I hadn't planned to drive back over here tonight. I had planned to go to bed and sleep peacefully after my evening spent in Boulder. Maybe sleep wasn't realistic, given the alterations done to my somatic cycles during the fest. But in any case, I'm feeling a bit pissed off at the moment.

When I walked in, the apartment was feeling a bit stuffy and muggy. Mom is out of town in Chicago right now, so I've got the run of the place for the time being. I microwaved and ate a few vegetables from the freezer, watched a few minutes of random crap on tv, turned it off, and decided to sleep, or at least lie peacefully in bed for a while. I put on a cd I hadn't heard in years that I had just bought minutes earlier (more on that in the next rambling, which will describe events which preceded this), and set the volume to play in a soft, relaxing manner over the speakers. Then, I made my biggest mistake of the evening. Just before crawling into bed, I opened the window to let some fresh air in.

Sounds from traffic on the street were a bit noisy initially, but I didn't mind that. It actually felt good to hear the sounds of the outside world floating in. And the fresh air... mmmmm, the fresh air... the fresh air...

...the fresh air... wasn't smelling so fresh at all.

My nose identied the scent quickly. Smoke. Thick and distinctive. And it was getting worse. And it was making my head feel tense. And suddenly, I wasn't relaxing at all. And I wanted fresh air. But more smoke was coming in the window, so I closed it. Then it was stuffy, and the air still stunk of smoke, and I wanted to open the window to air it out. But that would only make it worse.

Smoke, not from a fire, but from a cigarette.

Was my nose in hyper-sensitive mode again (as has been happening on and off for the past few weeks)? Well, maybe. I got up and walked around the apartment, smelling hints of the smoke everywhere, even in the living room and kitchen. It wasn't just stuffy, but also smokey. Was I hallucinating? Maybe my senses were overreacting.

I walked out the front door onto the balcony, and took a deep breath. The air there was good. Not perfect, but good. Easily breathable.

Then, as a test, I went straight back into the apartment, stepped out of the screen door, and onto the porch, which is directly next to the window of my bedroom. There, I took a breath. I didn't even have to breathe deeply, and I didn't want to. Even though it was outdoors, the air was smokier than most bars I've been in. Given that I could smell a huge difference between the air at the different openings, I was most decidely NOT hallucinating.

I went back out the front door, took a few steps down the stairs in my bare feet, and peered at the deck of the apartment directly below. The light in the living room was on and the screen door was wide open. I couldn't see any life forms from this vantage point. But there was no question where the smoke was coming from.

I went back to the porch, said in a semi-loud voice, "Fuck, it stinks out here!" Then, I went back inside, and slammed the screen door HARD. I don't know if those assholes downstairs heard what I said, but I suspect the screen door would have been hard not to notice. As to whether they give a shit, I have my doubts.

This is not the first time there have been "issues" with the residents of the second floor, although it does mark the first time I have personally gotten really annoyed about it. My mom often complains of the smoke. She is much more sensitive to it than I am, and she has asthma, which is aggravated by such pollutants. At times, it has gotten so bad for her that she has lodged complaints with the apartment management, but to no avail.

When she has called management, they have responded by saying, "What do you want us to do? We can't prohibit them from smoking."

She replied with a common sense suggestion that smokers be put in separate buildings from non-smokers.

They said that's a reasonable idea, but they can't implement it. It's against state law to segregate apartment buildings based on a number of criteria, including race (duh), whether the residents have children (hmmm), and, you guessed it, smoking status.

Now I don't know what the hell the Colorado legislature was smoking when they dreamed that one up, but in my opinion, every lawmaker who voted for such a measure ought to be sentenced to live in close quarters next to a commune of chain smokers for the next year, then see how much they like their damn laws.

Also, I submit that there is something wrong with a society in which having a party, playing loud music, or anything that generates a few extra decibels can warrant police action for "disturbing the peace", but spewing toxic carcinogens into air that everybody has to breathe is somehow considered socially acceptable, and landlords will do nothing to stop it.

Frustrated, I decided to give up on bed for the time being, and drove over to the Neighborly Abode to rant online, and possible write some other stuff too. (Then again, it would also be nice to be awake for work tomorrow, which was a large part of the reason for trying to go to bed early in the first place.)

I can smell some smoke here too, but at least this type of smoke smells marginally better.

Maybe I should just go live in the middle of a wilderness somewhere. Campfire smoke is the best smelling smoke of all.