Introducing myself

[Noise - Citizens Against <cg343@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

          I remember as a small kid, I used to see people every so often
          with what appeared to be cotton stuffed in their ears. I thought
          that these people were very strange creatures indeed. I didn't
          know if they had ear infections or some medical condition that
          required this odd-looking remedy. 

          Less than ten years later, much to my horror, I had adopted this
          very same behaviour. Now I knew what those funny-looking people
          were trying to accomplish; they were protecting their hearing
          and trying to limit their stress levels. 
         
          Today I rarely leave home without arming myself with some form
          of hearing protection. 
          
          I am a 42-year-old teacher and musician. I have degrees in
          Science, Music and Education. I play jazz guitar and classical
          violin; music is the love of my life. I enjoy playing tennis,
          in-line skating, bicycling and reading. 
          
          I don't think that it is a coincidence that many of the people
          who have come in contact with our group and the list are
          musically inclined. People who are in tune with music are also
          unfortunately in tune with noise. 
          
          My quality of life is suffering tremendously because of noise. I
          attribute this to a combination of being somewhat unlucky with
          respect to my choice of living quarters over the years, and my
          growing sensitivity to all types of noise. I was driven out of
          my previous condominium because of noisy neighbours and nearby
          railway tracks. I now have a noisy neighbour on one side of my
          home and an unbearable stream of aircraft on a daily basis. 
          Little did I know at the time, but I had moved directly under a
          major aircraft route, many miles away from the airport. 
          
          I am presently in search of a new home. I am entertaining
          thoughts of moving to a smaller city, although from the reports
          that I have been hearing, this may not be much better, noise-
          wise.