[–] jsprogrammer [S] ago
This course has already been run through. After speaking with them twice about it, I told them I would bang on the ceiling a bit when they were being loud so that they would better know what activities cause the noise. I was told this was a "good idea" by them.
I did this (bang on the ceiling) approximately 5 times over the course of two weeks (almost all of them two weeks after they said it was a "good idea"), but then received a knock on my door by their visiting in-laws (wife's sister and husband) who were irate that I would bang on the ceiling. They accused me of banging 7+ times that morning, told me that their sister/in-law was up there with enormous anxiety about whether any sound they made would result in me banging on their floor. I was told that if I was in New York, where they live (we are in California), that if I tried to "call anybody" about the problem that I would just be laughed at. I told them that they should stay in my apartment for the rest of the day to hear what I have to hear everyday. They declined. I had a ~45 minute conversation where they would deny what was going on ("no one is up their running"), wouldn't listen to what I had to say (at one point I asked, "what did I just say?" after they told me they were listening to me...they then repeated, verbatim, that last thing they had said, and couldn't remember the very last thing I said to them), but eventually, admitted, "yeah, they just have a kid up there running around all day, remember that when you have kids" after the conversation finally became a bit more friendly as they realized they had made a lot of unfounded assumptions (having never been in the apartment or having met me before). They were very adamant about my "stopping the banging", so I agreed to stop. They said we needed some "compromise", but I told them the only solutions are we either move out, or they stop making noise, either by moving out, or just, you know, not running and jumping on the floor of their apartment. I was told, "they take their daughter outside three times a day, just for you!", in the same way I have heard people talk about taking their dogs out for a walk and to relieve themselves. Sorry, for the rant, but this is the situation (though, I have not explained every detail here...).
[–] [deleted] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
[–] jsprogrammer [S] ago
Yeah, they claimed to have gotten carpeting for the entire apartment, but I have serious doubts that is the case.
Moving is a top priority, but it is not the simplest thing to do given 1) low vacancy rates and 2) high rent costs in Berkeley. Money will solve the problem, as would someone with a space to work/live.