Nothing puts my day off to a bad start like sitting behind (or beside or in front of) a smoker on the bus. Sometimes you can not detect them but for the most part it smells like these people have locked themselves in a small closet and smoked for a day or two with no breaks. The smell of stale smoke is worse for me than touring some kind of animal barn. In fact, the smell of manure is better. I think that I will have to wear one of those masks that have become increasingly high profile due to SARS.
This morning was no exception. The guy in front of me was about a level three out of five on the disgusting scale. Can they not smell it? Or am I just super sensitive to the smell? It must be a campaign to irritate me. Yesterday, in my yoga class, there were several members who had the same kind of "essence du smoker". In face, worse still is the woman who tried to mask the smell by covering it up with some cheap Avon perfume. It makes it really difficult to focus. Next week, I will try to sit on the other side of the room.
I suppose, as a non-smoker, I live in a pretty good place in the world. In Victoria, (as well as Vancouver) there is a bylaw that prohibits smoking in any public building. This includes all restaurants, pubs, and nightclubs. It didn't used to be like that but all that changed when the CRD decided they had to protect the health of all hospitality staff who worked in this places and at the time were subjected to patron's second-hand smoke. This was wonderful. Gone were the days that I could go clubbing and come home with the smell of smoke permeating through my clothes and hair. It was like non-smoker's heaven.
Unfortunately, when I travel outside of my clean-air bubble, I am rudely reminded that other's don't have the same environment. I love the UK but I knew I was in trouble when I saw one older man smoking in the freezer section of the supermarket in a small town in Wales. I feel sorry for all of the non-smokers out there who don't have the same kind of protection that I do.
Don't get me wrong. I feel sorry for the smokers too who are addicted and cannot quit. Many do not want to and that is their right. But, it is also the right of those who don't smoke not to have been subjected to have clean air. (or at least clean smelling). I am sure that this will offend some people but, well, what can I say?
On another note, tomorrow is Good Friday. At the college, we have a four-day weekend and so, I hope to catch up on the sleep I lost due to Daylight Savings Time. I am not Christian but I am inspired to write a bit about my dismay for the commercialism of the Easter holiday. No, I am not against the holiday in itself because everyone has the right to practice their religious beliefs but I was as Hillside Centre yesterday and was appalled at the latest in consumer enticements.
Now, not only are we subjected to visiting Santa at the end of the year but now children can go and visit the Easter bunny, sit on his knee and tell him what they want as an Easter present. I wish that I had a photo of this to share with you. Talk about consumerism at it's best. Now, the shopping malls can compete with Hallmark to get people to spend more money of things they cannot afford. Even though I do not celebrate this holiday, I cannot believe the audacity of these places to rake in more money. Have they no shame? What about the sanctity of the holiday? Does this happen anywhere else in the world?
To tell the truth, I don't know why children aren't more frightened of this guy in a rabbit suit. He looks like Roger Rabbit after he's gone on a bender... only dressed in pastels!
This morning was no exception. The guy in front of me was about a level three out of five on the disgusting scale. Can they not smell it? Or am I just super sensitive to the smell? It must be a campaign to irritate me. Yesterday, in my yoga class, there were several members who had the same kind of "essence du smoker". In face, worse still is the woman who tried to mask the smell by covering it up with some cheap Avon perfume. It makes it really difficult to focus. Next week, I will try to sit on the other side of the room.
I suppose, as a non-smoker, I live in a pretty good place in the world. In Victoria, (as well as Vancouver) there is a bylaw that prohibits smoking in any public building. This includes all restaurants, pubs, and nightclubs. It didn't used to be like that but all that changed when the CRD decided they had to protect the health of all hospitality staff who worked in this places and at the time were subjected to patron's second-hand smoke. This was wonderful. Gone were the days that I could go clubbing and come home with the smell of smoke permeating through my clothes and hair. It was like non-smoker's heaven.
Unfortunately, when I travel outside of my clean-air bubble, I am rudely reminded that other's don't have the same environment. I love the UK but I knew I was in trouble when I saw one older man smoking in the freezer section of the supermarket in a small town in Wales. I feel sorry for all of the non-smokers out there who don't have the same kind of protection that I do.
Don't get me wrong. I feel sorry for the smokers too who are addicted and cannot quit. Many do not want to and that is their right. But, it is also the right of those who don't smoke not to have been subjected to have clean air. (or at least clean smelling). I am sure that this will offend some people but, well, what can I say?
On another note, tomorrow is Good Friday. At the college, we have a four-day weekend and so, I hope to catch up on the sleep I lost due to Daylight Savings Time. I am not Christian but I am inspired to write a bit about my dismay for the commercialism of the Easter holiday. No, I am not against the holiday in itself because everyone has the right to practice their religious beliefs but I was as Hillside Centre yesterday and was appalled at the latest in consumer enticements.
Now, not only are we subjected to visiting Santa at the end of the year but now children can go and visit the Easter bunny, sit on his knee and tell him what they want as an Easter present. I wish that I had a photo of this to share with you. Talk about consumerism at it's best. Now, the shopping malls can compete with Hallmark to get people to spend more money of things they cannot afford. Even though I do not celebrate this holiday, I cannot believe the audacity of these places to rake in more money. Have they no shame? What about the sanctity of the holiday? Does this happen anywhere else in the world?
To tell the truth, I don't know why children aren't more frightened of this guy in a rabbit suit. He looks like Roger Rabbit after he's gone on a bender... only dressed in pastels!
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