Six - Apartment Wars!

The past couple of days I have been engrossed in an epic battle of wills with our Downstairs Neighbors. There are two girls that live downstairs from us; they drive BMWs, paint their rooms neon green and girly pink, and SLAM THEIR DOOR every single time they enter or leave their apartment. Not just a casual loud door closing, but a earth-shaking, foundation-blasting SLAM.

After a few weeks of being rudely awakened by their 2 am returns to their apartment I've decided to take my revenge. Not in any dangerous or malicious way, no. But Thursday when I got home from work, I slammed the door on my way inside. I heard their door slam about half an hour later, and ran outside to see if they were going in or out. I suppose they had just gotten home because their car was in the carport, and so I slammed the door again on my way inside. A bit later I heard their door slam again and thought, oh man I bet they're leaving! So I ran outside to see if I could catch them leaving to tell them to KNOCK IT OFF. I got outside and saw them, so I yelled down at them that I would appreciate it if they would stop slamming their door all the time, and how it is completely unnecessary to slam the door so hard, considering you have to physically lock it with a key from the outside. The girls couldn't figure out where I was yelling from at first, but finally figured out that I was above them. They just giggled and rolled their eyes, continuing to walk to their car. I yelled once more that they really need to stop because 1) it's totally obnoxious, and 2) it shakes my apartment. I slammed my door on the way back in.

Their flippant response of eye-rolling and giggling made me feel even more perturbed. Really, they could have at least heard me out. But instead they shrugged it off as though maybe I'm just crazy. Okay, I'll admit, I'm easily irritated at things that shouldn't bother me as much as they do, but this just crosses the line from mildly-irritating-but-understandable to total and complete disregard for everyone else.

Since Thursday night's debacle I have been slamming my door every time I leave, except for when I leave when Katherine is still asleep (because unlike Downstairs, I have respect for other people.) Sometimes I get up and randomly slam the door just to make them mad. I'll open the door, yell something crazy (like READ THE BOX DAMMIT), and slam the door again. Sometimes twice. Katherine's joined me in this, and so far we've slammed the door approximately sixty bajillion times. The next time I see them I'm going to tell them that I really appreciate them letting me know when they leave their door unlocked so I could possibly go inside and take things from them. Not that I would, but the slamming makes me think that they don't take the time to actually lock after themselves and their apartment remains open for the time they're away.

Man, I love the Colony.

Five.

I just think the blogosphere world should know that my roommate and I just had an in-Apartment dance party to Hanson's "MMMBop". I broke down and purchased the song off iTunes, and it may be the best purchase I've made in a while.


More on the iTunes purchases upon completion of all transactions.

Four.

After a couple of days of feeling totally annihilated by the mega flu, I could finally get up and out of the house this morning. I didn't actually get out of bed until nearly 11:00, but once I was up and dressed I made my way to the mall to get my paycheck. I could have waited until tonight, I guess, but I know that after working until 3 am I am not going to feel like doing anything tomorrow.

After depositing the measly paycheck into my bank account, I made my way to the Goodwill and the Salvation Army thrift store. Katherine being gone for the weekend I had to find something to amuse myself, and I've had the urge to go thrifting for a while. The Goodwill was actually quite disappointing. They have a lot of stuff there, but most of it is total junk (I am aware of the irony here, you don't have to point it out.) So I moseyed on across the street to the Salvation Army. They had even less, but some amazing vinyl.

I purchased:

70's and 80's rock excess, 60's political messages being cast aside for lyrics that would sell more records, and the 1985 hit We Built This City.


Nuclear Furniture, the last album Freiberg recorded with them before leaving the band in 1984.

Because EVERYBODY needs a Black Sabbath record. I don't know very much about the Sabbath, but I look forward to experiencing this one.



Again, this one was way too good to pass up. I mean, Frank Yankovic playing authentic polka with his ACCORDION? Come on! Perhaps my deep-seated desire to learn how to play the accordion has some sort of mental effect on this purchase. Or maybe I just couldn't say no. Either way, 99 cents is nothing compared to the lasting years of enjoyment Katherine and I could get out of this polka-madness. I mean, this man won a GRAMMY for playing the polka!! Gonna try and tell me it isn't cool now?

And finally...

I don't think this one really needs explanation.

Now I just need a record player. Anyone know where I can get one relatively inexpensively?

I decided against buying this cute pair of shoes I found there, mostly because I have this aversion to wearing clothes previously worn by other people. Besides a few vintage t-shirts I own, I have this weird phobia about wearing strangers' clothes (borrowing clothes from friends isn't the same thing - these people I know.) Unless I can wash them. Things like t-shirts, and to some extent pants I suppose, I don't have a huge problem with. But things like shoes I think is totally weird. Oh, and BRAS. I imagine that, if circumstances warranted the need to buy bras from the Goodwill I would, but otherwise I think it's totally freaking gross. Undergarments seem a little too personal to buy off the rack of a Goodwill.

I spent the rest of the day laying low and preparing for an overnight shift at American Eagle. I baked cookies for the unfortunate souls doomed to spend the night in the store with me preparing for Spring Trans 2. The only benefit I see from this is I can get a $50 paid of bermuda shorts for $10, and a pair of the cork-heeled wedges for $10. $20 for $80 worth of clothes ain't too bad.

Three.

Matt Skiba totally needs to come hang out with us.

Two.

Rest in peace, dearest iPod headphones. You will be missed greatly. All the good times we shared will not be forgotten. Painting class of Fall '05 (when I accidentally smeared green paint all over you - oops), hundreds of trips back and forth across campus in blistering heat, gale-force winds, and bone-chilling cold, and for the abundance of music you've brought straight to my eardrums for the past two-and-a-half years. I've even forgiven you for the few times the volume was left too loud and you nearly ruptured my eardrums. To be honest that was partially my fault anyway.

I hope you will not be offended at my need to replace you. Please discuss your previous duties with the New Kid In Town and show him the ropes. It is to my understanding that you have outlasted others' original headphone life by about two years, and for that I am terrifically grateful. Your unmatched loyalty will not go forgotten.

-----

The Pirate Pad is under serious illness. I believe Katherine will be departing for home this weekend, and so I will be left here to my own devices.

One.

Hello Blogspot world. I have finally succumbed to the pleadings of my roommate to join the ranks of the blogosphere, so here is what we get. It is 9:39 pm on this, the night of the two-oh-oh-eight lunar eclipse. Every ten minutes I jump out of my chair and run outside to see what the moon is looking like. Right now it is at a sliver. I expect it to be fully disappeared within the hour.

I suppose I should tell you a bit about myself. My name is Whitney, and I am a twenty-one-year-old college student living right outside of Baltimore City. After four years of busting my hump at this terrific institution I am weeks away from graduating. I will be graduating with honours, a degree in Art and a concentration in Graphic Design. I work at American Eagle, and currently hold two internships. I am the middlestest of three children. Right now I live with the most amazing roommate in the entire world. No, really, she is. I couldn't ask for better. She has blogs too. Our apartment is affectionately known as the Pirate Pad. My favorite word in the english language is biscuit followed swiftly with denegrate. I really dislike feet. I can be quite stubborn sometimes, and I'm typically always cold. I don't like loud noises or really bright lights. I usually take pictures of random things that happen in my life, so expect those to end up here also. Really I have nothing of importance to say. I will mainly update this with the public postings of my life. The rest can be found Friends Only'd into LiveJournal.

Anything else? I don't know. Perhaps we'll see as we go along.
Right now my roommate and I are going out to watch the lunar eclipse. And sing Bonnie Tyler. I suggest you do the same.