Damned Chai!

So here I am... preparing all day for my big experiment. I've got a clothes pin and a scarf and I'm ready to close down my olfactory sense for the sake of science.

You are guessing there is a hitch, no?

Ok, so I'm driving home during our day's MASSIVE BLIZZARD (2 inches) and I decide I just can't stand the traffic without a little spruce-juice. So I roll into a Wawa on 24 and pour myself a 16 ounce Chai. Just like being in the Himalayas. Except I'm at sea-level. And in a Wawa.

I get back in the car. There is a program on NPR about people who study the screams of baboons. [Ridiculously interesting, BTW]. And without thinking, I proceed to gulp down a mouthful of SCALDING HOT HIMILAYAN TEA!

Yes, all of the tastebuds are burnt off the topside of my tongue. I can't taste a thing. So much for the experiment.

All I'm hoping is that I'm able to return to action before the season is over (holiday season, that is).

The experiment is going to have to wait. I'm hanging up the clothespin in a spot where I won't forget why it's there. Because you and I need to know; and science must progress.