Another newbie!

Steel Hyaena

Steel Hyaena

Active Member
#1
#1
Hello! I am new to owning oud, but have known I loved it since the '90s, when I smelled it while in the Middle East during Desert Storm. I am an author and a US Navy veteran. Please bear with any silly questions I might ask. This is quite the adventure to me!
 
RobertOne

RobertOne

Well-Known Member
#2
#2
Welcome, steely!

Everyone here is friendly enough, don't fret on that score.

I do recommend reading some threads from the start, though to get a good grounding.
 
kesiro

kesiro

Well-Known Member
#3
#3
Steel Hyaena said:
Hello! I am new to owning oud, but have known I loved it since the '90s, when I smelled it while in the Middle East during Desert Storm. I am an author and a US Navy veteran. Please bear with any silly questions I might ask. This is quite the adventure to me!
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First off, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service!
This is a fantastic place to learn and hang. Many great and helpful people here including the best sellers and producers on the planet: Ensar, Taha, and Adam who share info you just can't get anywhere else.
 
Steel Hyaena

Steel Hyaena

Active Member
#4
#4
Ensar has been the wind beneath my wings. You don't even know. And I've been reading around that oud actually is psychoactive for some poeople—validating. Because, when I am having some anxiety, all I have to do is take a long sniff of the cap of either my Yusuf or my Dhul Q. And the anxiety goes away, nine times out of ten. It's amazing. Literally magical. My Yusuf was my gift to myself for finishing the manuscript to my first book. And my royalties are earmarked for some Jing Shen Lu!

And I'm working my way through the threads! I know some but not all of the terminology, but I will endeavor to use the search function to locate the terms if I can. Thank you both for the welcome!
 
bhanny

bhanny

Well-Known Member
#5
#5
Welcome! I also want to tell you how grateful I am for your service. There are no silly questions really, if there are, I've likely asked them already. :)
 
Steel Hyaena

Steel Hyaena

Active Member
#6
#6
It was an honor to serve in the Navy. It was also an honor to get to see Dubai, Jebel Ali and Bahrain—which was where I first encountered oud. None of my (nose-challenged) friends 'got it'. I certainly did, though! I don't know what I had, but I know what I miss. It had the barnyard thing and then dried down into sort of a wood-and-fruit. Jing Shen Lu reminds me of it, but there were definitely more indolic notes and less 'green/mint'. It was amusing. I'd open the bottle and my shipmates would go 'That stuff stinks!' But then an hour later 'Ooooh, what are you weeeearing? I like it!'

The Navy gave me so much. But oud was one of the best things I discovered.
 
5

5MeO

Well-Known Member
#7
#7
Welcome Steel Hyaena! Those who choose to be or have to be the warriors of their societies are often under-appreciated - I salute you and the other warriors of our world. You have certainly come to the right place for fine oud and discussions of fine oud..
 
kooolaid79

kooolaid79

Well-Known Member
#10
#10
A warm welcome to you Steel Hyaena. Thank you for all what you have done. You have journeyed to the right place!
 
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Steel Hyaena

Steel Hyaena

Active Member
#15
#15
I have Dhul Q and Yusuf so far. I am still learning about the regions where things come from, but I know i like the 'darker', animalic scents as much as I do the 'plums and sugar' I get from Yusuf. My next purchase is going to be Jing Shen Lu, which came as a sample with my DQ. I'm wearing DQ right now, and its psychoactive properties have me feeling good!
 
bhanny

bhanny

Well-Known Member
#16
#16
Yes. Jing Shen Lu has some fruit, but more green and citrusy. Its a lovely oil. Even Yusuf, my first full bottle, though I don't wear it nearly as much, my preferences have changed, each time I do I'm blown away by the sheer beauty and balance of those sugared plums and peaches.
 
Steel Hyaena

Steel Hyaena

Active Member
#18
#18
Since there is not an 'off-topic' folder, I will just post this here in my intro thread. The paperback version of my book is now live and available through CreateSpace! Eventually, it will propagate over to Amazon, but for the next few days, you would need to get it at CreateSpace's store. Here it is! https://www.createspace.com/6851160
 
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