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Friday, November 18, 2011

Ear Assaults

I have been thinking about noises quite a bit lately. There is no doubt that in NYC I hear a multitude of sounds each day, and night for that matter. Trash trucks at all hours, sirens, more sirens, car honks people moving about in my apt building, rain falling onto my window AC, and I consequently have bought a white noise machine to whisk me off to sleep each night by drowning it out.

However, there are some sounds one can't avoid. Just today I was walking from the shuttle to the 2 train in Times Square. As I made that 30 sec walk, I experienced five assaults on my eardrum. They were: a rock band jamming, a Santa ringing his bell, a man literally shouting about Jesus to me, another man shoving a flyer in my face, and the all too familiar sound of a train screeching to a halt. I needed a drink by the time I reached 72nd street.

Another intriguing sound is the radiators in NYC apartments. They are in a league of their own when it comes to heating devices. Mine sounds like crickets, it's just like camping in the summer. All I need is some mallows to fire up. However, mine is a melody compared to my boyfriend's radiator. His sounds like someone is coming through the wall with a jackhammer. The sound is somewhat like a hammering on metal pipes. It makes the typical steaming and hissing sound like an absolute symphony. Apparently, this is a common problem among apt dwellers. Click here for a sound bite of the noise:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/noise/steam-hammer-season-noisy-radiators-pipes-005805

All these noises are a bit crazy but they are just part of this wonderful city's charm!
I love this little monkey staying warm next to a radiator. Hopefully, it's not a loud one! :)


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