Jack and Jill have moved away

Jack and Jill moved out some time last week or the week before. I'm not quite sure when. Today the couple that used to be my downstairs neighbors (in this post, for example) started to move into their place.

Of course it's more complicated than that. The couple that I'm calling my "downstairs neighbors"—they need names, so how about if I call them Rick and Rory?—moved away a year or two ago, because they needed more space. When they moved out, Jack and Jill rented the apartment that Rick and Rory had just vacated, to use it as a "guest room" when one or the other set of in-laws visited. So actually it has been empty much of the time. 

Then a few months ago, Jack and Jill finally bought a house. Coincidentally, Rick and Rory were going to have to leave their new place for some reason that I don't remember. They posted on Facebook to ask if anyone knew of a place they could rent. Jill saw their post and called them to ask, "Hey, do you want our place? We bought a house, so we'll be moving out soon." And so it worked out.

There's more. You remember the apartment downstairs from me, that Jack and Jill rented as a "guest room"? They haven't relinquished that yet. See, they want to do a bunch of remodeling on their house, but the permitting process here takes forever. So they have moved into the new house without the remodeling done (so that Rick and Rory could move in); but when the permits are finally approved (maybe in a few months more) they plan to move out of the house and into the apartment while the remodeling and reconstruction is done. Then finally, when all the dust has settled (literally and figuratively), Jack and Jill will move back into their house and relinquish the apartment downstairs from me. When she described all this to me, Jill estimated that that transition might be a couple years in the future yet.

What will this mean for me? I don't know. Of course it means that the crazy parties Jack and Jill regularly throw will all have a different venue. But that won't really affect me because I haven't been going to them for a while. There was a while when I was sneaking out of them (such as here and here); and then, logically enough, Jack and Jill stopped inviting me. I don't resent that: it was the obvious thing for them to do, and I'm less uncomfortable as a result. I don't remember Rick and Rory socializing quite as ostentatiously when they were here before, but the have friends. And those friends did visit from time to time. I guess we'll see.

Of course, I've become such a hermit these days that it really doesn't matter how much or how often they entertain. It's not likely to affect me one way or the other. I'm coming to think this profound solitude is a bad thing, but I don't know what I want to do about it.

               

I may be getting sick

You know that I have had a cough all spring. (See, e.g., here and here.) I haven't known what it is, but I've been sure it's not COVID-19. But today for the first time I detected a real sore throat. Also I just ... feel a little funny, in ways that I can't quite articulate because I'm not sure they are clear enough that I can say for sure it's not my imagination. My skin feels just a little more sensitive than normal, as if I might be coming down with a fever. And my head has felt alternately very tired and, after a little coffee, just a little light-headed. 

Just a little. Almost negligibly. But that's how things start, isn't it?

Of course it figures that today would be the day I actually went into the office for four hours instead of staying completely at home. And I have no idea where I might have caught it. From my new neighbor? Maybe, ... I guess ...? Or from going out a couple days ago to do laundry? Or from going out a couple weeks ago to do grocery shopping? Or from going out any number of times to get a little walk in, because I've done almost nothing by way of exercise since the social distancing started in February? Or ... well, hell, I have no idea.

The key thing will be to see how I feel tomorrow. Get a good night's sleep tonight and then check ... do I feel worse, or better? I don't own an illness thermometer, but maybe I can ask my downstairs neighbors to get me one and I can reimburse them. 

I guess we'll see. Cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Oh, by the way, I've been posting more philosophical stuff over on the Patio, in case you are interested. It includes a reflection inspired by the current unrest sweeping across our cities. Take a look if you like.

[Update added a few days later] P.S. No, it wasn't COVID. Just a sore throat. Dust or pollen or something. That's all. It was gone by the next day.
       

Pounding on the door

Marie was here a week ago to visit. We tootled around town some. kept talking about going out to a new restaurant I want to try but never got that far, and talked, and fucked. Yes, well.

So it was late Friday night, and Marie was squealing loudly to heaven for all she was worth, ... and suddenly I heard pounding on my door.

Ooops. That's right, I live in an apartment. It's midnight. Maybe other people want to get some sleep.

I didn't know which neighbor it was, and I sure as hell wasn't going to go answer the door stark naked and smelling like sex. So I just stopped dead. Marie stopped making noise. Silently I climbed over to my side of the bed, blew out the one candle we had going, and we went to sleep.

The next morning it turned out that Marie hadn't heard the pounding when I did. She just stopped because I stopped doing things to stimulate her. So I explained and made sure she understood she really had to be quieter.

That afternoon I got a text message from Son 1, who has been traveling for work all month. (He hasn't moved out yet, so his absence was part of why Marie hadn't bothered to hold it down.) He said, "So your downstairs neighbor texted me last night saying she heard yelling or screaming. You know anything about that?"

I replied, "Umm ... er ... yeah. It's fine. Sorry we woke them. Nothing was wrong and nobody was hurt."

Son 1 answered that by forwarding me this picture. I don't blame him.

Then I sent a slightly longer text to the couple downstairs:

"Hi! I just now heard from Son 1 that you texted him last night asking if everything was OK. I am really embarrassed and really very sorry for keeping you awake. Everything was OK and nobody was hurt, but I feel terrible for being a bad neighbor. Umm ... Marie has been visiting for a week but her flight home is this afternoon. So it should be quieter. Again, I'm really sorry."

It must have been four hours later that I finally heard back.

"Hi Hosea, just now able to respond. I apologize and also feel embarrassed by not thinking how that could have been a different kind of scream. I'm just glad everyone is OK! My apologies again. I'm glad you guys had a nice week together!"

What I think that means is that there's lots of embarrassment to go around, but it all turned out OK in the end. And I suppose it's good that my neighbors care enough to be worried about screaming ....