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.
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 ' ... I still remember that ..... called his wife an ' old boiler '
From that moment ..never heard from her again.
We all lived ' happily ever after "
Flash ..!!
Last edited by FlashDrive; 11-12-2012 at 05:38 PM.
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.
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.
Yep, while I think the "Not unless you have died and gone to the heavens" response was close to priceless ......I can't understand just going and dropping ANYTHING in someone else's bin without approaching them first .
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?
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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!!
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.
... I still remember that ..
... called his wife an ' old boiler ' 
Insane in the membrane, as they say...
.
