...awakened this morning at 5 AM by a smell of varnish or paint so strong that it woke me up. This is the first time I can remember being awakened by a smell. But in your 5 AM stupor, it's not very comforting to be awakened by a strong chemical smell. Had it been 3 PM, I woulda thought, "Oooeee, somebody's painting something!" But at 5 AM, I'm thinking "chemical spill/nerve gas attack/gas leak" and in my dreamy-dream state I dreamed that I found a soldering iron burning on my nightstand.

My best guess is that the basement moved out last night and E. Victor, the landlord, wanted to paint the place before the tenants moved in today, so he had it done overnight. Either that or the folks on the first floor were having a big huffing party. And they didn't invite us! Well, they sorta did. We all had brains oozing out our ears this morning.