POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => Pre-HAART Long-Term Survivors => Topic started by: AlanBama on May 28, 2008, 09:47:22 pm
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I find myself feeling kind of angry and pissed off most all the time these days...mainly due to one thing: cigarette smoke.
I have never smoked.
The neighbors below me (all 2? 3? 4? or 6? or how ever many 'stay' there) smoke Newports like it was their last day on earth. Everything I own now smells like cigarette smoke. I have tried to 'plug up' all the crevices and holes I can get to, but I don't think it has helped much....there's just too much smoke for me to combat.
I'm going to have to invest in one of those tower-style air filters from Brookstone, the kind that you can rinse the metal blades off and don't have to constantly buy filters for.
I'm sure hoping some place GOOD comes open sometime this Summer/Fall for me to move to. To me, moving is one degree down on the scale from "being admitted to the hospital". There is nothing I hate more. But I'm gonna have to suck it up and do it, 'cause I can't take this much longer.
Oh, and after I move, I'm filing a renter's claim with State Farm, and claiming that due to improper insulation/landlord negligence, everything I own is smoke damaged. What's the worst they can say? No? I've heard that a few times before......
OK I'm done with my rant now. And all you smokers, please don't be mad at me, I really am GOOD about being around people who smoke. Some of my best and dearest friends smoke. It's just that being around it occasionally and LIVING ON TOP OF IT are two very different things.
Alan >:(
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Oh... sounds bad Alan. You poor dear. I'm glad you've decided to move, because I was going to say that moving sounds like the only solution.
I, too, absolutely DETEST moving. Now, how will you go about making sure this doesn't happen in the next place? Will you find a place on a ground floor?
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Yuck I dont like smoking in the house. We go outside.
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I would LIKE to move to a dwelling that is either "free-standing" or possibly a duplex, so I have only ONE other neighbor to contend with.....of course, that one can turn into the nightmare from hell.....so I really don't know what's best for me.
Maybe Oprah or Ty Pennington will run down here and build me a new house....I won't hold my breath though. ;)
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I hear you about hating moving Alan, but it sounds like that's in your future. No sense staying there if it makes you feel this way. Good wishes on finding a better place.
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Oh honey,
I send you a bag of fresh air...
Jee, that sucks
Hope you will find a nice smoke free place soon..hugs
Hermie
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and.....this constant state of being pissed off is really not good for you.....I hope you resolve all this
Good luck
joel
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hello Alan,
I know exactly what your going through !!! We live in a town house. Each building has four units in it. There not as airtight from each other as I would like think they are. The woman that lives in one of the units is a VERY HEAVY SMOKER. Her bedroom connects on the opposite wall with our bedroom.
For a long period of time (years) she was taking her smoking outside, because of the serious health of her 48 year old husband. ( by-pass heart surgery---and a former (heavy) smoker himself.) She's back smoking inside again !
Well, these units aren't all that tight. When she's puffing away ( and our AC kicks in ) the smell coming out of the vents is horrendous. Worst than a dirty ashtray. Most be infiltrating through some dead space up in the ceiling. She also tries to cover up the smell ( trying to hide it from her husband, with perfume and air deodorizer. It just makes the situation even worse !!
This odor seems to be coming in, through the upstairs only, so I've to start looking around, to see what else I can possibly seal up, to try to get this stopped. I've already mentioned to Ed, that the time is coming, to have a talk with this woman. Hopefully she will take the smoking outside again, cut us some slack along with her husband.
Sorry you have to go through this but I completely understand the stench involved. It's sickening.
Good luck Alan---------Ray
Ps, I also have two of those tower air cleaners ( with the metal blades).. there not helping that much. While they do help in removing some dust from the air, and give out that occasional thunder storm smell, they are not powerful enough to handle this smoke situation that is taking place, several times during the day and night.
Make sure to seal up ALL your electrical receptacles. They do make a foam type gasket, that goes under the cover plate, (easy to put on) that may help to seal things up a little tighter. Any pictures or paintings that are hanging on the walls, may be allowing the odor to come through also ( through those small holes in the walls) so try to seal them up a little also. Gaps in the baseboard, another possible source. Try to get some compound to seal up in that area also.
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Hey Alan,
Wow, I am sorry this is happening to you. I never realize how nasty cigs can smell until I quit smoking.
Now, I can smell someone smoking on the other side of parking lots and, when sitting at a red light, in a vehicle several lanes over.
I can't imagine how distasteful it must be trying to tolerate this. Worse, they are Newports, which I thought were stinky cigarettes even before I quit.
I hope things improve for you.,
BIG HUGS,
Mark
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Don't drive yourself crazy trying to hermetically seal yourself closed in your house bubble-boy. I'd rather take a hot poker to the eye than move, but that seems the best option. The move, not the poker. ;)
When I quit three years ago I was shocked how stanky my car and clothes smelled.
Good luck,
Hal
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I looked at a small rental house yesterday.
On the plus side: brand new central HVAC and ductwork; huge 2 car carport
nice side-by-side refrig/freezer; owners VERY nice people!
On the neg. side: the yard is WAY WAY too big; I would have to hire some-
one to mow with a riding mower; ugly brown 70's panel-
ing throughout -- they might paint over it, but not sure;
no dishwasher or garbage disposal (I'm spoiled to having
these!); the one bathroom is TEENY TINY - no storage
space, and not much storage/closet space anywhere.
Well, this list just helped me to make up my mind....I'll keep looking!
Thanks everybody!
hugs, Alan
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I just quit smoking a month ago and I cant believe how stinky it smells . I want to sell my car that reeks of smoke ...after I get the dog hair off all the seats .
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Alan, good luck with looking for a new place sweetie. I quit on and off, but when I do quit, I can't believe how cigarette smoke really smells. I never notice it when I smoke. Anyway, I'm keeping my fingers and legs crossed for you.
Luv,
Betty
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Ah Alan.
Matty the Damned is a devoted smoker, but he doesn't smoke inside.
It's cheap. It stains the walls and leaves the curtains rurnt.
Good luck with the search for a new lattie. :-*
MtD
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The couple who lives (and smokes) below me is an unmarried hetero black couple, prob. in their 50's or early 60's. The man died on Sunday, his partner told me. So she will be moving out, she can't afford the rent here alone (I think they were both on disability). So, here comes a 50/50 shot that I might get a better tenant below.....could be worse, but I'm hoping for better.
I feel sorry for her, and gave her a sympathy card yesterday. It is so hard being poor. Everything is tougher, especially sickness and death. I'm sure they can't afford burial expenses.
:'(
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Alan
Now THATS a wierd twist of fate.
Thinking of you!
Joel
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Now THATS a wierd twist of fate.
Alan,
I knew you were pissed off, but did you have to do the person in !! Hope things work out and you get some non-smoking neighbors.
Take care----Ray