NU 12 by Juan Villamor - What Pisses Me off in the neighborhood

NU Paper: JUAN A. VILLAMOR, MBAH Section 10B

What Pisses Me Off in the Neighborhood


Neighborhoods are supposed to be “happy places” in one’s psychological well being, and mine is no exemption. When close family relations characterize a neighborhood, then it becomes truly a refuge. But even a neighborhood of relatives can be a source of aggravation, especially when too much familiarity pre-dispose households to discourtesy, insensitivity and disregard for basic social rules of conduct. While I am generally happy most of the time to come home to the comforts and refuge of my neighborhood, it does give me a dose of stressful encounters in many ways as well.


Our family compound is right along the highway, but the house itself is set far back into the inner portion of the lot. Thus, we had to cut a little swath of road across a couple of houses to put in a driveway. On most days, this does not present a problem, since I am the only one with vehicles on our side of the compound; the others use a separate driveway. This fact, however, is also a frequent source of aggravation, as my driveway is sometimes blocked by vehicles owned by relatives whose houses are on the other side of the road! Worse, tenants of an aunt whose property is right in front of ours has taken the liberty of using my tiny driveway as a garage for their motorbikes, often explaining that I am out of town most of the time anyway. Some even had the gall to point out that even a fairly-skilled driver can SQUEEZE in between their motorbikes and a solid retaining wall of concrete. I’m not sure if they mean that as a compliment, but I sure am not flattered!


One would think that giving them advance notice of my arrival would solve the problem, but I still have to wait for up to an hour on most occasions to be able to park my vehicle properly in MY garage. Once or twice a week should also be tolerable, but when these happen on nights that I just went through a two-hour battle with horrible traffic and rude drivers and just want to go straight to bed, then the aggravation is almost physically painful. Worse is when I come from a trip and take the last flight to Manila, coming in at almost midnight, and then find two or three bikes lounging on my driveway, with their owners sound asleep or getting their dose of alcohol in some distant relative’s house in the compound. Then my car gets to spend the night in the shoulder of the relatively busy highway, subject to the elements – criminal included – and the real possibility of getting sideswiped by speeding vehicles.


One other thing that gets my goat in the friendly compound is the noise of insensitive neighbors who doesn’t realize that sound-proofing is a terribly expensive comfort that I cannot afford. Our bedroom is exactly right across the terrace and living room of the house of a wife’s relative. Noise during the day should be fairly acceptable, especially from young and precocious children, hyperactive teenagers and their screaming elders. What really makes for a bad-hair day is noise during the wee hours of the morning or late in the night, when most people would think that their next-door neighbors are asleep. The racket can get so bad that not even the confines of an airconditioned room can drown out the noise of an entire household preparing for breakfast or recounting the day’s telenovela highlights, among other topics or concerns that the next-door neighbors can get excited about.


Offhand, I can only think of two things to try and address these problems: one is the creation of a Family Council (albeit informally), and the second is the installation of motorbike racks or stands somewhere near the edge of the property near the highway, but still within the compound and away from my driveway. The first would require me to spend more time with the relatives, regularly gathering them for lunch or dinner, and perhaps insinuating how difficult it is to come home and find my driveway blocked, and of the challenge of getting sound (and precious) sleep with all the noise in the background. I really should be mingling with them anyway to help dispel the snootiness that I sense they get from me especially in terms of the issues of parking and the noise, and talking about these issues should foster more openness and the willingness to share in the burden of ensuring peace and harmony in the compound. The second would mean a little investment on my part, but perhaps suggest that the cost can be shared. The added incentive would be a shared tool shed, since most the other drivers borrow my tools anyway. Having the motorbike stands near my own garage and giving them access to my tools would most probably help convince the motorbike owners that its going to be worth their time, effort and money to find a more secure and better-looking parking spot for their motorbikes. 3

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