The Pot that Would Not Boil

Picture this, it’s the night before I leave on a big trip, I’m somewhere between super excited and totally terrified, my bags are packed, I have no idea what to expect in the next week, and I’m hungry.  It’s about midnight and I go up to the kitchen to find something to eat.  The only thing that catches my eye and appeals to my stomach is some uncooked pasta.  Bow tie to be precise.  I find a small pot, fill it with water and a dash of salt and turn the flame on high.  I went and started playing some music and putzing around waiting for the water to boil.  And waiting.  And waiting.  And waiting… I keep looking at it, asking people to check on it (I know, a watched pot never boils) and wondering why on earth it’s taking so long.  Finally around 1am, yeah, I waited for it to boil for an hour, I realize that there’s a fan in the kitchen window and it’s blowing directly on the flame, I had noticed it earlier but didn’t make the connection to trying to boil my water.  I turn the fan off and within 5 minutes my water is at a rolling boil and my pasta is cooked within fifteen minutes.  So the lesson of the night (besides finding something that doesn’t require cooking for a mid-night snack) is don’t let a fan blow on your flame while trying to boil water, and you have permission to think I’m absolutely ridiculous.  I laughed too.