torture week

I have now been officially stuck indoors for a week. The wildfires made it impossible for me to go out for extended periods. Last week, I thought I was having a heart attack when I cannot breath all of a sudden. I had to stop walking and take gulps of breaths to no avail... I walked on to get inside the library and started inhaling and exhaling. Mind you, if I wasn't able to breath properly after 5 more minutes I probably would have called 911, never mind my phobia of emergency rooms.

Fortunately, after a few more minutes I seem to be okay. I did call my doctor just to be sure. She wanted me to go to the ER in the beginning, but I said unless I'm about to die, I don't think the ER is an option. Who would relish having to wait for hours for some resident to take a look at you then send you home? Not to mention the cost of going in the first place. So she asked me to tell her everything that happened, what I felt, etc. And I did. Turns out that since it's been really windy and the fact the we had 16 fires going all over California, smoke has a way of getting in your lungs even though you're miles away from the fire itself. Solution? Stay indoors, close all windows and doors, have the aircondition at recycled air, do not drive with windows open, have an air purifier on at all times, limit outside exposure at a minimum... and on and on and on... man I have more things to remember for this than when I hurt my back.

I am now a little cranky for not being able to do anything, not that I do a lot of things, but just the thought of "can't do it because" is enough to irritate the hell out of me. TV helped a little, the internet surely, but boy! hopefully the air clears a bit so it'll at least be "safe" to go outdoors again. Hopefully my excitement over my new bike won't wane by the time I can do it again...

The only good thing out of these fires? A really spectacular sunrise. Yes, it looks like a sunset, but it really is sunrise... I guess air quality still very low, but hey, you do get to enjoy the view.