Clarissa
Walking the driveway
So, a few months ago when when I moved into my new apartment, I had the very bitter experience in meeting one of my neighbors in my apartment building. We were in the process of moving in and such, and it was a little later in the evening on this particular day. It was hot out, so I was a mess, dressed in a tank top and shorts with my hair in a greasy sweaty mess. Not much of a first impression on anything. (I pity all souls who saw me that night before my shower.)
Anyways, on this particular evening, I was bringing my beautiful prom gown inside, (I'd already been to prom, but I love my gown and I am so totally keeping it forever, hoooarder.) it was carefully wrapped in it's David's Bridal bag, draped lovingly in my arms. I made it up the first two steps of the porch leading into my new building before a sharp "AHEM" caught my attention. I won't lie. It scared the bajeezus out of me. Who the heck is going to talk to me on a dark, dimly lit street at 10:00 o'clock at night?
I turned around to see this shorter woman(Then again, everyone is short compared to me as I'm at a striking 5'11" in height), a red head with short curly hair, probably mid thirties. She looked very serious... I was a little nerved, as I didn't know who she was. Suddenly she asked me "What are you bringing here? Is that trash or laundry?" I was confused, and being my spunky, sarcastic, wise ••• self... I replied in a snide tone. "Uhm, neither." She asked what I was doing and I kindly (RUUUDELY) replied "I'm moving in, these are my things." and continued with my business.
I figured she was probably that neighbor. You know, the neighbor everyone has, no matter where you live; the one that always has to have their nose in everyone else's business and gives anyone they think doesn't meet their standards, because they don't know them, an unnecessarily hard time for really no reason.
After that encounter, I opted not to interact with her. I didn't want to cause problems with her or give her a reason to cause problems so me, so I chose to keep my mouth shut and ignore her all together. I saw her a few times here and there after I moved in, never really spoke to her, gave the occasional "Hi." always keeping my distance.
Anyways, I later learned that her name was Ruth, I had talked to all my neighbors at some point or another, becoming particularly close to my neighbor across the hall, a nice older gentleman named Bill who is always very friendly and use to ride and train horses, so we immediately found some common ground there. And then there was the nice couple on the third floor with their little chihuahua who's name is Pitiful Piddle. (I know, charming, right?) And the mechanic dude. And then there was the crazy religious couple... Yeah, we won't go there. And then there was Ruth... whom I'd never really spoken to besides that one first encounter.
Anyways, a few weeks ago, Bill saw me with Valentine sitting on the porch. It was a nice day and I wanted to sit outside, got a problem with it? No? Okay, let's continue. He told me that Valentine was cute (Who wouldn't!?) and said that Ruth had a bird, too. I was curious. Bill said he occasionally heard "bird noises" from her apartment which is directly above his. Now, since Bill is an older guy, his definition of bird noises was... well. Just that. Very, very, extremely vague. For all I knew it could have been a canary.
And then yesterday, I ran into the mechanic from upstairs. I had Valentine with me, so when he saw him, he immediately went on how Ruth had a bird! But this time, I got more insight. He didn't just say bird. He said "BIG white bird." When he said that, I immediately knew what it was. It HAD to be a cockatoo.
So after kicking myself mentally a few million times. I talked myself into it. I was going to talk to her! She has a parrot, I HAVE to talk to her now.
So, last night, I went upstairs, and meekly, quietly, VERY quietly knocked on her door. Much to my distaste... she answered. I was still nervous, so was almost hoping she wouldn't answer. So after fumbling over my words, I awkwardly introduced myself and told her that a few weeks ago, Bill told me she had a bird. And then the mechanic told me she had a big white bird. And I told her that once he said that, I knew it had to be a cockatoo. She smiled and said "Yes! Would you like to see him?" uhm. Yes! So, she led me to her room, and there, sitting atop a grand coal black cage, was this big, beautiful Umbrella Cockatoo.
As soon as I saw him, I gasped and awe at this beautiful bird who was in perfect feather. I said "He's an Umbrella Cockatoo!" and she chuckled warmly and said "You know your birds."
We talked for a while, I told her about Valentine and Haku and told her I was looking into adopting a macaw. She complimented me several times saying that it was impressive how much I knew about birds, and she thought that was really cool. She told me all about her birdy adventures, how she came to the conclusion that a cockatoo was the bird for her, and how she went to the local bird store many times to handle all the different birds they had to get a feel for what she was looking for. Her cockatoo is 11 years old, she hand fed him, and everything. It was a very sweet bird, although I didn't handle him, he definitely struck me as a very well behaved bird.
