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Apartment living is certainly a divisive situation. Some people love it – after all, apartments that are built and furnished to a high standard – particularly if they have impressive city or coastal views – can feel like the height of luxury. It’s no coincidence that F1 stars live in fancy apartments in Monaco, a place where opulent apartments are hot property.

Even if your apartment is more basic, in cities they can feel like a very convenient way of living where you can be in the middle of everything, in a self-contained space that is yours to live your life in.

However, there are downsides to everything, and the neighbours you have as an apartment dweller can certainly be one of those downsides. Because if your neighbours are loud – anything from yelling to loud music, slamming doors or constant construction noise – you bet you will be able to hear it all over your home. And that can turn your perfect apartment into a nightmare.

That’s exactly the situation the folk in this story are dealing with. And regardless of what they try, nothing seems to resolve the issue.

Read on to find out more.

How do you deal with nightmare upstairs neighbours when absolutely nothing works anymore?

I need some advice because I’m reaching a breaking point.

The people living in the apartment above me are extremely disruptive, and living here has become unbearable for a long time now.

They make excessive noise at all hours of the day and night, drag furniture around constantly, stomp on the floor, play loud music, shout, argue, and regularly use offensive language.

They also invite large groups of people over, leave items in shared areas, ignore quiet hours, create disturbances, and have a very disrespectful and confrontational attitude toward other residents.

Let’s see how this person has tried to deal with the issue.

Trying to talk to them politely has not worked at all. We’ve had multiple respectful conversations, but nothing changed.

The property owner has already given them ultimatums and formal warnings, but that also had no effect. Written complaints have been submitted, yet the situation continues and, in some ways, has gotten worse.

Moving is not an option.

To be honest, I’m looking for ways to scare them away.

It really sucks for folk in this position.

To be trying to live your life and have it constantly disturbed by noisy neighbours is no fun at all.

And the fact that they know about the issue and yet it continues? Disgraceful.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a townhome owner who is at his wit’s end with the noise from next door.
Let’s see what the Reddit community had to say about this.

This person, who was going through a similar thing, felt truly sorry for them.

While others had plenty of ideas for how to encourage the neighbours to move.

Meanwhile, this Redditor had a more practical suggestion.

No one should be put in a position where they are unable to relax in their own home. After all, without sufficient time for relaxation, the body cannot fully restore itself, and you end up with your mental and physical health on the line. Of course, perpetually disruptive neighbours don’t care about that – not at all. Because when you only care about yourself, other people’s health and welfare means nothing.

It sucks that the property owner’s action isn’t even having any effect. It seems like a concerted effort from fellow neighbours, perhaps plenty of noise complaints to the police, and further attempts from the property owner are all needed if everyone’s peace and quiet is to be restored. Whether that means pressing charges or evicting them, this can’t go on. Because there is only so long that folk can endure this – though they shouldn’t be having to endure it at all.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man who reported some missionaries after frustration over lack of parking boils over.

The post Their Entire Apartment Building Has Had Enough of One Noisy Family — and Nothing Anyone Does Seems to Work appeared first on TwistedSifter.

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When you work at one place for some time, you become part of that community. If there are a lot of like-minded folks working there, that can be a great thing – after all, you have a lot of shared experiences in work, and in many cases you spend as much time with your colleagues as you do your own family. So if your vibe fits that of your colleagues, you might have a great time at all work events – even the boring ones.

But if your colleagues have very different priorities, it can be hard to fit in, to enjoy their company at functions and events outside of the office, and the constant barrage of things to celebrate might become a bit overbearing. This is why most companies like to keep things low-key, especially office-sanctioned events, meaning that they can be inclusive and non-stressful, for everyone.

So when the government worker in this story heard that her colleague was going to plan cakes for her colleagues’ birthday, she thought nothing much of it. After all, how disruptive can a slice of cake be? But when she learned of the planned cakes – and was billed for half of their cost – she started thinking about things very differently.

Read on to find out what happened here.

Obligatory birthday contributions are making me call in sick tomorrow

I am a supervisor/manager at a government job in the USA (California).

We do not have a company credit card. Anything we do in-office, we have to spend our own personal funds on. For example, if the fridge in our office goes out, we have to split the costs amongst employees to buy a new one.

The reason I bring this up is relevant to my story (and the reason we have to pay for these things on our own is because the state I work for does not allow taxpayer dollars to be used towards them).

For context, we are also in the office two days a week for team building, three working from home.

Let’s see how this workplace drama really started.

My coworker “Barbara” is also a supervisor/manager. We both manage a team of two each. Above us, we have two managers, and then we also have three coworkers who work in our office suite, for a total of eleven people.

Barbara is the team cheerleader and events logistics person. If there’s a reason to celebrate, Barbara has the decorations, the planning, and everything else down. Barbara recently asked everyone for their birthdays and their favorite type of birthday cake.

Recently, we had two birthdays, one for team member A (my direct report) and team member B (one of her direct reports). She informed me on Teams that Team Member A’s favourite cake is red velvet cake and that she already pre-ordered it at Whole Foods two weeks prior… and she also included a cake for Team Member B, with the total being $120.00. She suggested that I chip in half.

