There is the slightest possibility I have a small smidgen of stubbornness in me. I have also developed a sudden crush on expensive chocolates. These two things intersected recently to burn up a lot of sanity in search of a tiny box of reward.

Most people that know me would be surprised by the chocolate thing; I like sweets fine but I’ve never been a ‘must have dessert’ person. Fried salty things? Stand aside lest you be crushed. But dessert I can skip without feeling like I’m on a diet, and fruity beats out chocolate every time in my book. But as with many before me, a YouTube video was my downfall. watching EmmyMadeinJapan showcase handmade chocolates somehow triggered a latent hunting nerve and I’ve been obsessed ever since.

So one fine Monday I turned the sedan up the beltway to check out a hybrid candy / chocolate store. The website showed row after row of glorious, shiny candies alongside a promising looking pick your own chocolate display. After circling an unfamiliar neighborhood for a while, finally going into a less than festive looking mall, and checking the directory I trotted up the hall with visions of Nerds dancing in my head. And then I trotted back down the hall. Checked the directory more carefully. Back up the hall. This time noted stores around location I needed. Finally admitted defeat while staring at empty, chocolate free storefront.

Now many people would drag this bitter disappointment back to the car and console themselves with a king-sized Snickers bar on the way home. The thought certainly occurred to me. I mean, a king-sized Snickers is pretty awesome. And I deserved it after driving to wherever I was and having nothing but a couple of mall laps to show for it! Besides, disappointment makes you hungry, and it wasn’t going to take much to convince myself that such a defeat deserved a BBQ sandwich too.

Then the stubbornness I mentioned above kicked in. A couple of clicks on Houdini the Magic Phone gave me the location of several chocolate shops that were… not exactly near me, but not in the next state or anything. It was the beginning of rush hour but hope surged into me, and my tires squealed I carefully pulled back onto the beltway in the direction Siri pointed. Forty-five minutes later I exited Glarus Chocolatier happily clutching a bag containing six tasty morsels.

Stubbornness has its rewards.

*Bing dictionary, shortened a bit