Yeah, that last one was me. I had good reasons- It's an Austin tradition! I'm trying to get over my dislike of spicy things! It will be a fun outing with my boyfriend! Unfortunately, those reasons did not really outweigh the pain and discomfort of the event.
Triple digit heat- check
Blazing sun and no shade- check
Stupidly not bringing water- oh boy, check check
And here's the best part- something so spicy, so hot that I could not stop crying. I felt the unrelenting burn ALL THE WAY DOWN MY ESOPHAGUS!! My sunglasses kind of helped hide the crying. . .but I felt so embarrassed. Luckily, my sweet boyfriend (after he finished laughing/patting me on the back in a somewhat patronizing way) bought me a beer to try and soothe the burn. It kind of helped. Better than water, anyway, because at least it has some carbs.
Anyway, it was good for me to get outside my culinary comfort zone, it gave my boyfriend and I something different and unique to do on a Sunday afternoon, and I learned an important lesson about festivals- in general, no matter how exciting or different they sound, it's still going to be a bunch of people you don't know milling around with overpriced food and beer in the vicinity. Expectations appropriately altered!
And, to get in, you had to donate canned goods, so there was a little good Samaritan in the mix, too. What's not to love about that?