lessons from the wasabi peas

My new found enthusiasm for wasabi peas is turning out to be more of a love/hate relatioship. I was so excited when I bought them from the grocery store that I decided to break them open in the car on the way home. I popped a few in my mouth as I was rounding the corner and almost ran off of the road. I guess you aren't supposed to breathe in with wasabi in your mouth because I was suddenly overcome with intense pain. My throat and nose were burning off and my eyes started watering like crazy (not good when you're driving). Lesson: only eat one pea at a time and be careful how you breathe when you do it.

I was still super excited and brought them along with my random assortment of lunch items to work the next day. (Shawn is convinced I am on a mission to find the weirdest things they sell in the grocery store). I open them up at work and start getting weird looks and questions. I wanted to be nice and offered some to Shawn, assuring him they were not that spicy. In my opinion, spicy is jalepeno, not wasabi. I would call it strong and painful burning, but not spicy. He begrudgingly took a few and instantly went for the trash can, spitting them out as fast as they went in. I guess he doesn't have a taste for them. Lesson: spicy is a matter of opinion, but if someone says "it's not that spicy" don't believe them.

At that point I saw an opportunity for some office entertainment and quickly made my way to Jessica's desk. Of course her and Mac were more than curious to try the new snack. They both had the same reaction with the trash can, but next thing you know, Mac is empting out his pockets and asks for a few more. Jessica gives him a funny look and says, "You aren't planning on putting them in your pocket are you?" To which he replies, "Well, I was going to take some home for my family to try." Hmmmm, I wonder how appealing lint covered wasabi peas are at the end of a long work day. He quickly realized that was not the best idea and wrapped them in a napkin. Lesson: it is never a good idea to store food in your pocket. Think about the tots.

I quickly realized my intrigue with the wasabi peas was not shared by others so I returned to my desk to snack on them alone. As I continued eating them I noticed I was starting to get really fired up about things and rather hyper. My body temperature started rising. I seriously think I had a fever. I decided that was a good sign to put the wasabi peas away for a while. Today I started noticing the skin is falling off of the inside of my mouth. My "fun little snack" is not so fun anymore. If it's doing that to my mouth, what is happening to the lining on my stomach!?! Lesson: stay away from wasabi peas. They can be damaging to your health.

For those of you who asked "What is wasabi anyway?" Read on...