9:14 p.m.

The upstairs neighbor leaves me continually perplexed. When I met her in October, I think her name was Jess. Maybe it wasn't. She clip-clopped always across the wood floors, and she came and went late at night.

Then, nothing, for at least two months. Silence. No doors opening, no mail outgoing. No more clip-clopping.

I mentioned the mystery to my landlord. She is still paying rent, and as far as he knows, she still lives there.

But I don't think that's true. For the past week, I have heard the familiar shlomp of male footsteps upstairs, and tonight's constant smoke alarm bleep and burly group of male cheering leads me to believe that Clip-Cloppy has found a subletter.