Of Scents, Smells and Stinks

Have you ever noticed that when you walk into The Bay, Sears or even Shopper's Drug Mart, that you are walking right into the perfume section? I haven't been to The Bay or Sears for years but I do visit Shopper's Drug Mart on occasion because they usually have the Canada Post outlet. I've always wondered why stores did that... and now I know.

I was listening to a YouTube video while tidying up some data, listening with half an ear to the Secrets of Selfridges. You do know Selfridges, don't you? The mega department store on Oxford Street in London, an icon of shopping. It was started by an American, Harry Selfridge, back in the 1800s and it revolutionized shopping. They let people browse/window shop. They had washrooms. They even had elevators between floors. The introduced fetching window displays. The let people touch the wares. What a thought. And... Selfridges introduced the practice of having perfume (and jewellery) by the front door. Gee... thanks Selfridges...

You see, I am a bit sensitive to scents... and smelly perfumes. They can give me an instant headache if I'm not careful. I usually take a deep breath of fresh air before entering Shopper's Drug Mart and try to hold it as a scurry through the stinky perfume section and head for Canada Post. That doesn't work so well in The Bay where the scent section covers such a huge area. Although, I can usually find a secondary entrance that avoids the worst of it. In an age where more and more people suffer from scent allergies, it boggles the mind that places like Shopper's Drug Mart and The Bay, still assault potential customers with scent. They might as well hit them over the head. So many places are now "scent free".

I find one of the worst times and places for scent assault is Value village on Senior's Day. I know that the olfactory senses of the elderly deteriorate over age (according to my mom). They have trouble smelling things, so when they go out, they really load up on the scented body lotion and/or the perfume. I'll be wandering through Value Village and hit a wall of scent... I quickly look around and identify the person surrounded by a cloud of scent... anywhere from 6 feet to 10 feet away. I do everything in my power to avoid that person... but sometimes there are so many that I throw up my hands in defeat and head for the exit. I don't need an instant headache. I haven't figured out how much exposure generates the headache... it's not an experiment that is all that pleasant.

And just in case you're wondering... it's not just perfume. I love lilacs (in moderation)... I once cut a big bouquet and put it in my bedroom when I was a teenager. I went to sleep that night and woke up in the morning with a screaming headache. You can have too much of a good thing. There is, of course, cigarette smoke... very nasty. Combine a whiff of that with a hot day and I can feel the headache storming towards me.

Let's top all this off with the comment that for some asthmatics, excessive scent - be it from cigarette smoke, cleaners, perfume, hair spray or air fresheners - can be life-threatening. Someone might think that they smell "pretty" but... to someonelse, that "pretty" smell is an assaulting stench.

So... thanks Selfridges.

The Ease of a Capsule Wardrobe

Did you hear about the Australian news anchor, Karl Stefanovic? He was in the news last fall after he revealed that he had been wearing the same blue suit during his news spots... not for a few weeks or months, but for a whole year!

He had become fed up with how people always gave advice to his female co-anchor about her wardrobe. He wanted to make a point that sexism was alive and well. Even though he wore the exact same suit for a year, not one person noticed or commented on his attire. Interesting, no?

They say that "clothes make the man"... but clearly the truth is that clothes make the woman. Nobody really notices what the man is wearing as long as he's wearing something presentable. They also say "don't judge a book by its cover", but clearly that too only works for men... not for women. Although... things are changing.

Sincere Spaces blogpost on Capsule Wardrobe

There's a movement in the minimalist world to move in the direction of what's called a capsule wardrobe. A certain number of clothes that work well together and make around 20-30 outfits. Think about it... who needs more than 30 outfits? There are about 30 days in a month and only 20 working days. At that rate, you'd wear each outfit once a month. In most cases, nobody would notice if you wore the same outfit once a week.

