The Sniff Test

Travel brings out the best and worst in people. It also redefines people's thresholds.

Take laundry for example. At home, I assess whether or not a piece of clothing is clean by determining whether or not I've worn it. If I've worn it, it goes in the hamper, and I don't wear it again until it makes its way through ye ole wash cycle.

Now, on the ship, you get a grocery-sized bag that you can stuff to the brim with clothing and pay $6 to have it washed and returned to your room the next day. As a staff member, we are allowed to put our laundry out anytime, and don't need to wait for the scheduled laundry days. (So, awesome). As a frugal person, however, that $6 per bag, per person, per every 5 days or so, has made me reconsider my definition of clean.

There is a new process of testing out clothing for cleanliness...

1. The look: one must examine the clothing for exorbitant amounts of wrinkles and also note how unbearable any stains are. Upon approval of this step, the article of clothing can go on to step two.

2. The sniff: one must hold the piece up close and personal and give it a good sniff. Test out different areas of the clothing to see if you might have missed a particularly stenchy area.

If this test is not passed, but desperation calls for a re-wear, one can move on to step three.

3. The helicopter: one holds the article of clothing at one end, letting it dangle down to the ground.
Then swirls the clothing in a vertical helicopter motion and quickly sniffs the moving air. This test presents a more extreme version of the hallway pass to see whether or not strangers will be able to detect your re-wear. A very effective test. My clothes usually pass, but then I just have Matt's sniffer to contend with. He usually doesn't mind as long a I'm locked away in a separate edit room.

So, there you have it. The three step process to saving the world. (By saving the water that would be wasted by unnecessary washings therefore reducing the impact on the environment and reversing global warming. You can thank me later.)

Most of today was spent in the Eagle's nest editing episode four, but we ended our day with a gorgeous sunset on the warm and calm South China Sea and also with delicious Vietnamese appetizers for a pre-taste of what's to come on the 12th. I'm very much looking forward to Vietnam.

I promise I'll do laundry before I meet the locals.