A letter to my new neighbor. Good morning- At 4:30am this morning, I was woken up again by noises and displeasing. This is a recurring thing at this point and while I don’t think it’s intentional, I also don’t think you realize how loud the noises carry into my condo. Because I can hear normal noises, like footsteps without shoes (these are not the types of noises I am referring to) everything else is very loud. Aside from waking up at early hours, my dog is my biggest concern. The loud and sudden drops and bangs cause her to shake. I worry especially when she is home alone. I have never experienced this level of day-to-day noise from an upstairs neighbor before, so I’m hopeful this can be resolved. If you’re able to be mindful of dropping things, walking in hard-soled shoes early in the morning, scooting things, etc., I would be incredibly grateful. Please let me know too if I am ever excessively loud as I know it goes both ways.

It was 2:52 a.m. when I found myself hiding in the downstairs guest room of a friend of a friend in Washington State. He had invited me to stay at his beautiful cabin in the Cascades and had gone out of his way to make sure I had the kind of mountain weekend I’d been looking forward to, complete with fishing, hiking, fresh air, delicious home-cooked meals, and drives through the surrounding mountains…