2016 Catch All Thread

[southsider2k5]

I have had a very strange relationship with this neighbor.

 

About 6-7 years ago we got new next door neighbors at my mom's house that I grew up in. We were both very friendly from the beginning. Fast forward a couple years and I see them come into the restaurant/brewery I bartended at right by our houses. After this, every time they come in, they ask to sit with me. They'd come in, we'd talk and laugh they would spend about $40-50, tip me 25-40% and we'd go on with our lives. They are a mid 60's couple and I would mostly talk to the wife. He is retired Chicago PD. The guy would say some strange stuff to me. Stuff about race, women, etc. He was mostly quiet when they were out to eat.

 

My mom despised the guy though. She is a shy nurse that barely talks about others unless she's saying positive things. She claimed he was giving her dirty looks, claims he was rude, etc. My dad and I basically told her she's just imagining it, don't worry about it.

 

So then I was a junior in college and I was still driving the remains of the family car my dad told I have three months to buy a car as the family car was going to my other sister. So I buy a car but at this point I am living and working in the city so my car is down there. The family car that I used to drive stayed parked in front of one of two slabs of street in front of my house. After I graduate and work I go back for another degree and move back to the suburbs. So I haven't seen my neighbors much if at all the last few years and they probably don't even know I have a new car. With the silver pos in front of the big slab of street in front of my house, my parents in the garage/driveway, I have to part in the street.

 

So I park on the other slab of street in front of my house. This spot is about 80% in front of my house and 20% in front of the aforementioned neighbors house. The street is public. I park there for several weeks, maybe even months I am not sure. My car is always parked as close to my house as possible. All of a sudden, I'd come home after work and he'd be parked in the spot. Sometimes with his Mercedes and sometimes with his F350. His truck would nearly protrude our driveway because it's so massive. When we back out to exit the neighborhood, we have to back out around his truck as it sits a foot off our driveway.

 

To what started as something he did every once in a while, he now parks there more than I do. The dumbest part is, he has two spots in the garage, an open driveway and only two cars. When I would park in the spot, he would just park in his garage. When he would park in the spot, I would rotate parking in front of a couple other neighbors houses. So I get feel like I am annoying someone every time I get in and out of my car. Last couple weeks his truck hasn't moved from "my spot." A couple weekends ago, I moved my car out of the spot, picked up a friend who lives in the neighborhood, dropped him off to the closest bar to our houses and went back home. It was 11 minutes roundtrip. I came back, his truck is there and his garage is closing as I pull up. This is at noon on a Sunday. I'm convinced the guy is watching the spot on his elaborate set of security cameras.

 

At this point, I've had enough. I am not going to be an asshole because my parents have to live next to this guy after I do but I I decided I needed to talk to him. I planned to be friendly and then change the subject to basically asking him how he sees the situation. I'm mowing the lawn and he pulls up in his other car and parks it in the driveway. I stop the mower and say "Mr. Schmo" and walk towards him. He appeared to have not hear me (I am a loud person) and closed the garage. It doesn't seem he wants to talk to me.

 

What do I do with this guy? I had a friend recommend buying the cheapest Vespa possible and just keeping it there because the spot is big enough for my car and the vespa but not for his truck and the vespa. That would be hilarious but probably not realistic.

 

Wow, that is some petty stuff right there.

[shipps]

I have had a very strange relationship with this neighbor.

 

About 6-7 years ago we got new next door neighbors at my mom's house that I grew up in. We were both very friendly from the beginning. Fast forward a couple years and I see them come into the restaurant/brewery I bartended at right by our houses. After this, every time they come in, they ask to sit with me. They'd come in, we'd talk and laugh they would spend about $40-50, tip me 25-40% and we'd go on with our lives. They are a mid 60's couple and I would mostly talk to the wife. He is retired Chicago PD. The guy would say some strange stuff to me. Stuff about race, women, etc. He was mostly quiet when they were out to eat.

 

My mom despised the guy though. She is a shy nurse that barely talks about others unless she's saying positive things. She claimed he was giving her dirty looks, claims he was rude, etc. My dad and I basically told her she's just imagining it, don't worry about it.

 

So then I was a junior in college and I was still driving the remains of the family car my dad told I have three months to buy a car as the family car was going to my other sister. So I buy a car but at this point I am living and working in the city so my car is down there. The family car that I used to drive stayed parked in front of one of two slabs of street in front of my house. After I graduate and work I go back for another degree and move back to the suburbs. So I haven't seen my neighbors much if at all the last few years and they probably don't even know I have a new car. With the silver pos in front of the big slab of street in front of my house, my parents in the garage/driveway, I have to part in the street.

