Methinks there’s an elephant minotaur in the room
The woman above me who just moved in a few weeks ago is extremely heavy footed. She’s a thin woman. But she clearly does not trip gaily on the balls of her feet. She aggressively thunders across the floor on the heels of her feet. The heels of her feet? That sounds weird. Whatever. You get my drift.
The guy who used to live above me was heavy footed too but he didn’t move around a whole lot, and there was carpet. Oh, sweet delicious carpet. But the landlord ripped up the carpet when my ex-neighbor moved out. Goodbye fair carpet. We hardly knew ye. Hello thunderous fucking noise that makes my apartment shake and enragens me. Yeah, I just made that word up. I make the rules around here.
Anyway, this is hilarious. From Best of Craigslist:
To the Minotaur that lives above me.
First off, I must say that I admire your courage. It must be hard living in the world today as a lady-beast. Society judges, oh lord do they ever.
With that said, let”s get down to business. Over the past year, we’ve had a funny sort of relationship, you and I. When I first moved into the place, it was rather peaceful. It was an exciting time in my life, as it was the first time I would be living by myself. Then came the day that I first heard it. What did I hear you ask? It was sound of your hooves galloping across the hardwood floors of your living room. At the time I thought, “No big deal, surely it can”t always be like this.” Oh was I wrong. It turned out that every time I was at home, you would be up there, stomping around, like the wild lady-beast that you are.
After a few weeks, I determined through a process of elimination, that you are in fact, a Minotaur. It only makes sense.
FACT. Minotaurs have hooves, and that”s sure as hell what it sounds like is hitting the floor when you gallop around.
FACT. A Minotaur posses great strength, the kind of strength that can be felt by a guy laying on his couch, trying to get into a good book. The kind of strength that shakes the dishes in his cupboards. The kind of strength that can wake a guy out of a dead sleep, EVERY FRICKIN MORNING. I didn”t even need to set an alarm clock to wake up in the morning. Instead I wake up to THUMP THUMP THUMP. THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP. THUMP THUMP THUMP. I”m not a light sleeper by any means; I sleep right through the viscously loud police, fire truck, and ambulance sirens every night. I was lying there one morning, frustrated, counting the trips you took between your bedroom and your bathroom. 17. 17 god forsaken trips between the bedroom and the bathroom. Really? Are you kidding me? What could you possibly be doing?
FACT. Minotaurs are half bull. Bulls are aggressive when taunted. Apparently, the time I went upstairs, politely introduced myself, and asked you rather nicely to please quit stomping around, was a taunt. That’s when you got aggressive. You called the landlord and told him that I was complaining about your noise. When he told me about this, he said his response to your complaint was, “Quit making so much noise then.” Brilliant. Go Mr. Landlord! I tried keeping him out of this, but you felt it important to drag him into it.
After a few more weeks of you recklessly stomping around, I made another attempt at a civil confrontation. It failed. It failed because you stomped your way to the door, and you didn’t open it when you saw who was standing there. I know this because I heard your hooves clippity-clop their way to the door. Way to avoid confrontation.
To my surprise, the stomping ceased the next day, and I awoke to peace. “Amazing,” I thought, “It must be a midsummer miracle!!” A few days passed, and I ran into my landlord in the entry way. He mentioned that he received another angry phone call from you. Said that you felt threatened by my confrontations, said I scared you. Strange, since not once did I ever raise my voice or try to be anything but civil. He then mentioned that he told you to buy some slippers to wear around your apartment. Genius! It freakin worked!! Hell yea, Mr Landlord! High five!
Fast forward 11 months. The stomping has returned. No doubt in my mind the hooves have worn through the delicate fabrics of the slippers and are now, once again, banging against your hardwood floors.
Please, for the love of sweet baby jesus, run down to the local Target and purchase yourself another pair of hoof mufflers. I know you can run with those strong legs of yours, probably real fast like! Target downtown is all of 10 blocks away. Go Minotaur, go! Overcome the odds, society is watching! (and judging)
(H/T Henry!)




So, your plan of action is to a) complain to landlord, b) purchase slippers for woman and leave them on her doorstep, with kind note asking her to please wear them or face penalty of shanking.
nailed it. except for the shanking… it’ll be more like forcible feet removal by chainsaw.
I now live above someone for the first time in years and I’m always paranoid about whether or not my downstairs neighbor thinks we’re hoof-wielding freaks. It’s mostly carpet (good) with only one squeaky spot (not terrible) but the tubs, my GOD the tubs. It’s those bathtubs with the plastic “shell” on it, and OH MY GOD even I think they’re insanely loud. Like every step in the shower sounds like a lumbering walrus is making a sad attempt at tap dancing.
I actually worry about that more than when the cat gallops across the living room.
I wish you were my upstairs neighbor!
I am glad that I have always lived on the second floor. I try to be conscious of the noise I make, since I am a fatty, but I don’t stomp around on purpose. I even try to put on heeled shoes after leaving my apartment, I can’t stand all the noise it makes.
i wish you were my upstairs neighbor.
I wish something would work for my neighbor above me.. This has been going on and off for two and half years now.. I finally called my manger in the middle of the night asked her to please !!!!! ask her to stop stomping needless to say 5minutes later my manger was at my door cursing at me etc.. 3days I was on my way out the building to go to 2 appointments that day she asked if I was leaving I said yes ,told her i had appointments to be at I needed to leave.. She said well my Supervisor wanted to speak with you so I guess he will have to write you a letter then ,I said ok well i never new he wanted to talk with me…
The following week i get a letter saying by my actions of not showing up to the meeting and numerous attempts in getting us together next complaint will be a 30 eviction notice.. For one no one has tried to get us together to talk things out, and never did anyone tell me there was to be a meeting until 5minutes before I was walking out the door.. They had two days proir to let me know of a meeting and failed to do so …. aghhh any advice please LOL i am at my wits end .. I have been nice and asked her to please stop etc.. thank you