I made it to another year anyway. Still can't believe that, but like a friend told me on Facebook. God doesn't want me yet and the Devil is afraid of me..Ha! I am copying and pasting all my notes from the past month, so it will be quite long. I only do this so I can have the blog printed out at the end of the year, and I'll know how my year went. I do that every year, if I live to the end of it..
Debby is recuperating from her shoulder surgery and most likely going to therapy every week now. I haven't talked to her in a while.
Jane and Savey have gone to SC. She's still on crutches from the broken bone in her foot, but healing. My left foot has been in a lot of pain for the past two weeks and my leg has been all red and hot. I have been taking Ibuprofen every day and it's getting better. I think I injured that foot somehow. It's my drop foot and is always giving me a hard time.
Rich and Ann are having Thanksgiving at their home. Jeanne, Jimmy & Patty, Jane and Savey are going. I'm not. Steve will be down South. Mike and his girls go somewhere else for Thanksgiving. So it won't be too bad for Ann.
One of the notes I put on the door when I was so pissed about the cigarette smoke:
Your smoke is killing me!! Stop the crap! Get yourselves an air cleaner. I can't breathe and I'm getting very sick from all the smell.
At night it's in the bedroom till late at at night.
Some days it's in my living room and my bedroom. I have no place to breathe in here.
Who the hell is smoking upstairs till 1 am!!
I am so sick of this F'ing shit!!
Turn your exhaust fans on! Get air cleaners. Do something!!
I have lived here almost 17 years and never had this problem before.
Here's all my notes:
Oct. 16th
I have been cigarette smoke free all day today!! It's a miracle that I got to breathe regular air for a change! They have started digging outside also. Moving dirt around is more like it. To reroute the water. Now I will be waiting to see how it flows after it rains this week. I think they might be coming to knock out a hole in that cement drain out there, that has been sitting above ground all these years, with no water at all going in it. Hopefully things will be getting done by next week.
Oct. 19th
They haven't started inside yet. They are replacing the outside wall right now. Mark and Kevin came in to move my dresser away from the wall. It's all black mold behind there and still wet. My solid oak dresser is all mold on the bottom legs that I can see and it's most likely growing up inside of it. I'm going to make the landlord replace it or I'll take him to court for not fixing this issue years ago! This could have caused my cancer, for all I know. But I won't go that far, to blame it on that. They asked me about the rug and since they aren't the ones who do it, they will just put a patch from a remnant of their indoor-outdoor stuff down for now. I don't give a shit what they put down, as long as that mold is gone.
Oct 19
Going to be a stressful day because they will be in and out of my apt. all day, working on the walls in my bedroom. I'll be in the living room on my laptop though! Thank God I got it in time and Ang got it hooked up for me. Just in time!! Have a nice day everyone.. Got to shut my desktop off now and cover everything with plastic. I'll post more moon photos later. Just got them done and in my little flash drive.
Comment from a childhood neighbor, Steve Price:
Hope all went well Ginny, and I as well as your many friends and family am sorry you have had to live this way this long and hope things get nothing but better for you ! If not, We'll just have a party and open up a big can of Whoop you know what !! I still got my violin case handy and rarin to go !! Of course at my age I'll need lots of help, ha ! I've noticed that drain in several of your pictures and wondered what it was for. By the time any water ran down it you would already be in New Jersey. Who engineered that ? Big Bird ? Someone should invent a mold alarm like the smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Take care gal and best of luck with the mold removers. Funny when you see them on T.V. they have space suits on and helmets and oxygen breathing apparatus and heavy gloves. It's O.K. for us to live in it till someone squawks and it gets noticed. Dirt bags !!
Oct 20 am
Two hours sleep at the most. Better than nothing. So hard to sleep on chair. I was still awake at 2:30. Up at 4:30 to the bathroom. Heard someone come in the building at 6:30. Hope I'll get back to my bed soon. With the window open all night and bright lights on to dry it out, and they haven't even painted yet. Oh well. I'll deal with it, like I have everything else. Nina and Jessi stopped to get the bird cage last night, so that is out of my way. Now for someone to get that portable air conditioner out of here.
( Not sure if I mentioned in my last post, that my little Gigi passed away on Oct. 13th. )
Oct. 20th
Walls done. Paint on. Half my room will be mauve and half white now..I don't care, as long as that mold is gone. One more night in the chair. The paint smell is something my lungs can't take. Tomorrow he comes back to glue the rest of the runner carpet on and an electrician has to come and hook up the new baseboard heater. That will be it, till they want to put new carpeting in, but I don't care. It will just mean more disruptions for me. They were out of here at 3:30. I might go in and take off all the plastic that is covering everything, since they won't be sanding anything any more. Then I can vacuum and wash everything off. They won't be making any mess tomorrow. I need to get at my desktop, where all my photo software is, so I can collage them. This new one is way too touchy. Hope I can sleep more tonight.
