The Journal of Joe The Peacock. Yay.

3.27.2007:

12:46 PM

Since I have the luxury of working on things from home sometimes, and since today is a beautiful, temperate day (somewhat common in Georgia, but still very much cherished when compared to the broiling 90 degree days we have lying in wait for us a mere month or so from now), and since the wind is a slight 1-3 mph from the east, I thought today might be a nice day to work outside.

There's just one problem:

The pollen.

I sat down at one of the little umbrella'd tables at the new Starbucks up the road from my house (not the one I usually go to, where cars tend to crash through picture windows and managers run down deliquents and tackle them in the parking lot). I was working on stuff for about two minutes when I noticed that my screen was a bit dusty. So I wiped it off.

About four minutes later, same thing.

And again four minutes after that.

I decided "screw this, I'm going inside." I began packing up, and when I went to pick up my little travel 4" x 6" Wacom tablet, I saw this:

That's Georgia pollen for you.

Today, the pollen count is 5,028. That means that there are 5,028 pollen particles per cubic meter of air in the Atlanta area.

To give a little contrast, anything over 120 is considered "Dangerously High."

Everything in our city is yellow. You can watch clouds of pollen blow across the road. People who drive dark-colored cars look like they're advertising for Stanley Tools or McDonalds with the amount of yellow that covers their cars.

It can be difficult to breathe during this time in GA - and I don't even have any allergies! It's just that there is SO much crap in the air... It's like trying to breathe deeply in a room where construction people have been cutting drywall, or like taking a deep breath where the bad kids had to bang the chalkboard erasers outside.

Nasty.

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