when you walk away

This is the kind of thing that I ponder during my waking hours:

One of the characteristics of Thai, Korean, Indian, and a few other Asian cuisines is the extreme heat of some dishes. This heat is largely due to the addition of chilli peppers to these dishes. Now, chilli peppers, like corn, are a New World crop-- they didn't exist in Asia or Europe before Columbus visited the Caribbean in 1492. They were introduced to Spain in 1494, and from there spread to the Phillipines and other Asian countries. So what did these various cuisines taste like before the addition of this spice as an ingredient? Did they use other spices to create heat, or were they just a whole lot milder?

(no subject)

A particularly dismal practice session in preparation for tonight's lesson has left me defeated. Really, how long am I supposed to keep this up? I've been playing for nearly three months now, isn't that a little long to be trying and failing to produce consistant sound? When do I cross the line where patient persistance becomes stubborn stupidity? When should I just admit that I'm a hopeless failure? When do my efforts cease to be earnest and start to be pathetic?

Or did they already?

Or were they from the start?