screamingflea
7-11-11, 4:49pm
We've all encountered people who have an allergy to soap. It usually doesn't bother me (in fact, I find a barely detectable whiff to be rather sexy) but since starting my new job at a mental health agency I'm getting increasingly sensitive to it. I don't fault any of my clients, many of whom are homeless or simply have no social skills. They honestly can't help it. And most of them are good people and I respect them. But when I'm off the clock, I'm getting increasingly irritable about it among people who should know better.
I have an extremely keen and precise sense of smell. I can smell things locked away in closets from across a room. I can distinguish between species of trees as I walk past them. I'm not necessarily sensitive in the sense of approving or disapproving of different types of smells, I just pick up on a lot more nuances than most people. With this new job I'm now getting pretty well versed in different nuances of filth as well. There's armpit, there's crotch, there's haven't-laundered-in-months, there's halitosis, there's hair grease. Ultimately after several months without bathing it transcends all those distinctions and becomes barnyard. (I actually find barnyard easier to deal with because it's one consistent smell.)
It's an issue in my martial arts studio too. Obviously a certain amount of sweat smell is to be expected because we're all working out. One person came last week who was way off the charts. She was worse off than some of my clients, well on the way to barnyard. That, but also her clothes smelled sour, there was alcohol and pot, and her skin was streaked with dirt. It's a shame because she was otherwise a great partner, but of course she was overly fond of headlocks and I smelled like crotch, pot, and barnyard by the time I got home.
I can let a lot go, but there's no way I'm letting this slide if I'm in close contact with someone. Especially if I'm not being paid to put up with it. At work we have a shower stall and a washer/dryer in the office for just such emergencies. She's a hippie chick, so I think I'll just smile sweetly with a "can you take a shower for next week? thanks!"
It seems like these situations tend to be lose/lose. Don't say anything, and get blasted with toxic fumes all the time. Say something, and introduce negativity that affects everyone. Usually when I speak up I wind up being demonized as the Big Meanie. If we weren't holding each other in headlocks and wrestling on the floor I could probably hold my peace. But under these circumstances?
rrrrr
I have an extremely keen and precise sense of smell. I can smell things locked away in closets from across a room. I can distinguish between species of trees as I walk past them. I'm not necessarily sensitive in the sense of approving or disapproving of different types of smells, I just pick up on a lot more nuances than most people. With this new job I'm now getting pretty well versed in different nuances of filth as well. There's armpit, there's crotch, there's haven't-laundered-in-months, there's halitosis, there's hair grease. Ultimately after several months without bathing it transcends all those distinctions and becomes barnyard. (I actually find barnyard easier to deal with because it's one consistent smell.)
It's an issue in my martial arts studio too. Obviously a certain amount of sweat smell is to be expected because we're all working out. One person came last week who was way off the charts. She was worse off than some of my clients, well on the way to barnyard. That, but also her clothes smelled sour, there was alcohol and pot, and her skin was streaked with dirt. It's a shame because she was otherwise a great partner, but of course she was overly fond of headlocks and I smelled like crotch, pot, and barnyard by the time I got home.
I can let a lot go, but there's no way I'm letting this slide if I'm in close contact with someone. Especially if I'm not being paid to put up with it. At work we have a shower stall and a washer/dryer in the office for just such emergencies. She's a hippie chick, so I think I'll just smile sweetly with a "can you take a shower for next week? thanks!"
It seems like these situations tend to be lose/lose. Don't say anything, and get blasted with toxic fumes all the time. Say something, and introduce negativity that affects everyone. Usually when I speak up I wind up being demonized as the Big Meanie. If we weren't holding each other in headlocks and wrestling on the floor I could probably hold my peace. But under these circumstances?
rrrrr