vultureguy

Wow, a lot has happened in the last few months. Work is still uncertain for us. There's been a second set of restructures and Carol kept her job in those. I find out in March whether I have a job and what that job will look like. I've been avoiding the boards as much as possible. I've got a lot of wonderful scents and with things being uncertain I need to not tempt myself. I've put a couple orders in the last 2 months though after a hiatus so I"m pleased at the possibility of new things to come as well as the new things arrived. I wore Snake Charmer (res) today. I had problems trying to decide what an appropriate "first day of 2009" scent would be. I decided something new would be good. I think I've worn it once before (got it in my last order that came earlier this month) so that was perfect for today. I haven't done any swaps and was realising as I was putting my order together today that I haven't talked to Carol about her smellies lately. She's got a ton more than I do and I think she's happy with her myriads of imps and screeds of bottles. I need to peek in her boxes and see if she's getting low on any of her favorites, just so I have something on the list. I try to usually order a bottle for each of us but have ordered far more for her overall so she's got more than I. And since she doesn't look at the site, but relies on me to pick stuff for her, doesn't have the same kind of ongoing wish list that I have. No real 'resolutions' for me for the new year. I'll try to be a better person, try to not procrastinate bills as much, try to appreciate life each day and try to work on my online shops. Other than that, keep going. One foot in front of the other. We'll see where this path leads me.

Brom Bones is my kind of guy! I'd read the comparisons to De Sade and thought please no! because De Sade turned into old nasty plastic leather on me. Brom didn't disappoint. In the bottle is a soft, gorgeous leather note. It's a new leather smell, a bit of a sharpness that must be the musk. Wonderful! I would compare it to Western Diamondback but without the sweetness of the Snake Oil. On application: He never took off his leather jacket, staying sexy and leathery for a couple hours. Whoa baby I need more than one of him around because I think he's going to age into something rugged and handsome and will give my Western Diamondback a run for it's money. I will still use Western Diamondback, it's my comfort scent, but I can see myself hanging around Brom Bones quite a bit.

I need to address Mr Crane. I had high hopes for the man but sadly they have not been full filled. When I received my bottle it smelled like he had spilled his tea (with cream) on his rough wool jacket and left it to sour. Not one to judge by first-sniff I dabbed a bit on. He transforms from some ugly dirty smelling brute into a refined dandy. The sourness and rough wool go away to be replaced by a sweet floral in a respectible marino sweater. I can see this man aging well. If you are a floral person I'd say give him a few months before swapping and don't be put off by his initial crude impressions. Sadly, florals aren't my thing so I am going to head over to the slave market swap list.

Today my friends found out if they still have their jobs. Our team has been moved from our old area to a new one so we are separate from them. It's been hard, having news trickle in, wondering how people are doing, if they have a job or not (or even if they wanted it in the beginning). I've got a bit of survivor's guilt knowing our team is out of the chop at the moment (but up for it sometime early next year?). I look at what's going on back in our old area, see it applied to our area and wondering how our team will shake out. Not to mention that chances are I'm going to still have a job (trying to be realistic about my skills and reputation) which may be good but given that I'll be expected to pick up the work when those who don't have a job stop giving a shit.....yea, it's already tough when we're short handed and trying to get through what work there is. We went out on strike Friday and I know that some people didn't go out, worried it would affect their chances of getting a job. I'm really peeved at the way They handled union negotiations, the way they undermined the talks and how they've handled the whole offshoring thing. I think I need some Banded Sea Snake or Western Diamondback tomorrow, Serpent's Kiss was perfect for today.

Carol really liked Marianne too and I love how it smells on her. It's a complex scent and very nice.

I decided that I *know* we can't afford it but tough tiddlywinks. I've put in an order for 2 bottles of Chaos Theory IV. Maybe it will be the cure for the chaotic/hellish year we've had so far. Homeopathy uses very dilute 'diseases'/'poisons' to build up your immunity to cure you. And if that doesn't work for Smellies, just getting the CnS and then the package makes us smile so that's worth it. And maybe by getting 2 we're likely to get at least one blend that will smell nice on one of us.