I let her know that I was not comfortable contributing $60 of my salary to buy a cake, and to leave it to me to buy my employee some cupcakes ($18 for luxury cupcakes from Sam’s Club, highly recommend if you have one in your neighbourhood). She replied, “Well I already ordered it…” and I let her be.

Read on to find out how things went down on the person’s birthday.

The day of the office celebration, she brought both cakes in and I did not contribute because I felt like it was coercive.

The following week (last week), she bought yet another cake from Whole Foods for one of her direct report’s in-office baby shower. On top of that, she had baby shower games and gift card prizes for the participants. To her credit, she did not ask me to contribute to this celebration.

And here we are, tomorrow is another in-office Tuesday, and this time we are supposed to celebrate THREE birthdays for the month of June: one birthday of my direct-report employee, plus Barbara’s, and also my direct manager (who also is Barbara’s boss).

Again, I received a message today from Barbara on Teams asking if I had bought my employee an ice cream cake, since that is his favorite. Since his birthday is not until next week, I did not think of that (and I also don’t have access to the list of everyone’s favorite cake).

Read on to find out what happened with the ice cream cake.

Needless to say, I let her know that if we are going to be celebrating his birthday tomorrow, I can stop by a store and pick up a treat (some donuts, cupcakes, or other sweets), but no, she insists it must be ice cream cake.

After lunch, I got a Teams message letting me know she went to Baskin Robbins and picked up a $30 ice cream cake and some cookies, and that “should be enough…”

In addition, she is getting a cake for herself and for my boss.

The implication is real: contribute.

Let’s see how she’s feeling about this.

I feel sick to my stomach and coerced to give up $30 here, $60 there, and $90 over here. Considering we are a team of eleven, contributing $30 every time someone has a birthday would be about $300 a year out of my own pocket.

I became a manager to lead and earn more money, not to spend it on what I consider to be relatively expensive office treats for people that are just colleagues.

I am considering calling in sick tomorrow so I can avoid the birthday celebration altogether and save myself the guilt and pressure of contributing to what I consider to be over the top, as far as office birthdays is concerned. I am also concerned that by not contributing, I am putting a target on my back as a “non-team player” in the very likelihood a promotional opportunity comes up, which is unfortunate.

Please don’t be a Barbara.

It really sucks that this woman is being put in such a difficult position by her colleague.

Barbara is making a whole lot of assumptions about what her colleague can afford, and that really isn’t right.

It’s important she takes a stand with this, and who could blame her for calling in sick?

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a mom who is irate after she gave a group leader money for her daughter’s lunch, only to have him pocket the cash and ask all of the kids to pay their own way.

Let’s see what the Reddit community made of this.

This person thought Barbara’s plan was crazy.

While others offered much more appropriate solutions.

Meanwhile, this Redditor had experiences with a much more preferable system.

Sure, many people enjoy a slice of cake, but the sheer amount of cake that Barbara is ordering is bordering on unhinged. There are eleven people in this team. Eleven. And some months they’re having three cakes at one party, because there are three birthdays that month. That means eleven people having to consume three cakes between them. Some people would be revelling in that, but others? That’s heartburn central.

But that’s without even mentioning the financial pressure that Barbara is putting on her colleague. There’s a different between asking people to throw in some change and requesting that a colleague pay hundreds of dollars every year to subsidise this elaborate birthday cake habit. One is relatively normal, if a little annoying at times. The other is completely unreasonable.

Of course this woman doesn’t want to rock the boat or not be seen as a team player, but in reality, she should have someone backing her up here. There’s no way she should be made to do this.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a person who abandoned their own D&D campaign when their friends stopped paying attention.

The post Her Colleague Secretly Ordered Elaborate Birthday Cakes for All 11 Team Members — Then Asked Her to Pay for Half appeared first on TwistedSifter.

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Have you ever lived in a neighborhood that was dominated by one busybody who had to be in everyone’s business and was generally a huge annoyance?

Yes…that’s not fun…

Is that an understatement, or what?!?!

Because it can be a total nightmare!

And this woman knows all about it…

Take a look at what she had to say about a neighbor who is WAY out of line.

Narcissist Karen that will go to any extreme.

“We own and are surrounded by farms with some small tracts of houses scattered around us.

Our neighbors kids are little jerks and the mother is toxic as they come at home.

These children are really something else…

Their kids raised hell in our neighborhood for a while. Chasing a horse several times on other peoples’ property, throwing rocks at neighbors’ dogs in their fenced yard, driving through our fence, throwing rocks at my kid almost hitting my wires car.

Kids got in trouble once in their life and 3 days later started a rumor at school that spiraled till they weren’t in trouble. We sort it out and they want to be friends only to start more trouble. I have tactfully pointed out her flawed logic and stood up to her. On June 6 she attacked us out of nowhere on her neighborhood chat group.

We can’t even be invisible and be left alone.

She finally had enough of this nonsense.

I told her why she acts the way she does and tore her story apart on the chat group. She was not happy with that and blocked the road. Apparently the neighborhood has banded behind me and they silently “fear her” from what I keep hearing from everyone.

