I have had an extraordinary headache since waking this morning. It shifted from an all over assault, to a pain that felt like I’d been boxed in my right temple. I had to imagine what that pain might be as I’ve never actually been boxed at all, let alone to the temple.
The headache was an interesting thing to track as about two hours after I got to work and took more panadol, I grew unusually tired. Then just a little queasy. More interesting still is the way my olfactory system seemed to overreact and possibly exacerbate the devilish situation.
First was a woman who attempted to jump on an upward bound lift half way on my journey from G to 7. A fellow passenger disembarked the lift on 4 where the woman in question, deep in conversation with a rectangle she had pressed to her face, put no more than her hand through the shutting doors.
Because she was speaking to someone I couldn’t see, I felt it rude for me to actually vocalise that the lift was on the up. So with excessive gesturing I waved in a ‘no no’ kind of way, pointed with my thumb to the wall of the lift, and then pointed up. All the while I was mouthing the words to match, ie, Hi there, I believe that the right side cable of this lift is faulty. I’m probably going to die in here. And unless you too are willing to risk it, you might want to wait for the next one.
It took a lot less time to communicate the lift’s direction as it happened than it took to type all of that out. And as I said, no more than her hand entered the lift, but as the doors shut and I continued my journey I was hit with the most overwhelming scent of vanilla perfume. It almost floored me (‘G’d’ me?). I got out from the elevator at 7 and stood perfectly still waiting for the sickly sweet to move on.It’s the kind of smell that you feel tickling in an unpleasant way, right between your eyes.
It was after this that the queasies started.
Worse is what I sat next to on the tram home. A teenager who had the distinct odour of Clag Glue emanating from every pore. And Clag Glue smell gets you in a similar fashion to vanilla in a disturbing tickle sensation, but at that bit of skin between your nose and the U shape at the top of your lip.
I get tram sick every so often, usually in the afternoon and only if I’m facing forward. I put it down to car fumes keeping at a similar speed with my tram-mobile head. But car fumes and Clag Glue is just not fair.
Needless to say I’m not feeling too wonderful at the present. I’ve been punched in the head by fist, by cheap false bean, by exhaust, and by useless glue. My fear is that those fragrances will cling.
Lucky Numbers: 2, 3, 5, 16, 25, 27
2: nostrils
How did you know that, fortune cookie? 