I went out dancing last night. Fuck, I needed that. But after 4 hours sweating inside an N95, it sure was nice to walk home in the cool misty air.

I didn't find out until today that the fog was really smog. Just below the level where Environment Canada would have sent a warning to my phone, still enough particulates to leave me feeling extra sludgy today, with sore throat and tight lungs.

And that sludgy feeling has me looking back on the rest of the evening in a more disappointed light.

The music was great, but both singers in the band were particularly hoarse. Not just because one of them had been playing 5 nights straight. They both had "colds". At one point, he joked about how it was just that time of year, when everyone gets sick. I was in the washroom, so he didn't see my eyes roll.

I was, as usual, the only person in the place wearing a face mask. When I walked in, a woman started in shock: "Why would anyone wear a mask?" She didn't confront me, just stared in confusion.

1/4