ting-ting-ting

Remember those musical greeting cards? You open them up and a small disc embedded in the card starts ting-ting-tinging Happy Birthday or Jingle Bells or something. Some Asian entrepenuer began inserting those ting-ting-tings into Christmas decorations. A few years ago I was in the village in church. The pastor had gotten some ornament with lights that he attached to the pulpit. He'd turn it on during the church service and just let it ting-ting-ting through the whole service. I guess he thought it was just super cool. It drove me crazy. I am sure that I was the only one in the congregation that knew that every tune it played was about Rudolph, or white Christmases, jingle bells, etc. Not exactly fitting for the local climate not to mention the sermons being preached. I avoided services as much as possible that trip. Upon returning to the third of my worlds I discovered that "musical" decorations were on sale here too.

Now my neighbor has put up a whole string of Christmas lights - "musical" ones - ting-ting-tinging outside my window. Did they think to put the ting-ting-ting INSIDE their apartment so they could enjoy it? Oh no. They put it OUTSIDE so I could hear the ting-ting-ting reverberating between the buildings. Not only that, they typically turn it on and then go out for the evening! What's worst of all is that it is a cheapie. It plays only one or two lines each of Jingle Bells, White Christmas, Here Comes Santa Claus, We Wish you a Merry Christmas and then starts over again. Over and over and over and over.........

Am I going crazy?!!! I am considering going over there one of these evenings soon and unscrewing a lightbulb....and if that doesn't work I have scissors.... >:-)

(No, don't worry. you won't see headlines saying I was electrocuted cutting wires. There are other more culturally appropriate ways of trying to deal with it. You know, the third party approach...)