I’ve really been at a lost these past few days. In case you’re living somewhere far away, the past few days here in Toronto have been filled with smoke from the forest fires in northern Ontario. At one point last week, Toronto had the worst air quality in the world. The sky was literally yellow and when I was talking with my therapist, we both agreed that it was spooky. Almost apocalyptic.
Then the next day was almost the same, except orange. The smoke started to seep into my apartment and I was reading on Reddit that the hvac systems are to blame. Apparently these building’s systems create a positive pressure system, that’s constantly pumping in outside air. And that the smoke then seeps in the unit from the hallway. I really thought that my ac pulled in fresh air, or at least outside air and the filtered it and blew the cold air inside. But that’s not how it works. The ac just recirculates the air inside the unit and is smoke is seeping in through the hallway, that and the bathroom fan will pull it in.
I really think that I need to get an hepa air filter for my place. Last summer the air quality got really bad and this year the same thing happened. I can’t believe that our world is burning and Ford isn’t really doing anything about it. I even read that he reduced the budget for fighting fires? Or at least preventing them? Idiot.
I’ve been feeling really down recently because I’ve picked up pickleball once the semester has finished. And there’s so many outdoor courts around town. I love it. I’ve really started considering that while design helps me feel good, especially in my own home, but I’ve realized that I need to move my body in order to feel really good. So I started with pickleball this summer, and I’ve fall in love with it. It’s easy, social, and readily available. You can even download an app for pickleball court booking software, so finding and scheduling a game with friends is easy. My favourite are the courts on Eastern avenue, mainly because I love being close to the water.
But with all this smoke, it’s been hard to play. Even yesterday, multiple days removed from the fires the air quality was bad. I played a couple pickup games, but at the end of the day my head wa pounding. Probably because of the air quality. But I’m not sure. Thankfully today, it seems to have abated. But I just don’t know what the future summer hold if wildfires continue to be a trend. Nd I really think they will.
