An upside (98% of the time) of commuting by foot is that I'm far more sensitive to the details. No more so when I'm sitting next to a man who has been living on the streets or when I'm walking the last half a mile to the office under a canopy of trees.Now, when I walk, bike, bus and carpool, it's like exploring a whole new (olfactory) map of the world.
A few of the smells that frequently populate my house-to-office trek include:
- Car and bus exhaust
- Urine (my least favorite, and the most humbling)
- Coffee
- Sun-warmed pine needles (my most favorite)
- Pizza
- Body odor (ranging everywhere from sweat-soaked spicy to downright funky)
- Just-cut grass
