City Living

Occasionally I get a little carried away with the cleaning of my home. Suddenly every bit of dust and dirt irritates me. So today I tackled the windows that look out onto the balcony. Being covered by the balcony above the windows don't get washed or dirtied by the rain nevertheless they were filthy. I don't know if it's the close proximity to the highway or the traintracks or just ordinary streets but everything in this neighborhood gets covered in a film of black soot. When I lived overlooking the freeway things were much worse but even now a thin layer of black seeps in along the window edges. Inside and out the windows are covered in dirt. As I wash the screens in my bathtub and watch the black water swirl down the drain I can't help but wonder how on a day to day basis I don't notice the city grime. It blends into the background like the train whistles and car horns. Even though I try to keep up with the dusting I'm sure all my stuff is covered lightly in soot, I just don't notice it. I try not to think about the fact that I must also constantly be breathing this stuff in every day. All in all a small price to pay for the joys of living in the city.