Odd neighbours

[LewisM]

We have a really weird neighbour - well, actually across the street. I have had 3 run ins with her now, and I have to confess I think she's a little loopy.

First encounter some time back was me in the driveway with the telescope at about 11pm. She comes home in her Nissan 300ZX (says a lot already about a 60 something year old...). Stops in the middle of the street before turning into her driveway, and shouts out "Are you looking at MY place?!". I was quick witted, and replied, "Not unless you have died and gone to the heavens". She did not like that.

Next time was a couple weeks after. We'd done the spring cleaning, and had just ONE too many branches left over after pruning to fit our wheely bin. So, JUST after the garbo had done ours, I raced over and dropped the ONE small branch in her bin. I had turned my back to start walking home when I see my wife starting to wave and yelled to her "It's OK, it's only a branch for pity's sake!".I turned around to see the neighbour had stormed out of her house heading toward me. She turned tail and went back inside, the whole while watching us from her kitchen window. I men, if it was stinky, leaking garbage, then OK (I wouldn't have anyway), but a small branch (no leaves) that would be taken in 2 minutes... WEIRD!

Now fast forward to this morning. We have been cleaning out the garage, and I had some bulky items left over. I filled ours, but missed meeting the garbo to ask him to stop to let me just drop in some more and he take it again. So, again, I raced over the road with the refilled bin, and plonked it down on the line between her and her neighbour. She comes out (I think she lives at the kitchen window), hands on hips, but too ashamed to say anything to me. Garbo comes, and takes it no problem, but when he is setting the bin down again, he knocks a branch off the tree thats on HER front verge - COUNCIL planted, and COUNCIL Land - she storms up to the driver, and tells her all about me putting the bin there yada yada. Garbo couldn't care, and left after picking her rubbish.

She wrote a note on my bin, stuck on with tape "The driver stopped to apologise for breaking a branch off the tree". OK.... so, is that a weird psychological way of hinting I should apologise to you too????????

Not apologising this side of Hades. No point. Not pandering to her odd fantasies.

Rant over :)

[FlashDrive]

Know what you mean Lewis ... I've had dealings over the years with people like that.
Strange creatures they are ...seems if life ' owes ' them something .. !!

I had a ' run in ' many years ago with a ( lady ) neighbor ....and I got the shock of my life when her husband yelled out to her .... just leave the guy alone you ' old boiler ' :lol: ... I still remember that ..:thumbsup:... called his wife an ' old boiler '
From that moment ..never heard from her again.

We all lived ' happily ever after "

Flash ..!!

[TechnoViking]

lol, sounds like a complete nutter!!

[Moon]

A typical Mrs Mangel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nell_Mangel). Every street has one.

[FlashDrive]

Hey Lewis ... get one of these ' UAV's ' .... guarantee she'll be paranoid within 24hrs.

Flash ..!! :D

[Benno18]

Have one of these neighbours.
Our rant was over the 18month old Great Dane x ridgeback getting into my back yard via holes under the fence. (They were HUGE holes too!!!)

This dog would lick you to death before it bit you, but tell that to my two year old daughter half it's size!!!!!!
She is literally scared for life now!!!!
It took a ranger coming around and explaining the situation before they'd do anything about it.

[naskies]

Nice one! :rofl: Insane in the membrane, as they say...

[Larryp]

Sorry Lewis, I think you should have asked her about using her bin and putting you garbage on her side

[Ausrock]

Yep, while I think the "Not unless you have died and gone to the heavens" response was close to priceless :D......I can't understand just going and dropping ANYTHING in someone else's bin without approaching them first :shrug:.

BTW........."She comes home in her Nissan 300ZX (says a lot already about a 60 something year old...)." Based on ALL your story, who the heck are you to pass judgement?

[midnight]

Using some else's bin without first asking is looking for trouble imo. The owner is paying for that service as is responsible for not breaking council refuse laws (batteries, oil etc).

Secondly, double dipping on the bin by placing it in between two other properties places those owner's/tenants at risk if the driver decides to refuse to pickup the 3 bins. I had this happen to me two weeks in a row and when you pay for the service only to have someone do this made me quite angry.

Darrin...

[Cam]

Are you guys kidding??? LoL I couldnt care less if someone uses my bin, if there's room go for it! I would be more bothered if they took me away from what I was doing to ask me something so needless and trivial.Same as I wouldn't bother them with asking a neighbour first if they have room. We all do it all the time. It' a garbage bin for goodness sake.

