SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!

TOO MUCH NOISE.

Finding peace and quiet in my day to day life is proving a real challenge. If I'm not woken up by the horrible little yappy dog barking it's head off in an apartment across the way, then I'm woken up by the builders. Sometimes it's like a contest: which one will wake me up first. And yes, these are the same builders that have been hammering away for the last two and a half MONTHS.

These noises are intersperced with melodies being blasted out by the trash vans and various salespeople's vans. Then there are political vans where messages are being screeched out through a tannoy.

The shops make lots of noise. The pachinko parlours make an extreme amount of noise. People stand outside shops shouting to frighten, er entice you to go in. Once in a shop the salespeople shout hello to you.

The crossings make loud noises and pipe out melodies. Stations are fraught with overlapping, and loud, announcements being shouted out.

Ipods and personal stereos rattle away in that annoying tinny way.

Kids scream. Adults shout. Schoolboys giggle. Women screech high-pitchedly. Heels clack and clatter and scrape. Bicycles squeak. Dogs bark. Builders build. Vans blast out music and speeches at an ear-splitting level.

And in my apartment, when I can't hear the yappy dog, or the builders or my neighbours, or vans blasting out noise... I can hear the aircon unit outside my balcony door, buzzing away, whether my aircon is on or not.

All I want is a bit of peace and quiet. Is this too much to ask?