Scratch and sniff

"So while we were all crammed into the one carriage and there was no air-con, " my friend relayed to me, with regards to a particular commute to work by train. "This small girl was standing near a pole, and this huge guy came over and put his arm up to grab the pole. Only that this guy's shirt was clearly stained and saturated with what could only have been identified as sweat and her face was practically rubbing his wet armpits. I had a blocked nose and I could smell it. Poor girl."

I was thinking about this for a while and thought this is something I don't miss about being back in Sydney. It is so relaxing to be able to walk to work, the breeze in your face and having space was such a great feeling.

Thankfully, the bus fleet which services my area has been largely upgraded to air-conditioned buses, so the summer heat is definitely bearable even when the maximum loads are applied.
But the trains and train stations (the underground ones in particular) are practically furnaces. The trek to the platform is enough to induce beads of sweat on most people - let alone the train ride itself. There's almost a collective sigh of relief as the doors open at my stop. There's a mad rush to get out of the station and into the adjacent shopping centre or an office environment to cool down.

Let's face it - most people do perspire but it depends on the degree. I can be rather self conscious some times and I do wonder whether I stink - whether it be at work after a commute or after playing sport. I mean, what if someone thought I really stank the whole place out? That would be very embarassing wouldn't it? Would I have the guts to tell someone? Probably not - I mean how would one go about hinting that to someone? Buy them a deodorant pack for Kris Kringle??? Say something like, "Hey they were giving out deodorant packs at the station and I managed to pick up two. Do you want one??" What if they responded, "No, that's ok. I don't use deodorant."

However, some people go out for runs/gym etc and come back as if they never went out to be active. What's the story there?

To be fair, generally there aren't many girls who smell bad (not including bad chocies in perfume) . I have to give them credit - how do they do it?


* Maybe people should wear some sports gear that are "specially designed to shift perspiration away from the body, and keep you cool."...

* Maybe people should ensure that deodorant is available readily everywhere they go...

* Maybe I should just learn to be less self conscious...

* Maybe all of the above!

Would I want to know if I was bothering others? Yeah - for the reason that I can actually do something about it and take corrective steps to stem the stench. I don't want to be know as "stinkikin" now, would I?