I am home, in beautiful dark and dreary Seattle. And it is dark, cold, and damp. This morning is about as dark as it can be after sunrise, although the trees right outside of my office window are still bright and cheery with red and yellow leaves that are still clinging to the branches.

Two women sitting near me on the plane were marveling at how pretty the mountains were from the window, and were patting themselves on the back for having such “great” weather to greet them in Seattle. And up in the skies above the city, it was bright and sunny. Gorgeous views of Mts. Rainier and St. Helens, glorious snow capped peaks shining in the bright sun. But more ominous was the thick cloud cover, which looked like a field of snow. They didn’t associate that snowy white stuff, which looked so lovely when you’re flying above it, with the actual conditions down below.

And as expected, as the airplane cut through the clouds, and made for the runway, the bright sunshine was replaced by dark threatening skies. And it was cold. Not the warm sunny weather that they seemed to be anticipating. Oh well. I told the woman next to me that this was very typical Seattle winter weather. Dark, damp and chilly. Not so much rainfall as the myth leads many to believe, but just a lot of very dark skies that make one feel as though the end is near.

But most disturbing is that I was only back in Seattle for about an hour when I started coughing, and having a little trouble breathing. After a few hours at home, I was beginning to wheeze a little, and drank several cups of Breathe Easy tea, which does seem to help. What is it about the air, I wonder? I was fine in Anaheim, and in Florida, but as soon as I get home, I’m coughing and my chest is getting tight.

My guess is that the climate in the Pacific Northwest may just not be conducive to my optimal health, and plus, there was a warning on the Weatherunderground.com for “Air stagnation advisory in effect until 6 PM PST Saturday.” I tried to find out what it means exactly, and what I could figure out was that people who are somewhat sensitive (ie, those with respiratory conditions, etc) are advised not to exert themselves when out of doors. Terrific. What the hell is floating around the air here? At least in LA, I understood what smog alerts were. You could see the stuff. But this is so vague and peculiar, which worries me more about what is entering my lungs.

At any rate, while it is good to be home and back at my own desk, I don’t feel particularly well in Seattle. Plus this is the spit-on-sidewalk capitol of the US, as I’ve mentioned before. More slime per capita than than any other city. Perhaps there is a reason why so many people feel the need to spit, other than that they think it makes them look cool or macho. Maybe the population is drowning in slimy mucus, due to the mysterious particles floating in the air, which get so bad that “air stagnation” warnings are posted.

I’d like to go out for a walk, but not sure I want to risk a full blown asthma attack.