Comments on A walk in the clouds..: Obnoxious people

Wow. You hit the nail in the head. Except in Irvin...

2005-06-23T15:17:00.000-04:00

Wow. You hit the nail in the head.

Except in Irving,Texas where I lived for a while the local Wal-Mart was patrolled by Desis out on a Quixtar rush.

I'm not sure if you have already attended one of those sessions, but I have had the opportunity (out of a misguided sense of politeness to treat individuals with respect) to attend 3 such talks.

They are ALL, without fail structured thus.

Minute 1-3: Where do you see yourself in 10 years? You appear to be a very smart and enterprising and *add appropriate adjective here* individual.

Minute 3-7: Work*Time*Hourlyrate = Income

You can't control the hourly rate right now, and the work so the only thing you can control is yoru time.

Minutes 7-13: Have you ever heard of franchising? Let me tell you about McDonald. He started one store, then franchised it to his sister, *blah*Blah* Now he earns MILLIONS..

Minutes 13-18:What is Private Franchising? How can you get involved?

Minutes 18-23: Some success stories of Desis who supposedly gave up fruitful careers as doctors and lawyers to go into the 'business' full time.

Minutes 23-25: Here's this cd. Listen to it...

Then the standard follow-up in about 2 days...

Phone rings:

Hi this is xyz. Luckily I have an opening for this conference I'm going to. Why dont you join me? It will be a great opportunity for you. Etc Etc.

[At this point you are so fed up you wished you had courted the company of a witch doctor just so you could practise the ancient art of Voodoo]

I have been so tormented by these pests that I have had to endure thoughts of getting "QUIXTAR: BACK OFF" tattooed on my forehead.

[Chaitanya] Ah yes, am all too familiar with the i...

2005-06-18T14:03:00.000-04:00

[Chaitanya] Ah yes, am all too familiar with the insomnia-ridden-Googling (last I checked insomniacal was not a word, but you are happy to make it up, and i'll help you spread its use, if you'd like :) ) that results in the discovering of blogs you would have otherwise never read. Sorry to hear your Amway woes, but if it makes it any better, there a whole bunch of us here who will commiserate :) Glad you stopped by and commented and hope to see you around again!

[Megha]Came across in your blog during a bout of i...

2005-06-16T10:12:00.000-04:00

[Megha]

Came across in your blog during a bout of insomniacal (if that's a word) random web browsing during the course of which you end up places which have nothing to do with what you started out searching for!

To present my case in question: 2 hours ago I googled for "simon snoot's whisker's", a poem we had in high school and through a number on jumps through hyper(text)space I ended up here!

Had to had my Rs 0.87 to the Amway epidemic post....

I have been approached a bunch of times by these "businessmen".. it's much worse when it is (or should that be was) a friend.

Some of my memorable exchanges with these people from the dark side...

In Fry's Electronics
Amway Dude : Hello
Me: hey
Amway dude ( in one of the worst wannabe american accents imaginable): You from India (eendeeya) ?
Me : err... yes..
AD: Where in India...
Me: Umm.. Bangalore...
AD: Oh Bangalore! I have a friend there? Do you know Mr XYZ?
Me :(thinking: dude,you really gotta be kidding right? 4 million freaking people! )
err.. no..

then some small talk before the dreaded business cards/phone number exchange...

me being naive actually gave him a valid number and suffered through the torment of a bunch of calls/invitations before investing in Caller ID for my home phone!

**********
It's much worse if it is a friend ..

Friend A: Hey C, whats up
Me: Hey...
..
..
..
A: my colleague will be coming over ALL the way to your town to give an exciting presentation.. please attend it!
Me: er.. okay (thinking: why me?)

Next day:
A: Hey C, are you okay;feeling alright?
Me: yeah why?
A: You weren't at the "meeting".. thought you had fallen sick or something?
Me: (thinking: Game 7 NBA playoffs in a sports bar or Amway presentation; how did I decide!)
[mumbling] sorry I had a meeting with my advisor..
A: Don't worry you can attend the next one...
Me: yeah (whatever!)
*******
Suffice to say I don't talk to A anymore....its too uncomfortable...
*********

-C

PS nice blog;both layout and content

Apologies for the delayed responses. The pineapple...

2005-06-14T14:42:00.000-04:00

Apologies for the delayed responses. The pineapples are to blame for it.

[Avinash] The key to dealing with these Amway folks is to start enjoying the experience and look forward to it, as you said. It'll probably confuse them and have them run away in fright. Thanks for the wishes. The vacation was wonderful! :)

[Akruti] I checked with my friend, and as it turns out, they bought Zam Zam cafe, not Azizia ;) So false alarm :) As for the anonymous commenters - amen to that!

[Parth] In small towns and suburban America, Walmart becomes the weekend social destination, due to lack of choice, if nothing else. So what better place than that to accost hapless desis? :)

[Prasad] Now that I am back, you can start getting ready to shed those tears :)

[retroauro] Hmm, interesting! Nah, no IIT in my blood. Wonder what I said that gave you that vibe though? Are you from an IIT?

[Sharon] Thank you! Glad you liked the blog and the PJ as well :) Hope to see you around again!

[Debalina] Glad you decided to leave a comment this time :) Always good to put a name to a reader! And yeah, smooth it surely was. So smooth that I nearly slipped and fell!

[shantanu] Ah, you barely set foot in the US and you've already been Amwayed! Bhai wah! You certainly move fast :) Hopefully you'll know how to spot them from a distance next time!

[Arun] Thanks!

