I have a theory, could be a giggle, please help

OOOOOh! how fun! my turn:

Finally getting a break
A booked, paid for holiday
Hearing my family laughing and enjoying time together
Satisfaction from my new job
Perfume shopping (sampling) in Seattle or London

Vulnerable members of society suffering or needing help
Gossip
Bug infestation
Lying politicians
Deliberate misrepresentation.

Ok here goes:

Five good things:
Lying in bed during a rainstorm
Lying outdoors under the stars, or under the sun watching clouds, with no particular place to go.
Train journeys, watching the world go by the window; and going to new places in general
The sounds of nature: wind whispering, birds singing, water trickling, etc.)
Falling into a good book and not coming up for air until I'm ready

Five bad things:
Loud clanking noises, or street construction noises
Being interrupted when I'm absorbed in something/being pestered
Public speaking (having to do it)
Aggressiveness
Being pushed or rushed

OK, I'm game. I enjoy -

Sunday mornings
Watching the wildlife that visits my back garden and taking care of it
My husband’s sense of humour
Music
Snow, provided I don’t have to travel anywhere

Irritations -

Also noise, particularly construction noise. My workplace is a building site at the moment and it’s driving me insane
Queuing
Selfish, inconsiderate people
Insomnia
Late night phone calls. Actually, phone calls full stop.

I'm intrigued to know what this is about. You're not going to tell me that my answers reveal I'm a psycho are you?

Love:
Watching hummingbirds in the garden
Drives to nowhere
Finding good books and audiobooks at the Library
Shoes that actually fit me
Having the cat curled up near me and giving chin scratches


Irritating:
Leaf blowers and so-called gardeners who only know how to trim back a plant with electric hedge clippers
People who would rather text and tweet and whatnot instead of interacting with the real people around them
Dealing with people who must have rigid schedules
People who can't be bothered to throw empty bottles and cans in the recycling bin

Delights:
•unplanned day off and it's upper 70s and sunny
•riding my bicycle in the city, soaking up urban history, with a stop at an ice cream truck if I'm lucky
•live jazz
•an afternoon nap
•getting an I love you text from my kids

Irritations:
•drivers who disrespect pedestrians and cyclist (worst habit: rolling "stops" at stop signs where rather than stopping at the thick line in front of the crosswalk they just barge in. As a cyclist and a pedestrian these people scare me! Especially if they are yackin in a phone)
•the fact that Adam Sandler movies even exist
•mothball smell
•old hamburger grease smell combined with old ashtray smell (my ex-mother-inlaw's house, to which I would add the boozy note)
•people with insufficient social boundaries

Interesting how quite a few of us are delighted in our solitude and so irritated by other people? It may just be what happens when making a list of this sort.

And no smells made my favorite things, yet two under irritating.

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lilybelle, yes, trains! I Amtrak it from CLE to NYC. I love the stories the scenery tells me, and when I'm travelling alone, the camaraderie with whomever chance sends me as a seat-mate. I've say next to a woman who was the first female violinist hired by the Cleveland Orchestra, a retired steelworker, and—on a return trip—a teenage boy who, after taking the seat in front of me and just as I stretched out to take two seats, looked at me and said, "I think I'll sit with you!" After swapping stories and snacks, I felt very honored. It's not always easy for a young person to feel comfortable alone on a trip, and my mom and/or crazy loveable auntie vibe must have been projecting. I also pulled out my frag finds from Bergdorf Goodman; we had a ball sniffing and chatting.

5 things I love:

Church
My husband's sweetness and sense of humor
Flowers
Animals
Potlucks

Don't like:

I would say someone who runs a weedwacker, leaf blower, lawn mower first thing in the morning
A chatter mouth that talks and talks only of themselves without ever asking how I am doing(a dumper)
Loud talkers-like I am right here, you know? Why talk so loud, like you are yelling across the room, when I am right here?
The Holidays..don't like commericalism, cranky cursing drivers, crazy shoppers..you get the point.
Judgemental people or gossipers, hate gossip..I know of a couple of 'did you hear' type of people. urgh.

Can I add one? Snow, hate snow.

Things I really love:
Sleeping in on Sunday
Coffee
Tulips in April
Having someone wash my hair
Reading


Irritating things:
Whiners
Clutter
cigarette smoke
Centipedes(ugh, hate them)
Being asked to state my phone number or account number AFTER I entered it on keypad of phone. What a freakin' waste of my time.