I put up a funny sign as a way to get back at her. She’s so insecure it’s not hard. This is the only thing I have ever done to them because we have anxiety from their toxic behavior.

It’s pretty obvious who causes the trouble around these parts.

We keep to ourselves down here. Our whole neighborhood is the same. We may hang with our neighbors once a month to every 6 weeks. This lady thrives on social status and connections.

This makes her feel rejected so she must protect her insecurities. No one wants to talk to her cause she is two faced and turns on you when she feels like she being accused of something, so everyone takes the stuff and avoids saying anything to her to keep the peace.

We installed cameras that were a huge expense due to the distance we had to run them from the house because it’s gotten to be too much harassment from their boys.

She decided to block access to 4 farms and the obstruction was on someone else’s farmland. We pulled deeds and maps to show that she in fact has the legal easement on her property.

It never ends with these people!

They concreted the road and gated it off when they moved in and made their neighbor family member allow passage on her land. They are above rules. We sent her a demand letter to allow passage or remove the posts immediately. She tells us all to get lost and get a lawyer.

Well a couple hours later she calls the sheriffs department and says I’m prowling around outside her property staring at them. I was walking my dog on my own driveway and there is another property between us and the KAREN.

Thank god for cameras cause she tried to frame me in retaliation. Unfortunately they won’t charge her for first time offense due to financial resources with the county. I have to keep worrying she’s gonna frame me or get an order of protection on fabricated stories. They are so vindictive.

She figured out the easement was on her luxury property where they live and that we legally have right to it. So she does a 180 removes the posts on the neighbor where everyone has been having to get access.

Then texts everyone on group saying we see the easement BUT we removed the posts. We just didn’t want our concrete to get damaged. They paved part of the road to keep gravel off their driveway. She is only saying that now because she knows the gates will have to come down and open her home up to through traffic.

She had to throw my name in there saying I’m not going to get into what’s going on with so and so, it’s all so & so, you don’t know about him, then saying she had to get the cops down here because of me ”walking my dog”….

She’s totally unhinged!

Seriously lady? They saw my video evidence I was nowhere near your place!

I’m considering putting up a sign that I had made that states. YOU CALLED SAYING YOU NEEDED DISPATCH, BUT AN INVESTIGATION HAS DETERMINED THAT WAS A LIE.

Taking her driveway is what the land owners have decided to do. She’s been a constant problem with this neighborhood and we are talking her to court to get an injunction to take down her gates. This is bittersweet victory. I know I have more drama on the horizon with her.

Is she a narcissist?

What should I do with this situation to get her to stay the hell away from us?”

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a homeowner who responded to an HOA violation letter by investigating the bylaws and having the whole board removed.

Reddit users spoke up.

This person offered some advice.

Another individual didn’t hold back.

And this Reddit user weighed in.

Woof!

This woman’s neighbor sounds like a total nightmare!

You gotta feel for folks in this situation…it sounds like there’s no escape.

Some people just LOVE to cause drama.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a townhome owner who is at his wit’s end with the noise from next door.

The post Unhinged Neighbor Sparks All-Out Suburban Warfare Over Constant Harassment and Petty Chaos appeared first on TwistedSifter.

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This story, my friends, is why so many workers are totally fed up with work culture in America.

Most employees are expected to keep their mouths shut and be appreciative for having a job.

And even when things go south, like they did in the story you’re going to read, employers still don’t budge and offer any humanity to their workers.

It’s not good, folks…

In today’s story, a worker explained why they’re pretty upset with their company after their benefits were slashed.

Take a look at what they had to say.

My employer just told us “you should be grateful to have a job” after cutting our benefits. Anyone else dealt with this?

“Our company just announced they’re eliminating paid sick days and reducing health insurance coverage starting next month.

That old line…

When a few of us pushed back in the all hands on deck meeting, the HR director literally said we should be grateful to have stable employment in this economy and that the company is making tough sacrifices to keep us all on board.

I’ve been here four years. Never called out sick unnecessarily, I stay late when needed, I genuinely try to do good work. And somehow the response to legitimate concerns about losing benefits we were promised is just gratitude-shaming us into silence.

This place sounds pretty screwed up.

The worst part is some of my coworkers nodded along like that was a reasonable answer. I think a lot of people have been so conditioned to feel lucky for having any job at all that they stop questioning whether the job is actually treating them fairly.

Has anyone else gotten this kind of response when raising workplace concerns?

How did you handle it?

Did pushing back ever actually change anything, or did you just end up updating your resume and moving on?

Genuinely curious how others have navigated this because right now I’m feeling pretty demoralized and unsure what the right move is.”

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a person who spent nearly 3 decades climbing the ladder at work only to be fired in a meeting that lasted less than a minute.

Reddit users spoke up.

This person weighed in.

Another reader shared their thoughts.

This individual spoke up.

And this person didn’t hold back.

This is not the way to handle this kind of situation, folks!

Bosses and managers, take note: your employees will eventually get fed up and bail on you.

No boss should ever make their employees feel this way…

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman whose HR department advised her to quit if she was that unhappy, so she did and found herself in a role reversal years later.

