Wednesday 18 April 2012

The stench

I took the bus to work today.  The bus that I catch is always busy, you're lucky to get a seat.  I usually stand.  I absolutely hate it.  I can walk to work but the weather and my time management skills (actually the lack there of) conspire against me so I end up on the bus in spite of the torture that it is.  Today was no different except that I spotted a seat as soon as I got on. 

So I plopped my butt down in the seat, gathered my shoulder bag onto my lap and stared straight ahead while tensing all of my muscles so as to in no way touch the passenger next to me.  I barely looked at him, naturally he was bent over the tiny screen of a cell phone.  Then it hit me, the stench.  A smell so horrifying and cloying that my nasal passages began watering immediately, probably trying to rinse themselves out.  I was afraid to breathe through my mouth because as awful as the smell was I just knew the taste would be worse. I swivelled my head in the opposite direction trying desperately to find a breeze or an area of freshness all to no avail.

The most terrifying part of this brief encounter was the fact that this smell was familliar.  I had suffered this assault before.  I turned my head slightly to steal a glance at my seat mate, who was still engrossed in his phone (thankfully!).  My suspicions were confirmed, I had met this dude before.  He's actually a very cute boy in his early 20s, he dresses well and looks fine.  But the smell, oh the smell.  He had come in to my place of work a few months ago looking for a job.  We chatted by the door for a moment and when I brought him in to grab his resume and get his number I was clobbered by a stench that was so strong I thought I could reach out and touch it.  Suffice it to say that no matter how desperate we are for staff there is no way in hell that this kid has a chance.

I wonder what's wrong with him?

3 comments:

  1. Wow, I can't believe how many of the same words and phrases you use, that I use as well! It is a great rarity to find such similarities. I am very glad that I have found you and your blog! Amy

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    1. Amy, thanks! I spent yesterday reading a ton of your blog and being almost jealous of how you said things that I wanted to say and said them so clearly and cleverly.

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  2. Hi Penny,
    I have the same problem with almost all the human bodies I encounter in a bus, and of course, those who have more severe odour problems are my absolute sensory nightmare. I prefer walking for this reason. As for time management - yes it is an Asperger's thing, either extremes of time management. I am on the other end. I become extremely irritated when people are late for appointments because i almost never am. I manage my time almost to a tee, with my own specially designed calendar, time chart and reminder alarms! I think it has to do with the intense focus interest, so if time management becomes an avid interest then we will do very well at it. As with most other things we set our focus on. :-) That is probably why this neurological condition exhibits such a wide spectrum of individual differences, yet share the same core features. Amazing, isn't it?

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