I know this goes against the modern trend of consumerism - buy more and more and more. Some people have dozens of shoes, hats, purses, scarves and what not. But really... do we need all of that? What are we telling the world when we feel that we only get noticed based on our clothing? Good question... isn't the book more important than the cover? As long as we look presentable, shouldn't that be enough?

I think it's interesting that most people on home-improvement shows (think HGTV) drool over walk-in closets. The wife usually walks into the closet and coos in excitement: "Ooooooohhhhh, this would be perfect for all my clothes! Oh... and Honey, you can have the hall closet." Seriously? When I was growing up, my parents made do with a standard closet. It says something about our society that closets and houses keep getting bigger while storage lockers are doing a rip-snorting business. Stuff, stuff and more stuff.

When I look at my own closet (or rather half-closet), I have a bunch of long-sleeved shirts that I never wear anymore. I have a few dress shirts and dress pants that I used to use when I facilitated workshops. But I never wear them anymore. I have about 15 pairs of jeans but only wear 3 on a regular basis. My standard attire for the day is usually t-shirt and jeans. If it's cool out, I throw a fleecy sweater on top of it all. Done. Which means that of late I have been eying the clothes in my closet and wondering... do I really need all of them?

Because even in terms of t-shirt and jeans, I am starting to notice that I am favouring black t-shirts above the other colours. My three jeans are beige, brown and blue... and black t-shirts go with all three. It seems that I am moving in the direction of a wardrobe uniform. The idea is to find a look that works for you and then stick with that. One writer wears black turtle-neck sweaters with skinny jeans. As she says " It’s almost never inappropriate, and it has the magical quality of taking on the connotations of its surroundings. In a bookstore, I look bookish. At an art gallery, I look arty. On the subway, I am invisible. I can look young or old, rich or poor, cool or humble. In my uniform, people see me as they want to." And it's not just unknown writers. Steve Jobs (of Apple fame) always wore black turtle necks and jeans. Rumour has it that Einstein bought several versions of the same grey suit so that he wouldn't have to waste brainpower on choosing an outfit each morning. Same with President Obama, except he mixes it up by having blue and grey suits. That's what I want. Something simple.


Now, the hosts of "What not to Wear" might have a conniption fit but... they don't have to live my life. Yeah, sure, I could look like a million bucks if I got a fancy haircut, wore make-up and bought clothes from high-end boutiques. Meh... that's not me. I buy my black t-shirts and my jeans from Value Village. I have one pair of shoes, one pair of sandals, one pair of hiking boots. And that's good enough for me.

Am I going to declutter my closet? That is a good question. I hang onto things in there because I think that someday I might need some long-sleeved shirts... even though I live in a mild climate. I think that someday I might need a dress suit, even though I have no intention of ever wearing it again.I think it's time to take a look and start paring.

Saving Water in Small Ways

I lived in Vancouver for nine years, back in the 1980s and 1990s. I knew that it rained a lot in Vancouver but I don't think I ever really considered the overall climate in Vancouver. Admittedly, I was gone most summers, out in the bush, doing research for my thesis. I never really experienced the dry days of a Vancouver summer. Somehow, I always thought that all of Canada had four seasons - spring, summer, winter, fall. That isn't actually true. The southwest coast of British Columbia, including Vancouver Island, could best be described as having a two-season climate - the rainy season and the dry season.

Living on the east coast of Vancouver Island, we have become very familiar with this climate. Our lawn is lush and green from October to May. From June to September, the grass turns yellow and goes dormant. Hardly anybody here waters their lawns during the dry season - and apparently this has been the case for decades. People recognize instinctively that we are on an island, and despite the rain that we get in the rainy season, water can be in short supply.