I wore Troll today. We knew we had an announcement at work about how majorly the teams will be impacted. Our team is being moved to another area and will be in line later for these changes. First waves though are my friends, my coworkers and previous team members. 60% of their jobs are going. Of 239 people in the general center, 99 will have a job in the center still and 140 of those jobs are going to India. Those people affected will have 3 choices: apply for one of the few jobs staying, apply for a lower-paid "customer-facing" role (which means they won't get pay rises going forward until the base salary of the job they are in catches up) or go somewhere else. That's just our center. THere is another center that is equally affected. And then the area my wife works in and the one I will be moved to will be impacted in the future, sometime next year. From this I can guess that when they hit our area we'll be looking at 60% job loss. Really ridiculous. The at least admitted that they're paying the Indian staff 75% less. They are being profit-minded, they don't care that most people will be forced into lower-paid roles within the company. Our employer has been one of the higher paying organisations, however some organisations are starting to pay equivelant or slightly more for some similar roles. I'm really pissed off about it all. I feel that they've been lying to us all along, having been told they would "take care of" us, that there were plenty of comparable roles throughout the organisation for people who wanted them and that there would still be roles in the center. We got a CnS for our Mead Moon and Hay Moon order. That will be nice, to get that and sniff. And hopefully the Life Shit that has hit the 2 people I ordered CD IV & V decants from will get sorted and we'll be able to sniff the newer of the 2 CDs. I managed to get some Bezoar, Pickled Imp and Clemence from someone else, that was cool. Bezoar & Clemence had been on my bottle order but I don't think they are quite what I'd hoped. Pickled Imp is a possibility and I really really want to sniff Hand of Glory. I won't be able to get much but that's fine. I haven't pushed my sales/swap list and maybe I can swap for someone's unloved bottles. *sigh* I'm really looking forward to our 2 week vacation from the 23rd, and to seeing my friends that I haven't seen for about 4 years. They're here for only a week from the US but that will be nice.

I'm of two minds for this one: 1) Something from the Wanderlust section. I'm not sure what you have so won't narrow it down any more than that, just a thought and would be a point in your favour if the interviewer asks what scent you are wearing. 2) It's hot there now right? (assuming you are in the northern hemisphere) What about something citrusy, one of the Tikis or Phobos or Embalming Fluid? They would be a 'cool' scent and help you stand out from the other women who might be going more floraly (traditional) scents? Good luck!

Good luck to you Ross, I hope it went/goes well, then you'll be on your way up here? We have another BPALer in Hamilton, she might be eventually shifting this way too and she comes up regularly. Glad to hear you went with Coyote, hope it kept you warm and focused! Let us know if you hear anything. We are down by the Antarctic so generally the further south you go (and Christchurch is located on the east coast of the South Island), the colder it gets. There are lots of places to ski in both the North and South Island ski fields.Ahhhh, now what kind of scent would you wear to a job interview at a ski field?? Or even the international science station in the Anarctic (or would you take The Precious that far given the harsh environment???)?

Kia Ora Galahad! I'm a Dorian fan, maybe Coyote for the thoughts of warm fur and hot summer plains? I haven't smelled Perversion & can't remember No. 93 Engine (didn't like it for me, think it's hidden in my wife's Box o' Imps). What kind of general industry is your interview/chat in? Coyote might thaw some of the snow. Are you in the SI? We're in Auckland. Good luck! Alex

Yep, it happened yesterday. I wore Western Diamondback. I figured it is subtle enough and it's my comfort scent so it helped me to not completely stress through the day as it wafted up at me. The interview went ok. I flubbed some of the questions out of nervousness (even though I had prepared in advance). I don't think I totally bombed it but didn't completely win it either. I'll find out next week.