The post “You Shouldn’t Be Complaining”: Defiant Worker Exposes Shady Company Overlords Who Cut Benefits and Demanded Ultimate Blind Loyalty appeared first on TwistedSifter.

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Hey, times are tough out there…

And folks are doing what they gotta do to pay the bills.

A good way for some people to make a few extra bucks is to turn in used bottles for money…but the guy who wrote this story wasn’t too happy with a neighbor who has been going through his garbage cans to grab his bottles and turn them in for money.

Take a look at what he had to say about this and see if you think he’s overreacting.

My neighbor has been rooting through my bin for bottles for the return scheme.

“At first I thought it might of been a fox or a large rodent of some description, as my neighbor bares a striking resemblance to one from a distance no doubt down to his pointy snout and habit of walking on all fours (it’s some kind of Internet subculture I try not to get involved).

You don’t see that every day!

However I was more than startled to find upon further inspection that this was in fact my forty five year old fellow street dweller going head first into my recycling bin every morning at 4 am.

I discovered this after I installed a Ring doorbell. He approached the bin with all the vigor of an African Lion brutally mauling a Zebra.

He came out of it with four Lucozade bottles and a plastic two litre Cider bottle, which I can assure you whole heartedly is not mine!

He’s not okay with this…

I was impressed by the raw passion but I can’t help but be completely and utterly appalled that my neighbor thinks it’s in any way acceptable to root through another man’s bin in the hopes of pulling some kind of profit.

My friend Jorge later told me he overheard him talking about how he had made over 8,000 Euro the week of the Fleadh (music fesival) last year off the return scheme alone.

But it came at a great cost as he couldn’t properly enjoy the Fleadh festivities as all he could think about was when would he get his next bottle or can, how very tragic.

This guy sounds pretty desperate.

Jorge even overheard him say that he followed Marty Whealan around for upwards of half an hour praying he would drop his bottle of Vit Hit.

Anyway, if my Neighbor wishes to live like a Grade A cretin, it’s none of my business, but I wish he didn’t do it in my bin on account of it being my bin and therefore my property.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can deal with him?”

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a middle schooler who was totally frazzled after being left to babysit alone for 3-plus hours, and swears she’s never doing it again.

Take a look at what readers had to say about this.

This person shared their thoughts.

Another individual spoke up.

And this reader weighed in.

I agree with the last commenter on here…

Why does this guy care?

It really doesn’t seem like a big deal!

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure…

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man who got creative with his parking after his neighbors started using his extra spot without asking.

The post He Caught His Neighbor Going Through His Trash for Bottles — the Reason Made Him See Everything Differently appeared first on TwistedSifter.

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Everyone has little routines that help them unwind after a long day.

For some people, it’s a hot shower. For others, it’s reading a book or scrolling through their phone for a few minutes.

For this man, it involves grabbing takeout food after football training, sitting down in front of the TV, and enjoying a little peace and quiet before bed.

Unfortunately, though, his girlfriend has a habit of turning that quiet time into something else.

Now he’s wondering whether he’s overreacting or if his frustration is actually justified.

Read on to see what’s been happening.

AITA for getting irritated that my girlfriend keeps eating food directly off my plate after football training?

Twice a week, I have football training in the evenings. By the time I’m driving home, it’s late, I’m exhausted, socially drained, and starving.

On the way home, I always stop at the same kebab shop and get food. I then sit in the living room eating it while zoning out and watching some mindless TV. It’s basically my decompression routine after training.

My girlfriend is normally asleep when I get home, but every single time I come in with takeaway, she wakes up and comes into the living room.

He gets low-key annoyed by the whole thing.

She’ll go, “Oh wow, what did you get? That smells so good”

Then she sits beside me, starts talking to me, and casually starts taking chips or bits of kebab directly off my plate.

The thing is, it irrationally annoys me because I’m genuinely looking forward to just quietly eating my food and switching my brain off for 20 minutes.

Frustrated, he tried to prevent it from happening again.

Last time, I actually tried to solve the problem in advance by calling her before I got home and asking if she wanted me to pick her up food too. She said no.

I thought that would finally stop this from happening.

Instead, I got home and, within minutes, she was beside me again eating chips directly off my plate.

He finally had to tell her to back off.

I finally told her, “If you want food, just take your portion off my plate and leave me alone for a bit.”

She got quiet after that and later said I was being weirdly hostile over “a few chips.”

From my perspective, it’s not really about the chips. It’s that I feel like my tiny post-training decompression ritual keeps getting invaded when I’m tired and overstimulated.

AITA?

Yikes! It’s easy to see both sides of this, but many people would find that annoying.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man whose friends say he’s privileged for wanting to eat at nicer restaurants.

Let’s see what the readers over at Reddit think about it.

This woman’s husband also likes time alone after work.

According to this comment, he’s allowed to have alone time.

Here’s someone who finds her behavior rude.

And this reader won’t even be friends with someone who does that.

He isn’t wrong for wanting a little time to himself after training.

After all, he’s not asking for much. He just wants to eat his food, watch some TV, and decompress for a few minutes before bed.

But the good news is now that he has finally said something, she should have a much better understanding of where he’s coming from. And going forward, she can order her own food and let him have a little space.

