For this blog, i figure i will write about the cacophony of smells that leave an imprint or a molecule in my memory bank this past week. How these smells stay with me, oddly enough, and how i could tap then remember them like i've smelled them before, from somewhere or some imaginary place, is just acutely amazing.Vanilla candle. I started lighting one in our office and true enough as the luxuriant label advertises, it is "soulfully therapeutic". I sit on a table that faces the file drawer and the traffic of people who come and go on their records business (by the way, i work in the exciting world of shuffling and sorting all these papers). This wafted scent hypnotically keeps my focus on the work and makes me feel as if i have brought our living room on a winter morning in the office.
When there is smoke, there is fire and as you've probably read or heard in the news some of our hills here in California are being gutted by the bush fires. I was having my lunch break on a patio one time, and there was a light wind blowing in the direction of the mountain, when the wind suddenly calmed down and then a thin haze of smoke crept in, and almost immediately i was on a dizzy and suffocating spell. The fire was from miles away but the danger of the polluted air was so near and prevalent that i have to run indoors to save my sensitive lungs.
The last scent of the week is the smell of fishiness that is going on in our office. I have two supervisors who have a history of butting each other's head (unprofessionally) on office issues and policies and this time the incident about my promotional test (see previous blog) will prove to be another venue for their clash. My superior supervisor ordered that my exam time be charged on my own time, while my lesser/second in command supervisor clarified that the employer will be charged and thus compensate for my exam time. To justify the latter's case, she has to take the matter to the big boss in the office and have him approve it, without the knowledge of the former.
Thanks for reading and for the opportunity to exorcise my keen sense of smell. I hope everyone is having a sensually and satisfyingly scent-filled week.
8 comments:
i don't enjoy the spray painting that's going on in my building. it's so intoxicating i feel like i'm flying when i'm running from the fumes.
It's incense here, and fustiness. Actually, paint would be preferable.
That's outrageous to expect you to foot the bill (aka your own time) for a test that THEY want you to do!
I smell a rat!
In England I would believe it would be illegal though. However I know your employment laws are radically different.
I am currently trying to prove that my redundancy threat is being carried out on illegal excuses/premises - wish me luck. Alas this cr*ppy situation has soaked up most of my blogging/creative writing time lately.
Great picture by the way!
My lungs are sensitive to the sharp and heavy smell of spray paint and incense, and i can only stand them for a certain time before i go out and take in as much fresh air as i can.
It's definitely a rat, humongous ones at that. I also consulted our timekeeper to verify my claim and so far, nothing has been brought up yet but just in case i have a copy of the policy in "hard letters" and the big bosses' signature to back me up.
Lovely play on smell...I'm told it is the sense most closely tied to memory...what I love most is the first time I smell rain in the spring...as well as the growing smell of rotting leaves this time of year....
Oh, those office fish. I have one stinker where I work. The blessing is that her meanness is all over her and people see her coming. All I have to do is stay on the high road and enjoy the fresh air. I hope the job thing works out for you.
I am useless re smell. We used to play a party game when we were children where you had to guess what something was by its aroma and I couldn't do it all. I'd confuse marmite for jam.
But smells do take me back - even though I do not wat they are they take me back in time more than anything else probably.
Dr. Jay: Not all leaves can bulk up with the chlorophyll nutrients, but i guess it is a good thing, because of the spectacular colors of Fall.
Sandy: Being on the high road give us a good perspective of the situation, it also means we are not easily prey upon by would-be aggressors.
RB: Some scents linger in our memory longer than the others, maybe because most of the time we are not aware that we are exercising our sense of smell, but in fact we do when it wafts in our way.
Post a Comment