 

So I park on the other slab of street in front of my house. This spot is about 80% in front of my house and 20% in front of the aforementioned neighbors house. The street is public. I park there for several weeks, maybe even months I am not sure. My car is always parked as close to my house as possible. All of a sudden, I'd come home after work and he'd be parked in the spot. Sometimes with his Mercedes and sometimes with his F350. His truck would nearly protrude our driveway because it's so massive. When we back out to exit the neighborhood, we have to back out around his truck as it sits a foot off our driveway.

 

To what started as something he did every once in a while, he now parks there more than I do. The dumbest part is, he has two spots in the garage, an open driveway and only two cars. When I would park in the spot, he would just park in his garage. When he would park in the spot, I would rotate parking in front of a couple other neighbors houses. So I get feel like I am annoying someone every time I get in and out of my car. Last couple weeks his truck hasn't moved from "my spot." A couple weekends ago, I moved my car out of the spot, picked up a friend who lives in the neighborhood, dropped him off to the closest bar to our houses and went back home. It was 11 minutes roundtrip. I came back, his truck is there and his garage is closing as I pull up. This is at noon on a Sunday. I'm convinced the guy is watching the spot on his elaborate set of security cameras.

 

At this point, I've had enough. I am not going to be an asshole because my parents have to live next to this guy after I do but I I decided I needed to talk to him. I planned to be friendly and then change the subject to basically asking him how he sees the situation. I'm mowing the lawn and he pulls up in his other car and parks it in the driveway. I stop the mower and say "Mr. Schmo" and walk towards him. He appeared to have not hear me (I am a loud person) and closed the garage. It doesn't seem he wants to talk to me.

 

What do I do with this guy? I had a friend recommend buying the cheapest Vespa possible and just keeping it there because the spot is big enough for my car and the vespa but not for his truck and the vespa. That would be hilarious but probably not realistic.

 

You should park in his driveway.

[southsider2k5]

You should park in his driveway.

 

Now this idea I like.

[iamshack]

Rabbit, how about asking his wife?

[Brian]

Sounds like an episode of "Fear Thy Neighbor" on Investigation Discovery Channel in the making

[RockRaines]

Yeah, stuff like this is how people end up getting shot.

[Rowand44]

I'd just run my car through his garage. That'll learn him.

[StrangeSox]

[lostfan]

I have had a very strange relationship with this neighbor.

 

About 6-7 years ago we got new next door neighbors at my mom's house that I grew up in. We were both very friendly from the beginning. Fast forward a couple years and I see them come into the restaurant/brewery I bartended at right by our houses. After this, every time they come in, they ask to sit with me. They'd come in, we'd talk and laugh they would spend about $40-50, tip me 25-40% and we'd go on with our lives. They are a mid 60's couple and I would mostly talk to the wife. He is retired Chicago PD. The guy would say some strange stuff to me. Stuff about race, women, etc. He was mostly quiet when they were out to eat.

 

My mom despised the guy though. She is a shy nurse that barely talks about others unless she's saying positive things. She claimed he was giving her dirty looks, claims he was rude, etc. My dad and I basically told her she's just imagining it, don't worry about it.

 

So then I was a junior in college and I was still driving the remains of the family car my dad told I have three months to buy a car as the family car was going to my other sister. So I buy a car but at this point I am living and working in the city so my car is down there. The family car that I used to drive stayed parked in front of one of two slabs of street in front of my house. After I graduate and work I go back for another degree and move back to the suburbs. So I haven't seen my neighbors much if at all the last few years and they probably don't even know I have a new car. With the silver pos in front of the big slab of street in front of my house, my parents in the garage/driveway, I have to part in the street.

 

So I park on the other slab of street in front of my house. This spot is about 80% in front of my house and 20% in front of the aforementioned neighbors house. The street is public. I park there for several weeks, maybe even months I am not sure. My car is always parked as close to my house as possible. All of a sudden, I'd come home after work and he'd be parked in the spot. Sometimes with his Mercedes and sometimes with his F350. His truck would nearly protrude our driveway because it's so massive. When we back out to exit the neighborhood, we have to back out around his truck as it sits a foot off our driveway.

 

To what started as something he did every once in a while, he now parks there more than I do. The dumbest part is, he has two spots in the garage, an open driveway and only two cars. When I would park in the spot, he would just park in his garage. When he would park in the spot, I would rotate parking in front of a couple other neighbors houses. So I get feel like I am annoying someone every time I get in and out of my car. Last couple weeks his truck hasn't moved from "my spot." A couple weekends ago, I moved my car out of the spot, picked up a friend who lives in the neighborhood, dropped him off to the closest bar to our houses and went back home. It was 11 minutes roundtrip. I came back, his truck is there and his garage is closing as I pull up. This is at noon on a Sunday. I'm convinced the guy is watching the spot on his elaborate set of security cameras.

