Blurred Perceptions

My heart-beat accelerated. I was mesmerized by the sight. My breath hitched in anticipation of what is to come.

 

Nope, that wasn't the start of the story of how I fell in love with a tall, dark, rebellious stranger - I already did that 18 years ago :p :p  Now, if you guys are done puking...It's the start of my rant against the awful smog which has been the hot topic of conversation these few days in our small smoggy (opps, I mean sunny) island.

 

What had started off innocently as a heat wave escalated quickly into a god-awful blanket of filth, ashes and soot covering our once fresh & green country. Now as I walk on the streets, I feel like a cast member of Freddie's Nightmare.  You know the one where an unsuspecting sucker walk on the streets alone at night and get pounced on by good ol' Freddie who suddenly leaps out of the mist. Not so much the sucker part but more the kind of fog involved. Strange analogy but hey, you try coming up with a better one after you have watched World War Z and had wierd dreams after that.

 

For days, the media was filled with news about everything haze-related. For me, I was more concerned about to how keep my family safe from the possible effects of the haze. I got a friend who was (thankfully) in Taiwan on holiday to buy up supplies of cloth face masks. When news announced that N95 masks were on sale,  I became a popper. As in pop in, "hello! Are the masks in stock yet?" pop out again when the answer was no. Repeat motion 3 more times. The Rascal, for the 4th time (possibly less) in his 36 months of life was permitted to sleep in his air conditioned room, for fear of breathing in too much yucky stuff. It should be mentioned that his room is the only unobstructed room in the house and it gets excellent wind conditions in usual days, hence our concern.

 

The Husband was not spared. His throat itches and he retreats to the air con comfort of our bedroom once he finishes his shower. Yet we are still unable to crack Level 147 of Candy Crush to date darn it!

 

It is truly an unpleasant time right now and I am hoping hard that no one in the family falls prey to the ill effects of the haze. Soldier on people!!