Posts about Environment

The superpower of smell

The superpower of smell

A few years ago, I was standing in my kitchen and I faintly smelled something. Something bad. I said to Jim, “Do you smell that?” He says no. Now I’m on a mission. “I swear I smell something bad. Where the heck is that coming from?” I mumbled to myself. If you are...
Eating outside is overrated

Eating outside is overrated

It gets really hot in New York in the summer. 90 degrees isn’t unusual. When I lived and worked in Westchester County, just outside NYC, my coworkers always seemed to want to eat lunch in the courtyard outside our workplace. Even when it was like 90 degrees and...
Weather Affects My Mood

Weather Affects My Mood

I grew up in Michigan then lived in New York, where winters are freezing and snowy and summers are hot and humid. Now I live in San Diego, in Southern California, which has arguably the best weather in the country. There aren’t discernible seasons: it’s...
The right to silence trumps the right to noise

The right to silence trumps the right to noise

I remember the time when I heard someone playing music in their cubicle. It was several cubes away, but I could still faintly hear it. I worked in a cube farm, as it is so affectionately called. Dozens and dozens of cubicles all next to each other in a giant room. I...
Highly Sensitive Person Travel Tips

Highly Sensitive Person Travel Tips

People who know me are sometimes surprised that I travel as much as I do, since I don’t seem like the most laid-back person ever. Since little things tend to bother me more than the average person, you’d think independent travel would be more difficult...
The Worst Places on Earth for HSPs

The Worst Places on Earth for HSPs

Overstimulation. Noise, chaos, bright lights, smells, crowds. These are the highly sensitive person’s kryptonite. There are some places that have overstimulation in spades, and it’s best you avoid them if you don’t want to ruin your day. Here’s...

Karaoke Bar Neighbors? Ruh-roh.

Yesterday, my husband and I booked an apartment for a month in Chiang Mai, a city in Northern Thailand. My goal while being here is to pretty much work on my laptop all day, so we aren’t really here for sightseeing. So….we spent most of the day riding...

You Might be a Highly Sensitive Person if…

You can’t sleep because you hear a clock ticking in the other room. You can’t sleep because there is a tiny sliver of light coming in from between the curtains. You can’t sleep because you can’t stop thinking about something someone said to you...
Why Don’t People Know When to be Quiet?

Why Don’t People Know When to be Quiet?

So I’m working on my laptop in a huge public library. It’s a giant room filled with 4-seater tables filled with people on laptops or studying. I was the only one at my table when three people came and sat down. No big deal. It became apparent that two of...