Thursday, December 04, 2008
Using Your Nose
Write a memory piece where you mention at least three different smells. Include one other person (character) in the piece. The writing may come from your life, but feel free to fictionalize if you wish. Length of 150 to 200 words or so in as many paragraphs as needed. Follow all the rules of writing you've learned so far. The "nose" knows!
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Hello, brad... this is my writing about using my nose... i hope u like it~^^*
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When Amy was four-year-old, she felt a hospital was her home because she was in a patient’s room for quite a while. She hated the smell of her room even though she used a solitary one. Whenever she enters her room, it smelled like someone died in there and smelled like someone besides her puked on her bed. When she finally got out of the hospital for one day, she wished she would never go back. She immediately wanted to go to her favourite place: a park. The park smelled so fresh, and it was like tasting a cotton candy. So sweet, so refreshing. She wished she could drink all the air as much as she could. When she inhaled airs, she wanted to taste the air and clouds on the sky. Suddenly, the park started to wet itself. It felt like someone from the above turned on water sprinkler, and she started to run around the park as if she just learned to run. After she returned to the hospital, she felt perfect and as she remembered her excursion today she couldn’t help but smiling. Her room suddenly smelled like the park that she ran, instead of that stinky smell.— 202
It was my cousin's birthday party when we played the game called "Do you know me?" The rules were simple. I had to be blind-folded and try to name the people around me by smelling them. If my guess was wrong for three times, I had to drink a glass of beer and if my guess was right for three times, I was safe from hangover. It was my first time to play the game so they agreed that I should go first. The blindfold was very tight, and no one spoke a word.I heard them move around. They formed a line in front of me and from left to right I started our absurd, and completely random game.(You must be wondering, how could I know how each of my friend smells, that's what I thought as well, but we were drunk so it didn't really matter.) I held the first one and smelled her around her neck. Her scent was familiar. It was Paris Hilton's brand. I gave her that perfume the night before.The first one was my cousin, Shiela. The next person wasn't so hard to recognize as well. She is the only vegetarian person that I know, personally. She is like Pamela Anderson minus the chest. Also, she was the only person in that room who eats spicy Indian foods, my friend Jane.
One more correct guess and I wouldn't have to chug a glass of beer, and I am telling you, the glass that we were using was huge that I thought it was a pitcher. The third person gave me a hard time. There was not a trace of beer or any of the food in her and her smell was pretty unusual. The perfume that she used was out this world, as if she poured a liquefied incense into her neck. I was sniffing her like a dog for about a minute when all of a sudden, everyone started laughing. I quickly pulled my blindfold, and Oh God! I couldn't believe what I saw. It was my Grandmother, ridiculously grinning at me. She started laughing her heart out with everyone in the room, like the leader of a group of bullies.But,as always, she gave me her big hug,said she was sorry and told me that she loves me. It was the most unforgettable prank pulled-off by my Grandmother.She got me, again!
Mr. Radak put down his pipe, stood up to welcome me, when I entered in his office. At the same time, a wisp of perfume scent wafted to my nose.
After sitting down, we started to discuss about a variant project of a new design. And then, the scent came again with something strange and irritant. It passed through the nostrils and sneaked into my brain. Suddenly, I realized that’s the body odor!
I was very sensible with this odor. Out of courtesy, I couldn’t show a sign of impatience. It is a challenge of my endurance.
“Do you mind my smoking?
“Not at all, Please.” I said. From the stink of smoke that still remained in the room, I knew he was a heavy smoker.
Among this secondhand smoke, I felt better than before, for my nose already numbed and couldn’t distinguish any particular smell from these mixed smell any more.
Words: 152
Some familiar smells remind me of the people in my life. The smell of sweet and sour pork ribs make me remember my mother’s cooking. My mother always make a lot of delicious plate each time when I go back home in Shanghai. One time my husband made sweet and sour ribs, the aroma of pork ribs drifted into my nose and made me remembered my mother. Meanwhile, my daughter pop out the words “Are we in grandmother’s house or in Canada?” What a coincidence. The smell of ribs made us remember my mother. Each time, I went back Shanghai to visit my parents, the smell of clean laundry with the specific “JiaMei” brand laundry detergent and waxed hardwood floor and delicious food smell could relax my nerves immediately. Those fragrances of daily life remind me the feeling of home.
140 words
The Breeze of the Ocean
“My mom’s breadth of mind is as vast as a blue ocean’s.” Alice often she used this kind of similes in her compositions, but as a girl who was born and grew up in a small inland town, she had never seen a real ocean.
An ocean meant mystery to Alice because of Robinson Crusoe, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Logbook of the Old Captain—been to a coastal city to see an ocean was her dream.
Her dream became true in the summer when Alice was eighteen.
The ocean was vaster than her imagination. The sand on the beach was white, soft, and warm—it smelled like the bed of the stream in the sunshine of July in my home town.
Walking along the cool water, Alice was charmed with the breeze from the ocean that was as fresh as the smell came from a watermelon that just was carving by her father after dinner.
“What a charming and lightsome girl she is! She’s my breeze of the ocean!” the young boy who brought her here watched her carefully and smiled.
The ocean meant romance to Alice since that summer.
-199 words
My most favorite smell is the smell of my wife’s cooking. Whatever she cooks, the smell is the most pleasant smell in the world. Every time I stepped out the elevator, I can follow the familiar cooking smell to get to my place even though I shut my eyes.