I have an interview on Monday, my first Post-BPAL interview. I would really like to get this job, it's in a different area and a bit less stressful than the one I'm in. The area is also not impacted by the offshoring of work. I've read the whole thread and don't see a lot of guy nor bank recommendations so help a guy out?? *I have read the suggestions to not wear any scents but I put BPAL on every day and can't go without for a day. The interview is at 2 and I was planning on 'topping up' around lunch time, 1pm at the latest. The interview is in the building I work in so no travel time to worry about. The details (to help others perusing the thread later for their interviews): --Need guy-appropriate scents --Back office banking industry job; not directly customer facing but not managment level either. It's a bit more casual than the area I currently work in and is technically a bit of a step 'back'/'sideways' (not an advance). I'm leaning towards something like Western Diamondback (my comfort scent) or Banded Sea Snake or Dorian as they do tend to be more subtle. I'm also possibly considering something like Krampus, Wolf Heart, Dragon Claw, Troll or Bed of Nails. I think Mechanical Phoenix would be a bit too strong for this interview. I do have a Lab Ebay package that's probably at the PO for Blood Moon but I haven't tried it yet, & a Lab package for some bottles I've got imps of below (so possibly more imps to add to the list of options?). Thoughts? I'm steering away from the TAL blends I have as they smell a bit too 'floral' for the interview. Now, to really throw you off & to come out of the proverbial closet here, I'm a female to male transexual and have transitioned at work. HR will most likely be one of the interviewers. They will probably have read over my personel file so may know my previous female past. Which is a very strong reason to avoid female-identified scents and give as male/masculine an impression as I can. I've already pulled my 6gauge snake earings out and put some silver flesh tunnel type things in for the 'professional' look. I wear a tie to work daily already so no worries there (except which one). My ummm.... "small" full BPAL list is here if you want to see what I've got to choose besides the ones I've narrowed down: imps= AEGIS Aelophile Al-Azif Anthelion Antony Baku Banded Sea Snake Bastet's Laughter Bat Black Forest Blessing of isis Blood Amber Bloodlust Boo Bam BRASS BALLS Caliph's Beloved Coyote Death and Life Completed Death On A Pale Horse Debauchery Doc Constantine Dorian Dracul Dragon's Claw Dragon's Eye Euphony Fascinum Fenris Wolf Golden Priapus Lionheart Lord of the Forest Loviatar Lunar Eclipse Morocco Music of Erich Zahn, The Ochosi PEACE PERPETUUM BONUM Pollution Regan Robotic Scarab Satyr Serpent's Kiss Snake Oil *approx 4 mths aged Somnus STFU Stimulating Sassafras Stimulator Tanin'iver The Attrocious Attic Titus Andronicus Troll WHITE LIGHT Wolf's Heart Bilquis**haven't tried on me yet Bottles: Alone Banded Sea Snake Bed of Nails Krampus Lunar Eclipse Mechanical Phoenix Men Ringing Bell With Penises Satyr Snake Oil *fresh and about 9mths aged Three Witches TKO Western Diamondback Thank you and wish me luck!!!

I'm going to go slather some Western Diamondback and lie down. I'm sick and not happy about that. Worked my ass off last week, went in when I was sick because of work that needed to be done. Went home early yesterday. Stayed home sick today. Found out just now that they announced how much of our area they are off shoring to India. 60% Flippin Hell. It will be a ghost town in there. I'm officially depressed and sadly the Creme Brulee chocolate just won't cut it. I am going to withstand the temptation to hit the fermented stuff. Really really don't need to be compounding my problems right now. I've emailed my team leader to see if I can get more info. I've emailed Carol and asked if we could talk about moving our accounts out of the bank we work at. They dont' have loyalty to us, why bother? Besides the biggest argument they had about keeping our accounts there was that it kept our jobs safe. Yeah, right. Not anymore. Besides, the only way the CEO is going to have an idea that this isn't a good idea is when the money starts walking. If we hemorrhage profits then it will hopefully offset any "gains" from offshoring. Fliping idiot <---- insert much stronger language

