NOISE

Usually it is very quiet in the neighborhood and in the building, especially on the weekends. We can sit on the patio in the summer and it is sometimes hard to believe that we are living in an urban sound scape because it is so very peaceful. But this weekend was indeed an exception. The fire alarm was triggered on Friday night, and turned off by a person who has a key; it sounded again on Saturday night, and reset by a person who has a key; and it went off again on Sunday night, and remained on all night through to the next day in to the afternoon. It may be that we are the only ones who hear the shrill noise, report it, and try to have it addressed.... By this evening, we were given a key to reset it ourselves until a technician fixes the obvious malfunction. I can't believe that others do not hear it (?) or maybe they do and choose to ignore it. Community living can be interesting. When we walked out of the building this morning, the noise continued outside and my ears were now on overload- the construction across the street has been going on for the last 4 years, the emergency vehicles are typically racing by, and then the door to the apartment was squeaking. At least one of these items I do have some control over. The hinges got a squirt of WD40 this evening, and I was very happy! Speaking of noise pollution, there is an escalator directly above my office. Whenever someone walks in, they are astounded by the racket. I, on the other hand, have grown accustomed to it. Is this why my ears are ringing all the time?

Please give us the key!
We'd be happy to reset the darn thing.