It’s official. At the ripe, old age of 32 I have turned into a grumpy old lady. Usually I would like to think that I’m pretty easy-going and not usually prone to cussing out strangers. At least when I’m not driving, that is. I will admit to a *tiny* bit of road rage when somebody pulls out in front of me and then proceeds to crawl. That tends to upset me a bit.

That’s not what I wanted to confess in this post, however. I realized this weekend just how much of a grumpy old lady I am turning into. Per usual, I was at Jay’s this weekend. One of the houses across the road from him is being rented by a group of college kids. Unfortunately Jay lives near a college campus, so there are quite a few rental houses in this neighborhood where college kids are living. These aren’t the variety of college kids who keep to themselves and are busy working part time jobs and studying. Nope. These are your stereotypical college kids who have parties every weekend. Yeah!!! <insert HEAVY sarcasm here>

Perhaps I’m being a bit unfair to these young kids. They are just trying to live it up and enjoy their years at school. However, while they are living it up I’m just trying to live my own life and they are infringing upon my sleep and my parking spot. Friday night they had a party. Luckily I already had my parking spot in front of Jay’s house before their friends started to arrive. We had the windows open for the fresh air that night and I must have woke up at least two or three times because the kids were being loud as they walked by Jay’s house. I know, how dare I be upset that they were just having fun while I was trying to sleep during the early hours of the morning!

I was more upset Saturday night, though. Granted, I don’t actually live with Jay. I just live there on the weekends so I guess that I don’t have too much of a leg to stand on regarding this issue. I have to park in the street because there’s not any room for my car in Jay’s driveway. No problem. My problem that I have, though, is that I want my spot in front of his house and next to the driveway. I feel that I have the right to that spot. Last night when I got back from shopping with a friend there wasn’t a single space to be had in the direct vicinity of Jay’s house! The college kids were having ANOTHER party! I ended up parking halfway down the block, which I know that I shouldn’t complain about, but it’s the principle of the thing! Jay and I are tax payers. More than likely half of these kids who are hogging up my spot aren’t even paying their own way through college! They are inconsiderate, too. There are times when Jay finds empty alcohol containers on his lawn; last year I had to go out and clean up glass that had been shattered by my car tires; and then this spring somebody threw a glass of pop on my car so I had to wash the stickiness off of it. If these were respectful college kids then I wouldn’t have an issue, but they aren’t. And it makes me grumpy!

Before you say something along the lines of, “You have to give them a little leeway. I bet that you acted in a similar manner when you were their age.” I can assure you that I did not. My first two years of college I spent working during most of my free time. My last two years of college I was busy studying and having the kind of fun that didn’t infringe upon anybody else. Friday nights were spent doing laundry and Saturday nights were usually spent playing a board game or watching a movie with friends. I can remember only twice that I actually went out drinking when I was in college. No, I wasn’t a ‘goody two-shoe’s. It’s just that I was there for a reason and it wasn’t to party. I paid my own way through college and so I wasn’t going to just throw away the education. Silly me, I was actually a serious student! I still managed to have a lot of fun with my friends, but I never stole another resident’s parking space. Or woke them up in the middle of the night when they were trying to sleep. Of that I am certain!