Long Week

This week is shaping up to be a long one. There's been some family drama up north that's been weighing heavily, and of course that's just when there's a flurry of activity with the house—I really don't care if the kitchen island is 44 inches or 45 inches away from the wall, I'm more concerned about whether or not my family is okay.

Then there are the new neighbors at work. Aside from the overall high cost of living here, the biggest reason we're anxious to move are the loud, rude, and generally inconsiderate neighbors. It used to be that my quietest place was at work.

Not so anymore.

California Closets has moved into the unit next to ours in our building and guess whose cube shares a wall with them?

It wasn't so bad when they were preparing to move in, I understood that there would be construction noise, though I did think the 5-hour sawing/drilling/pounding session on the wall was a bit much. All I ask for is a 24 hour warning when you're going to do something like that. I can make arrangements to work from home when I know in advance it is going to be that bad.

But the thing that made it bearable for me and my co-workers was that we knew there would be an end to the constant noise. Heh.

Shows you what we know.

Last week CC had their big bay doors open and I noticed a massive piece of machinery encased in safety-blue–painted steel. Every time the saw made a noise, this machine had some movement. That was the moment I realized  that the saw was a permanent piece of equipment and that CC is fabricating closet systems. Right. Next. To. My. Cube.

There is constant dust and constant noise. I can hear the CC workers talking to each other through the wall. When I'm on a conference call, everyone of the other end can hear it all too. And Monday, I forgot to take the ear buds for my iPhone, which function more as earplugs any more because if I do turn on the music it just becomes another layer of noise.

Anyhow, I mentioned something to my boss last week when I saw the Big Blue, and he said something to his boss, who then caught me in the hall to let me know he knew about the noise and would investigate. I mean, it's all editors along that wall. It's typically quiet work and requires some level of concentration. Then the boss's boss says this, "I noticed the Big Blue, too. It must get really loud when they're both running."

BOTH?! As in there's more than 1 saw?!

Shoot me now.