i spent some time tossing and turning, but i'm ultimately still awake - tired and angry and frustrated, but still awake.

i'll have to give them until wednesday, but i'm going to be making a call on that day.

we initially had four options:

a) talk to her

that's clearly not going to work.

b) get rid of her.

i have to continue my due diligence on this, but it's a very difficult and probably unsuccessful process. and, it will no doubt embolden her, if she wins.

c) fix the unit.

i'm giving up on this.

i initially thought i had the bedroom fixed up, but what that did was push the smoke into the bathroom and hallway. so, i patched those areas up, and it just pushed the smoke back into the bedroom.

i patched up the closet the other day, and it just came up a few feet to the side of it.

i had to do the experiment to see how bad it really is, but it seems like i'm not just patching up holes, but in need of replacing the whole floor. i kind of realized i'd need to tear out some fixtures, but it's beyond that, i'd have to tear down the whole unit. really.

the smoke is just going to have to come out somewhere, eventually. and all i'm doing by putting down tarps and taping up spaces is moving it around - i need something much deeper than this.

so, i'm realizing that i can't win this fight on these grounds. it's really gotta be that one of us leaves.

d) let me out of the lease. 

this is going to have to be the option i pursue on around the 1st of may, unless i get a clearer response over the next few days.

so, it's not going to be a letter. it's just going to be a call. i'll have to update her on the situation: the n4 didn't work, and my attempts to smoke proof the unit have led me to the conclusion that this would require replacing the entire floor. i consequently need management to dedicate itself to removing the tenant below me, or prepare to have me try and escape the lease.

i can't live in filth, like this.