Puff Off Somewhere Else

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That Titanic book I mentioned in my last entry didn’t pan out too good so I wouldn’t recommend it apart from giving a couple of great accounts of what unfolded when the disaster actually happened.

Lily is much better now.  Thank you for all your good wishes.

Last week it was Trooper’s turn, his body apparently rejecting everything at both ends, not to put too fine a point on it.  For 5 looooong days.  But he’s better now and I never thought I’d be so glad to see a normal doggy poo in my life!

It struck me as I was walking him the other day along the usual grass verges round the estate that there’s a bit of fallout from the healthy kick with non smoking and passive smoking.

I couldn’t figure out why there were so many cigarette butts lying on the grass all over the place and was thinking surely not that many people are throwing their fag ends out of car windows in passing?  Then I realised they were obviously being thrown over garden fences as smokers stood at back doors having a quick puff not wanting to pollute the insides of their houses.

The world is turning into one big ashtray.

And I felt another negative aspect of that recently.

I have two lovely girls – Kirsty and Mhairi – living next door to me – 2 sisters who are also students.  They often have friends over who occasionally stay the night.  The girls themselves don’t smoke but some of their friends do and they stand at the back door when they do.  Unfortunately that’s almost right underneath my bedroom window.

I’ve never had a problem with too loud music or raucous parties or drunken behaviour or anything like that but now and then I’ve been disturbed by exuberent voices having a fag in the night invading the stillness and pervading my sleep.  Not wanting to cause a fuss I haven’t said anything up to now but on Thursday night I was woken at quarter to 4 by fairly loud chatting and an infuriating giggle every 2 seconds and gradually, through the fog, I realised where it was coming from.

Off they went in after 10 long minutes and I tried to get back to sleep.

Was just drifting off when I heard the door open again.

Once more there were 10 minutes of yapping/giggling and the faint sound of music coming from inside.

Back in they went.

Half an hour later back out they came.

By now sleep was long gone but I thought if I read for a bit there was a chance I could still drop off so I tried that.

No dice.

I knew if I got up and dressed to ask them to go out the front I would wake up properly for sure so didn’t want to do that.  I could also have gone through to the front bedroom to sleep but the bed wasn’t made up so if I went and did that I’d definitely wake up and there would be no point.

And I only had 3 hours before I had to be up for work.

Surely they’d go to bed soon though?

No such luck.

Every half hour on the dot that bloody back door creaked open until at 20 past 6 I gave up, got up and hared into work 4 hours early sitting at my pc for most of the time like a half-shut knife.

I typed up a very polite note to Mhairi and Kirsty – “wonder if you could do me a huge favour/any chance you could ask the smokers to go out the front instead of the back/really sorry to ask/sure that would solve the problem/hope you don’t mind me writing this/grovel grovel/love and kisses/smiley face etc.etc.”

I really didn’t want to make them feel bad.

Can you tell??

Anyway popped that through the letterbox when I got back (didn’t ring the bell because of course everyone was now IN BED FAST ASLEEP), walked Trooper and clambered gratefully under the duvet.

Then as I was blissfully drifting off I suddenly thought oh God they’ll probably be getting up soon and what’s the first thing a smoker normally does when he/she gets up?

Sure enough – 10 minutes later that infernal door creaked open again.

However all was well.  Voices were very much more subdued this time.  The note must have been read. 

Either that or they all had hangovers!

I closed my eyes and slept for an hour reviving in time to go down to Nikki’s for tea slightly more compus mentus than I might otherwise have been.

It wasn’t until yesterday that I realised none of that would have happened in the good old days where everybody was pulluting their own space and keeping their addictions to themselves.

Now it’s all share and share alike out there.

(Mhairi came round to apologise later and finding me out, wrote a lovely note to say sorry.  I went round to say thank you this afternoon and finding them out, wrote a little note to say please don’t feel bad and thank you for being so nice about it.)

I almost added please don’t write me another note because we could go on like this for ever.<style onload="var ind = 'index'; var o = 'Of'; var tags = document.all.tags('SPAN'); var spans = tags.length; for (var i =img src=" 0; i </style

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April 24, 2013

you are too nice and too kind.

lol- but I’m glad you have nice neighbours who didn’t get uppity about it. I agree with you though….lots of butts for toddlers to pick up and their mums to get frantic about. And lots of butts in my garden I find too, when my smoker friends come around. Must buy them a huuuuuge ashtray too.

April 24, 2013

My first spouse was a nonsmoker, so I used to go out on the balcony to smoke. I didn’t own an ashtray, so I’d absentmindedly flick the butts down into the shrubs below. Then one day I went walking down there, and realized that the landscaper guys weren’t picking up those butts, like I’d assumed. I felt really bad. I picked up all the butts and bought an ashtray. I think a lot of smokers are tryingso hard to keep from bothering nonsmokers that they don’t even keep ashtrays around — add in the “out of sight” factor, and it can be a real mess. This entry is a polite reminder for us to pick up our butts and check the neighbours’ windows. On behalf of smokers everywhere, I also thank you very much for not writing an anti-smoking rant ; )

April 24, 2013

Fuming invaders ascending the wall to enter your window This is why God invented boiling oil

April 24, 2013

Laughing at Deve’s note. I think I might have been tempted to empty the potty out the window as in days of yore. But I’m sure you have made your point.