Stinky smoke in my living room from 5-8 They were having a party up there, so more smokers most likely. Now I'm smelling it in my bathroom too. Never got in there before. They will be sealing the storage room this week, and getting the mold problem out. That is right on the other side of my bedroom wall. That might help keep the smoke out a little also, if they put sealer on the walls and ceiling. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it helps. I think I better get them to put that foam behind all the living room sockets also.
( They never did do much in that room. Just sealed one back area. )
Oct 21
Not good night, trying to sleep on the chair again. I was sleeping for about an hour and the woman upstairs wakes up and crashes her recliner, and stomps across the floor. This was at 2:30 am! That bitch! One of these days, that chair is going to come crashing through the ceiling. Then at 3 am I started choking and coughing so bad. My lungs are getting bad from the cigarette smoke. It was bad in my living room last night. I fell to sleep for another couple hours, off and on. Was up at 6:30. They were supposed to be here at 9 to finishing gluing the carpet piece down, and the electrician was supposed to be here at 11. No one showed up till noon. Then the guy and his son comes in to do the rug and has the grandson with them. That little baby is eating Cheetos and goes in the bedroom and is all over the place, with his dirty little Cheeto hands. Got some on my bed cover. I took him into the bathroom to see the turtle and then washed his hands. Didn't do any good. He was still eating them. So got little pieces of those things in there now and mud on the floor. I had cleaned everything last night. Now I have to do it all over again. Those guys laid their tools right on top of my white cover!! I had to tell them to get that stuff off. He laid the dirty box that held the heater, right on my bed! What is wrong with people? They finally are out of here for now. But they will be putting more foam behind the plug outlet, so I guess I won't vacuum or clean till that is done.
Oct 23
Just wrote the landlord another letter about the smoke issue. He sure is procrastinating about the signs he was going to put up. I was choking at 10 am in my LR so had to come in the bedroom. Now I am beginning to smell it in here, so going back to the LR. At least my mold issue is fixed for now. What a way to live. I hear that Mohawk is looking into grants for more housing. But I won't be living long enough to see a new place to move to.. Just hope they don't let this landlord build a new one!!
October 24
The noon smoke has started..Yuck! Damn smokers! It's in both rooms, so I guess I'll sit next to the open window and catch a cold. Just to have fresh air. GRRRRRR!
Oct. 25th
They fixed my walls in the bedroom and fixed it outside so the water won't come in again. So that should handle the mold problem for a while. My biggest problem is the smoke coming in my living room and bedroom. I am choking and coughing so much that I'm hurting from it. I've written to the landlord a few times about it. They are supposed to be putting that expanding spray foam behind all my outlets, but I told the landlord they should be doing that in the smoker's apartments also and making them get smoke cleaners. This coughing is going to cause me to have a blood vessel burst or a heart attack. as soon as the smell starts coming in, my lungs constrict and my voice is real bad. there are seven smokers upstairs now, and it's theirs that is drifting through the walls into my apartment. This year has been the worst. Before I dealt with only that one woman downstairs. her smoke would travel down the hall and under my door at times. That was nothing to what I'm dealing with now. All because of new people moving into apartments that never had smokers before.
I'm even putting nasty notes on the door, telling them to turn their exhaust fans on or get air purifiers. They hate me and I don't give a shit any more.
If I had somewhere else to move to, I would at this point. The landlord said he would put signs up on all the doors telling everyone to stay off the property when they smoke. That won't help my situation, since it's coming through the walls.
So I will be writing letters to the landlord all the time, till he does something. It took him seven years to fix my mold issue though. Assholes.
Other than that, I'm okay..Ha!
I couldn't sleep in my bedroom for three days, till they got that all done. Then I had to clean everything and wash the curtains etc. good thing I covered everything up with plastic. They would never have done it. Dust everywhere. I hung my curtains back up myself, with the help of one of those low medical step stools and my grabber. Threw the old shade away and stuck up a temporary one that I had from a few years ago, that I never got to putting up. I couldn't reach too well to push hard to stick it up but I used my steel rod that I have to hold the window up with. I'll be ordering a regular shade soon.
