Smells Like ...

A colleague, fresh from a seminar in Davao, brought fresh durian to the office today. The moment he opened his Tupperware, there was a chorus of "yucks." Somebody opened the door to air out the room, and it took awhile before we decided that the smell was, well, bearable.

It wasn't as bearable, though, for the others who dropped by our relatively small space. One whiff of the durian-scented air, and somebody who wanted to have her blood pressure taken retreated. She didn't want to risk a heart attack, she said. A client, who was waiting for a relative's death certificate to be reviewed, wrinkled her nose, wondering perhaps if she was smelling death. Another thought she smelled antibiotics.

E, goading us to try the durian, repeated the oft-quoted durian lover's line: that it smells like hell but tastes like heaven. Maybe it really takes some getting used to, but I just didn't like the gooey, mushy texture. I just don't like my food all gooey and mushy at all. It may take some more tries before I can say that durian tastes like heaven. for now, let's say that it's ... interesting. And yes, it's more bearable with an icy glass of Coke.