From the category archives:

Personal

Miss Prospective, Ahmed and Air Deccan

by Sharique on August 27, 2007

Things go wrong and sometimes there are bad days but magnitude of damage and the humiliation that I witnessed in the past days, would shatter every Murphy’s law. Things go wrong but not on this scale.

It was all decided. I had planned weeks in advance. Bollywood has taught me that to win hearts you need just an opportunity and that can either make or ruin your career. My life has been an boring affair so far on the fairer sex front. Frustrated at my parent’s repeated refusals, on being reminded that unka beta jawan ho gaya hai aur haath peele karne me hi sab ki bhalai hai, i decided to take things in my hands. So my target was to get ‘an’ opportunity to impress Miss Prospective’s patent. As expectedly, I am the hero of this story. Just for your information, i could have had a very successful modeling career but the only problem was that my last name is not khan.

Before i lay down my master plan let me first correct a very grave historical mistake. The spelling of Ahmed has become so common that people take it for granted. They don’t realise that the actual spelling is Ahmad. My credit card, debit card and many other documents have the spelling mistake, the excuse is the same, ‘human error’ ! My day started with my email account being deleted because they finally took action on the yet another human error in my company. Anyway I was in a hurry because I had a train, flight and yet another flight to catch.

The plan goes like this: Miss Prospective’s parents were going to Chennai to meet someone. Having spend 5 long years in Chennai, I consider myself an expert in the demographics of the city. I would like to tell you that I just learnt 2 words in Tamil during my stay, Tamil Teriyade (I don’t know Tamil)…anyways. I decided to book the same flight as they were planning to take. Miss Prospective provided me the details. Thankfully the airline was Air Deccan, cheap and worst. But there is one thing that made Air Deccan my dream airline was the fact that they don’t allot seat numbers while making the boarding pass…its like a ‘chair’ lutoo competition once passengers board the flight. I planned to start a small talk with them. Basically let them know me well and make them realise that he is THE guy for our daughter! I would have impressed them with my knowledge of Chennai and perhaps I will throw few words to the taxi drivers in Tamil. It was a simple plan but something that is possible only in movies. But why only heroes get the heroines? Why can’t I be a hero? These thoughts ran through me as I boarded the taxi to the Airport.

I reached well in advance so as to find my target couple. It was pretty easy because I got details of the dress they were wearing that day. And after that maine unka peecha aise kiya jaise parchaye eek insaan ka peecha karte hai. I was behind them while boarding the plane so it was easy for me to get the seat next to them. I am pathetic at starting a conversation but I had to because my life was at stake-

You know what?

What?

I want to marry your daughter!

Sharique! wake up..talk to them.

With all the courage I could gather, I wished them. What an achievement!!

Still no signs of interest so I had to do what a hero does in such events.

Me: So you are going to Chennai?

Father: I think its a non-stop flight.

Me: Phew! I am such an idiot. No. But I think this flight will go to Pondicherry after Chennai.

Mother: Are you from Chennai? Actually we need to go to Roypettah. Any idea about taxi service to that place?

Me: No..No. I am from Patna. I did my graduation from Chennai so I am well acquainted with the city. There are lot of taxis that will take you to Roypettah.

Play the IIT card, idiot! (Normally I would just say engineering from Chennai but I had to flaunt because I am now the hero and my heroine was just a matter of few sentences away)

I did my engineering from IIT Madras.

No response. Perhaps they don’t know about the IIT. Dear Sasur jee, why don’t you ask me questions? I have heard that you deal in pumps. I can throw in my expertise on the topic.

Father: Everyone is doing IT these days. Software seems to have become the choice of youth.

Wonderful!!

Next 15 minutes pass without a word. I am getting restless. Eager to strike any damn conversation but how do you speak from a trembling tongue? Air hostess arrives with the trolley from Qatar Airways, yes Qatar Airways!

Me: Excuse me mam. What damn flight is this?

Air hostess: Air Deccan to Chennai.

Me: Cool. Sorry I got confused with this Qatar Airways trolley.

Air hostess: Oh, we have borrowed this flight from Qatar Airways. It was a private flight of a prince before. We got seats pinned at every nook and corner.

 

This tragedy (personal catastrophe) will continue…..

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I nearly got phished!

by Sharique on August 8, 2007

I got an email for noreply@us.paypal.com asking me to confirm my account. The email looked so original that I clicked on it. Thanks to Firefox, it alerted me regarding certificate mismatch with paypal and thus I was able to avoid a big mistake. This is the email I got from paypal spoof team

Dear Sharique Ahmad,
Thanks for taking an active role by reporting suspicious-looking emails. The email you forwarded to us is a phishing email, and our security team
is working to disable it.

I wanted to post so as to help others who might use google to search for this fake looking address.

There is another pain to become salaried- You really have to remember so many passwords and be careful so as to be tricked because you have a good amount in your back account. I hold an American Express credit card, something of a status symbol as I was told by the person who came to take my details for ABN AMRO credit card,and one thing I have learned is that never allow anyone to take a photo copy of that because the 4 digit security code is printed on the front (It’s on the back for most other cards). Well what’s the use of this ‘status symbol’ when you can’t use this it outside a metropolitan. (Almost all places, outside Delhi/Chennai, I tried to use it, it fails!) Anyway the thing is that there has to be something better than text passwords..something of a bio-medical device which can read finger prints. This can greatly reduce the present day hassles of remembering passwords.

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8 random facts about me

by Sharique on July 31, 2007

Madhur tagged me a little while ago.

