Got an email from my landlord today, nothing directed at me personally, but still bugs me.
It told neighbors to be good neighbors, which I’m usually all behind. Stuff like “pick up after your pets,” and “don’t be noisy late at night,” and so on. That stuff I can get behind with no problem.
But then there’s this little gem:
“Say ‘hello’ to people when you pass them by.”
I can’t tell if this is some kind of rule or what. Considering how the rest of the stuff is pretty common sense and would be considered “rules,” this worries me. I’m asocial in real life, I fucking hate socializing with people. Usually, people ask me questions and then when I answer them, they get mad, because they’re expecting a scripted response instead of an actual answer.
I swear, sometimes the “friendliness” thing around here goes well beyond merely being courteous and gets downright creepy. I glance off to the side for a split second, and some random woman waves at me for all to see. I talk to myself while walking to the store, and some “concerned citizen” almost causes a wreck swerving their vehicle to where they can ask if I’m having a good day. I was approached a few years ago by a random woman who told me that my shirt reminded her of a man who raped her... like, gee, lady, that’s creepy as hell, please leave me alone now.
So I’m not exactly thrilled with the idea of being required by some rule I never knew existed to socialize with random people in order to be a “good neighbor.”
The email was written like an encouragement, and maybe that’s all it was. I don’t know. But what I do know is that I’ve been given enough “suggestions” in life that later turned out to be set-in-stone rules to feel justified in worrying that this may be more than just a mere suggestion. I feel this is especially worth worrying about considering that the other things are rules that, if you break them, constitute a breach in your lease agreement and could be grounds for eviction. I’ve lived here for what will be 11 years at the end of this year, I dread the idea of being kicked out because I wasn’t chatty enough.
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On the bright side, the weirdness I described above is about the worst I’ve seen living in Texas. In Oregon a neighbor accused me of an unspecified felony; in Arizona a meth addict in a laundromat accused me of ripping her off after I gave her some of my own laundry soap so she could clean her clothes; and in Ohio a police sergeant tried to put me away for attempted assassination because I asked for directions. So it could definitely be (and indeed has been) worse, lol.
~Lilith
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4 days, 1 hr ago
11 Nov 2025 02:44 CET
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