still coughing about that one (or eggsplosion)

it should be noted that loud noises are common in india. explosion-type loud noises. usually, a kid in the neighborhood is setting off fireworks. other times, there's some festival i don't know about (just about anything qualifies for festival status here) going on that calls for celebratory fireworks. or a wedding, etc. i've become quite numb to loud noises. these noises are so common that sending american veterans to india for ptsd treatment via exposure therapy might actually work.

so today i came home from the gym, ate my standard post-workout meal, and set some eggs to boil on the stove for later. i showered, sent a few emails, was distracted by a phone call, and then my mom called.

my mom and i play this game where she asks me what i have eaten for the past three meals. i never can remember, and i always say i have no clue and then ask her to stop annoying me by asking what i ate. she says she doesn't understand how a person cannot remember what his/her previous meals were and that my memory is faltering. so she encourages me to remember and never forgets to ask.

true to form, she called and asked what i have been eating lately. i jumped out of bed and bolted downstairs. the smoke had already wafted up the stairwell and was settling just outside my shut door. i was scared i was in the process of burning my house down; this notion was supported by the many loud pops i suddenly recalled hearing over the past hour. luckily, there were only eggs splattered everywhere in the kitchen. i managed to turn the burner off. i went to my maid's house and pleaded with her to help me out. we settled on how i would make her dinner one day if she came to help me clean tonight. much better than the new sari she asked for to start off the negotiations. but she really is a nice person. crisis averted.

morals of the story:
never take an explosion-like noise for granted
let your mother ask you inane questions