Vog

Vog is the worst. It hurts your head, drains your energy, and for many people, makes breathing difficult enough to head to the hospital.  The winds die and the gloom descends; pollution that is full of sulfur dioxide and other gasses spewed from the volcano reacting with Oxygen and moisture in the presence of sunlight. The result is we’re surrounded by and breathing in sulfuric acid and other sulfates (Wikipedia).  The only people not complaining are the surfers, who are catching some incredibly clean waves all over Hawaii.

Vog makes people grumpy and short tempered. Have you noticed more sarcasm, smart aleck remarks, road rage and just a pervasive sense of people being snarky? That’s the vog. Try to stay away from people who bug you, situations that are stressful and postpone serious discussions with your significant other.  You aren’t getting enough oxygen to keep your mood in check, and neither are they.

If you do happen to respond with something snappy, sarcastic or snarky, apologize, tell them its the vog talking, and get yourself into some air conditioning.

And pray for the return of the trade winds; those lovely, breezy, flower-scented tropical winds that make Hawaii the best place on earth.  You don’t know how much you’ll miss them till they’re gone!