Ultimately, this feels more like a misunderstanding than a serious problem, and a little communication can go a long way before things become unnecessarily tense.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a person who abandoned their own D&D campaign when their friends stopped paying attention.

The post Man Just Wants to Eat His Takeout After Football Practice, but His Girlfriend Won’t Stop Taking Food Off His Plate appeared first on TwistedSifter.

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Let me pose a question for you to ponder…

What happened to work ethic?

No, I’m not talking about everyone, I’m singling out folks who don’t want to put in hard work and just expect to float by.

To be fair, I guess plenty of people do that, but it’s not gonna end well for some folks.

In today’s story, a person talked about a co-worker who did the bare minimum…and seemed pretty clueless about why they got let go from their job.

Read on and see what you think.

My coworker honestly doesn’t know why she was let go.

“I work somewhere that has yearly contracts but you have to majorly mess up not to get it the following year because we’re always hurting for staff.

My coworker got hired as a temp but it was basically 11 out 12 months because unfortunately my former coworker had a major medical issue and was close to retirement so she went ahead and retired.

My coworker was told that this was just temp but there would certainly be openings next fiscal year to be permanent. The only difference with temp was you were basically in a probation period the whole time.

Some folks just don’t thrive in certain jobs.

Well things quickly went downhill with her, she was always on her phone, paid no attention to most of her job duties and was often found wandering, not where she was supposed to be.

She regularly wore inappropriate work attire. We have very loose dress policy. Jeans and t shirt are fine but she would come in with torn sweats I mean torn where you could see her underwear, shirts that were wildly too small, short shorts and even one time what I could only describe as a night gown.

And some folks are just clueless!

She would not follow her scheduled tasks the only reason why management kept her at the temp position is because she had some specialty training only 1-2 other people had and she did do that part of her job.

She also talked horribly about practically everyone, her coworkers, her family, her friends, all in front of everyone coworkers, customers, children…

My job sent some more people to get the training she had and they told her they would not be renewing the contract she was a temp for but other full time positions were available.

She interviewed for every single one I think there were 5 in 3 different departments. Every one of the department leads told our boss they didn’t want to work with her.

Her temp contract is up at the end of the month now and she has admitted to me and several other coworkers that she is going to call off every day when she is supposed to her specialist work.”

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a hotel guest who complained about noise from an event, then reported the employee who agreed with him.

Reddit users shared their thoughts.

This person spoke up.

Another reader had a lot to say.

This individual weighed in.

Another person shared their thoughts.

And this reader spoke up.

I really like this last comment.

Those are words to live by, friends!

Do your best no matter what job you have!

It’s hard to believe that some people can be this clueless…

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who rejects a low contract offer and leaves the company instead.

The post A Temp Worker Managed to Break Every Unwritten Workplace Rule — Her Contract Wasn’t Renewed and Nobody Was Surprised appeared first on TwistedSifter.

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It’s that time again, folks…

Time for yet another story about a person’s neighbor who has no courtesy AT ALL.

In today’s edition, a man talked about how he came up with a brilliant solution to contend with his rude neighbor constantly blasting awful country music.

Check out what he had to say!

How I solved the annoying neighbor’s loud bass annoying Country Music.

“I don’t know if this qualifies as a neighbor from hell – but my neighbor and I both have pools. I’ve been growing emerald green trees to block him and his views and maybe some of the noise, but they have a while to go.

Anyway, for half of the year when pools cant be used where I live it’s fine. I hardly see him and his dumb family.

The only annoyance is he keeps his garage door open almost 24/7 even if the HOA forbids it and watches TV in his garage at a high volume.

Our garages face each other and his sons come over and they get loud, but I ignore it. Whatever, it’s usually on the weekends.

Nobody wants to deal with this…

From a summer pool perspective he and his kids and grandkids come over and play god awful country music with the bass up (from their pool area).

For my own peace – I avoid swimming with my family when they are out there, although what I’m about to tell you may help.

When they are out there I could still hear the “bass” from my living room and it was driving me nuts. After talking to Claude AI and telling it the dynamics of my house – Claude asked if I had an Alexa in my living room / kitchen, and said turn on “Brown Noise”.

Hey, whatever works!

I turned it on on my Alexa device and it completely eliminated or I guess neutralized the bass. I was amazed. I can be in my house and not hear anything, my wife was amazed too. (I am playing 12 hour loop of Brown Noise from Spotify)

Heres the science from Claude:

That’s the physics working in your favor — brown noise has a lot of energy concentrated in the low frequencies, so it’s essentially competing on the same acoustic turf as the bass and crowding it out perceptually.

Alexa’s speaker also helps because it’s filling the room at ear level rather than you trying to block at the ear with headphones

On trying to use my pool with this technique:

You control the near-field — Sound attenuates with distance (inverse square law). Your speakers are 3 feet from you in the pool; his are significantly further. You don’t need to out-power him, you just need to win at your position.

Anyway, not sure if this will help anyone here, but just wanted to share. If it gets downvoted all good, I’ve been dealing with this for 3 years and finally solved it for my peace of mind around things I can control. Hopefully it helps someone.”

