Brain Drain..

It was one of those days when i felt like doing nothing at all..Other than just relax and be a couch potato for the better part of the day..

But I deserved to be a couch potato ..After a week of filling in for the boss at work and dealing with a bunch of nagging voices asking me to be careful and not bankrupt the company or kill the plants in her absence..oh the tension..

Back home 3 days of continues cooking for a very appreciative group of guests..it was a pleasure unlike my first task..But sure was tiring..not to mention the 5 miles of almost killing myself  walk on the tread mill..Along with my guests I was being a tad too appreciative of my own cooking..So I was trying very hard to undo some of the damage I did to my already ample love handles.. The muscles I dint know I had until that minute were screaming murder .. I’d like to meet the genius who said hurting muscles are a good sign, it means that they are toning up..I want to tell them that it is called torture and not toning up..What more ..it was not only my muscles that was tired.. my brain cells failed to work completely too..Even Captain Java couldn’t help me this time..Hmm this is serious, I tell u.. So I started to meditate on the reason for this recent brain kill..

After some deep thinking..Hallelujah!!! Bingo!! I know now..

The reason being the little natter I had with my neighbor Padma ..After the grueling date with my tread mill, I was hauling a few trash bags and struggling with my overly full trash can…The trash can was winning the battle and wasn’t budging an inch..Finally with a kick and hard shove, I could get it on its wheels and out into the drive way..

There Padma was, inspecting her garden..Hello G ,she hollered..oh no! I almost moaned out loud..My visions of a book and the cozy couch had to be postponed..

Padma, is a friendly neighbor.. But she loves to talk and she has the habit of assuming people that she talks to are telepathic..Ahh..the guessing game I play with Padma..Keeps the mind very sharp..But today I was not very keen on sharpening my brain power..Did i have an option? No...so there she was walking towards me pulling off her gardening gloves and ready for another long telepathic session .. how are you G, its been so long since I saw u..she said..Little did she know that I try and sneak out of my own house when she is not in her garden..

Keeping these not too neighborly thoughts to myself, and after a few Hi's and hello's she zooms into the recent happenings in her life..You know, my mother in law is coming..she says..Oh really? Great , that will be fun..i said..Oops!..wrong thing to say I believe..She gives me a, ‘ r u nuts?’ look and then a ‘oh u poor naïve thing, let me educate you’ look before she embarks on her life’s stories ..’You don’t know my mother in law..she is different..u know what I mean’ she says.. Is it only me or does anyone else find this statement contradictory too? Oh!! I tell her..and I realize a little late that I was supposed to say more than just a oh..I try to find the correct thing to say about her mother in law, whom according to Padma  I know nothing about and at the same time, am supposed to know how different she is..My poor over worked brain was being of little help, so I just made a bunch of sympathetic noises..tsk..tsk..That seems to be enough for now..Padma, continued her monologue..’My husband..my god..he is so…u know right? How they are …’ and then a pause.. So the pause means, she is waiting for me to say something again?? dang.. How am I supposed to know how her husband is? And i haven’t recovered from my tsk..tsk yet, whines my brain..i know..i know..i say and cajole it to work out more apt phrases..Grudgingly it complies, so I was able to say.. yea..i know, followed by the shake of my head very slowly..’ Thank God only he knew my head was completely blank and i had no idea about what Padma was saying....
With a final burst of energy my brain comes to my rescue again..Before Padma, utters anything more about her poor mother in law or the husband, I jump into more familiar grounds..I love your garden Padma, I tell her..She is all smile..Ahh..finally I can relax..Yes, see I planted roses today and Home Depot has a good sale on the Daisies..You should plant some in your garden..Maybe I will help you, how does this evening sound, we can go and get a few..

OMG!! What did I just do .. The saying , ‘Alas she falls into the flames trying to escape the burning oil’ comes to mind..As much as I love gardening and Padma has a green thumb and it was nice of her to offer to help..but I was in no shape to go buy daisies and plant them..Trying hard to come up with an excuse, I tell her, ‘oh! I’m sorry but we have other plans, some other day maybe..’ and before she proposes another date or ask about my fictitious plans, I play my very last card..I compliment her on the bracelet she is wearing..It is beautiful I tell her..She is all smiles again..She tells me about the design and the stones in the bracelet..The price, the killer deal she struck with the shop owner and more.. Jewellery talk is a little like Greek and Latin to me..It is not one among the top 5 things in my list of favorite indulgences..But I listen very patiently and make the appropriate noises to let her know that I was impressed and she scored a great deal..

Not only were my muscles screaming, my brain cells were sobbing too..We cannot come up with any more telepathic responses for today G..Please have mercy they said..Taking a huge breath, I interrupt Padma’s nonstop jewellery chatter and tell her that I have something on the stove that needs my attention ..Oh, she says, so what are u cooking? Just when I thought i was never getting back to my couch and was contemplating on a nice good cry, the God’s high above took pity on me and opened up the sky..I’ve never been more happy to see a thunder storm..Oh no.. it is raining, I told Padma, just in case she dint notice ..Before she could start about the rain and the good it will do for her garden, I bid her a Goodbye and ran into the comfort of my home and the cozy couch..

The reason for the brain drain being sorted out..i sympathize with my brain cells and double my effort at being an absolute couch potato..I even cut down my second cup of Java, just in case the good captain wakes my resting brain..It needed the rest, for I was certain I would run into my non stop chatting telepathy assuming neighbor fussing around in her garden tomorrow..