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Kalli -- I'm right with ya on the Holidays. My whole family thinks it's the "most wonderful time" and I'm such a crank then.

Love / enjoy

Cold, clear, frosty mornings.
A quality bottle of wine / pint of real ale.
Architecture.
Wildlife (especially ornithological)
Family.

Irritating / disturbing

Political correctness.
Reality TV
The smell of garlic.
Rats.
Heat and humidity.

Things l love;

A good belly laugh.
A lazy day on the beach, swimming, reading & napping.
A long, hot bubble bath.
Cuddles with my bf.
Music.

Things l hate;

People who talk over you & never listen.
Cyclists who ride on the pavement (sidewalk).
Wasps.
Mushrooms.
Pigeons.

Edit; please can l add one more hate? Other people's screaming children! Nothing is more guaranteed to send my stress levels sky high.

Can't wait to see what the theory is!

I'll play too!

Things that are good:
- working well with my colleagues and accomplishing a difficult task
- summer in New York City - wandering around at my own pace and ducking into cool places
- holidays with my best friend
- a really good peach
- getting into a good book

Things that are bad:
- self-righteous and bigoted people
- clutter
- excessive noise when I need quiet
- being kept waiting
- labyrinthitis attacks

Nice thread...I'm in...

Things I love:

Sleeping
My cat's (unwitting) sense of humor
The smell of jet fuel
Spring vegetation
Berlin during winter


Things I'd love to skip..

Grocery shopping
Train travels
Humidity
Diet
Extenuating queues at the post office

Jujy, you are sweet.

Things that I love:
1. watching the sunset
2. listening to nature: birds, tree leaves in the wind
3. swimming
4. going for a walk at winter time
5. reading books, reading about perfume

Things that I don't like / disturb me
1. the smell of gasoline
2. having nothing to do (I really prefer to have something to do rather than laze)
3. when someone is not listening to me or tries to persuade I said something I did not say
4. speed-driving
5. sound of city traffic.

Sounds interesting. I had to go back to your definition, because there are too many things that I "kinda love" that are generally irritations (crowded subways, multi-hour traffic jams, etc.) simply because they make life interesting and memorable. Even the most theoretically annoying people always have some side that I find fascinating and worthwhile. (I'm still working on centipedes, however. The closest I can come to loving them is the absence of household insect pests when they are doing their little centipede thing.)

But you aren't asking if we hate or love them - you're asking if they provide pleasure or irritation.

SO - pleasures....

Sitting on my deck with friends and family and dog.
A nice late breakfast with good coffee in the city.
Sniffing anywhere - with either unhurried solitude or plenty of time to chat.
Getting a bright idea while taking a shower after a good night's sleep.
Having a religious experience of some kind.

(I need more pleasures! What about the mountains, beaches, forests, oceans, etc., etc.....)

...and irritations...

Catch-22 situations
Computer problems which don't want to be fixed.
Leaky containers of whatever.
Rules that get in the way of valid (or even "best") solutions.
Obstruction masquerading as cooperation.

Everyone join in now
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.
Brown paper packages tied up with strings....

Awww...this is a really sweet thread!

Some of my pleasures are:
Getting completely involved in a good book.
Nature-especially flowers, trees, rocks, waterfalls, birds, moss, chipmunks
Snuggling with my sweethearts- my husband or my daughter or the cat making "biscuits" on me with her paws.
This isn't finished but we have to run to Costco......

A friend suggested I might be a HSP. I don't know much about it. I suppose it is on a spectrum. I'll read up on it. It's interesting. Thanks, Alityke!

I had also suspected that people here are generally highly sensitive in some weird way. I didn't know that there was an actual category of such folks.

This particular combination may be the one that is very prevalent here:

lnteresting stuff, Ali! Thanks for this thread.

l slightly misinterpreted your first post & answered with my "loves & hates", but now l see what you were driving at!
l would say the description definitely applies to me. l hate being interrupted in any way, am very much affected by background noise, have great difficulty multi-tasking & nearly fall to pieces if l'm being watched at work.
l also need lots of "me time" every day to recover from the constant interaction with other people that my work involves.
As for fragrance; yes l do need time & space to concentrate when sampling. And l can't have the TV or radio on too loud when l'm doing it. lt's as if it stops me from "hearing" the fragrance. Am l weird?

