Assertiveness, and hubris...

[desperance]

So I was just feeling quite pleased with myself, because I got quite stroppy on a helpline that was being stupidly unhelpful about some train tickets; I thought I had just discovered assertiveness, a little late in life. It did me no good, of course, they continued not to help me in the least, but at least I felt better about it, because I did at least tell them that what they were saying made no sense.

Then I saw what must be my new neighbours, one of. A female student-type person, getting out of a taxi.

With a drumkit.

Aaaargh...!

Comments

[euphoricstimuli.livejournal.com]

If they have a drum kit they are into music so they may like your books. (bizarre logic I know)
Best bet is go over introduce yourself, if you can be arsed have them over for dinner, but certainly lend them a couple of your books. If they realise they are living next door to a really quite good/big writer & hes being nice to them they might be better behaved than otherwise. At any rate it'll give you the opertunity to talk about things like drum practice & late night parties in a civilised way, wheras if you leave it & suddenly turn up on their doorstep asking them to turn the music down they'll probably behave worse.
It would have worked on me when I was a student anyway.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Y'know? That is really quite a smart idea. Thank you! I shall invite them round for drinks & nibbles, once they're settled in...

(The nice thing is that generally I'm a very easy neighbour; late-night parties don't trouble me at all. It's just that drumkit makes me nervous...)

[fastfwd.livejournal.com]

Then I saw what must be my new neighbours, one of. A female student-type person, getting out of a taxi.

With a drumkit.

There's only one thing to do: get a bunch of friends round for bagpipe practice.

(Last year, I had a disagreement with the people next door. They were playing some kind of godawful pop at a zillion decibels while they partied outside. I opened the window and put on Alice Cooper at two zillion decibels. After thirty seconds, I turned it down and discovered that they had done likewise. Problem solved.)

[jeremy-m.livejournal.com]

This sounds like that game JFK used to play, the one called "Cuban Missile Crisis", which is OK as long as the opponent is reasonable and co-operates in a peaceful resolution, but can Go Wrong.

Of course it's unlikely that a random student drummer could be madder than Soviet Russia...

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

...this is a response of unusual awesomeness. You win the internets for today!