My family's been a landlord for a long time. All I remember
as a child growing up was how often I was told to be quiet. As a kid growing
up, I never really cared much for the tenants, nor do I notice them much. As a
young adult, they have become more and more apparent, with the continued
translation process between them and my parents. Now, I have slowly
transitioned into managing the "business". The tenants we had
previously were amazing. My family and I loved them. They were very studious
students who concentrated in their studies and hardly made any noise. Unfortunately,
we just got ones this year and they are simply unbearable. Because of these
tenants, they have altered my sleeping pattern and I am at their mercy. You see,
they reside above me and we have an old house with lots of hardwood floors. So
for those who understand houses, with the wood on old floors, it causes a lot
of creaking sounds. Every footstep every conversation, it is heard. Even if a
phone is set on vibrate on the desk, it can sound as if it was right next to me
when it rings. Yes I have a horrible set up and a house the desperately needs a reno, but these tenants do not know how to be respectful of the noise they
make. One tenant is a petite person, and yet when he/she walks, it sounds like
a 200lb, overweight man. This tenant is very distinctive from the other one. I know which one is at home by the way they walk, and yet when I try to discern between
their voices, it stumps me.
I'm at the point where I'm only getting an average of 7hrs
every day because I have to wait until they settle down before I can sleep. Conveniently,
my room is right above the kitchen; their hub. So I have to wait until they
finish their dishes at 2am, or finish entertaining their guests with coffee and
tea at 1am, before I am able to sleep. And it doesn't help me that I am a light
sleeper and sensitive to sound and light. Ahh...life is so funny. For the past
3 months, I have developed a type of paranoia, or fear that if I try to sleep,
someone from upstairs will go into the kitchen (the one with the lead feet) and
wake me up. When I get woken up, my heart starts to race and become very angry
because I'm worried that I won't be able to get back to sleep afterwards, plus I learned
how important to have uninterrupted sleep.
The only break I get from these people is when they go home
approx. bi-weekly for the weekend for 3 days and 4 nights. Other than that, I
live with the fact that I am not to expect quality or quantity sleep. I have
spoken to the one with the lead foot on one occasion when he/she woke me up at
1am. It wasn't a nice conversation, I tried to be nice, but it came out being
very frustrated. And the stupid thing is, that they think that if they stop whatever
they were doing for a couple of hours, then go back and finish what they've
started doesn't wake us up again, is so immature. That's another thing, I don't
like making assumptions that young people (under 20) do not have any respect
for anyone, but these particular people have none. Either they have no respect
for others, or just us. I don't know. All I know is that they will be with my
family for another 6 months and this reality terrifies me. I feel like my life is at a standstill
because my work is at risk. I'm so tired most of the time and I'm afraid to
take on a new job because my sleep is so unpredictable. In November, I've been
sick 2 times every 2 weeks. I'm only beginning to get better. I honestly,
believe that sleep has a part in my lowered immune system.
Someone told me, that you have to continue with what you
normally do, can't let other people prevent you from going to work. Find
solutions. And I will....it is a continuous process. And I become envious of people who can sleep whenever they want, and even when my friends talk about sleep...
Ok, lets now try to hit the hay.