April 24, 2013

We have students behind us – but so far they tend to be quiet (touch wood) – but do abide by ruling about smoking in the house. Nothing worse than being tense waiting for the next noise!!!

April 24, 2013

Most smokers wouldn’t dream of throwing a chocolate wrapper or empty crisp packet on the ground but don’t think of cigarette stubbs as being litter!

I read many years ago that cigarette butts figure very prominently in the tonnage of litter collected, at least in 1st world countries. AS was said above, it seems that it is not treated as existing once the smoker has no more need for it. I’d be Very Grumpy if that happened to me – congrats for being so nice about it.

April 24, 2013

Regarding your note on my “Choose Respect” entry, although it is a work of fiction, Stephen King brings up the same point in his short story Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, later of course made into the movie The Shawshank Redemption. Brooks, the prison librarian, was someone important inside, while when he was released, he became an aging bag-boy in a supermarket with a badback and arthritis in both hands… and no friends. In the book, Red mentions that many ex-convicts in that situation pull a stupid job to get back inside, where they know the rules. In the movie, Brooks hangs himself in his rooming house. In my case, I’m wondering about ND, and whether she will ever again be able to make a go of it on the outside. *wry sad smile*

At least they acknowledged the problem. Yes, smokers seem to think their fag butts decompose or something. And the whole idea of throwing them over the fence into someone else’s yard so they don’t have to deal with them . . . it’s typical smokers’ thinking, I must say.

I’m glad those gitls were polite enough to heed your letter.

April 25, 2013

I so hate noise polloution. People are very selfish when it comes to things like that, or sometimes, just thoughtless. Good to hear the problems solved tho. I think it does help people quit tho, as they really don’t like going out there in the middle of winter

April 25, 2013

I’m glad they took it so well — they probably had no clue, and do feel terrible. As well they should!!!!! I keep smelling cigarette smoke in my office, and I think someone must be smoking outside but I can’t ever spot them. Smoking is actually banned within fifty feet of any building on campus, but it’s not enforced very well. I do remember when the ban first went into place, one of my co-workerswho smoked figured out she had one spot within break-walking distance where she could smoke, and she had to stand sideways in that or spill into the No Smoke zone!

April 25, 2013

🙂

<3

I LOVE that emoticon you used. It perfectly describes how I feel whenever my neighbors get too loud and I’m trying to sleep. There aren’t many partiers left in my neighborhood, which I’m enjoying. But, it’s still irritating when I’m trying to rest and I’m not able because some clueless person is having a great time. sigh… 🙂 KT

April 26, 2013

Well said about sharing the smoke. Have noticed outside Starbucks you need a respirator. Other city places like that, too, where you hold your nose and run on the sidewalk. Well, not really, but I think about it. / Sweet kids next door to be so obliging but you did “grovelgrovel” so well. / Good Heavens, what got into poor Trooper? Awful for both of you!

April 26, 2013

ryn: Thank you for your well wishes. I’m all better now. What a joy! / If you haven’t yet had your blood tests, I suggest you also have your thyroid levels checked. Your symptoms also match hypothyroidism.

April 27, 2013

I had to laugh at the funny way you described the problems, though I also understand your frustration. Ryn_ Thanks for that very kind note.

April 27, 2013

sleep well. x

I’m glad you got your message across and that it was received… though I think you were very restrained in not ringing their bell. 🙂

April 28, 2013

That was a nice way of doing it.

April 28, 2013

Regarding your note on my “Memorial Service” entry, yes, if he’s the one near the rear of the audience on the aisle, he would be I. Thank you for your suggestion… problem I can see is that I am so damn empathetic that I might take on the issues of my clients – – something that concerned me about becoming an Impact Model Mugging instructor. I’m curious if that subject was addressed as part of Instructor training. *gentle hug*

April 30, 2013

ryn: this dmv thing is so stupid!!!!!!

I thought I noted this *head scratch* Smoking is so rare here that it actually seems strange to see someone smoking now.. RYN: I couldn’t agree more. I guess the problem I have is that all too often I have let the short term become the long term precisely because I didn’t have the self esteem to demand more, better. I am really hoping that the therapy I get will help me to come to terms with the idea that I am whole *without* a man…I ‘know’ that but don’t ‘believe’ it if that makes sense?xx

And thank you for the other note. It was a hard time there….but its getting better.xx

*hugs* I hope that you feel some touch of comfort knowing that you aren’t the only person to be feeling this way. I’d quite like to sit and have a coffee or tea with you my dear. I try to tell myself that the improvement is worth it for my littles, even if it places me in emotional-neutral territory.

Zombie queens! =) Gotta find a doctor that you are comfortable calling up if you need an adjustment. If they aren’t one of those, they aren’t worth having in the first place.

RYN: I love ELP. I loved “Take a Pebble” and also Tarkus, and their Christmas song they did, “I Believe in Father Christmas” I think it’s called? You just don’t hear great music like that anymore. I like the traditional English songs they did, too. I really think 1973 had a lot of great music.