[blink138]

well...... lewis has not started on the right foot with the woman.... i know her question was stupid, however, the answer she received wouldnt have helped! from then on lewis was knackered!
you would have either of really needed to pull out all stops and educate her in your hobby and give her a look through the eyepiece (to share your obvious enthusiasm) and if she was still as cold as ice ....... avoid her and her bins altogether!
pat

[barx1963]

I tend to agree with Pat. I someone made a comment like that to me, rather than trying to be smart I would ask them if they want a look. They may so no but at least the offer is made and maybe someone with a bit more understanding of our hobby.
The reply you gave was really only going to be negative.
Sorry to criticise but our hobby is small and often misunderstood, we should take oppotunities to educate.

Malcolm

PS. As for the bin thing, wouldn't even occur to me to put something in someone elses bin.

[Stardrifter_WA]

I like my neighbours well enough, but I would love them more if the closest one lived a couple of kilometres away :D

[midnight]

No.



I don't and I know many people that don't without asking.

That's how arguments start with neighbours.

I have no problem if my neighbour asked to use the spare capacity. It's called common courtesy and as long as they're not dumping illegal waste.

Darrin...

[Cam]

Maybe thats the difference between carefree country living and getting on with your neighbours mate??? You guys seem like you spend too much time on trivial BS and what your idea of courtesy is and arguing over it instead of helping eachother out and just getting along.

[ZeroID]

Sorry Cam but I certainly wouldn't do it. Especially after having made a smart ass comment beforehand. She may be an unpleasant neighbour in many ways but in my books you have no rights at all to place items of any description in her bin. Some people are just like that, you have to respect it. If I were you I'd just back off completely and leave her alone.

[LewisM]

Gee, that took an odd turn...

If I had taken the time to ask her if I could just drop one leafless branch in her bin due to be emptied in under 2 minutes (likely a minute seeing we live in a cul-de-sac), the garbo would have been in the next street. I could care less also if someone uses my bin - happens all the time, including yesterday.And? It's a bin... so long as it's not leaking paint or something, the world is not going to end. Council here does not weigh bins, nor even check them. We pay rates, they take it. Everyone pays the same rates (except business).

If the garbo had refused to take the extra, how does that inconvenience anyone except ME? He refuses, I walk over and collect the bin and bring it home. And? That has what impact on anyone but me??? I fail to see the point of that one. The excess was some TV parts, and nothing else.

As to inviting her to look through... yes,sure, that would have helped. Considering this lady decides to berate the neighbourhood children constantly, yells at the postman for delivering the mail riding his scooter on "her" lawn (which is again the grass verge, and SHE placed the letterbox!), asked the neighbourhood to turn off all christmas lights after 6pm (???????????????????????????????).. .. I can really see how asking her to look through the scope would have helped. :ROFL: :) ;)

I guess some of y'all would be cranky neighbours too :) LOL ;D :) LOL :)

[barx1963]

So Lewis you have a cranky neighbour who gets upset at trivialities and you go and put rubbish in her bin?
Sorry but you cannot say you couldn't guess what was going to happen. The thing is as a matter of politeness I would always ask beforehand, or if the situation was as you describe I would put it in the bin then go to her door and explain what I had done. If it was a neighbour with the attitude of yours I wouldn't bother, no sense in stirring the pot.
Of course if I lived in a neighbourhood where we all got along and knew each other well, it may be different. Most neighbourhoods have a mix of people, some you know well, some not very well, others not at all. Part of the secret to a comfortable life is knowing enough about them to act appropriately towards them all as individuals, not expecting them all to act the same.
I am good friends with the family 3 doors down and I know I could put stuff in their bin without problem and vice versa, but I would still ask as a matter of common courtesy.
The point is that each circumstance is different and complaining about a neighbour behaving as you have come to expect when you have done something like this seems a little strange!!

Malcolm

[coldlegs]

I've had an ignorant pr**k put some used paint cans in my bin which isn't allowed so I threw them back into his front yard. He got the message. If I were the lady, the branch would have been shoved up your tailpipe (of your car) to let you know to ask politely next time. Speaking of politeness, invite the other person over to view the stars next time instead of being a smart aleck insulting them with jokes referring to their death.

Stephen

[blink138]

lewis it sounds like you could have put that branch in ANYONES bin BUT hers!? so why didnt you? and if it was one single tatty looking branch perhaps you could have waited until next week
i simply think you have just waved a red rag in her face!
sorry mate
pat

[Scorpius51]

We are all different, but basic courtesy rewards us all. Let's move on.

[Barrykgerdes]

We must be unique in our neighbourhood. We use all our bins as communal property. We even put each others bins out if they forget and put them away when emptied. Ah! it's good to get on with your neighbours.

