For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for May 18, 2012

Pooor baaaaby needs a maaaaama.

oh plz…ur a nuisance

The man has a point.

sSomebody hold him, I’ll slap him.

You’d better learn to live w/carrot waking u up, you can’t stay w/us again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Run!! :)

Clearly the dude hasn’t lived in a city before – all sorts of noises much louder than a carrot juicer and much earlier.

Foam ear plugs. The only way I survived the neighbors AC system outside my bedroom wall when I lived in an apt.

I see him saying, that a normal life at Ellies is just as impossible as at his present appartment – and Ellie’s in my opinion is less than pleased by his comment.

Grow up and get a life!!

What’s normal ??

Looks like she’s about to shove that pipe down your throat, I’d hush if I were you.

If you want to live your way, Phil, get your own house!!

what’s wrong with chanting while you medicate?

Now, honestly tell me Elle hasn’t thought the same thing.

Phil gives me the creeps every time I see him.

I don’t think I’d like to be woken up by a carrot juicer at 6:30 AM either.

I got woken up by a bacon slicer. Nice girl, she was.

He ought to go live in a cave!

Thank you for always sharing these notes with us! The comic is even more enjoyable when we know the background.

Check out Elly’s expression in the last panel. She isn’t very pleased by Phil’s comment. But she has to admit it’s the truth.

If I were Phil, I’d report the noisy neighbors to the landlord. If that didn’t work, then I’d turn the tables on them by getting up even earlier than them and running my own annoyingly loud appliance (like a vacuum cleaner) to disturb their sleep. Then, I’d play them a little tune on my saxophone when they started their meditative chanting and music playing. After they got a taste of their own medicine then maybe they’d get the message and shut the hell up! ;-)

If all else fails, he should just buy a good set of earplugs and wait out the terms of his apartment lease. If he’s on a month-to-month, he should hand in his 30-day notice now and start looking for another apartment — or maybe even a house — to rent . . . and if he’s on a year’s lease and still has time to go before it’s up, then he’ll just have to live with the racket until he can finally move out.

I have lived in noisier places (even apartments) when my first kids were young, but I’m very happy that the worst I have once in a while now are someone with a noisy party, a feral cat or a new puppy. And those only bother me if it happens in nice weather where I like my windows open.