July 15th, 2026
At 7:00 am it seems like a dark and stormy morning, the perfect one to stay tucked into bed with, but I need to wake up to take Luna out. Outside my nose feels weird, I feel like I need to sneeze the whole time. My cheeks feel weird, irritated. It's still a bit dark, but getting brighter.
Going back inside the A/C feels better, but I notice strange little feelings on my face while I'm making coffee. While the pot is brewing,
I need to water the plants outside on the balcony. Out there it's pretty clear, my plants are probably not going to get any sun today.
By 10:30 am it's orange, albeit a dull, creamy orange. The air quality map on the other hand is VERY orange. I can feel it inside my apartment while I'm working, it's subtle but it's there. I am in a perpetual state of pre-sneeze. I have tiny, random itches around my eyes and hairline. Luna seems more on edge than usual.
I try to take a picture of the sky, but on the screen it looks white. The orange is getting color-corrected. Someone online asked whether or not this is going to be the new normal, and they were laughed at.
"lol no." Meanwhile here I am shopping for respirators, because this year's smoke definitely feels worse than last year's.
Someone at work said tomorrow is going to be worse.