Matt's blog

In front of our building they are putting in a new sidewalk. Because of some sort of we-must-keep-our-city-looking-old-so-tourists-will-keep-coming-here ordinance, our sidewalks are not made of poured concrete but of paving tiles. This means two things. On a day to day basis, one finds oneself tripping way more often than one should on the edge of a tile which is not sitting flush with its neighbor. On a this-day-in-particular basis it means that the crew putting in new tiles in front of our building is constantly running a loud, nasty sounding, tile cutting circular saw.

(Auxiliary gripe: Aside from cutting tiles, this saw has no redeeming features at all. The stench of its exhaust is rank, it is extremely loud and it kicks up a huge cloud of concrete tile dust every time it is used. Needless to say, none of the workers wear ear, eye or mouth and nose protection at any time, unless cigarettes count.)

Behind our building our windows are getting repainted. A huge, 4 storey (U.S.: story) tall scaffolding has been put up in our back garden. The window which usually looks out onto our pathetic (yet private) back garden is now a place for workmen to hang out, loudly scraping paint and of course, smoking.

I start school in the next week or two. Until then, I have nothing to do but practice guitar in our flat, since I have nowhere else to practice. The front room of our flat is also a front row seat for the circular saw symphony. The back room of our flat features the ever-present possibility of someone showing up directly outside my window to look in on whatever it is I'm doing and then bang around on the window.

Also, there now appear to be people outside my door pushing mattresses down our stairwell.

Living in the middle of the city sucks.