Twice Burned: Lesson Learned

Okay, so I know I've mentioned just how grateful I am for a garden. Right now, at the end of our growing season, our peppers have been plentiful. I wasn't sure what to do with all of the extras at first, but I've since started drying them in my home dryer (one of these babies):
My mom bought it last year for dirt-cheap at a yard sale. It's missing the fruit leather tray and nets that go with it so I can dry all of my extra peaches, but I've been using it a lot more this year than I did last year. You can dry just about anything. Thus, I've been drying my peppers.

Well, now I'm getting ahead of myself. This year we have several peppers in our garden: some bell, chiles, and pimiento (small jalapeno). The smaller the pepper, the bigger the "punch." I decided to try to use a pimiento the other day while I made burritoes -- I just stuck in in the rice while it cooked. Of course, I cut it up first. Now, the rule of cutting up hot peppers is to use rubber gloves when cutting them. I never really paid any attention to that rule. WELL, as I was cutting up the pimiento, I decided to try a nibble . . . BURNED!!!! Ouch. My mouth and lips burned for at least an hour after. At one point I stuck my thumb in my mouth, and forgot that I had pepper residue stuck in between my nail and my thumb. Ouch, again. Then my thumb and hand burned. (I think I could understand, very minutely, Bella's burning.) The burning continued the rest of the night and part of the next morning. You'd think I'd learned my lesson, right? Only partially: Don't nibble on hot peppers!

This morning I decided to start drying some chiles. Supposedly they are hot, too, but they never seemed to burn my hands before when I cut them up. I was slicing them and putting them on the dryer trays when my eye itched for a second. I took the knuckle of my finger, stuck in the corner of my eye, and instantly I was blind in my left eye with BURNING!! I washed my hands while closing my eyes and then ran to the bathroom. I tried to stick my head under the running water and rinse my eye. I tried a cool, wet washcloth, but then the burning spread to all around my eye, not just my eye.

I decided I might as well take a shower (so much for exercising this morning) to wash my face and hands to get as much residue off as possible, and then my right eye began burning. What?!! I didn't even touch that eye! I was blinded for a good ten minutes. Cold water made me freeze and warm water added to the burning. I thought, "Now I know what it's like to get sprayed in the face with pepper spray; and I know that stuff wears off -- there shouldn't be any permanent damage." When I took all I could handle in the shower, I grabbed my towel and tried opening my eyes and blinking trying to wash out the residue with my tears. It worked. I could open my eyes. Within a few more minutes, the burning subsided and disappeared. However, I now have burning in my fingers.

So, I have now officially learned my lesson. I still have at least 4 chiles in my kitchen sink ready to be sliced and put on dryer trays; I however, have been burned enough for one day. When I go out to run errands, I will be picking up some latex gloves. No more cutting peppers with bare hands for me. Oh, and not rubbing my eyes. However, I have learned that if I ever get in trouble with the law and have pepper sprayed in my eyes, I know that the excruciating burning will wear off in a while.

Yes, I am an idiot.