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a townhome owner who is at his wit’s end with the noise from next door.

Reddit users shared their thoughts.

This person has been there.

Another reader weighed in.

This Reddit user spoke up.

Another individual shared their thoughts.

And this person chimed in.

Ugh, this sounds so annoying.

It shouldn’t have to come to this, people!

Can we all just agree to be good neighbors?

Yeah…I don’t think that’s gonna happen…

A person can only take so much country music before they snap.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man who reported some missionaries after frustration over lack of parking boils over.

The post His Neighbor Kept Blasting Country Music — So He Found a Clever Way to Drown It Out and We Need to Know What It Was appeared first on TwistedSifter.

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Small disagreements can turn into bigger arguments when stress builds up.

This man has been adjusting his sleep schedule to care for his wife, who has ongoing medical issues that affect her rest. They also have four dogs, and one of them sometimes sleeps in their bed depending on the situation.

A small incident with the dog and a torn bedsheet escalated into a huge disagreement between the couple.

Conflicts between couples are normal, so this story is relatable to many. It shows how quickly misunderstandings can grow when both people feel unheard. Read the full story below.

AITA: Wife likes to make rules about things when they effect her, but allows the same behavior when it only effects me. Today I got fed up about it.

For context, this is a more broad issue but I’m narrowing it down to this instance for the sake of brevity.

My wife (25F) and I (26M) have four dogs.

My wife likes to request that one of the dogs sleeps in the room when I choose to stay up a bit later.

She’s been having medical problems that effect her sleep and needs help in the middle of the night. So I’ve been staying up later often so that I’m available when she needs me at odd hours.

This man got up in the middle of the night and assisted his wife to the bathroom.

Last night, our Great Pyrenees was in the bed on my side when I decided to come to bed. She was wrapped up in the blankets, so my side was uncovered.

I went to use the bathroom, and she woke up in that time and called for my assistance.

I helped her to the bathroom when I was finished, then laid down in bed, pulled the covers over, and hopped on my phone.

She indirectly called him out about the dog tearing a hole in the sheet.

The dog then hopped up into the bed and laid in her spot. I figured it would keep her spot warm so no big deal.

She comes back from the bathroom unassisted, then shoos the dog from the bed.

His nails tore about a palm sized hole in the sheet, which she lamented about before crawling into bed.

The following morning, we both woke up, and she’s starting her routine while I’m in bed still.

She then checks the state of the tear, rolls her eyes, and says, “From now on, stop letting the dogs in bed without the covers over it like I always ask you.”

He wouldn’t have made the same complaint if it had happened on his side.

Now, mind you, the dog was on my side, no covers, when I came to bed.

The sheets aren’t anything special, they’re from Walmart, and I chose them.

I would not have made a stink about a tear from the dog if it had happened on my side, because it’s a dog, it happens. Probably more a sign he needs his nails trimmed above everything.

They started to argue about it.

So I chose to remind her that he was on my side just the same way when I came to bed, so I didn’t see an issue. And that her tone felt like it was accusatory more at me then the dog.

She then throws her hands up and says that every time she tries to communicate something to me, it always ends up like this.

I retorted that it typically ends up this way when she makes an accusatory statement followed by a rule that she expects me to follow that I know for fact she will not.

AITA?

It seems like both partners are running on stress and reacting more to tone than the actual issue. The wife’s frustration about the dog and the bedding is understandable, especially with her health struggles. But perhaps the way it was brought up may have felt accusatory and offensive to OP.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a middle schooler who was totally frazzled after being left to babysit alone for 3-plus hours, and swears she’s never doing it again.

What do you guys think? Let’s check other people’s comments on Reddit to this story.

Here’s an honest opinion.

This person shares a similar experience.

Another person chimes in.

Here’s a valid point.

And lastly, this comment makes sense.

Small problems don’t stay small when communication turns tense.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about a woman who was in love with her dream house – and then spring came and her neighbor’s trees caused her to question the purchase.

The post The Ultimate Domestic Breaking Point: How a Clueless Pet Emergency Turned Into a Bitter, High-Stakes Marital War Over Who Was Really to Blame appeared first on TwistedSifter.

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Ugh…this brings back some bad memories…

I once had a co-worker who, while they were a nice person, they talked too much and they distracted me from getting work done.

Let’s just say that I was glad once they moved on to a different job…

In today’s story, a woman opened up about a co-worker who is really driving her up the wall.

Get all the details below and see what you think.

My Coworker Called Out and I Thrived.

“In my office, we have what I would best describe as mini cubicles. I essentially sit next to 3 people. One on either side of me and facing the 3rd.

Uh oh…

The girl facing me is exhausting. She’s constantly talking about whatever stupid thing her husband did. Or telling me what stupid thing she did. Or telling me some stupid thing she plans to do. I can go on and on with the details of this, but my post would be ginormous.

I know you’re probably saying “Just don’t engage” and I do try not to. I put my earbuds in. I can absolutely still hear her talking to me but I pretend I can’t and she realizes I’m listening to music or whatever.

Good grief, this sounds annoying.

Then she IMs me. And if I pretend I don’t see it, she will even walk around to my desk to tap my shoulder.

