Aural Fixation

After a long night of work, I hit the sheets, exhausted at 8:30 AM. If I'm lucky, I can get to sleep before the sun floods my darkness with tomorrow.

At 9:00 AM, the person in the flat above me wakes up and proceeds to thunder around for an hour or so. Usual behavior except these were abnormally loud thumps... like people jumping. What is going on?

Because I lay awake unable to shut out the thumps, I mediate on the noises and discern, in addition to the normal thumping, there were sounds of a rope being thrown across the room and people jumping after it. Finally it clicks... they got a dog! That's a dog dropping a rope bone on the floor over my bed. Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Thud-thud.

It's hard to convey just how loud is the noise just from my neighbor walking around - there's no insulation between my ceiling and their wood floor. Just 6" of rafters. Normally, I can pinpoint the upstairs neighbor's location, if they are wearing shoes or not, and if so, if they are rubber soled or heels or flip flops. They are heavy walkers.

I choose to be a light walker because of the long-term preventive health benefits to joints and bones. One day, really watch people and concentrate on their gait. Feel it. Imagine what it would feel like if you walked like that. Notice how you walk. See if you can walk a bit lighter. Try it for a few strides. Notice how much less impact stress there is from your joints.

In fact, I feel sorry for the person upstairs thumping around because it feels like they are doing damage to their joints! Ouch!

These thoughts occupy my mind as I lie awake until around 10:00 AM when the thumping subsided. Ah, come sweet sleep! But no! The peace was not to last! Suddenly, I'm living in the middle of a dog kennel! Was there a memo I missed? Is this month national get a dog month? Where did all these animals come from?

Don't get me wrong; I love dogs, just like I love children. It's other people's dogs and children that not always keen on. Some people just aren't very good parents.

Anyway, my 'dog' is a bit rusty, so I couldn't make out the exact conversation, but it went something like this.

At first the dog upstairs is frightened, and there are high-pitch squeals. Roughly translated, sie was saying, "AR-AR-AR-AROOOW!" or "Where did everyone goooo?"

The came even shriller whines of lonliness. "ERMMMMMmmmmm ERMMMMMmmmm"

Now this went on for about 10 minutes when another dog, feeling sorry for the other dog, tries to console.

"ARRROOOOWWW" which means, "It's okay!" in dog, now colors the soundscape. Calls of "ARRRRRooooWWw" which means, "You'll be alright!" follow.

Unfortunately, the first dog wasn't consoled, so we had another 10 minutes of this before a third dog joined the chorus, sympathetic, but speaking from a position of power, "Don't worry, now be quiet! Both of you!"

All this barking just confused the first dog more, and sie started her routine all over again, triggering the second dog's reply, until eventually it got the the third dog's annoyed reply. As this was the only interaction the first dog could get, she kept this up as long as sie could, around 20 minutes more or so.

Finally around 10:30 there was only the faint bass thump from the music of the lower neighbor's intercom, the normal sounds for this time of day, and finally, I fall asleep.

Two hours later, right in the middle of a soothing sleep cycle, the 9:AM routine starts all over again. The neighbor's home for lunch and playing with what sounds like two dogs. I later find out that the dog living above me is a huge black lab, maybe 70 pounds. That explains the people running and jumping.

It's 2pm before I finally lose consciousness. It's amazing the sounds that leak through when you are completely still. It's almost like being able to see through walls... matching sounds with experiences to discern activities. Neat, but tomorrow... earplugs!