Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Pandemonium in Condominium

Are condo walls thinner than the average house wall? It certainly seems so here where we live. Somehow I feel so exposed and vulnerable, with every creak of my bed (ooooh dear!) magnified across a wafer-thin divider.

My children say I am and will always remain paranoid of everything and everyone no matter what the truth. A lot of help they are!

Dear Pak Abu, the logical thinking mathematician not known for his diplomacy at the best of times, thinks the walls are fine. It's my sense of hearing and attention span he worries about.

The man says it baffles him that I can hear the tiniest noise from upstairs but not his running commentary about the state of Malaysian politics, and why some people tend to nod off to sleep in the middle of meetings and such.

As the norm, I try not to argue with Pak Abu's observations because he does have a valid point very now and then. Granted, I am pretty opinionated myself and can be as obstinate as a mule sometimes.

Back to the wall issue, I brought up this subject because the people living above us had been having rather over-enthusiastic domestic squabbles lately. You could hear furniture being thrashed and household stuffs flung about.

I assume furniture were broken because I could hear hammerings the following day, presumably of chair legs being reattached and such. The commotion they caused (the fighting and ensuing repairwork) was distracting, to say the least.

Whilst we weren't nosy-parkers - far from it - we did worry in case the quarrels turned violent. I expressed my concern to Pak Abu but he said we should just sit tight and ride the storm, as it were. And we did, until yesterday.

The pandemonium started just after we completed our subuh prayers early yesterday morning. There was the usual shouting and screaming, followed by lots of stomping and clanging sounds (of pots and pans thrown at each other?).

Much as I was annoyed, I was also amused at the same time because the lyrics of P Ramlee's song suddenly came to mind: "Periuk belanga terbang melayang-layang, menghentam my belakang..."

The clamour, carried by the still morning air, was such that it felt as though our ceiling was about to cave through. I could see poor Pak Abu's temperature rising by the moment. Is this what we moved to this presumably high-end condo for?

Suddenly we heard a woman's voice yelling: "Ooooiii, bulan puasa niiiii!!!" Moments later a man's voice boomed: "Takder malu langsung!!"

Immediately the din ceased. Bless my unseen neighbours for taking the lead. They must have been exasperated beyond reason to do what they did.

Nonetheless, an irate Pak Abu went down to the security guard station, at six o'clock in the morning, to lodge a complaint. I followed up with another report at the management office a few hours later, only to learn I wasn't the first.

Without divulging any more than I should, I was surprised to find out the occupant's identity; quite a well-known personality from the entertainment industry. I just hope that from now on they will keep their domestic scuffles at a manageable noise level.

[I am so very tempted to slip a note under their door, giving them contact numbers of professionals who could soundproof their pad. Honest!]

Now, who says my life is dull?


14 comments:

Anonymous said...

No, ma'am! It only appears like it: I don't live in the unit above yours :-)

MrsNordin said...

Perhaps you should, slip the note. For some peace and quiet in your vicinity..

Inner refugee said...

Hmmm...a fellow srikandi (the STF pic was yours, i presume?), an interesting one at that. :). My stint was years after you, though. Just stumbled upon ur blogs thru Kak Teh's. BTW, I LOVE Trengganu ( my adopted state, hehe,if that can be done)especially Dungun, stayed there for a year, then Paka, then Kerteh...sooooo beautiful. I miss the beaches more than i miss my own hometown... nice blogs u have!

Anonymous said...

You and Pak Abu should relocate. Chose kk if you like. We still have plenty of bendang here. Very serene. You wont get to hear people's squabbles because the angin sepoi2 language will carry them away. Good for your blood pressure.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Mat B - i knew it was you! You rascal!

Mrs N - I am seriously thinking of doing so. ni nak contact my friend whose son runs a recording studio. he should be able to give me the necessary numbers.

Nor'aini - tq for dropping by. it's always nice to meet another srikandi. let me introduce you to Mrs N up there..she is also an ex-STFian. The east coast stretch, especially from Rantau Abang down to Kerteh memang unforgettable..

Lap - I scared la go near bendang, takut pacat & lintah..aiii

Anonymous said...

As'kum! This truly sounds so familiar. Honestly, Shima and I faced the same predicament at her previous abode and our upstairs 'mule' seemed to love stomping morse codes 24/7. Our weekends were enlightened by free karaoke as early as 7.30 a.m.

Now, I guess you should know why we shifted to another condo..... seemingly facing the same "WWF" (World Wrestling Federation)action above and around us, as you guys are.

Anyways, would like to take this opportunity to wish you and the wonderful family a warm and fun-filled Raya.

talqin said...

"You and Pak Abu should relocate. Chose kk if you like.".... how i wish if he ever say sumthing like this to me..but of course not with pak abu la..hmmm..JLKM!!

Kak Teh said...

Puteri, are you sure they were not rehearsing a Drama Minggu Ini? All malay dramas must have fights. Look out for phrases such as: Abang tak berniat nak menyakitkan hati you, tapi....
Tapi apa bang, tapi apa lagi!....

anyway, i think i had too much to eat at morey.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Kola Kedah is ok apa, taqi - ada laksa teluk kecai.

Wah Kak Teh.. you have what it takes to be a drama minggu ini queen la..LOL

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Indeed wam, at my age tak kuasa nak pasang telinga laki bini bergaduh..:-)

Anonymous said...

....JLKM
I bet the blog owner scratches her head to decipher the abbrev.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

you are so right, lap...JLKM tu apa?

talqin said...

Allow me... JLKM = Jom La Kita Menikah..

Anonymous said...

your name sounds familiar. were u a graduate of uitm dip in tourism 1981-1984. if you were then see me at syedmazlansyedmatdom.blogspot.com or emel me at smsmd033@hotmail.com or sms me at 0125495050.

i am now at uitm johor bahru. teaching marketing. with uitm since 1993. graduate with dta same years as yours. wallahualam.