Lawn in mid-June

This past Monday, our city went to Watering Restrictions - Level 2. That means that we (with an odd house number) can use sprinklers on Sundays and Thursday, but not between the hours of 10 am and 6 pm. Watering the garden by hand is allowed at any time, as long as you use a hose attachment with a shut-off. There are other restrictions that don't really affect us - hosing down sidewalks, washing cars, power-washing decks or houses. We do none of those. And if ever we hit Level 4 watering restrictions, we would only be allowed to sprinkle once a week. But we're not too concerned at this point. We don't water our lawn and are proud of it's golden colour. Of course, patches of green survive where the weeds still thrive. Dandelions and hawk-weed apparently have deep roots.

This year, however, we are more mindful of how we use and misuse water. We've been following the news of the California drought and know that climate change is upon us. What are some of the small ways in which we can conserve water?

Rain Barrel
This is an obvious solution, and one that is apparently quite easy to set-up. It does, however, require fairly regular showers during the summer to be useful. We are looking at putting a rain barrel in place to catch the run-off from our shed roof.

Grey Water
There are all sorts of complicated systems that you can install to divert waste water from your kitchen sink into grey-water collection systems. We're not there yet. We're talking about something more basic. We considered how much water we waste in the kitchen and the bathroom and came up with a solution:

• waiting for the shower water to warm up - we now hold a big bucket under the tap until the water hits the right temperature and then pull the shower transfer thingie - 2-3 gallons each time (oh, and we don't shower every day)
• filling water bottles at the kitchen sink, waiting for the water to get cold enough - we now have a big bucket in the second sink, over which we fill the water bottle - sometimes as much as 1 gallon of water saved
• filling pet water dish - dump the stale water in the bucket and rinse the dish over the bucket - 1/2 gallon saved
• rinsing vegetables from the garden - used to do it in the sink but now do it in the bucket - 2 gallons saved
• rinsing fingers underneath the tap, like after chopping vegetables - we now do that over the bucket saving a little bit everytime
• water from boiling eggs - goes into the bucket and the cold water rinse goes into the bucket as well

Those are the main things we're doing right now. We don't have any soap in the water that we save in the two buckets. When the buckets need to be dumped, we have a green rubber garbage bin outside the patio doors, on the deck. If the water doesn't have too many bits of flotsam (like the tub water), we just pour it into the bin. If there is a fair bit of debris in the water, I take it outside and pour it on various bushes which normally don't get watered with the hose. We can use the water in the garbage bin to fill watering cans.

Does it take a bit of extra effort? Yup. Does it make a difference? Definitely. It is satisfying to know that we are conserving water which would normally just go down the drain. Fresh, clean water is a precious resource and we are blessed to have a relatively abundant supply. But it is time to start appreciating it and not wasting it.

Sour Beer

Sooo... we went to Quadra Island for a little getaway a few weeks ago. It was quite lovely and a beachcombers paradise! On the first evening, we went to the Heriot Bay Inn and I had a Philips Blue Buck ale - quite delicious.

On our second evening, we went to a pub for dinner (the name of which shall remain nameless). They didn't have a huge selection so I ordered a Cameron's ale or some such thing. As I sipped it, I crinkled my nose and stared at it with suspicion. It tasted sour. Yuck. I'm usually the designated driver when we go out for dinner and end up having one beer on normal occasions. But on this night, my partner had volunteered to be the driver and so I was OK to have another beer. I ordered a Shaftsbury or a Vancouver Island Brewery beer. One that I've had before. It too was sour. Grumble, grumble... shitty pub. The place was empty and I suspected that their kegs of beer were old and stale. Very disappointed.

On our third and last day, we bought some beer and wine at the local store and had a picnic in our room in the afternoon. I looked at the selection of beers and chose a Canterbury Ale, a Prince George brewery. I love Canterbury ale... yum! It is a delicious mild dark brew. We got back to our room, I cracked open a can and took a sip. And... guess what... yup. It was sour! I stared at the can in dismay. Clearly it wasn't just the pub... it was me!!

