So the wedding and reception went smashingly.  A good time was had by all.  I also learned that my children are exceptionally good dancers for little girls their ages.  They get that from their old man, no seriously.

Problems arose when we came back to the hotel, however.  It was around 10:00pm, past time to get little girls ages 6 and 4 to bed, right?  We notice that there’s people sitting in the hallway about 10 feet from our room, having a little chat.  I ignore it, thinking it’s a temporary thing.

I was wrong.

I called down to the front desk complaining.  They said they’d send someone up to handle it.  20 minutes later, I can still hear the talking, so I call down again.  The idiot at the front desk says they sent security there, the people talking were in the hospitality room near us, and there was nobody in the hall, and besides which it wasn’t that bad.  I responded that I would be down shortly after confirming that there absolutely WERE people in the hall.

So I got dressed, confirmed there were people in the hall (the door to the hospitality room was closed now), and went down to the front desk to inform them of what idiots they are.  I go back up to my room, expecting it to be taken care of shortly.

Again, I was wrong.

Finally, about 10:50pm, I lost my patience.  I was still dressed, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.  I was trying to avoid this, because when I lose my temper, I can be rather rough with people.  I went out into the hallway to talk to them.

Me: “So, is it particularly crowded in your hotel rooms?”

Them: “Yes, we have babies sleeping in our rooms, so we came out here to talk.”

Me: “So rather than be in your own rooms keeping YOUR children awake, you decided to come out into the hall and keep MY children awake?  Do you see the inequity of this from my point of view?”

Them: (disbelieving they are making that much noise) “You mean you can hear us?”

Me: “Do you think I’d come out here complaining because you were being too quiet?  That the silence is what was keeping us awake?”

Them: (they don’t know how to respond to that)

Me: “Kind of a dumb question when you think about it that way, right?  Now, it doesn’t matter who you’re keeping up, how old they are, or what their relation is to me.  The point is, YOU’RE SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HALLWAY IN A HOTEL AT ELEVEN O’CLOCK AT NIGHT TALKING!  It’s not that I have something against conversation, I don’t.  Couldn’t you find a more appropriate place for it?  Like, say, the sitting area with couches and stuff just to the one side of the lobby?  And NOT in the hallway where people who are trying to sleep have to hear it?”

Them: (looking ashamed now) “We’ll disperse.” (Yes, they actually used the word “disperse”.  Weird, right?)

Me: “Thank you.” (I turn around, walk 2 steps, then turn back and say...) “Oh, and Happy Holidays!”

I was justified in my actions, wasn’t I?  I’m not the asshole in this situation, right?  I felt a little bad afterwards, because I did shame them pretty harshly, but goddamnit, they were keeping me up, and nothing pisses me off more than people who think that the rules of society (whether written or tacit) don’t apply to them.

At any rate, they dispersed, and I got my peace and quiet.

you are COMPLETELY justified ... in fact, you waited longer and took more steps than i would have before heading out there myself (or at least nicole making me head out)

Wow… I wish I could be so eloquent when dealing with complete strangers who are annoying the shit out of me.  I guess I just break it down into simplest terms—a skill I have due to being an elementary teacher. 

I must say that one of the greatest pet peeves I have is of those people who feel the rules (as you said, written or tacit) don’t apply to them.  And people who are unapologetically lost in their own world, say, in the middle of the parking lot where cars are DRIVING… or in front of me in the store.

I could go on and on, but I won’t.  You can thank me later.