I live in a two-story building that contains 19 studio apartments ranging from 200-400 square feet. The majority of the tenants are very young, lured by the inexpensive rent and proximity to downtown. They all seem like nice kids, and they spend a lot of time on the front porch. I don’t spend time on the front porch with them because most of them smoke, and I can’t be around smoke or I’ll get a skull-cracking migraine.
After several of their attempts to engage me in small talk, I began to realize that I am a bit hermit-like in my living habits. I am in my apartment most of the day sitting quietly in front of my laptop, slipping out now and then to ride my bike or meet up with someone for coffee. I also have a terrible time remembering faces and names.
Because I didn’t want my neighbors to think I was unfriendly, I decided to engage them indirectly by conducting social experiments on them. You know, in a fun way – not in a psychotic, secret serial killer kind of way.
I had some fun tear-off signs in my computer that I’d used in Rutland, Vermont, and I printed one off and hung it on the outside of my apartment door. My door is the first one you encounter as you enter the back door of the building, so I was pretty sure it would see some traffic. I waited nervously. There was such potential for rejection.
It took a few days, but eventually someone ripped off one of the tabs. Over the course of the next week, most all of the tabs were gone. I was overjoyed to see their participation as it gave me hope for humanity.
The week of Christmas, I was leaving to spend a few days with a girlfriend, and I posted a sign on my door entitled, “10 Ways to Tell if Your Neighbor is an Extra-Terrestrial.” It included a photo of a big-eyed alien pushing a lawnmower. I can only imagine what they thought of that.
After about a month, I got braver. I put up a poster that required written interaction. It said “Finish this poem.” It included 7 spaces that said, “Rose are red. Violets are blue,” followed by a blank line. I also attached a wreath hanger to the outside of my door and clipped a ball-point pen over it. This would be the true test.
A few days passed. I think people were worried that I would open my door while they were writing. One morning after hearing some loud talking and giggling in the hallway the night before, I checked the sign to find two entries. Not enormously creative, but at least they were getting into the spirit of the game. The page ended up mostly filled by the time I took it down.
In a month or so, I will be giving away a PDF with 10 tear-off signs so you can conduct your own social experiments.
This was an awesome story and shows all of your creativity at work! Keep doing more !! Encouragement is all some young people need to blossom as they may have never received any before…..
I wish I lived next to you! I would totally LOVE seeing what you put out next! I might even have put a sticky note on your door to thank you for adding a little variety to my day! Don’t ever stop being your creative, beautiful self! You never know who you will inspire next. I know I am! (Now, I just wish I had a place where people passed enough for me to do something like this!)