"white chocolate, dark chocolate, apple blossom, honeysuckle, frankincense, allspice, nutmeg, black tea, tonka, and sandalwood." Hmmmm, do I? Don't I? I don't do foody usually, don't do chocolate, apple blossom or honeysuckle. But the rest of it (barring the tonka?? not sure about that) I do like. The fact that a Wildlife refuge gets some of the funds too makes it even more interesting so I'm leaning towards a possibly yes. Besides, it's been forever since I've bought a bottle for either of us unsniffed in some form. Yes, I know that getting decants or sniffies first is best, that way we can spend our (limited) funds on what actually works instead of guessing and hoping that something might work and finding out it doesn't. I did put an order in. I would have left it but the fact that some of it does go the refuge put me over the line on the "ok why not" line. Besides, it might be the next Glowing Vulva. I never thought we'd like that (or that it would have become so popular). Work has been particularly bad. A really, really shitty week. Other stuff going on, sickness/flu and it all adds up to still trying to find the strength to get up each morning and put one foot in front of the other. I've got a couple job apps in, really leaning towards the second one that closes on Monday than the one that closed last week. It would technically be a step back but it would be a lot less stress and that's really what I would appreciate right now. I'm tired of playing with other people's money but more so I'm really tired of being responsible for millions of dollarsNZ getting (or not) into the right account at the right time yet making sure the right conditions have been met adequately. All with a rapidly reducing level of staffing. Snake Oil was my saviour today, what I could smell of it. Western Diamondback yesterday. My team leader was really really nice. I went up to her to tell her have a good weekend. She thanked me for coming in when I was sick. She told me this morning that my productivity level was 112%. And I'm sick. So that means I either fucked up a hell of a lot of accounts or I busted balls big time. At least she appreciates it and let me know. She wrote a note to Carol when I was talking to her tonight: "Carol can you please look after Alex (one of my favourites) as he has not been feeling well. Really appreciate his committment. He requires lots of TLC. Thanks. R" I thought it was really nice.

I haven't seen anything on the Lab's Ebay listings in awhile that really got me excited but today's Doc Buzzard lifted my droopy wings. I had a suspicion that when I read one review that said she's paid $120 for it on Ebay that I would be in trouble. I took the plunge and put a bid in for about $30. And was outbid. Put another in for about $36. And was outbid. Put one more in for $41. And am outbid again. Is it worth it? Is a bottle of something unsniffed and I don't know if I like (but sounds good from the reviews) worth it?? I could get another 2 bottles for that, almost 3. And the scary thing? I'm debating upping that bid to $50 just to see if it will stick. Not because I absolutely must have it/think I'll love it but because it's a vulture. Funny, I"m not drawn to trying the Mesehknet the Human Vulture on the Carnival just yet but Doc Buzzard is a go for me. Maybe the gender thing?? But Puddin has just put Ebay up and they have another 4 days to run. The other scents sound ok, Blood Moon is peaking my interest. I might put a tester bid in just to see if it's likely. It sounds rather nice too.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the Steamworks range. I've got Mechanical Phoenix (one of my first bottle purchases) and Aelopile is nothing like it. As other reviewers have said, this is cedar. I was a little worried at first because sniffing it in the imp it doesn't grab me and shout "come dance!". In fact, I'd probably stand in a corner alone sipping my rum and coke if this were my dance partner and I went off initial impressions. It's cedar and lemon but without the citrus component of the lemon (that must be the lemon verbena playing in the bottle). But there's a vague almost soap-ish (?) undercurrent that I can't put my finger on. Immediately upon application it is Lemonheads/acid drops. The verbena became bold and demanded that dance from me! She settled down though, did a graceful jitterbug with the cedar and both behaved impeccably. It didn't last very long, it's faint now and mostly cedar a few hours after application, but it's a nice cedar and not sharp or pencil shavings. This is a nice scent, it can work as gender neutral but some men might find it too lemony, some women might find it too woodsy. It's worth stepping out in your good shoes and getting an imp though! Let it do a little dance on your skin to see if it's your style. It will be interesting to see how this ages. We ordered on 2 May, got it out of the PO today (CnS 22 May) so it hasn't had a chance to settle too much yet.

I love incense and especially frankencence. I can't burn them here much, it sets off Caro's allergies or something (her chest gets tight and she gets coughy from the smoke). I think that is why I fell for Troll. I love the resins, the incense, the frankencense. Lately with everything going on I've been finding a lot of joy and peace in my BPAL. It's really weird and I feel like a bit of a dolt for it. But it's true so there. Now I know why. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/...80520110415.htm Hooray! Frankencense has anti-depression value. I guess that means I do need a full bottle of Troll after all!