My turn !
Loves:
Being alone - in peace and quiet .
The night and the stars - sitting outside
That sweet spot when I'm exercising or doing yoga that only comes occasionally - when I feel completely free and I feel very strong.
Reading a very good book
The sea and breath taking scenery

Dislikes :
When people talk ' at' me instead of 'to 'me and don't lsten
Places that play music really loudly
Being hounded or pestered by someone repeatedly
My Dad's driving
Very crowded places

Edit : I just read the wiki link Alityke . Thanks for that !
I actually do better , I think , when people are watching which is weird ! I think I see it as a challenge . Like ' if you are going to do that , well then , I'll give you my best , dammit ! ' I don't like it when people watch me do yoga or exercise at all - I feel it's an invasion of privacy except when I teach . I think I'm a bit of a paradox sometimes and don't quite understand it myself. Strange !

Like:

1. being alone in quiet & beautiful places
2. breathing fresh air in the morning when everyone still asleep
3. Smelling my perfume collections in my room
4. reading newspaper
5.
Dislike:
1. Phone rings
2. politics
3.

4.

5.

Lovely thread Alityke! And very interesting.

My answers:

Love:
- Curling up with a good book, usually literary fiction. I love a good story.
- Experiencing "beautiful things." I love beautiful landscapes, cityscapes, and good food, design, fashion, music, architecture, fragrance, flowers! Anything truly beautiful just makes my toes curl with pleasure. Doesn't have to be fancy - simple, pure, and well-constructed is often the most beautiful to me.
- A dinner party with my besties. I love intimate conversation around a table with a wonderful, simple meal and fueled by a bottle or two of a rustic red wine.
- Being in nature, walking or camping. Nothing soothes me so much as the sound of the wind in the trees, or the crash of the ocean on the rocks.
- Quiet time with my husband, talking about nerdy things.
- Giggling with my 2 year old daughter.

Irritated by:
- Yes, loud noises! Weed eaters and loud motorcycles without mufflers, etc. Loud music in shopping areas also fits into this category. I hate it when I'm shopping and the music is stuck on "dance party." I usually leave the shop immediately.
- Clutter. Agreed. Even though I create it sometimes - too much clutter prevents me from thinking. I get overwhelmed. Again, when shopping - I will leave a store immediately if it is "over stuffed" and it's too hard to find things.
- Being unable to get away from someone with negative emotions (eg, riding in the car with someone with road rage! or being stuck in a meeting with a boss on tirade about something)
- Being rushed or hurried up; I like to take my time and do things "properly"
- Coarseness and Rudeness. I'm not overly formal at ALL. Quite the opposite. But I really do like it when we all act like civilized human beings - little things like public spitting irk me.
- Bad lighting. Flickering fluorescent lights make me feel ill. Ick.

As for your theory about HSP folks... you know, I'm not at all shy. Quite extroverted in fact. HOWEVER - I do actually experience a lot of anxiety, and "high/chronic cortical/cortisol arousal." My brain is very high stim and sensitive (hence the pleasurable side of sensation seeking) - but I can get easily overwhelmed. And though I'm extroverted, I need lots and lots of alone time.

This part of the article rang VERY true for me:
This means that regular sensory information is processed and analyzed to a greater extent, which contributes to creativity, intuition, sensing implications and attention to detail, but which may also cause quick over-stimulation and over-arousal.

That said, my work is very "high performance" - I have to talk a lot and be "on stage" in my work. I do design work - and I often have to do it "on the fly", collaboratively - with clients. No hiding! I have to lead design meetings and be very on-point. (This is exhausting, I might add.) But I work from home most of the time - so I can retreat and be myself, which really helps. When I used to work in an office, having people watch me do creative work was very stressful for me.

Again, I'm very sociable - so the "shy" part doesn't fit me well. Still...you know what's interesting is that both my brother and my mother are in the "painfully shy" camp - while my father and I are more gregarious - but everyone in my family has this creative/sensitive temperament.

And we've all seen a few psychiatrists along the way to deal with the familial "nerviness" and the general consensus is that it's absolutely a "nervous system wiring" issue - and that, at least in our family's case - it's very much genetic and inherited.

