Mine is a pretty tame example: I never minded the smell of garlic was fine around it… but I took a job for DHL and they had these large tubs of garlic for horses that had to go out to people. There were about 10 of them coming down the belt.
Now I can’t stand it. I’m just reminded of how strong that smell was I was actually gagging. The tubs were heavy, the handles were feedble. Some of the tubs were damaged so I got a bit on me.
I stunk of it for the rest of the shift. It wasn’t even a normal garlic smell it was just so powerful and nauseating.
Red Bull. For several years when I was late teen / early 20s, I’d go clubbing all weekend… always drinking red bull, then inevitably overdo it with the disco biscuits and have to puke.
~4 years of that, and I’ve anti-Pavlov’d myself so that even the smell of red bull sets me heaving.
It’s not necessarily a “normal” thing … but academia and university. I’ve been a university/academic rat for a bit and become so disillusioned with the place and its culture that I think I’ve got to the point of finding all of it, including those who subscribe to and participate in its value systems, completely off putting.
For me, anything “bubblegum” flavoured or smelling. When I was a teen, I had to have 4 teeth taken out, but it was done in 2 sessions so I didn’t have my entire mouth out of action (it was my back teeth on both sides, top and bottom), and both times the mouthwash, and the numbing gel they used before the injected one was bubblegum flavoured, and I can’t stand it anymore because of dealing with my teeth being pulled out my face
Smirnoff Double Blacks for me. Was the poison of choice for many as it was one of the first alchopops with 1.8+ standard drinks in a bottle. The mere sight of them makes me shudder.
Known locally as “Gin Bilog”. It is the cheapest gin in the stores. Back when i was a student, we used to dink copious amounts of this, mixed with soda or juice, water or even pure.
but one time i had a fever but did not want to miss a party so I still attended it. Even though i had a fever then, i still drank the alcohol as though i was not sick.
after recovering from the fever, i noticed that i am repulsed by the gin and cannot even stand the smell of it. up to now i haven’t drank a single sip of that drink.
Christmas carols. Being forced to come back to a retail job over the Christmas rush a little over a week after my brother was found dead on the floor outside my bedroom :)
The boss there had a very personal bone to pick with me, made it clear she didn’t even have to give me any bereavement leave since I was part time, and when a customer went on a Mach 4 tirade because I wasn’t smiling hard enough (not kidding), she backed them up and threatened to fire me in front of everyone.
12hrs+ of this every day. I preferred working by myself in back because people would leave me the fuck alone to do my job, but it turns out it was also useful for intermittent off-camera crying!
To this day, 13 years later, I can still tell you the exact playlist that was on the radio. That was when The Fray’s How to Save a Life was still big and I used to really like that song, but I can avoid it now a lot easier than I can avoid “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”
It got me forcibly stopped by the police once, when I couldn’t take it anymore, ran out of the store, and the owner assumed I stole something. I really just don’t leave the house after October.
Fuck! that’s rough.
May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your ex-boss’s armpits.
12hrs+ of this every day
And this is legal where you live?
My last job before my current one, I would routinely work 20 hour shifts, with 4 hours off, followed by a 20 hour shift. Normally would do that 4 days, followed by 4-5 normal 12 hour shifts with a 12 hour turn around.
Security jobs can really suck.
As a side note I worked in a doctors office and how to save a life was on the radio station they had on. Every hour . On the hour. For days, weeks, months. It drove me insane. It’s such a shit song.
Finally I switched the radio station to classic rock for one day. It was amazing. The next day they had switched it to the local country station. Which was playing lone stars mr mom. Please go listen to it. Now imagine listening to that every hour on the hour for days, weeks, months.
I can still recite both songs by heart.
Growing up, whenever I was sick with an upset stomach, my mom would give me 7up to drink. I dunno, I guess she figured the carbonation would help? Now decades later 7up still reminds me of the taste of vomit.
I dunno, I guess she figured the carbonation would help?
Mostly I figured this was done because whatever they use to make the lemon/lime flavor in sprite/7up/etc doesn’t seem to digest all that quickly, comparatively…
…so when you inevitably vomit again, it doesn’t taste QUITE as awful or burn your throat quite as bad because it’s at least LEMONY bile and stomach acid instead of just pure bile and stomach acid.
The sugar is “neutral” (7) and potentially offsets the pH of the hydrochloric acid in your gut, too.
Puking too much pure stomach acid for too long and not rinsing your mouth out afterwards can cause rapid tooth decay, I’m told.
For years I couldn’t smell or drink sprite without smelling or tasting vodka since in high school I had a coworker who would buy me handles of vodka because she liked contributing to the delinquency of a minor (she was also a substitute teacher and is the reason I know what Salvia is)
I would mix it 50/50 with sprite.
Vodka. I had a bit too much of it a few times (100% my own fault, don’t copy me) and now I can’t stand the taste at all.