I glumly looked up "taste disturbances" and learned that it could be a sign of menopause. Great. Hot flashes might not be in my future but taste disturbances would alter my life! That evening, we ate at the lodge/resort we were staying at. They had an even more limited selection of beer and I chose a Coors Light. I cut my teeth on Coors Light when I started drinking beer in my 30s. I hate it now because it tastes like water really. I received my glass and took a sip. Ugh... sour!!!

Oh dear... well... this would make it very easy to quit drinking beer, that's for sure. I stared at the glass with disgust. Lovely... just bloody lovely!

But now... for the myterious part. We spent three nights on Quadra and when we got home, I cracked a can of the Canterbury just to see and... it tasted normal. Perfectly normal. We've been home for a couple of weeks and beer tastes just fine to me. Was it a Quadra thing? Or was it a PMS thing? Only time will tell.

Kick-starting Productivity with The One Thing

I subscribe to a few productivity blogs and one of them (don't ask me which one) recommended a book called The One Thing. It sounded interesting so I requested the book through the local public library (of course). When the book came in, I picked it up and couldn't put it down. I finished it in 4 hours and was inspired.

The author, Gary Keller, makes the telling point that we have become a culture that values "multi-tasking", a word that is actually an oxymoron. You can't concentrate on two things at once. Seriously. If you're concentrating on writing an email, you can't talk to your mother on the phone at the same time. One of the tasks will suffer. Plus, your mother will quickly figure out what you're doing.

The idea of multi-tasking originally came from computers - they worked so quickly and did so many things seemingly at once. But what computers actually do is shift rapidly between different tasks. Which is what we do as well. We shift attention between the email and Mom rapidly... but really, neither one is accomplished in a satisfying way. Keller says we would be far better to focus on one task.

His second point that stuck with me is this. We talk about prioritizing tasks... we have high priority tasks and low priority tasks. But the actual origins of the word "priority" mean "one thing". You can't have five top priorities. According to the definition of the word, you can only have one priority. Keller suggests that rather than juggling various tasks... we should step back and ask the question.

What is my 5-year goal for work/life/family/home (or whatever)?

He also encourages us to think big (or go home). So... let's say my 5 year goal for Wealth is Financial Independence. That's a big goal. Alright, so now for the next step. Knowing that my 5 year goal is Financial Independence...

What's the One Thing I can do THIS YEAR, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

Alright - so I need something concrete. I named my One Thing for this year as earning $5000 - (which is a big jump for a stay-at-home writer who hasn't published her book yet). But... as fate would have it, the non-profit that I previously worked for contacted me in mid-May and asked if I would do some contract work for them (database management & donor relations). Excellent.

So, the next step, having identified what I can do this year is...

What's the One Thing I can do THIS MONTH month, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

I figured the one thing I could do for June was to hammer out a contract and earn $500. And then you break that down even farther...

What's the One Thing I can do THIS WEEK, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

What's the One Thing I can do TODAY, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

Right down to...

What's the One Thing I can do RIGHT NOW, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

It's working. I nailed down a contract with the non-profit. I got set up with their online donor-management system. I crammed 15 hours of work into two days (we were away for a few days this past week). And... rather to my surprise... I find myself on-track to earn $1500+ in the month of June, well above my goal. There is also the possibility of doing some other work with the non-profit. On top of that, the local university has advertised a part-time instructor position for the winter semester that would be right up my alley. Hmmm... I may have to take my big Wealth "goal" for 2015 (earn $5000) and revise that upwards!

Finally... the third point that the author made was to set aside a block of 4 hours a day (he recommends the morning) to work on your One Thing. So at work, figure out what your One Thing is... and focus on that for four hours a day. Without interruptions. Turn off your email. Send your calls to voicemail. Put a sign on your closed door. And see what happens to your productivity.

I've tried a lot of productivity hacks and apps... this one is working for me. It gives me focus and intention. I have a goal. I have a direction. Now it's easy... just do it.

Oh, and I did the same thing for my manuscript... my goal for 2015 is to send the completed manuscript to 10 publishers. That really gives me a push in the behind!