I've got my first SO bottle on the Lab order that we got the CnS for on the way. I've put a bid on a forumite's SO on Ebay. And I've managed to snag a bottle of 9 mth aged SO from someone in the UK who it doesn't work on. So even if I loose out on Ebay I've got one ot age and one already aging. It isn't much but it's one of the few good things that's happened in a long time.

The year really can't get any worse. It got so bad tonight that I've slathered not only Western Diamondback but also Banded Sea Snake. Work. Relationship. Stress. Gender. I won't go into it. I won't do an emotional vomit here. And while I didn't know him, we've lost another guy to suicide. He's the second NZ transguy this year. I didn't really know him well, had read his posts on the board. It brings all my own transangst/issues/Darkness close. Debating between Western Diamondback tomorrow or Alone. Both are comforting. I've got a roller bottle of WDB at work so if I go with Alone I can still slather in the afternoon. I pinged a friend on Gmail. She's in Colorado so was getting ready to go to bed but took a few minutes to chat and I really appreciate it. I re-read my pm from Beth here saying she knew things were tough & to keep my head up. Both those things helped. It's late. I'm exhausted after the day & night I've had. And I woke up suddenly at 3:30, was up for about 15 minutes trying to get back to sleep. I'll look back on all this one day and see how far I've come.

I just ordered a cookbook from this company: Good Books. Yes, the site & company is based in NZ but they ship globally (I emailed and checked). Delivery is included in the price you see, which is a bonus. And you help Oxfam out because 100% of the profits go to Oxfam. How cool is that? Buy a book, help a non-profit! "....delivery worldwide is completely free, and with over two million titles in stock our range is one of the largest you will find." My love of reading + my desire to Make A Difference = PRICELESS They've got some music too, but the search function doesn't seem to work with music and they don't have a lot right now. Check them out. Setting up an account & ordering is easy. They use secure encryption. And like I said, delivery is included in the price you see. So unlike Amazon.com you don't have to tack on a hefty (for us) fee to get your package delivered by Slow Boat. Lovely. They are still growing, they may not have everything but check their selection first. Go on, ya know you want to. Grab a book for the beach (for those of you going into Summer) or grab one to curl up in front of the heater with (for those of us going into Winter).

I really like 5 am. And on Youtube here. (Edited to add: check out the "LOVE" section at the top of their webpage, the first link) I got turned onto them when I worked at an outdoor store in Sonoma County, one of the women I worked with did the backing vocals and was dating one of the members. She married him eventually and I think had a baby. I don't know if he's still in the band (I'm shocking with names and that was 10 years ago). I'm a bit behind in getting their albums, I need to get their latest, Raise the Sun, as well as their previous, This Morphine Life. Maybe for Christmas. "Lost and Found is a song off the last cd I bought of theirs. The song really hits home for me. Lost and Found Here among the lost and found, I lie and wait For someone to return relieved to find me here Like a twisted pair of sunglasses, like a torn faded cap I lie among the forgotten battered but still intact If only I could see you again, move around in your heart, feel the touch of your skin If only I could see you again Here among the lost and found you’ll be surprised who you’ll find Everyone’s got their story and I guess that I’ve got mine I never meant to lose my way, I just wandered a little at a time No one seemed to notice that I was left behind If only I could see you again, move around in your heart, feel the touch of your skin If only I could see you again My friend, my friend I don’t belong here Here among the lost and found, I’ve got nothing left but my name I’ve got the scars from where I’ve been I’ve just forgotten where they came Sometimes you take so many hits you drift further away You find yourself in the darkness and there you’ll stay The last lines are the ones that have been hitting home the most lately.