My second favorite smell is the smell of a book, new or old. Some of books I borrowed from library still remain the smell of last reader; it could be the smell of tobacco, coffee, and perfume. I would imagine, "A beautiful lady who smoked and drank coffee reading this book through long nights."
The smell I hate most is the smell of blood; however, I surprise that the “Twilight,” a novel that tells a love story happened between a girl and a vampire has been a best selling book. Maybe that’s why the planet we live on is filled with the smell of blood, because many people like such kind of smell.
162 words
hello, larry... it's nice to have someone who cooks for u... my mom does that for me everyday~~^^*
The New-Rich Mushroom
When I was in China, there were tons of stories that many people collected some stuff from the flea markets in the foreign countries and brought them back to China and found that the dollar things they took were real antiques which worth millions of dollars. So when I saw the advertisement “Since 2002, the Vancouver Flea Market has been hosting Antique and collectable shows. . .” the word “antique” stimulated my eyes. I couldn’t stop hopping to become a new-rich mushroom.
Last Sunday, for god’s mercy, it was really sunny. We were excited and therefore started our exploration.
The market looked like a huge warehouse from the outside and they required tickets. “You need to pay for museum too if you want to see real antique,” this was how I explained to my husband, stilled dreamed to find treasures there.
We stepped into the warehouse, headed a food court, the smell of unchanged oil pressed into my nose. People around me are mostly tattered. You could even sense the head oil and dead skins. It took me about 5 to 10 minutes to make my nose get use of this torture. My husband started complaining already. I forced him to continue.
“The air here is too bad”, he complained, “Everything is mouldy.”
“That’s the smell of antique.” I still didn’t want to give up.
“See this pair of funky shoes, your antique is here,” he covered his nose and teased me.
I didn’t want to argue, otherwise I’d have to breathe more ait here, but you got to pay for what you want.
Twenties minutes passed, I felt really dizzy for lack of fresh air. There were full of weird things: some brand new Chinese made knives; some one dollar lady’s hair accessories; some vulgar doodles; and some unexplained cell phones and watches; many seconds hands shoes and clothes. . . .
I was interested in some stained lamps and jars, but there were too dirty to touch.
Suddenly, the lights were out of power. The barks kicked up a row immediately in different languages, somehow reminded me this was Canada.
“I’d have to go out to have a cigarette before I’m frowzy to die here.”
I followed him tightly and heard my dream of being a new-rich mushroom burst like a bubble of soap.
When after three hours plane trip I arrived to Larnaca, Cyprus, the first sense that surrounded me was a pleasant smell of different French fragrants everywhere. When I was in Iran, I wasn’t surrounded with such variety of handmade smells. In Iran, we mostly enrich our noses with natural smells. Actually all flowers have a different and unique smell for itself there. I wonder why the flowers here in Vancouver are so without character and identity. My Persian name is Narges, the name of Narcissus that is originally from Iran. Here Narcissus has very bad smell, yet in Iran they smell heavenly. Cyprus remembers me many manufactured smells, but mostly Jasmine soaps that I used in the hotel. Iran remembers me many natural smells like flowers, spices, or even when I traveled to villages for making films, the smell of sheep that I like too much, and the smell of grass which is deep and green that makes me peaceful and calm. However, Vancouver smells nothing. Where I go to collect a memory of Vancouver for the times that maybe I miss it?
183 words
When I visited Burger King with my friend to see her sister, instead of staying outside, we went inside to see her. The first smell I noticed was French fries, onion rings and crispy bacon. On the board where they prepare burgers smelled of pickles, fresh tomatoes, and mint of cut onions. When we walked in to the employee’s room to see if her sister is there, odour of stinking shoes and socks went through my nose as I opened the door. I paused to the door, waiting there instead of inside. In a second, the scent of Dolce and Gabbana perfume, wafted as a black haired girl passed by. Finally, I have smelled something different from this stinking room! I thought .All these happened a year ago, yet I can still smell the odour of Burger King. However, the smell I do not will remember is the smell of stinking shoes and dirty socks!
157 words
It was getting dark when Ruth walked out from the kitchen of Macdonald’s. After working nearly nine hours, she was extremely exhausted. She wanted a hot water shower which could relax her and remove the smell of oil in her body. As soon as she arrived home, she rushed into the bathroom and had a shower. She used the body shampoo which had an odor of green leaves. She liked it. This fragrance made her refreshed. After taking a shower, she opened the door, and stepped out of the bathroom. The house was full of smell of coffee. She knew it was the fresh coffee made by her seven years old daughter. The little girl always made coffee for her mom, and she knew her mom was tired. Ruth held the coffee mug and watched her daughter who was doing her homework thinking what she would like in ten years. She’ve got a smile on her face.
It was morning time. The smell of DETTOL was every where because the cleaner just finished cleaning. I was working on cash register. There was a customer coming to buy gum. He gave off a bad smell of smoking.”Hum “an old white lady came to my register a sweet smell came through my nose, just touched heart and I asked “did you use RED DOOR perfume? She said, “Yes sweety, do you like it.” After she gone and twenty years old memories started flashing through my mind. That movement when my mother dressed up she sprayed her RED DOOR scent. The room was filled with sweet and fresh air aroma and .I felt warm and salty tears on my cheeks and lips. This brought me to present. I cleaned it and tried to bring a fake smile on my face.
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