Jan 21: Smellovision

Sometimes I wish this blog was able to convey smells instead of images. Especially when capturing the subway in New York. I went into the city for 2 business meetings and then took advantage of being in town to hop the subway and visit my (adorable pregnant) friend Shashi.

Sometimes I like to watch the tracks for rats - they are the most impressive thing about the NYC subway. Huge, fastidious, muscular and virile.  I stood poised with my iPhone camera hoping to capture one, but didn't see any. I took another photo of just the muck that lives in between the train rails. It was a murky blackish brown, with some kind of white scum floating on it. But I liked this one better.

Don't get me wrong - I think the NYC subway is a pretty incredible place. The history, the diversity of fellow riders, the efficiency married with complexity, the triumph you feel when you can confidently navigate to the point of knowing which end of the platform to stand on to maximize efficiency. After 4.5 years in the city, I felt very at home on the subway. But there is little denying that it is an uncomfortable place. Even if you aren't smushed up against the person next to you, the hard plastic seats don't exactly scream plush. The stations are dirty and oozing. They are either too cold or too hot. And invariably there is a notsopleasant smell to greet your entrance. 

Most of these offenses are forgivable - yes, even the smells that linger - because it seems like the result of the collective effort of the system. But when a fellow rider does something completely outright to make the space less enjoyable, I can't help but be really annoyed. There is an entire website created around this. Personal grooming gets pretty high on the list. I forgive those that put on makeup as long as they keep their elbows within their own personal space. But the use of hair products goes too far. As does putting on nail polish in the confines of a subway car with the windows shut.  And this - the moment captured here - is right at the top. 

While I was waiting to capture a picture of a rat that never appeared, I heard "tap! tap! tap!" and looked to my right. Only to capture a glimpse of the guy who was clipping his fingernails onto the platform. 

Gross.