A Missed Opportunity

[Mercury]

I missed an opportunity for some awesome inducing because people were around. I work in a restaurant washing dishes (exciting, I know) and the kitchen sent up about two dozen containers for me to wash. They were empty, but still dirty, and each one had held a different spice.

My first thought was ‘I’m soooo going to sniff all of these and figure out which ones make me sneeze the most’, but then the manager came in with someone and started having a conversation. They were just happily chatting and Would. Not. Leave. I had to quickly put the containers through the dishwasher, because, well, she’s the manager and I had to look busy.

I was just wondering if anyone else had a sneezy opportunity snatched away from them too. It's annoying, isn't it?

[blush]

Ooh, I do have a story, now that you mention it. Also qualifies as an ob. I was in the mall in some faraway town, Tallahassee or Orlando or Tampa, I have really no idea. Orlando I think. Maybe. Not that that matters. I was in a huge Crate and Barrel (homeish kinda store) with my mom and sister, and I heard a woman sneezing about every thirty seconds. Now, if I was alone, I would have found a shelf to hide behind and watched for as long a I could, following inconspicuously if need be. But my mother was asking for advise about ornaments (this was early December) and I couldn't escape. I could hear this feminine sneeze very often though, a "huh-KISHahh" sort of thing, some muffled, some stifled as a "huhKNXT," but most open sounding. Mostly doubles. I couldn't just stay in an audio only environment, so I escaped somehow and hid behind a large abstract art statue thing to see a woman with long dark hair and (I presume) her young daughter. They were both looking in my general direction so I saw the woman, holding a red handkerchief to her nose and blowing vigorously. The girl looked bored, as though her mother often performed this spectacle and she was resigned to it. There were many people looking on less inconspicuously than me, I mean, it had been about five minutes that she had been sneezing multiple times a minute, and everyone was probably wondering why just as much as me. Then I saw, behind her, a large display of pepper grinders. (Is there a better name than that?) with a sign saying "Grind Your Own Pepper." There were at least six types of pepper mills (that's the word!) and a mortar and pestle that was used to collect the grindings and also to grind in another way, I guess. There were several varieties of pepper, all with those big, unground, ball shaped pieces. I looked back at the woman, who had finished blowing her nose and had left the hanky there for a double "hehknxtahhh... huhKishhhoo!" I guessed she had tried it out and hadn't realized it would affect her for so long afterwards. Or maybe she did it on purpose; after all, she didn't really seem irritated to be sneezing so often, or be the center of attention. Anyway, I went over to the mils and tried out a few of them, grinding them into the palm of my hand, hoping for similar results after I found a private place. I went back over to my mom and told her I had to go to the bathroom. (Heard another "henkishahh!" from behind me followed by another blow) She asked what I was holding in my hand (in a fist by my side). I said "nothing" and opened it, so she wouldn't think I was shoplifting or something. I then left for the main mall bathroom and found an empty stall near nobody else, and opened my palm again to find that, luckily, most of the fine grains had clung. I raised them to my nose and took a hearty sniff. BURN! OWW! I had tried cumin before, but never that much pepper. It was a harsh, strong burning tickle that I thought I could cultivate into a sneezy tickle with a few more sniffs and a glance up at the light. But then I heard my mom calling my name. With the burning sensation still there, I had to tell her I'd be out in a minute. Why wouldn't she leave me alone? My eyes and nose were streaming, and I waited for her to leave before I blew all the fine powder out. So close to what could have been so amazing.  Sorry for the huge story, by the way. It had to come out.

[Honkytonklagoon]

Great non-sneezy obses, Mercury and Blush. And a really good question, Mercury. It sounds like you'll have to stow away some spices for when you can be truly alone!