I looked at the mirror.

I  turned towards left and then right.   Noticed my popped out paunch,   which was more visible as I was wearing the blue-colored T-shirt.

“Don’t blame the mirror!   For how many days I have been asking you to go for a morning walk?  You become angry whenever I remind you of your cholesterol counts”,  it was my sweet wife who was also there in my room!

“OK!  I have decided to start my morning walk from next Wednesday”, I tried stopping a debate on a combustible topic.  I knew that Wednesday was far off and moreover, my wife would be going to India on a short vacation the Monday prior!

“Don’t fool yourself! “, not budging in to my tantrums, my wife left the room abruptly.

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To avoid getting up early and forcing myself for a morning walk, I decided to buy a treadmill and surprise my wife before her return.  I also wanted to prove a point that I was health-conscious.

I was thrilled, as I was going to use a fitness-machine for the first time ever!    I surfed many sports shops in search of a classy treadmill.   The treadmills were available everywhere, but the lead time for home delivery was a concern.  Eventually, I could spot one dealer who promised to deliver the treadmill the next day.

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With utmost curiosity, I impatiently waited while the technician assembled the treadmill  at the farthest  corner of my hall room.  He tested it out, certified its condition and left.

I believe in beauty & perfection.  For a look-good feeling, I wanted the treadmill to be placed facing the television, but the power cable length was insufficient.  In another ten minutes, I found an extension board, repositioned the treadmill and switched it on.    The owner of the treadmill stood on it and changed some settings.   With pride, the belt started to move, but it increased the speed drastically making me fly off the base and alas, in less than 3 minutes, it stopped abruptly!

After numerous persuasions, the technician agreed to come back from his way, to check the reasons for this irreversible blackout.  In spite of revival attempts, the treadmill  was declared dead, due to faulty extension board.   Thankfully, the dealer was magnanimous enough to give me a replacement.

After an initial surprise factor for my wife,   I continued the way I used to be.  In a month’s time, the treadmill  found its resting place near the bathroom to function as a manual cloth dryer, and to hang used clothes!

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I looked at the mirror again.  My protruding potbelly has not reduced even half inch!

I got enthused by the teleshopping channels and bought AbCirclePro.   Because, the lady who appeared in the commercial used it in swing like action,  with much ease and marketed it for a 3-minute use everyday.

“3 minutes only?”, without any second thoughts, a lazy me, went in!

Four days into it, I realized that three minutes were too long.  To make matters worse, one day I used it so aggressively that  I ended up with bruises on my knees – lying on the floor!

When I write this, the AbCircle Pro is being used as a temporary teapoy, and sometimes as a stool to sit atop to pull up my socks.

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I looked at the mirror again.  I turned left, right and center!

I have now ACCEPTED the fact that potbelly is inevitable for a handsome man.