my last apartment in montreal was home to me for about seven years. for about four of those i lived next to a construction zone.
the city was re-building a highway overpass across the street from me. the Decarie Expressway in Montreal, which, where i lived was below street level - kind of like a giant moat. they were re-doing the overpass that went across it on the corner of my street. it turned out beautifully, but the four years of construction all spring/summer/fall wasn't very fun.
summer was the worst because you couldn't open the windows without hearing the trucks beeping, or the jack-hammers drilling... all through the night. that was the only time they could safely close the highway below without interrupting anyones' busy schedules - other than the people who were trying to sleep that is! thankfully (for me, not my room mates) i had an inner bedroom that didn't get ALL the noise.
i remember one night my roomie actually called the number they had posted on the signs outside to complain about noise levels. the guy on the other end could hear it through the phone. they sent over some sound pollution testers within a couple of days, but nothing ever came of it. there were some barriers set up, big pieces of plywood that did nothing to eliminate the noise, and i guess they figured that was enough. anyway, it was pretty bad but i suppose we got used to it for the most part.
this morning i was awoken to the nostalgic sounds of drilling in concrete and heavy machinery. i've been expecting it, since there is an insane amount of repairs to the sewers going on around here... it was only a matter of time until they got to my street... but it is a good thing they aren't doing it overnight - they only started, as i woke up, at 6:45 AM. (still, a little early to be drilling, no?) i had to take a shot from my front door... so here it is:
isn't that the cutest little excavator you've ever seen? and the mini dump truck too! too bad they don't sound so small! anyway, the view was quite similar to what i remember seeing in north america. one guy working and three guys watching! some things are the same everywhere you go!***
on another note, my day went much better today than yesterday. i managed to get out for my lunchtime walk and found a new route to take that allows me a little time in the woods as opposed to staying on the streets. it was nice to be surrounded by trees, if only for ten minutes! the laryngitis is clearing up - almost gone actually - but i'm a little worried about the five classes i have tomorrow and friday... hopefully the upward trend of recovery will continue.
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