it's as though the boy upstairs is wearing shoes of marble. each heel impact on the floor, which is also my ceiling, produces a loud hollow thump that seems to reverberate throughout the entire plane.

half an hour ago, i made the mistake of turning on the news, which was perhaps the most nonconducive move for a quiet reading session.

as i lay in bed, with my novel propped comfortably in place, all i could hear was the intermittent stomping of the marble feet, an occasional object intercepted by the plane with a thunderous thump, and the raucous chords of his bed springs as he shifted every fifteen seconds.

even while i sit here and type, i can hear the teen get off his bed, thump and squeak over to the other side of the room, slam a door, and return to his bed...only to get up after a few seconds to repeat the same noise cycle. what the hell is he doing???

i wish i could tell my landlord...why not?...well, because mentioning such a thing could be the snowflake that could create the giant boulder snowball, otherwise known as "eviction". duh. crazy you say? why yes. he is. i suspect he's a bit senile too, considering that he's in his seventies and that no one can sustain a logical conversation with him...so i try to steer clear of him.

chopin....that's it. perhaps a little chopin will soothe my overactive brain and nerves.