Things I intensely dislike.

1. Two-day-old alcohol sweat smell, particularly the kind from cheap beer (as I know from an ex-boyfriend). It's probably one of the grossest smells there is. Especially during the summer, it's an intensely sweet and sour smell. It is usually coupled with #2 (below). When you drink a lot of alcohol, over time the alocohol seeps out through your sweat glands. If you don't shower the next morning, or the morning after that, the smell gets worse as the days go by and especially if you do something that makes you sweat more.

2. The "I just smoked a cigarette and put it out as I was stepping onto the bus" smell. This is usually bad, but even tolerable unless coupled with #1. The only way the 1 + 2 combination could be worse is if the person breaks the cherry off of the cigarette and puts it in their pocket to smoke later. The smell from a half-smoked cigarette is very strong. Having someone like that sit next to you on a stuffy bus is an extremely and intensely unpleasant situation. Now, I used to smoke, and it is only until I quit that I have come to realize how strongly the habit affects a person's smell. I have come to accept the "I just smoked a cigarette" smell because I don't want to be a hypocrite. A person is entitled to their vices. But I was always aware of the "don't save your half-smoked cigarettes" rule because of the smell. Also, I bathe daily.

3. I intensely dislike when a woman sprays herself with perfume while on the bus. I dislike this for several reasons. First and foremost, I have terrible allergies and one of the worst thing for my allergies is too much perfume. Invariably, the sprayer will spray 4 or 5 sprays, when most women know the most you should spray is 1 or 2. For whatever reason, the person who missed the "1 or 2" rule also missed the "not in public" rule. Go figure.

4. I intensely dislike when a person sits next to me in such a way that the entire side of their body is touching the entire side of mine. I'm mildly claustrophobic. When I am in a situation in which I feel trapped and where I am being touched by someone else, I begin to get panicky. The only thing worse is to be hot, trapped, and touched.

5. I intensely dislike being hit while riding the bus. I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating. I am not on the bus to meet men. I do not feel it is a prime situation in which I can find a boyfriend or husband. I am either on my long ride to work, or on my long ride home. I do not wish to meet my soul mate while riding the bus. If my soul mate is on the bus with me, he will have to wait until we meet again somewhere else. This also applies to

6. I intensely dislike when people feel the need to get involved in other people's anger/frustration/confusion/basic existence. If an argument breaks out, you can be sure there are several people on the bus who are going to have their opinion about the argument known. It fascinates me that people think anything can be helped by loudly telling other people that they are stupid. Also, people always feel like they know more about giving directions than do the bus drivers. On several occasions I've heard people give out confusing and misleading directions to poor unsuspecting tourists.

In the spirit of equality, I will also mention something I do like. I've noticed that sometimes people will talk to absolutely anyone, just because they need to. This is the time I really perk up and listen. I think people have an intense need to share with and communicate with other human beings regardless of wether the other person is actually listening. Just something primal moving them to share. I know that sometimes if I don't have someone to talk to, I can't get perspective on my own thoughts and emotions, and the act of talking about helps me get my perspective back. Most people on the bus, when faced with a talker, will look the other way and not make comments in order to discourage communication, but when a person just really needs to talk, they will talk despite this reaction. You can hear some truely amazing stories this way, too. Not like daring adventures, but true insights into the lives other people lead. It's worth listening to.