Rant

[tourmalina]

When I was a kid I lived for a few years in a rural area. If I wanted to be alone, all I had to do was go outside, where many acres of uninhabited nature awaited for me to commune with in private. I miss that. Now, when I need privacy, I have to go into my own tiny bedroom and shut the door. When I need to take the dogs out for a potty break

Comments

[aoi_usagi]

I know EXACTLY what you mean. EVERY time I leave the house, my neighbor across the street is leaving his. I don't know him but he creeps me out and it's just weird and uncomfortable. And the more I freak out about it, the more often it happens. Also my next door neighbor, whose door faces mine, pops her head out the door EVERY time I pop mine out - if I check the mail, I see her face looking back at me. If I go to work, she's standing looking out at me in her night gown. It totally freaks me out - it's like she has a camera on my door and rushes to hers every time mine opens. And I know it's not in my head - my husband used to complain about it too. I just like to be in my backyard alone and peaceful and not forced into social contact if I don't want it. And yeah, I remember how much it sucked when I took my dog outside and she got distracted by someone over the fence and couldn't "go".

[tourmalina]

Isn't it weird though?! It's uncanny the way my neighbor is coincidentally out there so often. I've tried to figure out a schedule to avoid them, with no success. Tonight, for instance, I craned my head out the window and saw that the neighbor was NOT outside. So I quickly leashed up the dogs and took them to the backyard...and there she was! I said under my breath, "Christ!" I'm not one to swear usually, but I'm sick of this.

[aoi_usagi]

My neighbor was standing at her door this morning when I left for work. At 6 FREAKING AM. And it's not like I can just smile and wave - she jerks back when she sees me. it's soooooo wierd! >_

[tourmalina]

Oh my gosh, that's early! And very weird that she jerks back in like that. Now I know I'm not the only one with this issue. :\

[lucers]

Blech, I know just how you feel.. We put up a bamboo fence on the backyard to give us privacy from the neighbours (they have loud kids that STARE at us for no reason) & they want us to take it down because they dont like it.

[tourmalina]

It's kind of a touchy situation. My neighbors aren't bad people at all, but they're very extroverted...or something. I'm the quiet shy type and I've often wished we had a big fence up for privacy's sake. It would probably seem insulting to them, and it would also cut down on sunlight, both for them and us (depending on whether it was morning or afternoon). *sigh* I guess many people have some kind of neighbor issues.

[suebee42]

I grew up in a rural area, too, though we did have neighbors all around. Only one had a real beeline to the backyard, and at times they did freak me out.

In the apartment, I always listen for hallway noise and look out the peephole before waltzing out of my door. If someone's out there, I wait. Until recently, a girl lived here who did not want to expose her toddler son to her smoking, so she sat on the stoop and smoked instead. Lovely. *rolleyes* The kids in the building are starers, too. But, I think they're afraid of us because we caught them riding MY bike around the parking lot one day (they snagged it from the boiler room, where bikes go, because theirs got stolen from them leaving them laying around outside -- our bikes are chained together now). LOL!

Soon, I will have a neighbor on each side, but NO ONE behind me, and a big backyard. It will be bliss. I just hope we get along with our new neighbors. LOL!

[tourmalina]

I know just what you mean about looking through the peephole before leaving, lol! I'm sure I've avoided a lot of strange encounters that way.

I'm glad you got your bike back, geez!

A larger backyard will help a lot. Even if neighbors are outside, you'll see them from a distance and it won't seem uncomfortable. You'll probably get along fine with them. As I mentioned in the reply above, our neighbors are nice, but...

Maybe I'm just an antisocial crank. *sigh*

[suebee42]

LOL! I can be an antisocial crank, too! ;)

When we caught them riding my bike, we had JUST gotten home from visiting my mom in NJ. Six hours in the car... we were tired and cranky. The kids were riding around the parking lot, getting in the way. Then, I notice that the bike they are riding is WAY too big for them, and aqua. Red flag! Man, was I PISSED! LOL!

[tourmalina]

Oh, wow...maybe they'd been riding your bike the whole time you were away...? Good timing for you to catch them in the act! I'd be very upset to find someone riding my bike.