Petrichor

 Asian languages don't have the concept of petrichor or at least a word of it, which means the scent you smell after rain falls (usually after a long time of drought) caused by the wet soil. I too have witnessed the smell of petrichor, and it's not unpleasant; it doesn't depress me like rainy days themselves do. I always thought it had something to do with earthworms or some other living creatures from the soil, but there you go it's got a distinct smell. Apparently it has the same word as "ichor," the blood of the gods, and in many ways I can see rain as the life-giving substance that all life needs: as much as I dislike rain because it causes traffic, blocks out the sun, forces the use of umbrellas, causes puddles which are a runner's worst nightmare, and basically just messes up my plans, rain is essential to life on Earth, much like oxygen, nitrogen, pretty much any essential element. 

I bring up petrichor because it's one of the scents that emphasizes how important smells are to moods and daily life. The human body actually gets accustomed to the same smell all the time and gets desensitized to it, which is why we should always shower even if we don't think our own bodies smell bad; it may be that you just got used to your own body odor and others are being exposed to it for the first ime. Except MJ; MJ doesn't really have a natural scent (unless I've gotten used to it) or else she hides it really well. It's also really helpful for marketing campaigns to have really favorable smells; I walked into a Whole Foods today and instantly felt a little uplifted, a little more upbeat, maybe it was the Christmas music (auditory senses another big trigger) but scent definitely played a role and enhanced my mood to buy. Also I like the smell of oranges and you can kind of smell how good certain fruit will be from the outside, like Mandarin oranges or pineapples (MJ has a big thing for pineapples nowadays and always has one waiting). As for this idea of pheromones and ovulating women giving off a certain pheromone that raises the testosterone level in men who pick up the scent.......studies have shown that there might be a correlation (not very conclusive), but nowadays it's probably hard to pick up on any of that with the amount of artificial fragrances in the air that allow me to smell someone else on the street from yards away because they're doused with fragrance (see previous rant about this topic), but yea there might be something to be sad that one everyone smells too good, it desensitizes everyone's noses, and no one ends up smelling that good anyway. A race to the bottom.

What I DO crave is having a new home smell. Like a new car smell (there are car fresheners sold that play on that aesthetic), new homes also have a type of smell that I can only describe from being in other people's new homes; MJ and I have only lived in new apartment buildings and been the first ones to live in certain apartment units (we've actually done that three times).....and it's pleasing. So maybe that's why we're aspiring to buy a "new construction home," plus all the benefits of course like not needing to get things repaired (theoretically for a few years), not living in other people's filth, not smelling stuff that OTHER people left behind. Now come to think of it, yes of course you can deep clean a please, paint the walls, have it smell differently and make it like new, but there's still no denying you're living in someone else's home that has their air, the remnants of their dead skin skills, etc., etc.... I get why MJ doesn't like staying at hotels lower than 4 stars that don't do a thorough clean now. It's not petrichor, it's people odor. New home would be ideal (even if it's a little past our budget).