Barry

[LewisM]

Barry, we do that too - except her. She refuses. I did not know of her "issues" until I put the branch in there, and then the neighbours started telling me the goss.

Common courtesy is one thing, but the bins are not even private property.

[Octane]

#firstworldproblems
#whatisthisdoinghere
#astronomy

H

[LewisM]

:)

I give up on this whole thread... it may as well have been Liberal vs Labor, God vs Atheism LOL

[GeoffW1]

:rofl: This is an AMAZING thread :eyepop: "Neighbours" on IIS:rofl:

[AstroFlyer]

To sum it up:
1.Be courteous to people.
2.You know what's she like - do not use her bin.
Problem solved.:thumbsup:

[barx1963]

One other point I meant to make. My attitude may be affected by the fact that, at least where I live, bins are in fact private property. We all had to pay to get the bins when they introduced the new big bins. If you didn't buy them, you didn't get rubbish taken away.

Malcolm

[Capricorn1(Tom)]

A big deal about nothing----that's why I live on acreage:lol:

[blink138]

or something much more important... football versus ausie rules...... dont forget that one ha ha!
pat

[LewisM]

OR is SOCCER really football? :) Or is football using an elongated pointy ball? :) (I am Ra-Ra myself...)

Here in my council region, wheely bins are given to all households that pay rates, and are given new ones when needed (phone call) or once every 3 years. They never become the property of the rates payer (council brands each wheelie bin - or used to anyway).

Anyway, back to this one, I really didn't expect of course the garbo to break the branch. I had no intention of ruffling her feathers, deliberately or otherwise. I had another look at where I put the bin, and it is actually on her NEIGHBOUR'S side, not on hers after all, though the tree branch that overhangs BOTH is technically on HER side.

[2stroke]

You should have just asked first its that simple. She probably thinks your the mad nut and from her prospective i would think the same. Personally if this requires a thread then your life must be very peachy, we have had 2 drive byes, 2 stabbings, 3 arson's, home invasions, burgs and countless assaults all in a .5k radius this year.

Heres a backhoe that was set on fire by a serial arsonist at 2:30am last sunday, image taken by my wife iphone from our drive way now thats thread worthy, he also decide he didnt like phone booths and set one of them o fire just 300meters away also :shrug:

[Cam]

[QUOTE=2stroke;924250] we have had 2 drive byes, 2 stabbings, 3 arson's, home invasions, burgs and countless assaults all in a .5k radius this year.

And you still live there???

[Nightshift]

Well Lewis, you must live in a different Sunshine Coast than me, I indeed payed for my bin, maybe yours was already there when you bought the property? Also, most newer collection trucks now do have a camera in them that the driver can see what is being emptied on a TV screen on his dashboard, and dumping green waste is a huge no no in our shire, you can be fined for putting it in the general waste bin, you do have a choice of paying extra each year to have a green waste bin delivered, check with the shire or look here http://www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/sitePage.cfm?code=garden-waste-bin . In the mean time I wouldnt go about putting illeagal waste in someone elses bin, for that matter I wouldnt be brazen enough to do it to any bin. She obviously is a cranky old soul so why antagonise her further?

Check with our shire, you will find you are in the wrong.

[Cam]

A branch isnt greenwaste, not illegal

[blink138]

.........bloody luxury, thats nothin!....... were i come from.......!!?

[OICURMT]

:drink:

[LewisM]

Own 2 SCRC bounded properties - both new, plus own a flat we rent out near the Uni. Never once paid for a wheely bin (apart from in the annual rates for waste management). EVER. Must be a Nambour thing... :)

Additionally, NOTHING illegal in disposing of branches or the like in the general garbage - read the council regs:

please ensure the following materials are not placed in the waste bin:
liquids
hazardous, chemical, or medical waste
building waste
car parts
recyclables
heavy items such as large rocks or concrete
240 L bin maximum permissable weight = 50 kgs
if the bin contents exceed the allowable limit it cannot be emptied
all items placed in the bin should fit loosely so the bin empties easily
the bin lid must be able to close completely
lightweight materials such as grass clippings or vacuum cleaner dust should be contained in a plastic bag

Council states "Waste bins are for general household waste only, such as food waste and plastic bags. They are not suitable for recyclables or garden waste. These items should instead be placed in your recycling bin or garden waste bin." but say nothing of it being illegal (unlike in some other shires).

I also could not find a price for a wheelie bin on the entire site. When we moved into our newly made home, they delivered a green and yellow wheelie - no charge up front or on any rates notice thus far apart from the annual waste removal fee.

