Scents and Scentsibility

Okay, maybe I'm stretching a bit for a title for this post. Whatever. I've had nothing terribly interesting to blog about lately, but I'm ready for a new post, so this is what you all get. I've been noticing smells lately, and it's interesting to realize the things I associate them with. So here's a list of some of the smells I like and the things they remind me of:

Freshly cut lawn: this is the smell of summer (one of them, anyway). When I smell freshly cut grass, I immediately think of baseball games, golf courses, and long walks.

Bacon: I don't actually like bacon. But sometimes I like the smell. It smells to me like a winter morning with friends and family. And of course pancakes.

Skunk: Okay, I realize skunk isn't actually a good smell. But it takes me automatically to an evening drive through the country or a night walk through my Virginia and Michigan neighborhoods.

Cigarette smoke: You thought skunk was weird. Well, I don't like being around people when they're smoking, and I certaintly don't want that smell attaching itself to my clothes or anything, but if it's not too heavy, it smells like a street festival or some other type of outdoor crowd. And I love outdoor crowds. It's fun to be one little person in the midst of hundreds of other people, all out enjoying a fun night.

Hyacinths: I love the smell of hyacinths. When I get my first whiff of hyacinth for the year, I know spring has officially arrived. And I got that whiff today. It was wonderful. And speaking of flowers...

Lillies: Lillies have such a strong smell, and they give me a headache after just a few minutes, but it's still one of my favorite smells. I think this is because lillies are popular around Easter, which often falls on my birthday, so lillies are the smell of my birthday (aka, the best day of the year).

Lilacs: Another smell of summer.

Jasmine: The smell of California, and hence, vacations.

Sage: Sage smells like freedom. The Utah mountains abound with sage, so the smell reminds me of hiking and getting away from technology and not having to worry about real life for a little while.

And of course, good cologne. The tiniest hint of the right colognes takes me to so many good times with good friends. I think each chapter of my life has a different cologne, based on my group of friends during that time. And it doesn't just remind me of my guy friends who wore that flavor- it also reminds me of the girls in our groups. Some of my favorites, in chronological order, are Cool Water, Curve, Fierce, and Axe Kilo. And one from either Guess or Banana Republic. I can't remember.

Oh, and just one or two more I just thought of:

Apple soap/lotion: this is the smell of my teenage years.

Hairspray: the smell of the first day of school.

Diesel fuel: London. I love it.

Which State's Plates?

This has been on my mind lately, and for those of you who follow me on Facebook, you know. I don't like Utah's license plates. Now, I'm not really one for accessories (I don't think I've ever bought myself a necklace, I only wear belts to hold my pants up, you get the picture), but I do like the little touches that liven up my car's appearance. One of the things I was most excited for when I moved to Michigan was that they had just released a new license plate design. It has a light green and blue background and a picture of the upper peninsula. It's pretty, and I felt like it was the final touch to my already stylin' car. Coming back to Utah was a different story. The plates here are brown or orange. And even the special interest plates are boring! They're just white with a symbol of whatever group they support. In other states, special interest plates are all different. In Virginia, there was one with an autumn leaf border, another with a blue background and a picture of a cool land formation, another with the Chesapeake bay, some with flowers, birds, etc. If license plates are the fashion statement of a car, Utah provides basically a burlap sack dress. The plates are so boring and flatter very few cars. I wish we could pick which state to register in based on license plates. I'd have a tough time choosing, but some of the contenders would be Arizona's new clean air license plate (light blue with white fluffy clouds), Colorado's new plate (light green with mountains and a sunset, I think), Nebraska, Oregon (that green pine tree in the middle makes any car look good), and South Dakota. On the other hand, the newest Utah plate, with the brown band across the top and the blue mountain background, is unique. I think it would draw the attention of other drivers in other states, just because it has different colors than any other state. It's bold, and for that reason I like it. And I guess my car, being brown, is one of the few that can carry this plate off well. So I'll embrace it.

