Der?

There’s this noise coming from the hallway in our apartment every night; and only at night. It usually starts between 10-11 pm and stops around 7 am. It’s like a lo hum/vibration. If you press on the wall, the sound even changes. This has been going on for well over a week and it’s been driving me crazy because it makes sleeping with the bedroom door open impossible. I mentioned it in passing on Monday to one of the maintenance guys when he dropped off two packages. He said that we need to call when it’s happening so the on-call guy can check it out. So the next night I called around 11 pm. The dispatch center took down all the info and said they’d page the guy right away.

Now I happen to know that the guy on call lives in our building, right down the hall. So I figured it would be no big deal and he’d come right over. Wrong. He never showed up. We finally went to bed around 11:30. Strangely enough, five minutes after my call, the noise stopped for about three whole minutes, and then started up again. Coincidence?

So yesterday afternoon I called the office to complain. The girl kept telling me she could send someone out right away to check the noise. I explained to her three times that it wouldn’t make sense as the vibrating/hum only happen at night. She kept insisting. Then she said something like she could have someone come over around 10:30 pm. I said make it around 11 pm. Did anyone show? No.

Then today we get a sticker on our door that someone came by three times during the afternoon to check out the noise and didn’t hear anything. You don’t say! Maybe that’s because it doesn’t happen during the day. Am I speaking English here? So I called the office again and spoke to the same girl. I questioned why they’d bother to come during the day when I specifically explained several times that it only happens at night. She said they just wanted to check to make sure something isn’t malfunctioning. I don’t understand how they can check on something that makes noise when it isn’t actually making the noise.

Furthermore, do they think I’m stupid or that I have no idea what I’m talking about? Maybe they think I assume it’s only at night because I’m not at home during the day to hear it. But I even told the girl the other day that I work ten minutes from home and came home for lunch and didn’t hear anything because it only happens at night. That is going to become my mantra – it only happens at night.

I also questioned her why no one showed last night. She claims we have to call it in to get someone to show. That’s not what she said to me before, but whatever. I told her I will be calling tonight and someone better show up at my door. I don’t care if the guy thinks he found the source and thinks he fixed it. I want him at my door making sure the noise has disappeared.

The most frustrating part is that our management is usually very bright and helpful. I don’t understand what part of it only happens at night they don’t understand.

Let’s hope I follow up on this entry with a “it’s fixed now” or I’m going to have to hire a translator to explain this to them.

This entry was way too long, by the way. Thank god Joe is on his way home with Italian so we can sit down and watch Must See TV.