A REFLECTION ON MY SENSE OF SMELL

I think I have a very good sense of smell. And I love to smell - smells of coffee, cookies baking, roses, lilies, David's post-shaving moisturizer, rain on dry pavement/cement, burning leaves, and freshly cut grass are among my favorite smells.

I'm one of those people who can walk into a room and say (with confidence), 'it smells like ___________.' For instance, the entrance/hallway at David's mom's condo smells like dill pickles. I'm also really sensitive to smells. The smell of egg shells left in the sink for as little as an hour can turn my stomach; as can strong perfume/cologne smells. This morning I was sitting on the train heading into Baltimore eating my luke-warm oatmeal when an individual sat down behind me drenched in a floral-medicinal perfume. The stench was appalling. I could basically taste it with every bite of oatmeal. Not wanting to make a sense, I didn't turn around to give the woman sitting behind me a look of disgust. I just sat there, finished my breakfast, and did some work. When I got up to exit the train, I was surprised to find that the feminine smell behind me was not from a woman, but a man. He was wearing what I would call a perfume. It was horrible; not just a bad smell, but a man wearing perfume. (For those of you reading that remember the 'sex panther' incident at ASTHO, the scent was just as strong on the train, but more feminine than Jason's cologne.)

In addition to having a heightened sense of smell, smells also bring back memories (like a flood) for me. For instance, the smell of cleaning products with bleach remind me of swimming pools and I love that smell. More specifically, the smell of the coffee shop on the first floor at school combined with the hotdog vendor located on the other side of the doors from the coffee shop reminds me of club swim meets as a child. Our team, the Hampton Dolphins, used to have these enormous spreads of food to keep people full during the meet (I also think that secretly the mom's just wanted to do something other than sit in the stands for 6 hours on Saturday afternoons; at least at the snack stand, they could talk and be away from their kids and the hot pool area). Another smell that brings back memories is the McDonald's dumpster area at 13th Street and New York Ave, NW. I'm not sure what it is, but that corner always smells like the cafeteria at the pool/compound where we trained in Puerto Rico. Just the thought of those NASTY meals and the endless hours of swimming, makes me cringe!

I also believe my sense of smell is directly correlated with my need to use a lot of deodorant. According to both my mother and David, I go through deodorant at rate faster than normal. I attribute this to my HATRED of body odor smells. One of my worst fears (under my fears of suffering second-/third-degree burns on most of my body, drowning, having to ride a horse, and finding a snake in my house) is having body odor. I'll do anything to prevent it. Thus my need to use a little more deodorant than the next guy/gal.

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Weekend Update: Us city kids (READ: David and I) went to the countryside (Quantico, VA) to do some hiking this weekend. It was wonderful. We stopped at IKEA on the way home and bought some art for the walls in our living room. We hung pictures on Saturday night before heading over to our neighbor's house for an Octoberfest party. Yesterday I spent the vast majority of the day doing homework and completing a take-home quiz.

This week... more studying. Friday we are having my former colleague, Heather, and her husband as well as my former boss, Pat, over for dinner. Then it is study, study, study. I have two mid-terms next week and two papers due the following.