Raining Dumpsters
There are two things I did not consider back in May of 2021 when I toured the apartment building I’ve lived in for the past 3 years, two things that I should have thought through a bit when I looked out of the windows of the apartment I would call “blank” for the next three years (instead of “home sweet home” I’ve always said “blank sweet blank” since this place was never intended to be a home).
First, it is directly across the street from the loading dock of a very busy hospital. At this loading dock is a big dumpster/compactor. I didn’t know it before signing the lease, but would soon learn, this thing is refreshed every morning. EARLY. All sorts of beeping noises as the truck backs up and picks up the filled dumpster. Then even more beeping and noises as the truck delivers an empty dumpster. This is the part, the delivery of the empty dumpster, that sounds like dumpsters raining down from the sky above.
Second, and finally for this post, my apartment is almost directly above the loading dock for my building, which primarily acts as a big trash gathering area. There are maybe 5 or so dumpsters here and they are emptied out weekly, around 5am, every Monday morning. The truck comes in, grabs a dumpster, lifts it up and over the cab and then pounds it empty into the back of the truck. BANG BANG BANG! 5am. Every. Single. Monday. I didn’t know this when I signed the lease.
Some mornings I hear all of this and it wakes me up, others I do not hear anything. I will say that for the past three years I have never risen out of bed feeling rested, I think my ears and brain are busy all night with street noise and garbage trucks.
Today was my last Monday morning here and the garbage truck had me up at 5:15am. Just a few more nights left and I’ll be settled back into the quiet streets of non-city living :-)
Have a great day!
~ Aaron
Grateful log for Mon, 13 May 2024
- The sleep I was able to get
- Early start to the day
- A break from the rain today