Eeerie fucking day today. Woke up and looked at the clock to find that while it felt like 7am, it was actually 6am. Looked outside and it was oddly dark. Got up and began to go about my daily routine, got my laundry started, went outside to say hi to Orangie [the outside cat, Orangina] and the first thing I noticed was that it smelled like a campfire. Turns out a lot of San Diego is on fire.

Sitting outside around noon, it was dim...the air was a brownish yellow and felt thick and heavy. Ash the size of my big toenails drifted slowly down from the sky like morbid snow. So quiet...it was like a sudden hush had fallen over everything and has lasted the entire day.

Fires south of where I live. Fires north of where I live. My cousins have been evacuated and are spending the night on the floor of the living room. Going outside makes my contact burn and my breathing wheezy. The cats are hiding in the closet. My skin smells like I've been sitting at a campfire. My car is covered in a layer of gray/white ash.

The mayor has asked employers to keep employees home tomorrow. My manager's an ass, so I'll be at work, I assure you. If they don't get the fires under control, this worries me. Here's a tiny map:

I work in the area labeled Sorrento Valley.

Here's a picture a kiddie took yesterday. He's further north up the 5 from me, but honestly, that's what the sky looked like for me today.

I need a shower. The air is horribly dry and I feel...icky.