Saturday, February 4, 2012

Saturday, February 04, 2012 - No comments

Olfactory Observations

In the spirit of trying to be a more keen observer, to be more awake to the world around me and being able to write with more colourful details, I decided to keep track of all the smells I smelled today, from home to town and back.

- The rich aromas of my Turkish Mocha Body Scrub and Vanilla Bean Noel Shower Gel. (The bathroom smells like a coffee house when I get out of the shower!)
- The overpowering scent of our "new and improved fabric softener." (Mental note: never buy the "ultra" stuff again. The only thing that's concentrated is the smell!)
- Freshly baked bread as I waited for the bus outside our bakery.
- A whiff of floral perfume as the lady in front of me took her seat on the bus.
- Burning garbage as we passed by some kids who'd lit a fire on the side of the road.
- The tantalizing aroma of roast beef at Arby's (It tasted as good as it smelled!)
- The unmistakable smell of books as I leafed through several in the bookstore. (For someone who wanted to be a librarian as a kid, this smell is synonymous with happiness!)
- A sickeningly sweet orange smell from the sample of Vitamin C drink the lady at the vitamin store gave me.
- The homey smell of woodstoves in the Old City, mingled with the welcoming aroma of (filtered!) coffee wafting up from my cup as I paused for a break at a sidewalk cafe.
- Cigarette smoke in the air....pretty much everywhere.
- Exhaust fumes in the congested area where I waited for my bus home.
- The stench of body odour, bad breath, and stale cigarette smoke invading my nostrils as I fight to keep my footing amidst stinky men on the bus. Combined with this is the faint odour of mildew from clothes that never had a fair chance at drying in this wet winter weather.
- Someone else's yummy dinner cooking as I walked into the entrance of our complex.
- The visible smell of coal in the air as I went out onto my balcony and brought my laundry in. (Thankfully I rescued it in time before it began to smell like coal, too!)

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