I have ADHD and struggle to focus already. She is constantly distracting me. She wasn’t there today and I just felt so much more chill and while I wasn’t perfect, my focus was so much better.

And also, this may be my problem more than her, she tells me some of her stupid plans I explain why they won’t work and she doesn’t listen and it STRESSES me out.

A while ago, our boss was moving her to a new team within our department and wanted to move her to a different desk. I was so happy.

She sounds a bit immature…and possibly unhinged.

But then she made up excuses why she couldn’t move and involved our union and they decided to let her stay.

I would like to go to my boss and request that I be moved because she is so disruptive to my work, but I’m part of my own team of two. It doesn’t seem fair to force my teammate to move and I need to sit next to her for collaboration.

I was dreading having to deal with her all weekend and I enjoyed today so much, it’s going to be even harder when she comes back.”

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man who stops speaking up in his Zoom meetings after getting constantly interrupted.

And this is what folks had to say on Reddit.

This person spoke up.

Another reader had a lot to say.

This individual chimed in.

Another Reddit user shared their thoughts.

And this reader offered some advice.

This is quite annoying, don’t you think?

You can say that again!

She sounds pretty clueless…

This is a work situation that NOBODY wants to deal with.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who just let clients complain after her boss refused to approve overtime.

The post “She Won’t Stop Talking!”: Office Worker Reaches Breaking Point After Boundary-Blind Colleague Refuses to Let Her Work appeared first on TwistedSifter.

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If you’re a parent, you know that things can get weird with other moms and dads sometimes.

Hopefully, there’s enough distance to keep certain folks away, but what happens when a pushy parent lives right by you…and they won’t leave you alone.

That’s a recipe for disaster, friends!

A mom wrote the story below and she’s totally fed up with a neighbor who is driving her nuts.

Let’s take a look at what’s going on!

Neighbor keeps showing up with toddler daughter unannounced.

“I (38f) have a neighbor directly across the street in a small cul de sac.

She (32f) has a daughter 6-months older than our daughter (3f). She has done weird things since we moved in (crashed our backyard Covid wedding after only meeting a few times, made fun of my husband upon first meeting him, etc).

I never befriended her due to the two scenarios mentioned above but once we had toddlers the past 1.5 yrs she kept pushing me to get together. At first things were okay, the girls would play and we would have wine and chat.

Some people just can’t keep anything to themselves…

Then she would start trauma dumping on me about her husband (38m, who seems great from the outside looking in), telling me she thinks she might be gay (fine but bizarre when married and talking about putting an addition on the house), about being assaulted multiple times growing up, therapy issues, etc.

The last 6 months she has started just showing up at the house with her daughter (whom my daughter loves). This puts me in an awkward position because my daughter gets excited to play but I am not trying to hang out with this woman.

This woman is STRANGE.

She will show up on major holidays when we have company, or on work days before 5 pm (I work from home, so she just doesn’t care I might be busy/on a call), and randomly, just because. She has straight up said things like “if I text, you say no, so I have to just show up to catch ya!”

It’s getting to a point where I want to move. She is at this point unhinged and I am about to give birth to baby #2 and she is unemployed and keeps making comments about hanging all the time while I’m on maternity leave.

She sounds like a train wreck.

She is an annoying drinker, narcissist, and control freak. She doesn’t have a drinking problem but when she does drink she is yelling and is a liability.

Recently at our daughter’s birthday party she went around the party telling everyone she thinks she is gay and hopes her daughter is gay and maybe our daughters will date?

She yelled at my husband recently when intoxicated that we better not move away and ruin our “neighbor paradise.” She is completely clueless how much we cannot stand her.

They might not be able to get away for a while…

The problem is my husband was recently laid off and we cannot afford to move right now and also have an amazing mortgage rate and deal on our current home, let alone a baby coming next month.

How do I deal with this?

I feel like I’m taking crazy pills and I’m a prisoner in my own house. If she’s outside I can’t leave, if I play music in the backyard she just walks through the gate even with our privacy fence.

My daughter loves her daughter but they are 3!

I feel bad hoping her husband divorces her but I fear she’d get the house if it happened.

Any advice is appreciated!”

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about some renters who moved out and left their apartment in the same state of disarray they’d found it in when they moved in.

Reddit users shared their thoughts.

This person weighed in.

Another individual has an idea…

This Reddit user shared their thoughts.

And another reader had a lot to say.

Let’s not sugarcoat it…this situation SUCKS.

And her neighbor clearly has no self-awareness whatsoever.

Ugh!

This woman’s neighbor is totally off her rocker!

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man who got creative with his parking after his neighbors started using his extra spot without asking.

The post Her Neighbor Has No Respect for Her Space or Privacy — and No Matter What She Does, the Woman Won’t Back Off appeared first on TwistedSifter.

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It’s never a good feeling to feel out of place in a family.

This woman recently married her husband after being together for seven years. She expected to be welcomed into his family the same way he was welcomed into hers. However, being included in family group chats became a sensitive issue that left her feeling excluded and unwanted.

This story is one of those family conflicts where small actions slowly build into a much bigger problem. It’s a relatable story because not everyone gets included or accepted right away in a new family. Read the full story below.