THE RULES :

1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

So here are the 8 facts about me

1. I had computer-phobia when I joined college but by the end of my college days I was completely into internet and online advertisements. I have made about Rs. 15,000 (I mentioned the figures because there is someone who gets jealous whenever I tell him about my e-CPM :P ) so far from google adsense and others since February, when google finally accepted my application. I was banned in October for a crime that I committed in 2005! (I used to click my own ads)

2. I love travelling but have a phobia for air flights. I usually take the train.

3. I once played club cricket but after years of dormancy my stamina lasts only for few minutes.

4. I am very cautious of my personal belongings, I would frequently check my pockets for mobile and purse (take my advice, never keep your purse in the back pocket while in Delhi)

5. I am terrible with spellings and my handwriting awful.

6. I plan to settle down in Antarctica after retirement…seems impossible now but things will improve in future!

7. I used to loathe government offices for their lethargy and inefficiency but my present job requires me to deal only with government offices and suggest them ways to improve efficiency.

8. I love mobile phones. My love for mobile was so ecstatic that I once bought a 18K mobile during my student life. I still love them and presently waiting for my iPhone.

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The image “http://www.pricelesspartner.com/layouts/default/images/logo_frontpage.gif” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.Pricelesspartner is a social networking site, a dating site to be precise, that is unique because its completely free. There are no hassles of having to register using a credit card and getting profiles approved,the things which keep sites spam free but are a major hurdle in the expansion. Glen, the founder of Pricelesspartner, has been in the online business for nearly 2 decades now and he is the only person maintaining the site! He describes

Sure, there are “plenty” of so-called “free” dating sites out there. Some free sites are mega-successful, others are pure fly-by-nighters. All of them – in my opinion – lack a certain warmth and a sense of family. This game is, after all, about community, about friends, about a place you can click onto every day and get a genuine, friendly “hello” back and not some robot response calculated on the fly by a clever computer programmer.

 

Pricelesspartner has many features which sets it apart from other similar sites. The most important being the lack of formalities of profile approval and other restrictions like country and profile picture. Glen has made a wonderful attempt to establish a close knit community of like minded people. The forum is another noteworthy feature of Pricelesspartner. Here people talk about a range of issues related to relationships and life, something which is rare or completely absent in other dating sites.

My perfect Matches is another unique feature which helps you find a partner based on similar qualities. Pricelesspartner also allows video and audio upload. In short it has every ingredient required to succeed in the competitive world. The site has been launched in India recently

I would like to suggest Glen few things about his site. I recommend him to not to restrict it only for dating and promote pricelesspartner as a social networking site because the target audience will increase drastically. He can add features like blog, another great way to keep users occupied, and instant messaging (IMs), something of a scrapbook. He can allow users to add videos directly from youtube and other video sites.

Part of reviewme

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An imposter, a prostitute and me

by Sharique on July 24, 2007

My trip to Delhi last weekend was really happening for many reasons. As soon as I got down from the train, someone approached me-

Idiot: Excuse me!

Me: (I turn back). Yes

Idiot: I am a Chartered Accountant from IIM Ahmedabad and I am supposed to return to Mumbai tonight. I have blocked a ticket to Mumbai but need to pay 3000 at the counter. The thing is that I lost my purse. I have 2400 so I need another 600 to take that flight home. I promise to return by tomorrow as soon as the banks open.

Me: I see. (But when did IIM Ahmedabad start offering CA degrees?) Fine. I don’t have the money so lets go to the near by ATM.

I acted like a big fool. I now wonder what made me so altruistic that I decided to give 600 to an imposter. He was an imposter. He not only cheated me but several others. It seems he was off to the airport to meet his newly made air hostess girl friend, he was cheating her as well. I don’t want to write about it anymore because I get this guilt and shame of being cheated for the first time in my life.

I went with my friend to Nazim’s (CP), which is one of the best kawab restaurants in the country. We were enjoying our kawab when a lady with flashy clothes walked in to our table. I went to get another order and when I returned back she was seating on the other side of the table because there was no place to sit. I was a bit uncomfortable but had to manage. Her behaviour was indicating that she was more interested in getting our attention rather than eating kawab. She kept asking arbit questions like, “Is there service tax to the items listed?” “How is the food here?” etc etc. She then took out her century old Reliance cell phone to give a missed call to someone. After that she took out a poster of a baby! I wanted to finish the food and move out asap but my friend had other intentions.

My friend- “So how long have you been in this business?”

Me- (Poking him) abbe WTF?

He shows a hand to me beneath the table.

Lady- “So you have guessed it?”

Me- “It doesn’t take an genius to guess your profession after seeing your behaviour”

Lady- “So interested? I have my own menu card as well. I offer a lot of services like ****************************************************************** (All these are beyond the scope of this blog). The cost is mentioned alongside the job. The rate will be double because you are 2.”

Me- Abbe oye chal yaha se.

My friend- What about a discount? 1 and a half times more considering the fact that we are students.

(We still look like a student and particularly with my laptop bag which I hang like a school bag.)

Me- Marwayega? Why are you trying to get into this trouble?

Lady- “Your friend looks perturbed. Is he a virgin?”

I walked out of the restaurant.

My friend also walked out within few minutes. I could see her cursing us as we got her to waste few hundred rupees on the kawab and also not ‘availing’ her services. But I am still reeling under the shock of a ’menu card’.

Well if you haven’t guessed it by now, she was a prostitute. Be careful while roaming after 8 in CP because they are many on the look for a bakra.

Anyways it was a nice trip overall as I did my first shopping of my first salary. I am now off to Chennai for convocation….

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