Being smoked out . . .

Well, we've come across the first problem with our new place. Have I mentioned before that our neighbors smoke? Well, they do, and the apartments that we live in don't allow smoking in the downstairs apartments. It must drift up to the upper apartments. Anyway, the couple that lives apartment directly next door to us, unfortunately, smoke. They follow the rules and don't smoke inside their apartment, but what they do is step right outside and smoke right outside their door. Well, of course the smoke drifts down in front of our door, which means that if we are outside, it really stinks. It's as if they are smoking right in front of us. Or, if our windows are open, the smell comes right inside the apartment, as if they were standing right in our living room, smoking. UGH!!

In fact, we had our windows open this morning and they smoked right outside and of course it absolutely reeked inside our apartment, so that I had to close the windows and turn on the A/C. I became concerned, because it is going to be really nice weather when fall is here, and we're going to want to have our windows open a lot. But we're not going to be able to, because of their stinkin' smoking!! UGH.

This is our neighbor where the woman is semi-friendly, and the husband just grunts. He's a typical redneck a**hole. Well, stupid me, thought they'd be "reasonable" (what was I thinking?!?) so I left them a very nice, polite note, asking if they'd do me a huge favor, would they mind just stepping around the corner of the building to smoke? I told them that it drifted over when we were outside, and drifted into our apartment when the windows were open. It wasn't mean, or angry -- it was a nice note! Well, Mr. Redneck came over and knocked on our door and he was angry -- he was so angry, he was shaking!! Over a stinkin' note!!! He got all puffed up and started in about how they've lived here two years, and they can't smoke inside the apartment, and they have every right to smoke wherever they want -- blah blah blah. It's a good thing that Bill stepped in, because I was really pissed that after I wrote that nice note, he had the GALL to come over and act like HIS rights as a smoker overrode MY rights to have a smoke-free home. What a jerk!!! Bill stepped in and said that we weren't trying to cause any trouble, we were just trying to be good neighbors. Of course, it didn't make a bit of difference to Mr. Redneck.

I'm going to discuss this with the office next week when they're open. The reason they don't allow the smokers to smoke in downstairs apartments is because of the drift. Well, what about our rights to have a smoke-free environment, too?? We have the right to enjoy our outdoor area and to leave our windows open when we want to. What is so unreasonable about asking them to step three steps outside their door and around the corner to smoke??

If the office doesn't do anything about it, I'm considering finding out of there is anything I can do legally. We have the right to enjoy our outdoor area, and they need to meet us halfway to make that happen. Just because they've been there two years doesn't give them the right to not compromise. Unfortunately, they park right next to us, so I told Bill it probably won't be long before we have a ding or two in our door. No doubt they won't be careful when they open their doors. They'll probably deliberately hit our door with theirs. Our car is a lot nicer than their truck, and it won't hurt their door any to do that. I'm planning on taking pictures of the door tomorrow just in case.

What jerks they are. It SUCKS living next to smokers. Even when we were in our duplex, and smokers smoked out in their patio, we got the drift into our place. Even in the house we lived in. YUCK! I HATE CIGARETTE SMOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UGH. We'll see what the office has to say. Grrrrr.