Thursday, October 12, 2006

I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth

  • I go to my next cubicle guy to clarify some issue and the first thing I get is a warm welcome smile **well.. that's nice** and then THAT follows with that **Not at all nice!**.
  • I get inside the car, start driving... No music on the radio. Some stupid commercials. So what do I do, try to strike a conversation with the guy sitting next to me. What I get in return? - THAT! Yuuucccckkkkk. It's a closed space, so it's all the more bad. I quickly open the window.
  • Home. Dinner time. Sit together to watch some show on TV or our good old Ramayana.. but guess what is more stronger than the aroma of my sambar? THAT2.
  • Weekend outing. Movie. Friend next to me (let me tell you she is extremely beautiful!), but the moment she turns towards me to comment on some scene, THAT is evident.

What is THAT and THAT2? THAT : Bad Breath , THAT2: Body Odor :)

I know! these are inevitable. When you sit long hours in front of the comp your mouth does get worse. And body odor is one thing which is there always! Yes., even in AC rooms. So my ranting is not against any person in particular... It's rather against those who don't take the hint ;-)

  • When somebody offers a mint, DO NOT refuse. Just take it in any case!
  • When somebody opens the window of the car even though the AC is on... don't say anything. Just let the fresh air get in.
  • Please, pretty please avoid onions for lunch. You can gorge as much as you want for dinner.
  • Use deodorants. It is made for people to USE. Preferably twice a day.
  • Wear clean clothes. It's not as if you have to wash them with your hands these days :)
  • Socks can be worn max for 2 days. That's it! Not a day more.

Oh! I do sound like a preaching-grandma! I guess I am getting worse by the day! My sis will refuse to let me inside our house when I go back to India if she sees this!

Does this have something to do with a working weekend?

18 comments:

Sunil Parashar said...

That's a genuine point brought by you!!!! And i got the nuances :)

I always intened 2 convey to the persons around me through my non-verbal communication...but very few people notice this...So i end up compromising with the situation.

Anonymous said...

wel... I dont hold back.. I tell them.. as directly as i can..as calmly and matter of factly as i can... (it may hurt.. they will probably hit back.. but then... it will work better! :)....

well... good luck with ur sis. [by the way, being grandma-like is the problem?]

Vinutha and Lingaraj said...

hmmm... i know what it feels like.... but not many get the cue... so i wonder how to b polite and still get the msg across.

Kavi said...

:) Well, well, looks like you are suffering quite a bit !

You take care ! I agree with the Sojourner. Direct communication is anyday better.

Better still: Stay off the onions !

pavan kumar said...

[shark] I always wonder how they would react if "they" encounter a similar situation.. shout "same pinch"? but yes, the gravity of situation is obvious: have you see the Rexona deo ads in India? could they get more explicit?

[vin] "..so i wonder how to b polite and still get the msg across"

reciprocate their gesture ;)

Sookie said...

Dont even ask how it will be during summer :-(
It gets worse when you need to sit in a cramped room full of sweaty people....yuck!!!!! I faced this last summer and I had to execuse myself atleast 5 times in 45 minutes meeting...

Mrudula Sreekanth said...

he he he. You live in a desert, so the body odour is something, you can't escape I guess. ;)

Shark said...

@sunil: Some people just REFUSE to take hints. I wonder if they do it purposely? Vicarious Pleasure?

@sojourner: Direct statement with friends is OK. But not with colleagues. Nopes I can't do that :(

@vin: Being polite is offering a mint... but if they refuse to take what do you do then ;-)?

@kavi: How to make other people stay off onions? Spread a rumour that Onions also contain e-coli?

(hint: There is a major outbreak of e-coli related illness after people consumed some spinach in US)

@pavan: LOL!! Same pinch?? :P Nopes not seen those ads. Or can't recollect now.
Reciprocate!? Are you crazy? Can you even imagine shark getting down to that level!!! No chance!

@sookie: Where were you all these days? Welcome back :)
Ha!Ha! 5 breaks in 45 minutes? That's super! And still people wouldn't have got the hint... they would their you had a stomach upset ;-) These people are very tough!

@Texas is desert. I agree. But we are in AC rooms all the time. Anyway how much of an effort is it to put a deo? or powder or whatever!

Shark said...

Ooops I forgot putting hardu's name ;-)

Hardu, The last @ is for you :)

enigma said...

Well one way would be to write about it on ur blog and casually pass the URL to Mr.NextCubicle or Ms.MovieCompanion ;)

I once worked with a guy who used to stink sooooo bad, you could smell him 5 feet away. The reason wasn't surprising at all - he wore the same shirt on all 5 days of the week. I don't think he even bathed or anything. And his mouth would be red with all the Pan paraag he chewed.. sick character!
PUKE PUKE PUKE!!!!!!!!!

Ashish Agarwal said...

Wearing socks for 2 days ? Wow ! In the US, maybe less heat, so fine.
Try doing that in Delhi, and the shoe will not be able to hold the smell !!
It is difficult to directly tell someone that they smell, and indirect methods sometimes just do not convey the message, so being truthful in a non-offensive way (to be truthful, I do not know how you can be truthful and yet non-offensive about this issue) may just work.

Itchingtowrite said...

1st time on ur blog. nice one. am in the process of reading thru the rest. just today read the latest femina which tells how to check out if u hav bad breath- lick your wrist and smell after 5 minutes- that's how the tongue smells. use a spoon to scrape off the back of the tongue- that's how the breath smells.. . to prevent bad breath- drink lots of water. use good tongue cleaner, brush well, keep eating, use mints/ fennel or chew parsley.. i even suggest clove.

Mysorean said...

Agree totally!

Shark said...

@enigma: When he cannot take a direct hint as offering a mint, do you think he would take this ;-)? I am sure he will laugh it off!

OMG! You have been in worse situations!

@ashish: More than less heat ha;f the time we are in AC.. either in office/home or in car that's the reason I have a 2 day tolerance. But yes If you ask me personally 1 day itslef is more!

@itchingtowrite: Thanks :) Buddy I don't need any of these methods.. the smell is very much there! Direct on my face ;-) I need tips on how to hint them to accept the mint that I offer!

@mysorean: Yeenu bari onde worda? That's so unlikely of you :) Busy na?

Jo said...

I had similar issue some time back.And this is what happened..I offered mint to one of my 'Bad-Breathed' colleague...she refused it outright saying "Mint causes infertility in women!!" ..that was the worst reason anybody cud give for Bad Breath !

Shark said...

@jo: Please.... I can't stop laughing now.. Mint causing infertility! Whoever said this....?

Anonymous said...

Havent had the chance to get THAT close to somebody (obviously female) to smell her breath. Aah...I wouldn't mind that at all ! [:-P]

Deo, I dont use it. I dont sweat much so I dont have that much body odour or so I think, LOL. But its true - some people have a lot stronger body odour than others.

BTW, whatever happened to pheroones?

-PeAcE
--WiTh
---GuNs

k@rTh1K said...

so benign... tell them on the face the next time, gud for them and to you too... :D:D

been there done that looked at some weird faces after doing that too...

--kingkong