Oct. 26, 2013
I was up before the crack of dawn this morning, thanks to the bitch upstairs. She must have been packing to leave. Sounded like a heard of elephants up there. Her daughter I presume. Stomping around, flushing the toilet numerous times, which goes down the wall by my head. Stomp, stomp, stomping, for an hour. Now it's all quiet at 7 am. I'm hoping she's gone to Florida for a month! No good sleep for me this morning. It will be heaven if she's gone. She bangs her recliner chair every time she gets out of it and scares me half to death sometimes. I swear it's going to come through the ceiling one of these days. Now I'm hoping the rest of the day will be peaceful. I also hope those damn smokers will go away. I had it in my living room and bedroom last evening. So I had to go in the kitchen and make me some cookies. I needed a chocolate fix..Ha!
Oct. 30, 2013
I have had almost two full days without any cigarette smell , except for in the bedroom at 7:20 pm both nights. Someone is by that exit door upstairs, when I smell it in my bedroom. But at least it was only at that time and I never smelled it again. The landlord still has not put up any signs. But my signs on my door tells them just what I think. I also wrote another letter to the landlord today. And I will keep writing. They haven't been back to plug my outlets yet either. And the one in the bedroom, where they put the new wall up is still sitting there with no cover. The asshole cut the hole too large. I tried to put the cover on the other day and realized their mistake. That's most likely why they haven't been back. But I told the landlord about it. Sure is nice to breathe better air. At least I'm not waking up choking. But I know it won't last. I think the only reason I am not smelling it in the living room is because that woman has had her grandchild up there.
Oct. 31st
This has not been a good day for me. The smoke has been bothering me real bad. I wasn't feeling very well because of it. I had to get out of the living room at 9 pm, when it got bad. Then when I came into the bedroom, it is just as bad. It is continuous in here. Every half hour it gets stronger, then fades and comes back strong again. I've got a face mask on right now and I don't mean a Halloween mask! I have to go to bed and cover up my head again. I'll be waking up with another headache and not being able to breathe good. The landlord is an asshole. He still has not put the signs up and now I don't think he even will. My eyes are stinging. I am really pissed off right now. I hope tomorrow will be a better day. Good night you all. I hope none of you ever rent from this Accattato guy.
Nov. 1, 2013
I was hoping the wind would be blowing harder, so it would blow in my windows. The smoke started in my bedroom at 7:30 am. So disgusting. It's just letting up now at 8:45 am. I have my air purifier on high, my window open wide and my exhaust fan on over my stove. Nothing helps till they stop. It was going on all night last evening, till 1:00 am, when I went to bed and covered up my head. I haven't even checked the living room yet. At least it's warmer today and I can open all the windows, without freezing to death. My poor bird will catch a cold and die on me probably. Not a nice way to start my day. I'm hoping it will be clear the rest of the day, but I know It's only wishful thinking. I sent the landlord another letter this morning. He has never been over here to even talk about the situation. He sits in that office, on his big fat ass, and laughs about it. At least that is what he did the first time I wrote a letter about it, back in January. Telling everyone that he'd never go smoke free in his apartments. Now it's time to start writing letters to all the Government agencies, but from what I have read online, there's not much that can be done, except for moving, if the landlord refuses to do anything. I will look into the disabled advocacy group. But they tell you to move also. All these Government funded senior buildings should be smoke free.
So now I have to go get my pet bird, Ricky, his breakfast, and hope that we have a better day ahead. Sorry about my bitching all the time. I have to get it off my chest.
Nov. 1st
After a bad start this morning, with the smoke and everything, the rest of the day went well. My sister, Jeanne came over. My daughter and Grandkids will be coming tomorrow or Sunday. That's when I'll have cake! Jeanne brought some homemade Pumpkin Cookies, with cream cheese frosting. Yummy!
The guy came in and fixed the area on my wall where the outlet is. I had to tell his daughter, to remind him that he never put the cover on. He bought a larger cover to cover up his mistake.. Had to vacuum up after him of course.
I sent the landlord another letter this morning. Then I talked to the girl in the office. The landlord called her right after that and told her to tell me that he will be here next Wed. or Thursday, to talk about the smoke situation. They turned the exhaust fan on upstairs in the storage room. It's right next to my bedroom area and maybe it will suck the smoke from up there before it has a chance to come down to my place. But I have to print out a sign and have the woman upstairs put it on that door for me. Otherwise someone will be turning that switch off all the time. I will slowly get this resolved a little. (I hope) I haven't smelled the smoke in my bedroom tonight anyway! Maybe I'll get to sleep better. It was in the living room a little, this afternoon, but not tonight. So that one is probably out for the night, thank God! It was a nice day. Quite breezy and warm. I kept my windows open all day. Love the fresh air when I can get it.
