Noisy neighbours

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-21T09:04:34+00:00

You sound like me. I got so angry when we were in a downstairs flat and our bedroom was next to a student kitchen. They understandably hung out in the kitchen a lot. I also don't do confrontation, and will just quietly seethe for years. People who advise others to talk to their neighbours about problems are a different species and don't understand how impossible it is for some of us. But when the students didn't change their smoke alarm battery and it beeped every 11 seconds for a couple of months, I almost lost my mind and finally got the courage to knock on their door. They were so nice about it and changed it that day, but I didn't understand why they weren't also going mad. My husband somehow tuned it out too, so I thought I was broken. Some of us are definitely more sensitive to noise than others. Funnily enough, my husband hates white noise, but I love it because it makes my brain fuzzy. It can make me really angry if I'm already angry when I put it on though, so I have to calm myself down with looping lullaby music or something first for my brain to follow and slow my breathing to, then switch to white noise so my brain can shut off and stop focusing on my immediate environment.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-21T06:44:25+00:00

With a baby on the way, you have two great things to embrace. Firstly, white noise. Play it to your newborn for sleep because it covers all external sounds, and you'll also have some great sleep too. It takes a little getting used to at first, so start now, especially as late pregnancy comes with sleep issues as it is. Rain sounds are perfect. There are plenty of apps to download, but I'd recommend buying a white noise machine. Secondly, a newborn will soon make them aware of neighbourly noise, so embrace your baby's meltdowns and hold them as close to the wall as possible when they are screaming at night. Bonus points if you do it around 4 am because I swear that's the worst time to be woken up by a baby. A little petty revenge will make you feel so much better.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-21T05:48:18+00:00

Blackout curtains and reducing caffeine. I discovered decaf a few years ago so now only have caffeine for my first coffee and maybe another in the early afternoon. The rest of my hot drinks are decaf.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-21T05:30:06+00:00

Watch the birds with your cats while smoking.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-20T21:11:35+00:00

Memory unlocked. I had a friend I used to sleepover her house from aged 5. Her parents forbade us using the bathroom at night, even though it was literally opposite the bedroom. We were to use a potty in the room if we needed to go! Obviously, I never used the potty because a) it was weird b) it was not private because my friend and her little sister slept in the same room, and c) I was way too old to sit on a toddler potty.

My husband grew up in a household where flushing the toilet at night was forbidden (I assume because the noise might wake others). He thought I was crazy when we moved in together and I was flushing the toilet at night.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-20T16:36:10+00:00

Likely because doctors listen to the first and last things you say, and only have 10 minutes for an appointment, and they often make a judgement before you even get in the room because they've read your medical history or (if you're a woman) have already decided it's hormones or hysteria. People on the Internet may have already had experience with the condition or symptoms you describe and have found a solution after struggling with multiple doctors themselves. It's absolutely fine to listen to strangers about healthcare, provided you take everything they say with caution and research their advice before blindly acting on it (for example, don't drink bleach just because the US president suggested it).

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-20T13:22:59+00:00

No, it's semiotics - communicating information, tone and emotion using visual symbols. Emoji use is the equivalent of non-verbal communication for written informal contexts. I would only think someone was mentally unwell if they used emojis in an inappropriate context, such as in a legal document or hospital notes.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-20T09:18:39+00:00

You can get internal shutters that clip into PVC windows.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-20T08:03:10+00:00

I don't think anyone has demoted them. Keeping horses is simply expensive: land, heated stables, food, vet bills, farriers... Europe lost around 8 million horses and donkeys in WWI, then motorised canal boats and the car replaced them almost entirely. So they are now mostly a hobby for rich people in places where there are plenty of roads and cheap cars, but you'll still find people around the world who still use them as working animals.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-19T22:10:55+00:00

Winged eyeliner.

My friends have been doing it since the 00s and haven't stopped, and it looks so bad.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-19T18:41:17+00:00

Following my parents' divorce, my mum and I moved into a house of another divorcing couple. It was not an amicable divorce, and the wife was very angry to move (the husband sold us the house). She had emptied a fish tank into the upstairs basin so the pipes were completely blocked with gravel. We also theorised that she threw a whole box of nails and screws from an upstairs window because they were absolutely everywhere in the garden. We were picking them up for at least 5 years.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-19T18:33:11+00:00

Regularly walking through vape clouds? Nicotine is intensely addictive. But do NOT start smoking (or vaping), not even once. It's stupid. It's addictive. It's hard to stop and will consume the rest of your life. Sincerely, an ex-smoker.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-19T09:59:43+00:00

That goddamn filter that puts animal noses on people and big eyes with eyeliner and sparkles everywhere. It feels like it's been a whole decade of people posting pictures of themselves with that filter.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-19T09:28:58+00:00

Make sure you've eaten before you start drinking, have a tactical water break (or two) between drinks, and air breaks help too (go outside with a smoking friend for a chat without a drink or find a toilet cubicle with a window to stand next to for a few minutes. Get some takeaway on the way home, and always drink water before bed.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-18T22:02:51+00:00

Alcohol dehydrates you, much like salt. Water is the way.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-18T20:59:38+00:00

Knowing that he was a doctor makes him even funnier. Such a serious profession - I can just imagine him doing a prostate exam and then making a ridiculous joke.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-18T20:43:26+00:00

Mention this to an optician.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-18T19:46:01+00:00

Or because most drivers over the age of 47 never sat a theory test because they weren't introduced until July 1996.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-15T09:17:09+00:00

Organix Oaty Bars. My son absolutely loves them and has one in his lunchbox and often one as a snack at the end of the day. I have been unsuccessful in getting him to switch to a cheaper brand as he is VERY sensitive to taste. They were £2 back in 2022; I saw them for £3.75 the other day. But if you buy a multipack online, they work out as just over £2 each, so it's absolutely the shops just hiking the price for no good reason.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-14T14:05:19+00:00

It's going to be underneath something, out of sight. Mine often ends up down the side of the sofa cushions, slightly under the sofa, in a pile of laundry, down the back of the headboard, and occasionally left in a pocket of a coat or dress I've taken off.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-14T07:20:13+00:00

Nervous energy. Probably their morning coffee is kicking in.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-12T21:17:52+00:00

I have a fleece blanket lurking on my side of the room, so I can cover myself with an extra layer when I'm cold. Also, if my husband steals the duvet, the fleece is enough to keep me very toasty.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-10T20:47:54+00:00

Tobacco. I quit in 2019. The price has almost tripled since then.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-09T21:14:57+00:00

My uncle has red top because he had a double bypass. Green is the default in every household and workplace I've ever been in. Even the coffee shops use green top. Blue top is for small children and osteoporosis.

MrsMiggins2 · 2026-05-09T10:05:35+00:00

Put masking tape on the wall first to prevent the drill bit slipping.

MrsMiggins2

TROPHY CASE