie some parting advice to stay away from the mean grey cat. (LOL- she still doesn't know that Charlie tries to eat Gimli's food.)
By 8:30am most of the cars have departed and while the world is waking up, it is generally quiet until around 10:30am when the street cleaners come racing down the street as if they were running the winning touchdown over the goal line. If I am not up by then, there is NO hope of sleeping through that. Peeking through the window you can spy the random forgetful neighbor running to their car to, hopefully, avoid a ticket. The ticket is always there before you, tho. I know that all too well.
If it's a leisurely day, 11am is a good time to stroll up to the cafe and enjoy a good book and a delicious cup of coffee. Then it's off and running with a nod and a smile directly into the afternoon.
I'm going to hop back into bed in hopes of getting at least 5 more hours of sleep. Night