Posted on 07/21/2004 9:16:51 AM PDT by BluegrassScholar
Larry Isaacson's nose is so sensitive to perfume that he gets woozy, loses his appetite and can develop an itchy rash that blooms behind his ears when he is exposed to it.
So when a colleague recently slathered on perfume that emanated well beyond her personal space, Mr. Isaacson found himself employing his usual tactics. They include avoidance, which means standing several feet away from the cloud and holding his breath until it passes. If trapped in close proximity for an extended time, he breathes through his mouth. And his most passive tactic, which sometimes works best: waiting for someone else to go through the embarrassment of notifying the offender.
This time he also held an impromptu meeting in the kitchen with several sympathetic colleagues and tried to brainstorm some smell strategies for the future, including screening smelly people during the interview process.
"It should be treated like smoking," he argues. "There should be signs."
Perfume isn't the only second-hand smell that harms indoor air quality. Any body odors strong enough to spread beyond their perpetrators' cubicles are bound to upset colleagues. Unfortunately, options for dealing with them are awkward. It isn't simply that no one wants to hurt a colleague's feelings. It's also the knowledge that you will see the offender -- and he or she will see you -- forever, and neither of you will be able to forget the torturous conversation. As a result, many people just frown and bear the discomfort, forced into one of the office's countless endurance tests.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Here late, but I just have to wonder how anyone survived when I was growing up. Perfumed women, aftershaved men....seems most people were scented in some way. Sheesh....."girley men" is right, LOLOL
I bet it's hilarious! Kids always crack me up. I saw that John Kerry photoshop image and almost died. Thanks for the laugh!
I never understood why people wear cologne or perfume. Take a damn shower then they wouldn't have to cover themselves in perfume. Why should I be forced to smell someone's horrible perfume all day at work? That stuff gives me migraines.
But I'm self-employed, so it isn't often an issue.
And despite my rather intense reactions to cologne/fragrance/perfume, I rather enjoy some smells that make other people dizzy or worse:
Gasoline
Motor Oil
Asphalt/Hot Tar
Maybe it's a gearhead thing. ;O)
Great running joke.
I have been in the fire service for 29 years and over that time I have learned to deal with "odors" from patients and victims. Use a cheap surgical mask and run a bead of "Vicks Mentholatum" across the inside of the mask. This will even kill the smell of a body decomposing for weeks in a warm environment!
Perfume smells give me peanuts and bee sting like reactions.
Smokers simply accept smells as what they are. The identification of the chemicals involved and their concentrations.
Each and every non-smoker I know, acts like a dog! Always sniffing like a mutt and making judgment calls about "good" and "bad" smells.
Frankly, if they want to act like dogs, they are always welcome to sniff my butt.
That's what I have the most trouble with - people who think they smell just great while their latest designer scent has my sinuses shutting down - have even had nosebleeds. The irony is they work really hard to smell "good" - how to convince them that "good" is in the nose of the smeller?
Perhaps you need to seriously question the motivation of the people who complain about such normal functions.
When I was growing up, there was a term for people like this:
Anal Retentive.
Now, in today's distorted society, are we all reqired to conform the the whims and insanity of people like Monk?
Perhaps it is time for a Reality Check!
Well, I don't know if we're supposed to tell on ourselves, but here goes...
Many years ago, there was this wonderful, little greasy burger joint on Troost in Kansas City named "Wimpy's." They were closed Tuesdays, btw... If you remember the old Popeye's Comics character: "I will gladly pay you Tuesday, for a hamburger today!"
Anyway, they had this wonderful Italian Steak sandwich. I used to order it with double sauce and tripple onions! For the next two days, the smell of the sauce and onions would just come out of your pores! No matter how many showers you took, you still smelled that way! lol
Mark
Simply do what every other American male would do in that situation:
Blame it on your wife!
I don't mind perfume in general, but there are some people who seem to put in on with a crop-duster!
A few weeks ago, I was driving with my windows down, and at a stoplight, I could smell the perfume of a woman in the next car over! And it wasn't just a light scent! I mean the smell was quite strong.
And there's NOTHING WORSE than someone who has bad BO AND applies a heavy dose of perfume or cologne to cover it up!
Mark
I have only two words for ya'll - LILAC VEGETAL.
Isn't that the new Kerry Edwards campaign poster?
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