So, I'm awake again at 3AM. I've been sleeping a lot lately to catch up on
my stress-induced sleep deprivation before, so it's not entirely unexpected,
but the real reason I'm awake has me a little worried about my continued
presence here in this building.
At about 1:30AM every other day, my apartment fills with a really peculiar
smell and it doesn't go away for hours. I originally thought it was
cigarette smoke, but it doesn't reliably give me the same headache that
nicotine does. Likewise, I don't think it's pot. Also, I can't imagine that
my neighbor's smoking habits would be quite so deterministic.
While it doesn't make me sick or give me horrible headaches, it's definitely
distracting enough to keep me awake. Although I was awake today when it
started, it can wake me up. I'm going to mention it to the landlord
tomorrow, but I'm curious: has anybody out there experienced strange,
periodic smells in an apartment building? What might it be? Should I be
seriously concerned for my health? My working hypothesis, taking into
account the periodicity and my difficulty in identifying it, is that the
building has a poorly insulated incinerator.