Table Design Issue & PGSQL Performance

i have a notes table that records notes for different
areas. since i didn't plan on different area notes
initial, each area has its own note table.

i know, bad, bad boy! i have three data entry pages
instead of a single one and i'm already tired of
maintaining multiple pages when it isn't necessary!

anyway, i want to correct this situation so that i
have a single table and add an area column to
differentiate the area to which the note belongs.

will pgsql insert and query faster if i use int2
compared to char(2)? the reason i'm thinking of using
char(2) is b/c it makes the table self documenting.
for example, "pn" would obviously mean "production"
and "qa" would obviously meany "quality" in the
table's context. having a 1 and a 2 represent
production and quality, respectively, is a lot less
self documenting.

i would appreciate a few people with experience
chiming and providing their opinion on this.

as always, thanks for sharing - it is much appreciated.

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