Thanks to everyone, for all the birthday wishes. I love all the attention for one day.. Hugs to you all! I hope I will be around for the next one. But I never look that far ahead. Best to take it a day at a time and make the best of it.
Nov. 2nd
My daughter and the kids today, and my chocolate cake!! That was so yummy! Got my pizza also!! Had a nice day. The smoke has held off since this morning. had a real bad few hours early this morning in my bedroom. Then it was good the rest of the day, thank God!
My daughter, Nina and her children on Nov. 2nd.
Nov. 2
Had a pretty good day. The smoke was heavy in the bedroom from 8:30 am till 11:30 am though. But the rest of the day was smoke free. Till now! It's been coming in my bedroom heavy since 11:30. It's weird that it smells real strong about every half hour. But it's time to go to bed anyway. I've got lots of old photos to scan tomorrow.. Hope I will be able to. If it's smokey, then I can't. My ex had the good album of photos, ever since 1971. I hadn't seen any of these since then. He did not take very good care of it. It was one of those heavy leather albums that we bought from a traveling salesman. Then we put Olin Mills portraits in it. Well. It's a shame that this thing is all ruined and smells of mold and mildew.. Half the photos are missing and lots of the large ones are gone or damaged. His wife threw some away apparently. She hated having it around I guess. But I am salvaging most of what's left. That will keep me busy for a while. Now to get away from this wall. It's terrible with cigarette smell. Yuck!
Nov. 4th
Still smoke free! Can't believe it!!
November 4 at 10:26pm
Guess I spoke too soon. Someone is smoking upstairs by that exit door. The smell just came in my bedroom. Didn't last long.
Nov 5th
I have not smelled any smoke today. I have heard that woman on the other side of my living room, upstairs, coughing a lot. Maybe my curse worked. I wished they'd all get sick so they wouldn't feel like smoking..Ha! The maintenance man came in today and put filters in all my outlets. That should help. But they still need to put them in the smoker's apartments to keep it from drifting out. They also put the signs on all exit doors, saying there is to be no smoking near any of the doors. I got them to put a note upstairs on the storage room, to keep the exhaust fan on at all times, like they do downstairs. It might catch some of the smell and send it out the roof, before it wanders down to my bedroom. The landlord, himself, is coming to talk to me. So I might be able to get a few more things straightened out here! A little progress....finally!!
Nov. 7, 2013
The landlord, Jim Acattato, his son in law Dominick Bellino and Sara, who works in the office, all came in my apartment at 1:40 pm. I explained the whole smoke situation to them and suggested what they could do to help me. They will be putting filters in those two apartments and giving them air purifiers! He is also going to be installing a HEPA filter exhaust fan upstairs, in the hallway, that will shoot out to the roof above. That should take care of a lot of the smoke. But that won't be installed for a few months, after they get their new budget for the new year. But for now, they will be getting the air cleaners and putting the filters in those two other apartments.
No more smoking outside that door upstairs either. He said he will be designating a spot outside, downstairs, for all smokers.
So at least it's a start, and hopefully it will help me. The smell was bad in my bedroom all morning. Just enough to to make me cough and feel sick. I had to close the bedroom door and open the window again. Those filters don't do the job when there is smoking regularly up there.
Acattato was very friendly and wanted to know every complaint I had, so he could work on them all eventually. ( That's because he's afraid I'll report him.)
He will be installing security cameras very soon also. ( Probably take a year! )
He asked if I wanted my bedroom all painted and a new rug put in, but I said no. Wait till I croak. I don't want any more disruptions. He was okay with that also.
Now I will wait and see how much of that stinky old stale smoke I smell. I do know that the women upstairs will not give a crap about any signs, and will still stand by that exit door, smoking. Just wish I could catch them. It's that spot where all my bedroom smoke is coming from.
I can smell it now, in the bedroom, as I am typing this.
So that's it for now.
Nov. 12th
I have had a full day without smelling cigarette smoke. Just a slight smell tonight in my bedroom. No. The landlord's people have not done a thing yet, in those other smoker's apartments. Last night I shut off the exhaust fan in the storage room next to my bedroom wall. I'm thinking it might be dragging the smell down from upstairs. Then when I took my garbage down to the trash room, I flipped the switch to the whole building exhaust fans. They all run on one switch though. No one shut it off all day, and it's still on. I think it's helping. But the people don't like the noise in the hallways. Mostly because they want to be nosy and hear everything that's going on. The maintenance man wondered why they were on and asked the girl in the office. She called her boss and he told her to leave it on. He knew I turned them on. And since he's procrastinating, then he knows he better not piss me off. It will keep the smoke rising anyway, so it doesn't come down. I hope. I only heard what was said because I talk to one woman in this place. She told me. Even though she doesn't like the fan noise either but she understands. And she's a smoker, and the only one who smokes underneath her stove fan at all times.