I could be very wrong, but that's what I have experienced.

[Kunama]

I can live with a few of the neighbour's leftovers in my bin, I can live with a broken branch or 2 or an older lady in a 300zx but what really will annoy me is if this thread gets to 3 pages.

[brian nordstrom]

:shrug: I have been following this thread , and here goes .
I have some Sri Lankans next door and they are lovely people , both have come around for a look thru my SKY90 and M210 on lots of occasions , they are more than welcome .:thumbsup:.And very happy to .
About 6 months ago either his or her mum and dad moved in , no worries there .
But try as I might to comunate with these geezers ,( I know they speak english , I have herd them speak it ) they look straight thru me and carry on ..TOTALLY Un-sociable I call it .
I have seen them more than once looking at me set up and start an observing session , and 1/2 hour later they walk past on their evening walks ,and I have asked ( nicely ) if they would like to see the Moon ? Nah! they totally ignore me and keep on walking , its their loss if they want to live in our country and ignore the locals , but it sux a lot ! :question: .
By the way my ( young ) neighbours work work lots of night shifts , so mum and dad are home alone .
Differant strokes for differant folks I suppose ?
Brian.

[Forgey]

I wasnt going to post anything but i'd though id share this.
On our yearly rates notice in VIC we pay for the garbage and green waste bins. We found that 1 green/garden waste bin was not enough so we ordered another one for an extra $63per year.

[blink138]

ha ha!
pat

[stephenb]

I agree Lewis, she's a cranky old bag. Every streets got one.

I had a neighbour who rode a motorbike and every week on bin day at 6am he would hoon out of his driveway, do a burnout on the road, kick my bin over then tear off down the street. I did nothing to provoke or initiate his hostility towards me - just one of life's p***ks.

Then one Wednesday I replaced my rubbish with 8 bags of cement.

Both his beloved Ducati and his fibia have never been the same since.

[TechnoViking]

Just think yourselves lucky. We dont get garbage pickup, I have to cart the rubbish to the tip every fortnight 45km round trip, then we get charged $20 every 1/2 cubic meter (around $520/year), and on top of that we get charged in our rates $85/year for tip maintainence. So just for getting rid of household rubbish im paying over $600 per year!!!

But at the end of the day its worth the lifestyle change, all my neighbours are wonderful people, and always willing to lend a hand. I dont miss the city at all, where i had neighbours who were drugo's, i had my bins stolen twice, $300 worth of garden lights stolen, and young ********s doing burnouts down my street @ 2am.. Which is one of the reasons I sold my house and moved 300km south, its a better lifestyle and upbringing for my 3 children.

Getting back to topic, Everyone is different and has a different point of view, I think the situation could have been handled differently, but some people are just plain nuts. I incident that is fresh in my mind was my 30th birthday party at my old house in canberra, it was minus 6 degrees in the middle of June, so i decided to get a 44gallon drum and make a fire to keep everyone outside near the BBQ warm, and to toast marshmellows for the kids. around 2 weeks after the party i received a letter from the EPA warning me that "Burning off rubbish" is illegal and this is a warning that if it happens again i will be fined, I could not believe my eyes!! I knew exactly who it was, it was an old grumpy couple who were peeking through the gaps in the fence all night, these people where so completely out of touch with reality that they would call the police for any reason they could, one night I had police knock on my door because of a noise complaint from the neighbour about my 4 year old son playing with his toy piano late one night, my son had been having nightmares and i let him play his toy piano to help him settle before putting him back down. It wasnt a loud piano, just a $10 golo 2 x AA battery type, i was very suprised that they could even hear it!

There are crazy people out there, some worse than others....

[PCH]

Haha - priceless.

I almost wish I had a wonker like that for a neighbour just to try that one out on - lol

[blink138]

ha ha!.......... ooh thats rough justice....... but i like it!
pat

[TrevorW]

Just acknowledge there are weirdo's and bogans out there. I am home sick with the flu and was trying to get a rest yesterday when my 30 something neighbor decides around 4:00pm to disturb the neighborhood by running his petrol powered RC vehicle up and down the footpath out the front of my house.

Lets just say I could have gone at the front and told him to STFU or else but what would that achieve especially me being unwell, so I let him have his 10 minutes of glory knowing full well he'd eventually get bored watching it go up and down or run out of petrol etc and move onto something else.

If he didn't I was going to reverse my car over the sucker and say sorry mate didn't see it :thumbsup:

[OICURMT]

I suspect we are getting close to page three...