It's a Non-Stop Polka PARTY. NON FREEKING STOP!!!

The BBQ Pit
1

My wife and I have been living in this apartment building for a little under two years. We chose to live here because, at the time, apartments that were dog-friendly were rare. There are eighteen buildings in this complex. Each building contains twelve apartments, six ground-level, six upstairs and each with exits to the outside. We live on the ground level.

The first problem we had here was a torrent of water coming down from the celing of our main bathroom. (We have two.) It turned out that the folks living upstairs had cloged their toilet. Having emigrated here from a country where flush toilets are apparently a rare thing, they figured that the solution to this problem was repeated flushing untill about two inches of water had overflowed and covered thier bathroom floor. We called the Management here, ant they were quick to respond, and got the problem taken care of within an hour. The next day our primary manager told me that she’d be bringing a plunger and a translator to teach these folks the finer points of toilet unclogging.

It happened again about four months later, but the results weren’t as bad, as the management haddn’t patched the gaping hole in our celing from the last time yet. That took about a year to complete.

The toilet-cloggers moved away about nine months ago. The upstairs apartment stayed empty for a couple months. I asked the management why they hadn’t rented it out yet. I was told that they had, in fact, rented it. It was being rented by a local construction company to house temporary workers. The company would only have guys there ocasionaly, and it would be empty most of the time.

I rejoiced. The toilet cloggers also walked with heavy feet. STOMPSTOMP STOMP went my celing, day and night before. Now was silence.
Then the local Wal*mat decided to expand.

About two months ago, we started having about eight guys staying upstairs. Aparently they came here from Texas to help build the SuperWalmart. The truck they use has Texas plates. The first month, all was well. They too tended to walk with heavy feet, but I figured that this was just because of their work boots and thin floor/celing.

Then, they brought home a Stereo.

It has been a nonstop FUCKING MARIACHI POLKA PARTY ever since. They blast the music when they awake, (5:30 am) till they leave for work an hour later. Then when they come home for lunch at noon, the mariachis start up again till back to work they go. then, about 5pm they come home and it starts again, untill they party out at bout 2 am. We’ve pounded on the celing, and gotten stomped at back. We’ve threatend to call the cops and that worked for a while last night, but now in the daytime it’s back to mariachi hell. We’ve complained to our management and have been told, “Hey they’re only going to be here a couple more months, can’t you just put up with it till then?”
NO! I CAN"T PUT UP WITH IT FOR A COUPLE MONTHS! I WORK EVENINGS! I SLEEP DURING THE DAY!

My wife is furious, I am furious. We have been snapping at each other. This MUST END.

First thing monday I am calling the management and asking what company these guys work for. Then I am gong to inform the management here that because they have failed to enforce the “No Loud Parties” clause in our lease, then said lease is broken and giving the reqisite two months notice to get the fuck outta here.
Bastards.

2

Have you tried actually calling the police?

3

Threatening to call the cops is, unfortunately, not usually as effective as actually doing so. Good luck getting out of your lease - nonstop polka would drive me apeshit too.

4

Calling the cops is the next option.
Tho I suspect that a call to the INS, or whatever they are called now, might be even more effective…

5

Holy shit, dude - I think you got the same guys who lived in our complex last year for three months. Right down to the truck with the Texas plates. I really think it might be the same people.

I hope you don’t own a truck. Because they like to appropriate the back of trucks for themselves and drink beer there.

Your management seems about as useless as ours was.

E.

6

Being of proud polish heritage I have a nit to pick, shouldn’t you be complaining about a FUCKING **ACCORDIAN ** POLKA PARTY?

**-Mr Goob ** quietly humming *A Beer Barrel Polka * to himself.

7

Nitpick: Aren’t those called *cumbias when a mariachi band plays them, not polkas?

You could learn to like it. But apparently that’s not an option.

8

Probably Tejano or Ranchero music. Only thing in common with polka is the accordion. No tuba, no oompa oompa. Speaking of which, you should really hear some Mingo Saldivar sometime.

9

Perhaps I could learn to like it. In fact I do like some of it. However…
There is NO music I like at 2:30 am, pounding through my celing. Especialy when it is acompanied by stomping and really bad off-key drunken caterwauling. Oh did I forget to mention that, by the smell eminating around the exterior staircase in front of my apartment, they are now apparently pissing off their balcony?

This is not an issue if ethnicity. I only mentioned the INS or whatever because none of these guys seems to speak much english. This is an issue of my home space being invaded by the noise of people who are only here temporarily, and therefore do not care one whit about pissing off the neighbors. This is also an issue of fucking Goldmark Properties not giving a good goddamn about its tenants, other than screwing them over whenever possible. (A couple times they have tried the old, “You didn’t pay rent for last month” trick. There is a reason I demand recepts every time I go in to pay.)
[vb]Elza B.**, was the truck a black SUV of some kind? Ford i think. (Currently at work, can’t check.)

10

Damn it, I know I coded Elzas name correctly there. What the hell?

11

Nah. Polka needn’t have tuba. Can’t even remember the last polka band I’ve seen that had a tuba. And, speaking as a Pole living in a Mexican neighborhood, I must say that Tejano and Polish Polka actually share quite a bit in common in terms of rhythm and feel. They’re certainly not interchangeable, but the accordian is not the only common denominator.

12

Which is why I refered to it as polka. From down here, thru the floor, the finer points of the music is lost. All I hear is the baseline and a general feel for the tunes. Individual instruments are muffled.

It is currently 12:07 am and all is quiet upstairs, other than some general movement. My wife says they were partying pretty heavy untill about 11pm. One guy stumbled and did a face plant into our outer wall. She thought it was me being assaultedand ran to look. ( I usualy get home from work around eleven. Was a little late dropping off a co-worker with car troubles.) The guy was ok, just drunk.

I think they have toned it down to sober up in time for work in the morning.

13

I lived in New Mexico for four years. What Anglos call “Mexican polka” or “mariachi” music is actually norteno and ranchero - mariachi is something else entirely. Norteno and ranchero music is the Mexican equivalent of country music in the US; it’s very popular among those living in rural areas of northern Mexico. The lyrics are all quite similar - listen for words like “corazon” (heart) and “dolor” (pain or ache).

Unfortunately, norteno and ranchero music are played at only two volumes - loud and extremely loud.

14

Well, it appears that my pleas have fallen on alert ears. The noise has abated, and we were told by the management that if they continue with the partying to call the police. This ensures that official notification will be sent to the company housing these guys. Also it was noted that they had been tossing beer cans on the lawn. If the cans are not picked up by them by tomorrow, the company will be fined $50 a day till they are, on top of the rent.

So perhaps I should appologise to Goldmark Properties for my earlier comments.

Nah, they still suck donkey ass.

15

Holy mother of fuck, it’s EXACTLY the same guys. Mr. e and I took a walk one night and practically had to do a little dance to get around all the beer cans in our yard.

And yes, one of their trucks was a big black one with Texas plates. I would swear on my life that these are the same guys.

Thank God we move in two weeks - because I hear they’re coming back in a couple of months.

E.