[aNTi + Rajesh] The idea of you both dressed in Indian feathers and warpaint, imitating Hrithik and Govinda (tough to decide which is a more deadly combination with the feathers) - set off SOS signals worldwide. Thus, in the interest of world peace (yeah, total beauty queen I am), I came scurrying back.

[Nikhilesh] A walk in the clouds = poetry by Ghalib? As they say - to each their own :) And are you suggesting that one needs booze to stay on a perpetual high? Love can do that quite nicely, as many a poet will tell you. As for the criticism - bring it on! :)

[liquid sunshine] Oh sure! Will be more than happy to spread the joy of wit and sarcasm :) When do you want to start? And thank you :) Hope to see you around more often!

[SmartOxymoron] It is heartening to know that. Thank you for the sweet words!

[Fun_Da_Mental] The rabbit is out of its hole and back to its usual nonsense :)

[Free Spirit] Thank you! Glad to know that, especially coming from someone who writes as well as you do!

[Atta Girl] I'm glad you did too :) Thank you for dropping by and hope to see you around some more!

[loverBoy] Thankoo :)

Cool...

2005-06-13T07:58:00.000-04:00

Cool...

Dunno how I reached your space but I'm glad I did....

2005-06-12T03:50:00.000-04:00

Dunno how I reached your space but I'm glad I did. Simply loved your blog & of course the spirit!! :-)

Ah, it's so nice to read your blog again. :)

2005-06-12T02:28:00.000-04:00

Ah, it's so nice to read your blog again. :)

[rja] ummmm... I am thinking...I am known to do a ...

2005-06-09T14:56:00.000-04:00

[rja] ummmm... I am thinking...I am known to do a mean impersonation of Hrithik, but that would be unsuitable for the occasion. Let's see..Govinda.. nah....I am thinking....

[aNTi] :P Btw, which song are we doing that rainda...

2005-06-09T13:21:00.000-04:00

[aNTi] :P Btw, which song are we doing that raindance to?

Ahem ahem! I haven't seen many blogs that attract ...

2005-06-09T02:29:00.000-04:00

Ahem ahem! I haven't seen many blogs that attract more than 50 comments, every time a post is written! But then the fun and pun flowing outta your posts are any worth, yumnyum certainly deserves the accolades that it has been receiving. :)

Megha taking a break was kinda heart breaking and I bet each one of us is eagerly looking forward to see her pop out of her rabit hole soon and never go back to hiding again. :)

Anybuddy listening? :-/

Its been a month now. Just so you know youre misse...

2005-06-08T13:48:00.000-04:00

Its been a month now. Just so you know youre missed.

[rja] Your welcome!

2005-06-08T09:49:00.000-04:00

[rja] Your welcome!

Ok, I'm going to regret this, but here goes -[aNTi...

2005-06-08T02:22:00.000-04:00

Ok, I'm going to regret this, but here goes -

[aNTi] Tank Who?

:)

[rja] Tank!

2005-06-07T23:32:00.000-04:00

[rja] Tank!

[aNTi] Who's there?

2005-06-07T14:14:00.000-04:00

[aNTi] Who's there?

*Knock Knock

2005-06-07T10:23:00.000-04:00

*Knock Knock

wowie!!!talk about a lashing tongue.can u please c...

2005-06-07T04:26:00.000-04:00

wowie!!!talk about a lashing tongue.can u please coach me???pliss, pritty pliss?i NEED to lash out at a coupla ppl meself!!nice blog btw:)

What do I expect on a blog with such a name?? Nice...

2005-06-04T12:19:00.000-04:00

What do I expect on a blog with such a name?? Nice options u gave:
1) lots of cloudy posts?
2) Floating thoughts? Or
3) perhaps something that keeps you on a perpetual high?

A blog cant do the 3rd one.. it has to be booze. 2nd one's out.. No cloudiness please.. ambiguity is something I hate (yes HATE, my mind is so clear that it sometimes fails to identify with itself). And tohughts dont float; they either freeze or rain.

Anyways, when you talk of a walk in the clouds, what comes to mind is some clean clear poetry... by say somebody like Ghalib.

And if you dont mind criticism, u'll get it for sure :)

[aNTi] Of course! And Indian feathers.

2005-06-03T14:13:00.000-04:00

[aNTi] Of course! And Indian feathers.

[rja] Sure.. but is war paint mandatory? * hunts f...

2005-06-02T18:26:00.000-04:00

[rja] Sure.. but is war paint mandatory?

* hunts for some vibrant colors in his store-room...

[aNTi] I suggest we do a raindance.

2005-06-02T17:46:00.000-04:00

[aNTi] I suggest we do a raindance.

IT'S JUNE ALREADY! WHERE ARE YOU???

2005-06-01T10:51:00.000-04:00

IT'S JUNE ALREADY! WHERE ARE YOU???

Good one. Nice indeed.

2005-05-26T08:03:00.000-04:00

Good one. Nice indeed.

well that happened to me on my first day here. wen...

2005-05-25T21:23:00.000-04:00

well that happened to me on my first day here. went to walmart and there it was, this smiley face that appeared out of nowhere, the face that appeared to be a piece of genuine indian brotherhood, soon turned out to be belonging to a different brotherhood altogether, the amway brotherhood.
hehe. neways, just to let u know, am back to blogging :)

Had been here before, read your post, thought of c...

2005-05-23T15:18:00.000-04:00

Had been here before, read your post, thought of commenting, had always been short of words..so didnt !
But...Whoa..this time I had to..
That convo was real smoothie.. as Da Sagnik said !
Lol !