Smell of the Day...

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Last night I made rice. There's something about the smell of plain white rice cooking, you know, a comforting envelopment. I suppose those of you lucky enough to be used to the smell of fresh-baked bread might know what feeling I'm talking about, though the smell of steaming rice is nothing like that of baking bread. Add pandan to it, and it's fragrant heaven, reminiscent of humidity and waving banana leaves in the monsoon season. Now, the last I heard of rice used in perfume was in Creed's Love in White, where some kind of rice-husk note was mentioned. I've been pretty vocal about my lack of affinity with the House of Creed, but even so--I smelled no rice, husk or otherwise. Rice drying in the sun smells a little bit like hay, or so I remember. It's a sunny, grassy, smell. In the Philippines, they gather the still-husked grains of rice after the harvest and spread them out to dry on the asphalt roads. I am not so old that I don't remember the sight of mile after mile of rice harvest. Nor have I forgotten the smell of the rice grains as I washed them clean. When the rice cooker's little vent lets out the steam, it perfumes the entire apartment. And last night, I thought to myself, "Man, it's been a long time since I've blogged!"

I've failed utterly to maintain a blog. I had all the best intentions, you know, trying out new fragrances, writing detailed reviews. In the end, I'm just myself. Carving out a small niche of time for writing's been more difficult than expected, what with all the drama and work.