I've had some smelly ones before but yours by far is the smelliest

My roommates and I are having a bit of a problem with neighbors. It's to be expected, not only do we live in the suburbs, but we also live in a cul-de-sac.

Neighbors are "friendlier" there, but a lot more nosey as well. We should have figured when the two little boys that live across the street started to spill the beans about the neighbors. They knew everyone, in every house, and who drove which cars. It didn't take them long to learn all of our names and which cars we drove. If the children are like that then what must the adults be like?

Don't get me wrong, I like my neighbors. I'm not used to their level of friendliness, but I like them. Neighbor to the left...whose name I never remember is always looking out for us. He let's us know if one of the tires in the car is getting low, etc. Neighbor to the right however, is just creepy. I call him Ted Bundy and I wish that he wouldn't hang out in his driveway in nothing but what appears to be a pair of swimming trunks.

Anyway, on to my week. It all start Sunday morning when the cops were called on my dog. That's right, Chubbers that little fiend. He's totally going through his teenage rebellious stage and on Sunday apparently struck the final nerve with one of my neighbors. He likes to get out of the yard (his nickname is Houdini). We quickly brought him back in but less than an hour later there was a loud, heart quickening knock on the door. My roommate went to answer it and was face to face with a cop...never saw his car, but that's alright...why would a cop park outside of the house he was going to? And why was I looking around for his car while he was talking to me? Cause he was talking to me only a few minutes after he knocked on the door. If I can't keep Chubbers locked away then I could be hit with some serious fines. I understood the gravity of the situation, but I was still bugged about it.

I got over it though, I make sure that Chubber's can't get out and pretty soon I'll fix the back porch so that he can't jump right off or push through my makeshift "fence". The rest of the week was going moderately well. I was apparently oblivious to the notice taped to our door talking about our grass and the "friendly" stranger who came knocking saying that he heard we needed our grass cut.

We are but four single girls living sans lawn mower and for the past year have depended on our old roommate's dad to mow the lawn. That arrangement seems to no longer be on. So we were making new arrangements to borrower a lawn mower and to mow the lawn ourselves. I admit the grass was a little out of control, but we're all busy and like I said, sans mower. We finally got the mower on Wednesday, I planned to mow the lawn on Thursday. Thursday afternoon my land lady calls my cell phone and tells me that they received a notice about our grass and how it was in violation of some 12-inch regulation.

Eh...it probably was...but still. Then she says that the notice says we have until the 28th to mow the grass or we will be fined $250. Have I ever said that I hate the government? Seriously? You can regulate the grass length? I was a sociology major, I get the whole exorbitant fines to keep people in line, especially the lower class since they really can't afford to pay such fines. But I also have a little pride in me that only too well remembers conflict theory. That and I've always kind of been looking for a good fight. Part of me didn't want to mow the lawn just because someone had a problem with our yard. One of our neighbors ratted us out, no doubt the same one trying to put my dog in the clink.

I don't mean to rant, and I don't think I did that badly, and just because it made it into the blog doesn't mean that I don't take it seriously. I take it seriously...it just annoys me.

I can't help but think that we are viewed as the trashy house in the neighborhood. "The renters" who don't mow their lawn, have a rabid dog on the loose, and are just a lower class than the rest. Pretty soon we'll have old cars hanging out on the front lawn on cinder blocks (after we just replace the grass with dirt) and we'll rent some guy with a pot belly and wife beater who can hang outside in a lawn chair smoking cigarettes all day and drinking beer. At least it would give Neighbor on the Right, Ted Bundy, someone to get along with.