Frat Row, volume Two

Yesterday FOUR of the houses on our strip had college parties, beginning at 1pm. I was trying to read Durant's L'Amant with 50 Cent blaring from the porch two houses over, and then the screaming and yelling started as the dancers in #12 started their shindig; then the preps in #6 and the hippies in #8 got going. The noise was dreadful. I couldn't read, I couldn't watch a movie, I couldn't think. So I hooked up my Yamaha soundsystem--the one I had for guitar gigs--to my stereo and started blasting bluegrass at a much higher volume than the competing stereos could muster. Almost immediately they all turned off their music and went indoors. The parties didn't stop, however, and they got progressively louder into the evening. We left and went to a party at Eartha Quake's/It's Australian for Beer's house near Charles Village. Cha neglected to tell me it was a "Remember the '80s" party, because I loathe the '80s, so when we got there everyone was dressed up like Tears for Fears and Duran Duran and there was a live band playing in the living room. We stayed for a bit more than 2 hours and returned home to find dozens of kids being lectured by cops in our alley. There were two cop cars parked out front along York Road, one on Burke, and one out back. I don't know who called but I fear retribution in the neighborhood.

The parties only quieted down for about an hour anyway; by 1am there was screaming again, and I heard audible conversations that weren't screaming, so I went downstairs to invvestigate and turned on my front porch light to find six or seven drunks ON MY FUCKING PORCH. As soon as the light came on they took off, leaving a plastic cup full of cigarette butts, several beer cans, and a pair of panties behind. Jesus Christ, I'm going to start bashing heads soon.

When we came back from the market yesterday, I made a right onto Burke from York, left my turn signal on because I was turning right into our alley from Burke immediately, and a Jeep full of college kids that was behind us on York floored it and passed us on the right just as I began turning into the alley. At the last second I saw them and swerved left, barely avoiding getting smashed into (in our new Volkswagen). Three girls in the back of the Jeep (the top was down) flipped us off as if it were OUR fault that they were idiots.

I might as well live in the goddam city--if I could afford a house in Charles Village at today's rates I'd jump on it. Christ.