I wasn't in the mood to dismantle it, so I let it annoy me

I was sleeping so soundly, when I first heard it, I thought it was part of a dream.

beep

But then it happened again. Only this time it was getting louder.

Beep

So I opened one eye, heard it again and realized what was happening. The batteries in my smoke detector (conveniently located right above my head in my bedroom) decided now was the best time to begin dying.

At 4:30 in the morning.

Not cool. I thought maybe I could manage to drown the beeping out. Because if I can manage to sleep through the blaring alarm clock, I should be able to sleep through a dying smoke detector.

Apparently it's not that easy. I tossed and I turned and at 5 a.m., I gave up. I grabbed my pillow and blanket and stumbled into my spare bedroom, shut the door and tried to fall back asleep on my futon. But the beeping was still there. And it was getting louder, and more often.

BEEP...BEEP

Somehow I managed to fall asleep for about an hour, but of course it wasn't a nice deep sleep. Not only could I still hear the dying smoke detector (which sounded pretty healthy to me), I was worried I would somehow manage to sleep through the buzzing of my alarm clock.

So at 6:30, I stumbled back into my bedroom and tried to catch a few more winks before my alarm would go off. And I was somewhat successful. The alarm went off and I headed for the shower. The smoke detector still beeping, getting louder and quicker, like it was gaining strength.

BEEP....BEEP....BEEP

It kept beeping as I got ready. At one point it was beeping once every 30 seconds or so. Then, as the clock struck 8:30 and I was getting ready to head out the door, I paused. Something didn't sound right.

The beeping had stopped. Wonderful. Just when I was leaving.

On my way to work, I called my landlord and left a message about the dying smoke detector. I know I could have just pulled the batteries myself, but I've had landlords in the past who were very adamant that under no circumstances was I allowed to touch the smoke detectors. And for some reason, if I can remember clearly (it's a little difficult...that whole lack of sleep thing), I think this landlord was one of those.

I haven't heard from the landlord today. But there currently is no beeping noise in my apartment. And it better stay that way, because I need to sleep tonight.