Feel the Burn

It's show week. Friday, at 3150 C Street from 5-8 p.m., 7 of us will gather in the name of art. My schedule is full of last minute details in hopes that this show will be better than the last.

Odd things become important. What's the condition of my skin. Any acne soon to rear it's ugly head? Do I need a haircut? Is the weather going to cooperate? Does everyone seem to be sick? If so, up the vitamin C count. (I did a show once after a bad flu bug...it was torture.) You want everything 'just so' for the big night.

Today I decided to make jalapeno boats. I found this yummy sounding recipe and I decided to surprise my honey when he arrives home. A bit of an appetizer. The recipe claimed that the cream cheese cuts the heat. Liars.

I ate the first boat to test my cooking skills and realized straight up that there was no heat cutting. My mouth was on fire. I reached for milk realizing we haven't bought milk in 10 years. For the record soy milk does NOT have the same heat calming properties. I think it made it worse. Then everything went horribly wrong.

I blew my nose using the tips of my fingers to wipe my nostrils clean. Oh the horror. The heat was now on the lining of my nose. I could feel nasal liquid flowing and was SURE my nose was bleeding. I was afraid to wipe it, my lava like snot could touch other areas of my face. My nose was redder than I have every seen it. No sunburn ever gave me an affect like this. Now the left side of my face was burning. My eyelid was hot! My EYELID.

I tried to busy myself, you know, distract myself from this searing agony. All the while convincing myself that it will run it's course and I'll be none the worse for it. Sure, no one at the show will know I tangled with a jalapeno and lost. Certainly my face will at some point in the next 16 hours go back to normal.

I hope.