The way it should be

Last night I was watching tv with my mom, and a toilet paper ad came on in which a man discussed the results of a national survey showing that 72% of Americans believe the toilet paper should go over the roll. Now, as with most things, I have a strong opinion about this. The toilet paper always has, does now, and always will be correct coming under the roll. With so much of America clearly confused about such a grave matter, I knew immediately that, as a possessor of the truth, I have the responsibility to spread this truth across the country. So let this be the beginning of my campaign to right the wrongs of the toilet paper world! Toilet paper goes under! And here's why: when you're in the standard toilet paper-using position, you pull the paper in an out and slightly up direction. If the paper is coming over the roll, that action doesn't meet with any resistance to tear the paper, and you are likely to come away with more paper than you need. On the other hand, if the paper is coming under the roll, a pull in the out and up direction is contrary to the natural directional flow of the paper, and it will tear more readily. Therefore, it is more efficient, environmentally friendly, and sewer sustaining to place the toilet paper coming under the roll than over. I encourage all my readers who share my knowledge of the truth (that's all of you, now that you've read this post!), to do your part in bettering America, and educate your fellow citizens. Under!

Musings on Commuting

Over the last month, I've been getting used to actual commuting to work. I've never really had to commute before. When I lived in DC, I took a 20 minute train ride and then walked a mile to and from work, but that was more relaxing than anything. It gave me a chance to see the city and to have 20 solid minutes of reading every day. And in Michigan I had a seven-minute drive to work, so that doesn't count as a commute. So this new commute of 40 minutes each way has been a new experience. Hence, our topic for today: commuting. And I'll even talk about my non-commutes of days past.

First, in DC, the train ride was fun. Every morning, everybody would stand at their particular spot on the train platform, so the same people ended up on the same train cars every day. This meant that I generally recognized about 90% of the passengers. And, even though we all knew each other and expected to see each other every day, nobody EVER talked. Every now and then, we'd get a new person who would try to start a conversation, and he would either be ignored or shushed. Talking just wasn't socially acceptable on the DC commute.

Here's my favorite story of Michigan commuting. One day, I was driving to work. It was a nice, sunny summer morning. I needed to make a right turn onto one of the busiest roads in the area, but traffic was at a stand still. A few cars ahead, a bunny was sitting in the middle of the road. The driver of the first car had gotten out and was trying to coax the bunny off the road, while all the other drivers just sat there patiently waiting. Nobody honked, yelled, etc. We all just watched as the bunny was gradually persuaded into the forest. Then the driver waved to everyone, got back in his car, and we all went on our way. It was the perfect start to a day.

Now for my new commute. First of all, just like in DC, I'm starting to recognize people on the road. There's the red minicooper, with the license plate "funsizd" (speaking of which, I think minis must have the highest rate of vanity plates- just about every mini I see has a license plate that is trying to be cute); I pass a big 14-passenger van on the beltway every morning that I think is some kind of preschool carpool. It says something like "Mountainland Academy" on the side, and it's always full of little kids in carseats, usually asleep.

One frustrating thing I've learned about commuting is that timing is essential. If I leave the office before about 5:17, traffic is a nightmare. I have a 10-minute wait to get from 2-15 to I-15, and all the Sandy exits are backed up for at least a mile each. But if I leave between 5:18 and 5:30, I have smooth sailing all the way home, besides a little slowing in Sandy. And then if I'm between 5:30 and 5:40, it's bad again. Weird.

And here's a curious little item. Every morning without fail, the ramp between I-15 northbound and 2-15 westbound smells like burnt toast. I don't smell it until I get on the ramp, and it's gone as soon as I'm off the ramp. Why is that?

