I Almost DIED Today!

     I almost died today. It was the most painful experience of my life… or one of the top five most painful experiences, which include some of the recent reality shows that have been inflicted upon society. Before we get to that, though, let’s start from the beginning!

     Today was my first day off after working SIX days in a row. That’s illegal, right? In my lazy mind, yes, yes it is. Anyway, since it was going to be ridiculously hot today, my mom and I decided to spend the day in Ventura before we headed off to pottery class.

Indian at The Taj Cafe, of course!
This handy card made treating oh-so-much easier!
That’s right, I’m a VIP!
     We went to We Olive and picked up some cherry balsamic vinegar and a new bottle of olive oil. Here comes the point of my near-death experience: 
That, my friends, is a habanero pepper. We Olive now carries an olive oil that is infused with jalapeno and habanero pepper. I, being the adventurous soul that I am, decided that I would try out this new option. I poured a small bit into a sample cup and took a miniscule sip. Not even a sip, just got a few drops on the tip of my tongue. It was fine for a minute, until the pepper ninja-kicked the back of my throat. My throat closed up and for a good ten seconds, I could not breathe. As I clumsily weaved through the store, tears pouring from my eyes, my nose running uncontrollably, I stumbled across a chocolate merlot dip and stuck a huge spoonful in my mouth to try and stop the pain.
     There you have it, my near-death experience. It took an hour for my nose to stop running and for me to stop coughing painfully as each wave of intense heat ran over me again and again. Seriously though, it was awful and painful and not being able to inhale is not a fun thing.
     After my over-dramatized moment, we picked up some chocolate at Trufflehounds and headed back towards my parental unit’s house.
We were hindered by a huge wind storm and some really aggressive tumbleweeds.
     We got to pottery class around 6pm and it was a nice, chilly 90 degrees outside. Yesterday was 113 degrees fahrenheit in Los Angeles, so it was more than acceptable to be in the low 90’s.
Here’s the latest batch of crap that came out of the kiln!
Here’s my mom’s antithesis of crap. She made an amazing plate last week and imprinted a leaf on it before glazing. Doesn’t it look incredible??
And here’s the NEW batch of crap I made today!
Here’s my mom after a rough day at class – still freakin’ gorgeous.
And here’s me and my chicken legs, covered in clay and dust.
Here’s the glazed, yet pre-fired, version of Amanda and Andy’s pot that they won!
And speaking of winners, the official winners of my Pottery Giveaway are…
Justin, Sophia, Amanda and Andy, and Sir Malachi. (Dan is getting an extremely awful one for his birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAN!!!), and as an honorable mention).

     Unfortunately, all of the winners’ bowls will not even be out of the kiln until next week, so you’ll have to wait an extra week. For now, all winners please e-mail me at BeckiKregoski@aol.com with your addresses for me to send the pottery to! If you live in SoCal and would prefer to meet up for a blogger get-together/pottery exchange, let me know that as well!
Have you ever had a near-death experience, exaggerated or not?

6 Comments

Filed under blogger meet-up, Burp and Slurp, Dan, glazing, Happy birthday, Indian Food, Malachi, Mom, Pottery, Two Boos Who Eat, Ventura

6 Responses to I Almost DIED Today!

  1. Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)

    I have totally had that happen before with haberneros. They are evil.

  2. All Things Yummy

    Hey, where did you get a VIP card for Taj? That is awesome.
    Sorry about your pepper experience. That sucks. It's happened to me with horseradish.

  3. Justin

    woot! I'm so excited that I won! You made my day, nae, you made my week. 🙂

  4. Bexter

    @All Things Yummy
    Someone actually came into my work and gave the card to my coworker who knows I'm obsessed with The Taj, so she gave it to me!

  5. the actor's diet

    glad you're okay!
    i've been scared for my life in a threatening way from other people, and also when i went zip lining in costa rica, but never from a physical feeling in my body – sounds frightening!

  6. Why are all the good Indian places in the Valley?? I hate driving but sometimes a craving for a good naan might necessitate battling the 405!!