Mouth-breathers I define as the subject of an act. A necessary but vial act. Honestly, have you been in a room when there's a lot of people breathing all at once. That inhaling and exhaling and then you suddenly realize that it smells like people. You know the smell: muggy-kinda of sour. Pungent. The smell of people, and I know that includes me, is no perfume bliss. Roses are WAY ahead of game. Our natural odors from simply breathing can make any place claustrophobic. Or at least in my case.
Right now, SDSU is bustling and jittering with Finals. Brains are being freshly fried everyday, sleep is neglected to a point of just plain non-existence. Muffins, chocolate, and caffeine are being consumed in the hundreds, maybe thousands. It's Finals and no one is in a good mood. And you want to know why? The Mouth-Breathers.
You walk into the library ready to spend 8+ hours of your life in it and determined to not let this Chem/math/english/business final get the best of you: you WILL graduate. But as you walk up to the 3rd floor (because food is allowed there) and you enter into the long, wide room filled with chairs, tables, armchairs (those are evil) and numerous of electrical plugs to keep your viral life powered up. As soon as you sit down and spread out your crew: three books, notebook, pen, computer, charger, skittles, doritos, and iced double espresso, you stop and realize. You realize the-smell. And you look up from our academic bubble and realize you are 1 out of 100. Each table is crammed with at least 4 to 6 people, and suddenly the friends you're sitting with smell too. You love them, party with them, and cry with them, but right now, they smell and you're starting to feel sick.
When sudden, disgusting clarity hits you, you start seeing even more. Down to the very pores. Friend to the right has sweating sitting all along her hairline. Her eyes are unnatural wide-eyed. You stare a bit longer to see if the sweat will start trailing down the bridge of her nose and settle on the upper lip. When you realize you are doing this: panic. Run. This is not good.
Looking at Friend Right will only get you started on all the coughs and sneezes that go off every other second all around you. It's the loud swipe of the nose from the person's shirt sleeve or bare hand that gets to you. The sound of the sniffles being stuff back, inhaled only to be exhaled later. Dirty Mouth-Breather.
This, is what I mean about Mouth-Breathers ruining places for me. I could write a whole collection on all the places that have been contaminated at one point or another. And maybe I will, now that I think of it. Mouth-Breathers: A Tale of Walking Conundrums.
As of late, working full hours at Peabody's throughout this week I've seen them. Spotted them coming out of the darkness of the library. Making their way to me and the drugs. They never make eye contact and if they do it's not to me, but to the double chocolate chip muffin. I try not stare and pass judgement. At least here, the outside air helps circulate out their stuffy library smell.
Personally I found my best study places to be at cafes or coffee shops. The smell of espresso and milk steaming is soothing to me (I work with coffee entirely too much and therefore am a big barista geek). But despite the cafe's soothing qualities it really helps out with my mouth-breathing situation because coffee smells, a lot. And when it's made hourly, maybe even more, the aromas truly take over and everyone is at peace. Everyone being me.
So to all my readers out there, whether you are in crunch-time or not, remember the essentials during stressful days or week: shower (no French), brush your teeth, and pack some mints. Mints go a LONG way. Also, ease up. Take a deep breath every so often (yes, deep breaths are allowed because they even you out). Mouth-breathers are created amongst chaos.
Good work will come during the calm of the storm. Sorta.
Ok, I'm lying.
I just don't like the smell of "people;" let's keep it together.
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2 comments:
ohmygod - I hate Mouth Breathers as well. It is my biggest fear in life that I will become one.
hahahahaha
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