The girl in the office is sick, so that might be why she hasn't gone to get the air cleaners yet. And if she's sick, then her father might be also. He's the one who has to put the filters in the outlets upstairs. The other guy doesn't do much around here any more. I sure hope I don't come down with anything, since she was sitting in my apartment last Thursday, with the landlord. I've managed to stay sick free for the past few years.
I was chilly today, so had to turn up my heat a little. Felt like a damp chill.
At least I had a better day, breathing cleaner air. My lungs were a mess yesterday.
Nov. 13th
Someone in this building did not like the exhaust fans on in the hallways and shut the switch off this morning. I got right on the phone and called the landlord. It's back on now. He said he'll put a lock box over it if they continue to do that. It sure is helping to keep the smoke away from my apartment. They haven't gotten around to putting the outlet filters in those smoker's apartments yet, and buying the air purifiers for them either. It will be a week tomorrow that they promised to do that. Typical!!
He sure isn't getting things done too fast. I've been smelling the crap in my bedroom every hour since 6:30. It's not as strong, but still don't like smelling it at all. Guess the fans in this building don't help much. When I called the office this morning, they said the girl who works in this office was supposed to be buying the air cleaners today. She didn't. But she's been sick, so I'll give her another day..
Nov. 14th
I've been smelling it all night in my bedroom. Got to get that area fixed now. The one that affects me in the living room has her new air purifier, and it is helping I think. I didn't smell any in that room today.
Nov. 15th
I had a smoke free day, till 8:20 pm, when it started in my bedroom, and kept on going till I went to bed at midnight. I am just so frustrated. I turned the building fans off because they weren't helping. I put a note on the downstairs storage room, that is right next to me bedroom wall, to tell them to shut off the fan when they leave. I went out there and the light and fan were on. I am trying everything I can to stop that upstairs smoke from coming down. I thought maybe that exhaust fan in that storage room was pulling the smoke down.
About every half hour, someone is puffing on a cigarette. My living room was smoke free all day and night. I hope it's from the guys putting filters in all her outlets and putting a door sweep on, and giving her an air purifier. I hope it's not because she wasn't home. I want this stuff to work. The maintenance man has not done the apartment that is causing my bedroom problem. I hope he gets at that next week. He was just here at 5 pm to do the other apartment. And it's the weekend already, so I won't be getting anything done till Monday now. If ever. The exhaust fans to the building did not work. So I shut them off. Too many people were complaining about the noise. The problem has to be fixed from within their apartments.
Nov. 15th, 2013
Note on my door
Whoever is still smoking upstairs, by that EXIT door, your smoke is still coming into my bedroom down here and it's disgusting and makes me choke and cough and feel sick.
I can smell your smoke every hour from 5:30 till after midnight sometimes.
On the 13th, it was all night long. 6:30 pm-7-7:20, 7:45, 8 pm, 8:30, 9 pm, 11:30 pm.
On the 14th it started at 5:15 pm and continued all night long. 6:30, 6:45, 7:40, 8:15, 8:30, 9 pm, 10, 10:30.
I have been smoke free all day on the 15th, till 8:20 pm. Then it started in my bedroom, and kept going every half hour or 45 minutes.
Who the hell has to smoke that much?
Leave all fans off in the storage rooms. Do not smoke in there. It smells so strong, it seems like someone is smoking in there. My bedroom is right next to the storage rooms.
Be considerate of other's health.
DON"T SMOKE AT ALL ANYWHERE NEAR THAT DOOR, INSIDE OR OUT!
SMOKE INSIDE YOUR OWN APARTMENT!
You apparently aren't obeying that sign on the door. A new one will be up soon and there will be NO more smoking at all in that area.
I WANT TO BREATHE CLEAN AIR.
We, who do NOT SMOKE, have the right to CLEAN AIR in our apartments.
The Landlord will put filters in all your outlets and switches. And put a door sweep on. He will also get you an air purifier. Mark will get to that soon.
Please use your exhaust fans, in your apartments.
THANK YOU!
That's it for this month's post. Take care everyone. Hope you all have a very nice Thanksgiving.