I put some of my Banded Sea Snake decant on today. I kept getting whiffs of myself through the day. I like how I smell! Yumm, I'm glad I've got a bottle coming from a swap. I had to reapply when I got home, didn't want to stop smelling so damn hot! Well, ok, I think I smell so damn hot! And I never thought I'd say that about myself. I've decided that while I don't have a TON of BPAL I do have a lot and that gently applying small drops here and there just isn't gonna do it! I've decided I should judiciously slather. Not only do I want the glorious scent to last teh whole day and share it with everyone around me, I want to be sure to use my Preciouses so I can justify buying more Stretching my ear piercings seems to be going well. I have the 12ga black snakes in. I want to stretch further, I'm not sure how far but maybe up to 8ga or 6ga? I think the 12ga definitely look too "femme" on me, although one of my coworkers today said they didn't. Still, I'd like to go up some more. Only problem now is with the job on the possible chopping block, with the offshoring and all that, chances are that I may need to reapply for jobs (internally or externally). Body mod isn't the image most bank staff are supposed to sport. And sadly, nothing that pays decent will allow for it either. So am I going to have pull them out once I get up to whatever gauge I want? I'm getting excited about getting my Three Witches from our partial swap. Really looking forward to getting it!!

We had some bad news at work today. It makes us sound like dogs...oooh boy we get to be retrained. Nothing is final yet and it sounds like everything is up in the air because they haven't made any decisions, but it sounds like most of our 'redeployment' options are going to be customer-facing jobs. I don't want to do customer-facing. It isn't my cup of tea when it comes to the banking industry. Yeah, let's get a job where we have to push credit cards and accounts at customers. Um, no. I don't do selling. My Western Diamondback got a work out today. It's my #1 comfort scent and one of 3 roller imps I've got at work. We had the announcement. I took a short break and slathered WDB when I got back to my desk around 11. I refreshed it around 2 and again when we got home tonight. Yeah, no BPALz for us at this point. No, I'm not out of a job like some of the unfortunate people at other companies who were told today their jobs were going overseas. But it's possibly the same thing if the alternatives are things I don't want to do. I already can't stand my job. This is going to make getting a new one harder, especially since I'd considered changing over to another area which is one of the areas that is affected. I had already wanted to cut back BPAL (and other) spending because I want to work harder at getting a house and with about $1500 in savings far from enough to be a down for a house. Then I'd really like to get some medical stuff taken care of. I found out one of 2 things I want/need done costs approx $12kNZ. I have no idea on the 2nd thing but I'm guessing it's going to be at least the same, if not more. And beyond the 2 there is another major thing which would probably cost about $50kNZ. I have a lot of scents I enjoy. So does my wife. I'll sit back and read the updates, do some swaps and maybe order the odd bottle for each of us. But no more big orders.

It has been an intense and stressful day. Again. I didn't sleep well last night. I can't, won't, go into whys. That's personal. So I've put in an order for TKO and The Deep Ones. That is odd. Only putting in an order for *2* bottles is odd. I usually get in touch with the people I've enabled or the Hamilton BPALer to see if anyone wants to tack something on. Not this time, I really feel I need to get this order in ASAP so I can get TKO sooner, not later. I've got other bottles I want, especially GCs. I decided to hold off for now. It's been a Western Diamondback day. I put it on this am knowing it was going to be a busy day and that I had an appt after work that I needed some comfort for. Going to go put some more WDB on, chuck some more Baku on my pillow & see if I can sleep better tonight.

*waves wand* You Shall Have CnS! Wow, fluctuating between insomnia and narcolepsy is not a good way to go through life. Yeah, I avoid sleeping pills because they make things worse. I think I've taken them once or twice. I think we are lucky there are 2 of us so enabling is a lot easier. Most of them don't want my sniffies 'cause I'm more on the masculine/spicy side. They usually prefer my wife's BPAL with the florals and the citrus notes. LOL, yeah it's hectic at times. Of the orders I make, only one is a for another BPAL forum person. So usually the stuff I order for my coworkers is stuff they've sniffed, which means it's stuff we have already sniffed. But the forum person asks for stuff we haven't sniffed. And there are the frimps that we get to sniff too. Oh yeah, my next order is going to have Banded Sea Snake on it. I've got a full and an almost empty bottle of Western Diamondback and am really into that, not sure if I should put one more back up bottle on around Aug when they go down or not. Ok, gonna wander off and finish checking LJ. I've got your email out for the swap. Blessings, Alex