Does "scent free" mean fewer scents?

Over the course of the past few years my sense has been that the number of public buildings that claim to be "scent free" seems to be on the rise. Of course, whether or not these buildings are actually scent free is another matter.

Assuming my intuition is correct, and we are seeing an increase in "scent free" public spaces, shouldn't it follow that we would see an increase in the number of unscented personal hygiene products for people to wear in these odorless locales?

Much to my surprise, such an increase does not seem to have taken place. Scented products are still readily available. Actually, I am starting to think that scented products may comprise a larger portion of some personal hygiene product categories than has historically been the case.

In particular, I think we may be seeing a decline in the number of unscented antiperspirant that are easily accessible. When I went shopping for such a product in my local grocery store a few days ago I found only two products that matched my criteria (both of which were made by the same expensive, but effective, brand). Historically when searching for such products I have always had a few more options. Furthermore, some of the brands that I know that I have used in the past did have unscented options available. Given the limited selection my recent shopping experience was much less pleasant than I expected it to be.

Body wash, seemingly a newly popular replacement for soup, seems to be a type of product that almost never comes in a scent-free format (at least as far as I can tell). And as body wash seems to be replacing shower soaps, many of which were scent free, the popularity onslaught (at least if shelf-space in stores is an indicator of popularity) of this product may actually be increasing the number of people using scented products on a daily basis.

Of course, the newfound, or increasing, interest in using scented deodorants/antiperspirants and body washes may just be a way getting around the "scent free" rule if this rule is interpreted to mean only that perfumes and colognes are prohibited. Whatever the case may be, people like myself, who try to use unscented products, are likely having a harder time finding such products and grumbling about what we hope isn't a "new normal."

It is bad enough in person

It is bad enough that I have to put up with Neil and Rebecca doing all this lovey-dovey stuff in person, but for them to put their tooth brushes in such a way that it appears that they are kissing is a bit much. If they don't find a way to keep it a little more private I may have say something about it to them. How am I supposed to concentrate with all of this is going on.

A Few Quick Notes 191

-Today has been another in the series of less than stellar days that we have had recently. Unlike recent days, thundershowers have been forecast for this afternoon (something of a meteorological rarity in St. John's).

-On Saturday night I went bowling with Greg and Nikita. We first played a game of ten pin before switching over to five pin. The five pin game we played was incredibly close. As we entered the tenth frame it was still anyone's game, though I quickly managed to knock myself out of contention by muffing up my first ball. Eventually Greg found his way to the top, and Nikita to second place, leaving me at the back of the pack.

-Yesterday, while looking through the pantry, I came across some bean soup mix. Not surprisingly, as I am fixated on cooking beans, I decided to try to prepare some of the soup. While I seem to have followed most of the instructions and used most of the called for ingredients it still seems as though the soup as that less than ideal smell that I so frequently get when I prepare beans.

While I have not yet had a chance to try the soup (it will be served for supper tonight) I am pretty sure that it won't be that good, and yet another piece of evidence to suggest that I am completely unable to prepare beans (including coffee).

-This morning, as I prepared myself for work, it appeared to be raining. Given this information, and a desire to have dry clothing at work, I decided to wear my rain suit to work. It seems that almost as soon as I started on my way to work the rain basically stopped, though I was still wearing my rain suit (and sandals). As I continued to walk I hoped that the rain would start, mainly to justify my wearing of a somewhat preposterous outfit (particularly if it is not really raining).

Anyway, the rain stayed away and I was able to arrive at work completely dry, though this had nothing to do with the fact that I was wearing a rain suit.

-We played a few games of Settlers yesterday. I managed to win a few of the games. By the end of the day I was considered enough of a threat to merit the pre-game burn call (an honour that had previously only been bestowed upon Neil). Even more impressive was that I will still able win the final game even though the "burn had been called."

-While looking through some LCC schedules today I learned that their is a class number for materials about the 'hardcore unemployed.' Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to find the class number that would be used for materials about 'hardcore folk music.'

-As it was a little cool this morning I decided that I would wear a sweater under my rain suit. As I was to be heading to a library it seemed most appropriate for me to wear a cardigan. Once I arrived at work I found my boss was also wearing a cardigan, and the other worker had a cardigan (though she wasn't wearing it). I presume my other co-workers would have been wearing cardigans had they not taken today off.

-Just as I was about to head to work my mother asked me if I had been planning on shaving before going to work.. Surprisingly, I actually had been planning on shaving, but seem to have let it slip my mind in the pre-work rush. I guess it will have to wait for another day (likely Wednesday).

A Few Quick Notes 71

-Another pretty nice winter’s day in Montreal. I guess it was well below zero, though there wasn’t anything too intense to deal with. It seems that within a few days we may actually be in for some above zero temperatures.

-I had another full day today. The day started with laundry, not one of my favourite tasks. From laundry I headed on to class. From class I went to the lounge to work on a project with a partner for about four hours. From the group work I went to St. Laurent to buy some sinus medication and stop by my bank. Then it was back home, where I had some food and am back to work (though at a less intense pace).

-It has finally come to my attention that I am really in need of a haircut. While I don’t really mind long hair I don’t think that it is for me. The one very nice thing about long hair is that I don’t have to do that much and I don’t have to keep on top of getting haircuts. I guess it might end up going in time for summer employment. The downside of this would be that I will have not really experienced long hair in the way that I had hoped to because it still isn’t really all that long.

-Though we are in the midst of an election in Quebec I haven’t heard that much about it. My studies and napping have been keeping me away from my normal newspaper habit, something I am only indulging in on the weekends these days. Hopefully I will get a bit of a sense of how things will go before the actual election. Maybe I will even be as bold as to make some ill-informed predictions.

-My herbal tea consumption rate is as high as ever. I think that I must have used 5 or 6 bags yesterday, most of them after 10:00 PM.