Pleasures:
- cat purrs
- the sound of rolling thunderstorms
- walking a beach in the winter
- cup of tea, good book, getting cozy
- sitting in the sun

Dislikes:
- low frequency sounds: the hum of lights, fans, distant air-conditioners, bass on drive by car stereos
- wearing polyester
- TV host chatter
- vinyl storefront signs with too many things going on it
- commercial radio stations

Perfect !!!!!!!

What an interesting thread!! I have read that book by Elaine Aron...years ago. And I am definitely an HSP!! I never thought about a link between my love of fragrance and being a HSP. But it certainly fits. I also love wine, food, peace and quiet, a good book, and soft sheets. And HATE loud, noisy, places. Amusement parks--terrible. Unless it's Disney Land on a low traffic day. I stay away from malls on the weekend. And walk out of restaurants that are too busy and have a wait line.

It would also be very interesting to find out which "noses" may be HSP's. And can we see that reflected in their work in anyway. Maybe in how they work (their process), or in the compositions themselves (the end product).

Oooo...another question might be: Do HSP's gravitate toward certain perfume houses/lines. For instance, I appreciate the artistry of Serge Lutens, but to me they are all too blunt and in your face. Same thing with many of the Tom Ford private blends. Much of Mona di Orio and Bonds also come across that way to me. I can't wear them. They slap me across the face. )

Chaplain, I know what you mean about *loud* fragrances. I hate malls too!

I can only imagine that many perfumers must be highly sensitive.

Chaplain - I also really dislike crowds. I also walk out of crowded restaurants with a wait line . The less people around the better .

The SAs at Macy's freak me out till my brain becomes jelly and I get really nervous .

Loud noises - terrible .
Here's a little secret - the drone of the air conditioner makes me anxious sometimes .

I don't mind the AC but the vacuum cleaner drives me insane. Also the loud landscaping whackers. Also dishes and silverware clattering. That particular noise actually hurts my ears and makes me wince and want to escape.

Really interesting. For fun, I took the short version of the HSP test linked at the bottom of the Wikipedia page and got 17 ticks. Not sure, though, as some of the statements were VERY true - sensitive to caffeine, get confused when hungry, startle easily, etc. - but some were very, very not true - sensitive to pain, avoid violent movies or TV...

It would be interesting to combine this with info from those threads where we argue about overspraying fragrance. My guess is the HSPs high scorers are the ones who are more careful not to invade others' space with perfume, and possibly more sensitive to loud or oversprayed perfumes themselves, while the "I enjoy my fragrance so you should too" contingent might score less highly!

Likes:

Silence and being alone with the DH (unspoken love)
Connecting with nature
Animals of all kinds
The innocence of animals and children
Improving the world in small ways (St. Teresa of Avila's small acts of love)

Dislikes:

Amoral people
The impersonal aspect of technology
+1 for reality television
Selfish people
The trend of things synthetic: people, medicine, GMO foods, etc.

Mimi!

I am going through air conditioning humming hell!

the landlord just had "fixed" the A/C for the unit above me, which hadn't worked in ages (LL's grandson now lives upstairs). I don't mind white noise, but this unit had a hum of two notes less than half-step apart, which is to say an out of tune hum! It's loud, too, and travelling through the ducts on the south side of the house. I had to sleep in my living room. I asked my neighbor the next day if they were done fixing the A/C, and he said yes, to which I said, "well, no." After some pleading, which involved people walking into my messy BR—nothing like having the LL find out what a horrid housekeeper one is—to hear just how loud, they fixed it a little and basically said as an old A/C unit is was the best they could do. I still sleep in the LR when it's humming, thanks to a very comfy couch. Fortunately, he only runs it on very hot days, or I have to think about moving.

fwiw, when I was a child, my mother couldn't take me into one department store because the high-pitched sound from the escalator (which she could not hear at all) drove me nuts, too. She also had to cut all the elastics out of my baby clothes. At least at BN, I'm in good company! We're all just highly attuned aesthetes here, and maybe that's exactly what makes basenotes what it is, a place where we can feel less alone in our peculiarities. (:



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hi, teardrop, I'm a cyclist who also hates cyclists on the sidewalk—or on the wrong side of the road. re: other people's screaming children. I don't hate the kid, I despise the adult for either dragging a tired child about rather than considering the child's needs or for letting a rambunctious one run wild. Even worse is when the parent of the tired child yells at them for crying. Makes me want to hit them with a purse full of quarters.



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redneck perfumisto, I second leaky containers, and generally things that don't fit together correctly. I can go into a snit over that.