So... the moral of the story is... Don't judge your neighbors if they seem scary at first... They might be a parrot lover just like you!
Anyways, on this particular evening, I was bringing my beautiful prom gown inside, (I'd already been to prom, but I love my gown and I am so totally keeping it forever, hoooarder.) it was carefully wrapped in it's David's Bridal bag, draped lovingly in my arms. I made it up the first two steps of the porch leading into my new building before a sharp "AHEM" caught my attention. I won't lie. It scared the bajeezus out of me. Who the heck is going to talk to me on a dark, dimly lit street at 10:00 o'clock at night?
I turned around to see this shorter woman(Then again, everyone is short compared to me as I'm at a striking 5'11" in height), a red head with short curly hair, probably mid thirties. She looked very serious... I was a little nerved, as I didn't know who she was. Suddenly she asked me "What are you bringing here? Is that trash or laundry?" I was confused, and being my spunky, sarcastic, wise ••• self... I replied in a snide tone. "Uhm, neither." She asked what I was doing and I kindly (RUUUDELY) replied "I'm moving in, these are my things." and continued with my business.
I figured she was probably that neighbor. You know, the neighbor everyone has, no matter where you live; the one that always has to have their nose in everyone else's business and gives anyone they think doesn't meet their standards, because they don't know them, an unnecessarily hard time for really no reason.
After that encounter, I opted not to interact with her. I didn't want to cause problems with her or give her a reason to cause problems so me, so I chose to keep my mouth shut and ignore her all together. I saw her a few times here and there after I moved in, never really spoke to her, gave the occasional "Hi." always keeping my distance.
Anyways, I later learned that her name was Ruth, I had talked to all my neighbors at some point or another, becoming particularly close to my neighbor across the hall, a nice older gentleman named Bill who is always very friendly and use to ride and train horses, so we immediately found some common ground there. And then there was the nice couple on the third floor with their little chihuahua who's name is Pitiful Piddle. (I know, charming, right?) And the mechanic dude. And then there was the crazy religious couple... Yeah, we won't go there. And then there was Ruth... whom I'd never really spoken to besides that one first encounter.
Anyways, a few weeks ago, Bill saw me with Valentine sitting on the porch. It was a nice day and I wanted to sit outside, got a problem with it? No? Okay, let's continue. He told me that Valentine was cute (Who wouldn't!?) and said that Ruth had a bird, too. I was curious. Bill said he occasionally heard "bird noises" from her apartment which is directly above his. Now, since Bill is an older guy, his definition of bird noises was... well. Just that. Very, very, extremely vague. For all I knew it could have been a canary.
And then yesterday, I ran into the mechanic from upstairs. I had Valentine with me, so when he saw him, he immediately went on how Ruth had a bird! But this time, I got more insight. He didn't just say bird. He said "BIG white bird." When he said that, I immediately knew what it was. It HAD to be a cockatoo.
So after kicking myself mentally a few million times. I talked myself into it. I was going to talk to her! She has a parrot, I HAVE to talk to her now.
So, last night, I went upstairs, and meekly, quietly, VERY quietly knocked on her door. Much to my distaste... she answered. I was still nervous, so was almost hoping she wouldn't answer. So after fumbling over my words, I awkwardly introduced myself and told her that a few weeks ago, Bill told me she had a bird. And then the mechanic told me she had a big white bird. And I told her that once he said that, I knew it had to be a cockatoo. She smiled and said "Yes! Would you like to see him?" uhm. Yes! So, she led me to her room, and there, sitting atop a grand coal black cage, was this big, beautiful Umbrella Cockatoo.
As soon as I saw him, I gasped and awe at this beautiful bird who was in perfect feather. I said "He's an Umbrella Cockatoo!" and she chuckled warmly and said "You know your birds."
We talked for a while, I told her about Valentine and Haku and told her I was looking into adopting a macaw. She complimented me several times saying that it was impressive how much I knew about birds, and she thought that was really cool. She told me all about her birdy adventures, how she came to the conclusion that a cockatoo was the bird for her, and how she went to the local bird store many times to handle all the different birds they had to get a feel for what she was looking for. Her cockatoo is 11 years old, she hand fed him, and everything. It was a very sweet bird, although I didn't handle him, he definitely struck me as a very well behaved bird.
So... the moral of the story is... Don't judge your neighbors if they seem scary at first... They might be a parrot lover just like you!
I feel envy too, no bird people around me. 
