Angels, Oreos, and Autumn

Signature Scent
I've been on a hunt for a "signature scent" for the past 4 years. I'd be able to wear my perfect cologne every day, it would be fine for morning or night, and just a whiff of it would make women and men fall madly in love with me. ... or maybe not.
In my signature scent fantasy I'd be so associated with the scent that whenever someone smells it anywhere else they'd think of me.
I remember when cK one first came out my cousin's entire family covered themselves in the stuff. I'm definitely not one of the people who find perfume/cologne overwhelming or annoying. When I walk by people I have a tendency to take a sharp inhale to grab some scent. Weird, I know.
I spent an entire weekend with them up in Wisconsin and until now I always associate the smell with them.
On a less positive side a friend of mine in college always smelled kinda mildew-y. He was actually very clean, it was his laundry that smelled. It was probably his washing machine at home. But, now whenever I smell something old/wet I think of him.

So, I want my signature scent. And after 4 years I still haven't found something perfectly suitable. I originally wanted something rare and hard to find and I immersed myself in Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.
Sadly, I found nothing that I loved (but plenty that I liked).
After trying a few more on-line perfumers I ended up switching to the department store colognes.
The most recent addition to my collection is A*Men.
Back in the day my mom had a good relationship with one of the women behind the perfume counter at Marshall Fields. For years my mom would stop in, experience the newest scents, chat a bit, and at the end Myrna (the perfume lady) would hook me and my brother up with a bag of men's cologne samples. It was a good deal and she was an awesome sales person.
The year Angel came out Myrna made a huge fuss about how it was so revolutionary. I smelled it and instantly thought chocolate and weird-ness and fell in lust.
Plus, it was a women's scent and being only 11 or 12 years old I had no money.
I didn't revisit the scent again until years later and by that time they already had A*Men.
And then, I never thought the scent would work with me.
During my switch into department store cologne I ran into a book at Barnes & Noble. Something something perfume something. It's a white book with a blue bottle of perfume on it. I know it's written by 2 people and they review hundreds of scents. I studied it carefully and created a list of fragrances that I would want to try.

Finally, last week, one of those little perfume boutiques was having a 20% off sale. I went in with my list (which I save on my phone so I technically have my list everywhere I go) and started my search. The place didn't have the largest selection but it was all laid out really nicely. I only found 3 on my list and after a quick sniff of each one I wasn't too impressed. And then I noticed a lone little box of A*Men and I snatchedi t up and went to the register.

I love how complex and interesting it is. It's so unique compared to all that "fresh" "blue" "sport" "water" stuff. I'm still not 100% sure if it suits me though.


Tri!
I did the Chicago Super Sprint Tri on Saturday. The water was freeeeeeezing. Technically 64 or 66 degrees. But, it froze my kidneys.
My inhaling and exhaling came out, involuntarily, as moans throughout the whole swim. I thought I might be dying, despite the possibility of impending death I was actually really self conscious about the moaning. I was like, "I hope the people around me don't hear this." And after the swim it took me forever to recover. For the first 2/3rds of the bike I was breathing in these short gasps. And then during the first half of the run my calves were threatening to seize up and cramp. Each step a ball on the upper part of my calf would tighten up so I'd change my stride to relax the muscle. I jogged really awkwardly until my calves finally stopped threatening me at gunpoint. It was probably because I didn't eat any bananas or drink water that morning. Oops.
Overall I did pretty bad and it's kind of a sad way to end the season, but, I know what I need to do for next year. Hydrate, get my necessary vitamins and minerals (hello potassium!), and buy a wetsuit. ... and a road bike. ... and learn how to ride it... and learn how to run efficiently. ... and lose 20 lbs. Yay!


In other news...
The 103.5 morning show kept playing this Oreo commercial today. It made me crave them. Luckily, the vending machines at the office was stocked with a pack of 6! Yum.