Over the last few months, I've found a new pleasure in life. I've been getting to know my neices and nephews after years of living thousands of miles away, and it turns out they're pretty cool. They're getting into the age group now where they know about things other than Sesame Street and Barbie movies, and they have actual thoughts and opinions to share and discuss. It's fun to sit with one or two of them at a time and talk about the latest music, books, movies, restaurants, etc. So yes, neices and nephews are fun people.

Interviewing

Over the past year, I've had many job interviews. Most of them have been pretty standard, with all the same questions and whatnot. But a few have been a little more interesting. Here's a recap of some of them. I won't include any company names or anything. Just know that none of these refer to the job I got.

1. For one company, I attended a recruiting fair where we heard a panel of current employees speaking about why they like the company. Afterwards, all attendees had a 10-minute speed interview, in which we met with two hiring managers and went over the highlights of our resumes. The idea was that this would get our information into the company, and then when positions opened up, they'd have a stack of people to bring in for real interviews. So a few weeks later, I got called in to interview for a specific position. The person doing the hiring had seen my resume and the notes that the hiring managers took during the speed interview, and presumably thought I'd be a good candidate. So I went in and had a series of one-on-one interviews with four different guys. Each one lasted half an hour, and each guy asked me the exact same questions. I don't know why we couldn't do it all at once and cut out a lot of time, but whatever. When the last guy (who would have been my boss) came in, he told me basically that I would be a great fit for some division in the company, but he only hires fresh undergraduates in his division. He never hires MBAs. So he told me I should definitely look into other divisions. Really!? He's the one who saw my resume before-hand and had HR schedule the interview, even though according to my resume I would never fit what he was looking for. What was that about?! Whatever.

2. For one company, I had a phone interview with HR that went really well. A week later, I had a phone interview with the person who would have been my boss, and that also went really well. Each of these interviews lasted an hour. Then they called me in for an in-person interview. The interview process had already lasted longer than most companies, so I figured this would be another hour or so. When I got there, I met first with the HR guy, who told me I'd be meeting individually with three or four other guys, each for 45 minutes. I was there for three hours! Wow! I was really hungry/thirsty by the end of that one.

3. While I had specific industries I was interested in, I was also sending my resume to other big name companies that I thought might be interesting. I honestly can't remember all the companies I've sent resumes to. So one day, I got a call from HR at a big name company, and we scheduled an interview. I prepared for that interview, researching the company, getting ready to discuss that industry. When I got there, based on the decor, it was clearly not the company I thought I was going to interview for. It was a much smaller company of the same name in a whole different industry. I quickly glanced through some industry magazines in the lobby and then went in for my interview. The first question was "Why do you want to work for this company?" Wow. At this point, I only had a tiny idea of what this company even did. Luckily, it was in an industry I was particularly interested in, so I was able to give a good answer, and I even got called back for a second interview the next week.

4. One day, HR from a certain company called me to schedule a phone interview. They were only going to do interviews on one day, a week later, and my schedule that day was particularly busy and up-in-the-air. I gave HR an idea of when I might be available, and she said she'd talk to the hiring managers and see what time would work for them. Then she would call me back. I never heard back from her. When she'd called, the number didn't show up on my phone, so I had no way to contact her to see if I had an interview. So I kind of just assumed they couldn't fit me in and that was that. I went about my week and got really busy and forgot all about it. Then, on the non-appointed day, my phone rang in the middle of the afternoon, and there were three people on the other end ready to interview me. I did a quick mental rundown of what I thought the job was, and jumped into the interview. It went relatively well, but had basically the results you would expect from a surprise interview.

The New Thing?

Several times in the last month or so, I've seen people rockin' out in parking lots. They find a relatively empty part of the parking lot, crank up their car radio, leave the doors open, and then just dance all by themselves next to their car. Is this acceptable now? I can understand blasting the radio when it's just you and your friends, and having a dance party, but out in public? Where anybody can see? In the middle of the day? With lots of shoppers around? I'm not sure I'm ready for this. On the other hand, they always seem to be having a good time, so maybe it's worth a try.