Rumble!

Sigh, all of us being down with the cold since the week’s beginning is fraying our nerves somewhat. And certain things are driving me bonkers. Like the rumble.

We live in a near 100 year old apartment building and our wood floor is set directly on a concrete foundation. We think it’s this that makes us feel like we are living on top of a generator that continually vibrates the apartment and sounds always like someone is outside with a diesel truck running. I read the post at Boingboing on the Taos Hum and also read accounts where people describe a constant vibration accompanied by the sound of a generator or diesel truck…sounds exactly like what we have here but as I mentoned I think we can reliably attribute our hum and vibration to sitting on a concrete slab in the middle of the city.

The vibration and hum is soooo strong that I always forget that we don’t have a basement under us with some big generator because my brain’s only relative experience is that of a generator, so all day long I think I’m sitting on top of a generator and when I’m trying to sleep I always think of it as a truck parked outside idling.

H.o.p. talks about it off and on and so does Marty. H.o.p. sometimes lies down with his ear to the floor to listen to it. It’s a constant. No matter where you go in the apartment, it’s there. There’s no escaping it. You can’t stand atop the bed or chair or anything and escape it. Stacking carpets on the floor does no good. Everything in the apartment is afflicted with the rumble. It’s not a matter of nearby traffic or anything like that. It’s just a constant buzz-jiggle vibration and diesel-like hum.

You never tune it out but you do get somewhat used to it. Like I said your brain just registers it as you sitting atop a generator. Every so often I feel a need to remind myself of the reality of the situation and tell myself, “You don’t live on top of a generator, there is not another floor under this one.”

Today it’s a bit disconcerting. I’ve been wishing all afternoon that I could levitate, however briefly, and escape the vibration for a second.