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Sunday, April 15, 2012

Impressions.


Browsing through the supermarket shelves, I came across a label and was taken aback. What ? A daal named after Shashi Tharoor? No way, man. I went back and read that once again. Sahi Masoor Dal . Okay now a brief relief that I dint say that aloud.
Have you ever thought through this, what if our thoughts were immediately broadcasted for everyone to hear? Wow that would have been terrifying. Literally terrifying. For example, last day when I fell down a kind lady gave me a helping hand, about whom I judged a few seconds back, ‘what a fashion retarded female’. If she’d heard that, she’d have stomped all over me when I fell down.

But when I rewind into the past I realized that I actually tend to say many such stuff aloud when I am around my parents. Well they brought me into this world and have a clear-cut idea about me, I cant fool them by talking intelligently or anything (as if I can do that). Once when I went to attend an interview with Papa, there was another office on the adjacent side of the same floor that we were, and I pointed to it and exclaimed ‘ See Papa? Spiderman Technologies !! How cool !”. Papa read it, looked at me pitifully, which made me read that again. ‘Speridian Technologies’. Okay genuine mistake. Contrary to Papa's beliefs, I got through that interview.

Mostly through the countless embarrassing and not-so-embarrassing situations I’ve been in, most of which had happened due to notions I created from the appearance. For example, a very good looking lady about whom everyone said had too much attitude was actually a simpleton. And the fat guy with curly hair and nerdy spectacles was not even close to being brainy or a foodie. But most of the time or all the time appearances and first impressions are deceptive.

Once at my ex employer’s we had training on an advanced technology. The hall was packed. Few minutes into the session I gathered that this trainer girl wouldn’t leave easy and she was determined to make each of us learn this. She even pin pointed people and asked questions from what she talked about an hour ago. This was slightly disturbing for me, as I had a very short attention span and verbal technical sessions in air conditioned rooms often made me go YAAWWWN. Unfortunately during one of those wide mouthed yawns the trainer caught a glimpse of me and in another minute I found myself on focus with her throwing a question and a roomful of eyes shifting their attention towards me. Of course I dint know the answer and some idiotic nerd answered it without being asked and he looked at me as if I was retarded. Further, I found the whole crowd asking doubts and writing notes, but she made it a point to give me a look and ignored me completely the whole day. The next day it was a hands-on session, where we actually implemented the lessons taught, on our laptops. The trainer showed us a simple example and gave us a different one to try out. She walked around us when the crowd seemed to look as though it was an Entrance examination or something, and gave me a sarcastic guffaw as she walked past my laptop. In another 20 minutes, I walked to her showing my output. She cross checked, and verified until she could find no mistakes though it was hard for her to believe that it was mine. I still appreciate her frankness because she said, ‘ Excellent. I thought you weren't listening. Good work’. *I wanted to say, 'ma'am, I wasn't listening after all'...but I dint, I just nodded and left quietly*

There were countless incidents through my school and college days where I was predetermined to be careless and stupid, but over the years they changed their impression, of course I waited until it happened in the long run. However I am okay with the first impression people make about me. Because, when I joined college Mummy was all praises for a senior girl she knew was in my college, and told me to contact her if I needed any help or books or inspiration or…oh forget it Mummy wanted me to be her. Later, after making some friends at the hostel, the first thing they said was that the person I had the reference of, was one of the most notorious girls, and not just in our college. Weeks after, I got a good idea about the girl Mummy wanted me to learn from. It took Mummy years to come to terms with this, but she later realized that her daughter was far better.

So, it is basically a give and take. I pass on mental judgments and you do the same about me.   And it goes on.

25 comments:

  1. regarding the first part, I too associate words too quickly and reply... a few months back, had read a dish as "Murgh Labrador"... it was Murgh Lababdar !!

    As for judging people.. well, im a very poor judge of people... just like my parents.. keep looking for the good in others and getting screwed later on... always fall for unrelated third people's judgement.. better to observe and form your own judgement over time..

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  2. Murgh Labrador lol! Well I have both. Not only do I judge people, but whatever they seemed like, I blindly trust them and get cheated on later. Whichever way, it gets screwed up.

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  3. Haha I don't think your problem is about talking aloud. It's prolly time you got glasses- Spiderman and Shashi Tharoor? Lol!

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    1. Lol...carelessness cannot be corrected with glasses !

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  4. I Agree, sometimes I do act like a bitch and judge people a lot, but they turn out to be a lot better! On the shashi tharoor daal, well I almost believed that!

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    1. :D Yeah many a times Ive been proven wrong too. But I do not stop judging.

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  5. Anita,

    At times we all do make such mistakes which we later feel sorry about. I agree that many times first impression is not correct. Had a good laugh at your training episode.

    Take care

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  6. .... when i was campus placed ... I went to EEE staffroom with sweets to distribute ..
    My Energy Systems Ma'm telling to another ma'm .. You know what even HALFKALLAN Got placed ... how come ???

    Santhoshamaayi teacher santhoshamaayi :) :)

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    1. Ayo teachers were always like that..once after completing the microprocessor lab exam my teacher said 'anita, i will see u in the next semester for the same lab exam' :-( how depressing !

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  7. Lol..the first part had me in splits! I do that many times-read the written as something totally different. And yes, I'd be terrified too if our thoughts were to be broadcasted immediately..phew! thank goodness for small mercies :-)
    And, how true how often we judge people just by how they have dressed or even look. First impressions are not always true.

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    1. Oh my that our thoughts are for ourselves to keep - is not a small mercy. We should thank the Almighty everyday for the freedom of thought !
      Yeah, first impressions are not the best impressions.

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  8. My first impressions have often proved to be disastrously wrong-so I have given up trying to judge books by the cover. However the instincts are generally right :-)

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    1. Is it? Mine have proven to be wrong so many times that I dont believe in my instincts anymore !

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  9. You know Anita, there's a theory I personally follow.. Think of something (intelligent or otherwise) and simply don't say it till you repeat it once again in you mind.. It helps me especially when I think of something that's anything other than intelligent! :D

    First impressions are just that - 1st impressions! Even I don't believe in it..

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    1. Ohh so you think so too? Good . Now I have company !

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  10. Loved the post Anita.....makes us think a bit...atleast I did. I guess all of us are guilty regarding this.....for me first impressions generally turn out true. But I try ....try hard not to judge unless the person really manages to piss me off;-D

    Regarding gaffes I once loudly asked a sales guy to pack the book Achlemist. He was like huh & 10 people turned to look[ok maybe not that many but it sure felt like]. My friend hissed "Alchemist u idiot". Its not like I didn't know the pronunciation, it just came out like that. I cringe even today;-(

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  11. I keep thinking I must ask u....
    "How come nothing is happening in the kitchen;-D????"

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    1. A lot is happening in the kitchen - for example making Mathi fry on a regular basis and pissing off the vegetarians staying upstairs...wonder whether they'll do some pooja to ward off enemies and get us out of that building !

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    2. Hahahaaaaaaaa.....be careful, hang lemon & chillies everywhere;-D. Well we cant give up our yummy mathi fry so......;-D

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  12. Arrrrghhhhh get rid of this spam checker will u;-/

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    1. I dint have it initially, and you know some very very bad links and ads came up as comments on my articles which made me enable it :-(

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  13. Nice post! First impressions are hard to change, but they can be changed with consistent behavior in the right direction :)

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    1. Consistent behavior in the right direction is next to impossible :D LOL but you're right !

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