 

At this point, I've had enough. I am not going to be an asshole because my parents have to live next to this guy after I do but I I decided I needed to talk to him. I planned to be friendly and then change the subject to basically asking him how he sees the situation. I'm mowing the lawn and he pulls up in his other car and parks it in the driveway. I stop the mower and say "Mr. Schmo" and walk towards him. He appeared to have not hear me (I am a loud person) and closed the garage. It doesn't seem he wants to talk to me.

 

What do I do with this guy? I had a friend recommend buying the cheapest Vespa possible and just keeping it there because the spot is big enough for my car and the vespa but not for his truck and the vespa. That would be hilarious but probably not realistic.

I think you should wait until he's outside, make eye contact, whip out your dick, and pee on the spot to mark your territory.

[iamshack]

I think you should wait until he's outside, make eye contact, whip out your dick, and pee on the spot to mark your territory.

Yeah, but if his neighbor is anything like my dog, he will just stroll over to the spot and pee over his mark.

[StrangeSox]

we had a grand total of one (1) trick-or-treater at our house yesterday.

[lostfan]

we had a grand total of one (1) trick-or-treater at our house yesterday.

I get less every year but I realized it's my neighborhood. Nobody goes in my neighborhood except the kids who live there because there's only one street that leads into it. One street over, where the streets are open, there's hundreds of trick or treaters.

[shipps]

we had a grand total of one (1) trick-or-treater at our house yesterday.

 

We had tons. You must live on one of the many boring blocks in HG.

[Brian]

I had zero, but I did miss the first 2 hours because of work.

[knightni]

Took my daughter out. So much walking that we went house to house in our car.

 

Neighbors near my parents' house gave out full sized candy bars.

[southsider2k5]

My kids did some form of trick or treating for six days in a row.

[Iwritecode]

We've lived in our house since 1999 and last year was the first year (and so far only time) that we stayed home to pass out candy. Before that, we would always get together with friends and/or family and take our kids out as a big group. There was also a 5-year stretch where I didn't get home from work until the trick or treating was already almost over.

 

This year we passed out candy at our seasonal camping site during their Halloween weekend at the end of September. Then we passed out more candy Saturday night at a trunk or treat that was put on by the local HS bowling team which my daughter is a part of. We gave out probably $60 worth of candy between those two events, so we decided not to pass out candy at home this year.

 

Even when I did go outside I didn't see many kids. Last year we got maybe 30 or so. Hardly worth it anymore. So many different places do the trunk or treat now. I think that's where most of the kids go instead of walking the neighborhood.

[RockRaines]

We got a rush at the very end and of course the teens after the hours were over, but overall not that many this year.

[bmags]

I'm mentoring some kids and set up an "internship" where they can come to my office once a week until december to learn professional skills for class credit.

 

It started today, and I thought they'd be coming at 10. And of course now with my new kid I am late to everything so I didn't even get in until 930 only to find they had been waiting in my office since 830.

 

On top of that, the front desk person, who knew they'd be coming, was out temporarily, and the person who was covering thought they were food delivery people.

 

Great start! I bought them taco bell at least.

[whitesoxjr27]

My nicotrol inhaler prescription is ready. Quitting vaping on Monday. I will be such a crab.

[Soxbadger]

Good luck!

[whitesoxjr27]

Good luck!

Thanks!

[Middle Buffalo]

I am considering all four of these options.

I had a very similar situation with a neighbor. My neighbor worked nights, so he had the run of our cul d sac when everyone was at work during the day. He was constantly messing with my stuff.

 

He hacked the sh&& out of a bush of mine that grew a little over the property line. He would take my garbage can and move it way out into the middle of the cul d sac. He parked right on top of my driveway. He stole some of my UPS deliveries.

 

My mistake - I confronted him for dicking around with my bush one day. After that he was relentless. It was terrible. I'm not sure what kind of crazy I triggered, but I seriously regret ever talking to him.

 

I'm certain he was a sociopath. I read a bunch of books about it, and he fit the description perfectly.

 

We eventually got cameras and that drove him crazy. He couldn't handle being filmed. I have great video of him sneaking around to avoid detection, shining things at my cameras, and trespassing. Eventually, we had so much stuff that we took him to court after serving him with an injunction against harassment.

 

You don't want it to get there, though, because he sounds like my neighbor. He won't stop, and as an ex-cop, he believes he's above the law. You won't win a pissing contest with him. If the parking thing is the only issue, so be it. Find somewhere else to park if he's parked in front. If there's more, get cameras, but be prepared to have to review them. It sucks. We had to do it daily, and whenever we thought he was calming down and maybe we could stop reviewing, he'd spike back up. We had to do it daily for three years. Finally, this summer we moved.

 

DON'T engage. Sociopaths live for it.

 

 

 

 

[Brian]

Seriously though, am I the only one who has watched "Fear Thy Neightbor" on Investigation Discovery? I hope I don't see you guys on there.

[Rowand44]

I hate Amtrak I hate Amtrak I hate Amtrak. I HATE AMTRAK