AITA for speaking up about being disrespected by my husband’s brother?

I (21F) married my husband (24M) a month ago after 7 years together.

In my family, it’s tradition that spouses are added to family group chats, and my husband was immediately included in all of mine.

On his side, I wasn’t added at first because his older brother (27M) might get upset since his fiancée (35F) isn’t included yet.

This already felt unfair, but I tried to be understanding.

This woman was eventually added to her husband’s family group chat.

Eventually, after a lot of hesitation, I was added, but by then, it felt forced, like pity rather than genuine acceptance.

When I finally participated in the chat, his brother left the group without saying anything. Later claiming it was because his fiancée wasn’t included.

That made it feel very personal.

Our relationship has also changed.

His brother-in-law suddenly became distant and dismissive.

Before he moved abroad, we got along well, even though I always felt he could be difficult with others.

Since returning to visit, he’s been distant, dismissive, and has made offhand comments toward me.

I tried to address this by messaging him calmly, explaining that I felt disrespected. And that I value having a good relationship with him.

His response was dismissive.

He told her that his actions had nothing to do with her.

He said not everyone has to agree with me, that he’s matured, and that his priority is his fiancée.

He added that the situation “has nothing to do with me.”

He didn’t acknowledge my feelings or take any accountability.

During their visit, I also made an effort to include his fiancée in activities with my mother-in-law.

Despite this, he claimed that I was always present when she tried to spend time with their mother, which isn’t true.

She thinks her BIL’s behavior was being enabled by the family

Now, his fiancée has reached out to my husband asking why I’m upset and why I’m only speaking up now.

I’m unsure how to respond to both of them, and whether his parents should step in.

It feels like his behaviour is being enabled.

I don’t want conflict, but I also don’t want to be disrespected or feel like an outsider in my own marriage.

That sounds like a messy family drama. OP’s feelings seem understandable because several events made her feel excluded and dismissed. While no one can force a close family bond, basic respect and acknowledgment go a long way.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman who stirred up family drama by finally choosing her own mom over her in-laws.

Let’s check out the comments of other Reddit users.

Here’s an honest opinion.

This person makes a valid point.

Another user chimes in.

People are calling her out.

Here’s another similar thought.

The hardest part of belonging to a new family is constantly proving your place.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man who stops speaking up in his Zoom meetings after getting constantly interrupted.

The post Woman Wanted To Feel Included In Her Husband’s Family, But Some In-Laws Kept Treating Her Like She Didn’t Belong appeared first on TwistedSifter.

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There are rude customers and then there are AWFUL customers.

And if you work as a server in a restaurant, you’re unfortunately going to have to deal with your fair share of folks from both categories.

But that never makes it any easier!

In today’s story, a server talked about a couple she waited on who acted like total creeps to her.

Take a look at how she handled these rude folks…

Had a table follow me across the floor tonight.

“I work at a small local place and tonight we get the tale as old as time…

Cut down to closers, and get a huge rush 20 minutes later. Whatever, I’m an experienced server, more money for me. The problem is that I get split between patio and bar area.

I got this two top that comes in. I give the greeting, and come back with waters. We do bread service, but I let them know its gonna be a minute, as we have to bake more.

This didn’t get off to a good start…

Dude asks for a beer I’ve never heard of, and being a beer snob myself I cant imagine that its a common thing, but he rolls his eyes at me and says “So you don’t have any beers not on your draft list?”

They order, and want two soups out first. I go to the back, start getting them, expo lets me know that my 6 top outsiders food is ready. I slap everything on two trays, ask someone to run tray two and let them know Ill be right out.

I drop off the soups to the rude couple (with spoons. I know thats an insane detail to add, but an important one). I accidentally put the wrong soup in front of the wrong person. Easy fix, but this dude is staring me down the whole time I’m switching them.

I ask them if they need anything.

“Bread.”

Dude…relax…

I let them know, again, its in the oven and its gonna be a minute. The guy gives an exasperated sigh and rolls his eyes, and they tell me they dropped their fork, and need a new one.

Again, easy fix.

As I try to leave the dude goes “So are we gonna have time to eat these before our food comes out?”.

I, taken aback, say yes.

I finally leave with the rest of the food for my other table and the whole time the dude is glaring at me.

Wow! How rude!

I drop off the food at my patio table and turn around. Dude is right there. He followed me to my other table and says “So the soup was lukewarm and I saw you visit your other table before getting our fork, so we’re done here.”

And then just left a $70 tab unpaid and the food already being made.”

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman who volunteered to help promote a church event for free, then was surprised to find she had to still pay admission to get in.

Reddit users shared their thoughts.

This reader had a lot to say.

Another individual spoke up.

And this Reddit user weighed in.

I love the idea that the last commenter added!

A national database for horrible restaurant customers.

Someone out there make it happen!

Let’s hope she never has to deal with these customers ever again!

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a homeowner who responded to an HOA violation letter by investigating the bylaws and having the whole board removed.

The post A Calculated Escape: Serial Complaining Couple Tortures a Waitress With Endless Demands Before Staging a Shocking Dine-and-Dash appeared first on TwistedSifter.