CENTRAL RESERVATION Beth Orton

The look, it is a-changing. Since Random Thoughts is still in its infancy, I'm toying with the layout a bit. If the current look is too hard to read, let me know. I want only the best for you! *mwah!* Oh, and for those of you who are Trekker geeks (like me), be sure to scroll to the very bottom.

I'm a saaad panda. My neighbors are moving away! I live in a cute little triplex building, and the other tenants are very nice and very quiet, so I'll be sorry to see them go. I guess that's normal when you borrow sugar and salt from each other and end up talking for an hour at a stretch.

I've been pretty lucky with my neighbors, but even I've had to deal with the musician living underneath me who couldn't realize that there was no need for the bass to be so loud. He wasn't even a rock musician. Or the couple fighting loudly and throwing things at midnight. My ex-boyfriend seemed to attract the loud, psychotic neighbors when we were dating and he lived alone, so I knew what it was like trying to sleep while the downstairs neighbor watched COPS at full volume around 1am while yelling at her boyfriend on the phone. Needless to say, quiet neighbors are very important to me.

Frank (in the unit next to mine) will be gone by the end of the month, a man who works two jobs and so is coming and going at odd hours. The only times I've ever heard him through the walls is when he listens to the radio while getting ready for work. Fair enough, since I suspect my own radio/tape player tends to be a little loud while showering and he hasn't said anything. I think he's getting a house with his girlfriend, who's also very nice, but I haven't had the chance to ask him.

The fellow in the back unit, Billy, has been living there for about 12 years and is planning to move to the Northwest sometime in September or October. He's absolutely sick of L.A. and longs for the fresher air and lower population of the Pacific Northwest. Billy and I have gotten along wonderfully during the three years I've lived in my apartment. I've hung out at his place once in a while, he sometimes feeds my boys when I'm out of town, and I've even helped him hook up speakers to his TV. Not to mention the extra $50 a month I get from him since he's renting my garage for storage.

I'm sure my landlord will pick good people, and I'm sure we'll get along famously, but it still won't be Billy and Frank. That makes me a saaaad panda.

Take care!

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