Business as usual...

A couple of posts in a couple of days.
Lets just say I'm a thinking man.! :P



I'm in a very busy street surrounded by many people. Some looked familiar others made me feel alien.
The setting had changed 'oh so much' over time. I have known the street my entire life.

We walked to a store that hadn't changed a bit since I've first known it.
I've frequented the store since as long as I can remember.
Lord , let lightning strike me and take my soul to hell if I were to say I know the name of the store casue it would be a LIE.!

We enter the store , order the usual(mango milkshake with icecream).
The store looked the same . Not a thing has changed .
Well for only one thing , the rates have changed .
The board displaying the rates was the same . A new layer of cheap paint displaying the new rates over the old one(over and over again) (The old ones we could still make out , with some not so carefull observation).

The man taking the order was the same . The same man doing the same job probably since ever!.
The man has stark white hair as before (or was it black/grey/greying earlier??? I dont know , my memory serves me only so long.).
This man was never a man of so many words. Sometmes I wondered if he simply wasnt interested in speaking.

He took the order , repeated the same to someone inside and waited for the processing to get over. I looked into his eyes for the first time perhaps expecting to see dispear , misery even?. Yet they protrayed NOTHING. I wondered if he would recongnize me if he saw me in an different setting?. I wondered if i would have before tonight?.......

He served the order in a clinical fashion (stone faced as ever . no smile . no nothing). it was business as usual for him.

Took the billed amount , returned the change(didnt complain over the high denomination note given to him) and went about to take and complete further orders. It indeed was business as usual.


Life goes on , I told myself.
But for him it was business as usual.

business as usual......same...same....Business as usual.!

The word most (well everyone) wait for ,and fear.
Appraisal.

It was appraisal time for me.....
...and here is a piece of conversation that went on...


Me : Good morning.!!

(Greetings are exchanged with the appraiser and reviewer in a very non formal way, then again it was never meant to be formal.!)

Reviewer : Good morning.!

(It was quite early in the morning. Usually this conversation takes place around 10 A.M . But this time it was taking place at 6 A.M)

Appraiser : You haven't been doing well I see..! (getting straight to the point)

Me : err,what makes you say so?

Appraiser : Just look at you ....you are .... 2 maybe 3 !

Reviewer : come on..you are being a bit harsh here.

(Me : (phew) alas, someone talks on my behalf)

Appraiser : oh come now....its easy to see...he is going down here!

(Reviewer grins)
Appraiser : alright lets put him to test.

(I take the test dutifully.)
Appraiser : ah see....its 2.!(with a smile that was part victory part looking down at my 'misery' )

(I sometimes thought it could be 4 even...but i was wrong.!)

Me : ok ok....I'll try to do a 5 next time....on the other side.

Appraiser : lets see whether you are full of false promises or not.!

(Off that ..only time will tell...)



And that was the end of my Appraisal........


Disclaimer :
The characters in the above mentioned text are real and not imaginary. And any resemblance to real life is highly intentional.

The characters are :
Me : Me.
Appraiser : Mom.
Reviewer : Dad.

The number that is mentioned is my decrease in weight.
The situation is when I return home after a long absence (nearly a month!).

There are many a life mysteries.
Another addition: My mom always finds me thinner the next time she sees me.


until my next Appraisal ....... see ya! :-)




"Somethings gotta go wrong cause I'm feeling way too damn good.!"