When Life is like a Sitcom..

Aren’t there are some moments in life - funny or awkward situations-, which when we look at as though from outside a TV, seems like we’re watching a sitcom? This post is about some such incidents- coz they’re sure worth preserving, even if just for the laughs.

My general clumsiness (which I say is due to not paying attention!!), has caused some really embarrassing moments. From tripping while entering a huge auditorium to bumping into walls which always mysteriously crop up exactly when people are around- I’ve done it all. But the below is among the funniest of them all.

When working in singapore, I was eating at the food court in office with a friend. The food was quite nice. But as luck (or lack of grip) would have it, I dropped the spoon onto my shirt- the spoon which had just now been in a bowl of Bhindi Masala dripping with oil and turmeric. Now turmeric is known to love clothes- and never leave it. I had to take immediate action. I went into the washroom and started washing the stained portion of the shirt. At first I just put some water on it- but the stain was too stubborn. Seeing that there was no one in the washroom, I took some of the soap and started scrubbing. At this moment, a cleaning lady walked in- but with soap on my hands and shirt, I was too committed to the process to stop! I rinsed off the soap, but was dismayed to find that the stain wasn’t gone, and now I had on a shirt whose edge was noticeably dripping wet. The washroom was empty again but there was no way I could go out like this. I then had a “Eureka” moment and went to the hand-dryer and dried my Shirt using it. Someone walked in now too, but I quickly made it seem like I was using it for my hands. It was while drying the shirt did I really feel I was living an episode of Mr. Bean.

The interesting thing was my ability to laugh at myself when this elaborate incident happened, while usually something small is enough to make me blush deep red. I guess it isn’t the incident that causes embarrassment, but the fact that people see them!

The other “category” of my sitcom moments is my social-awkwardness. Usually, when I meet people in the hallway or corridor, I stick to basic pleasantries. But sometimes, I lose my head and go beyond it. Needless to say, it doesn’t end well.

Back in TCS, I met someone I knew vaguely during a training session. Normally I would have just smiled and said a cursory Hi, but something came over me that day. I recalled (very smartly I thought to myself), that she had been visibly pregnant the last time I saw her, and asked her, “So how’s the little one doing? You must be very busy”. She politely replied with a smile, “No... Actually I had a miscarriage”

OUCH!! 

I was mortified at having even brought this up, and said a “oh, sorry” rather meekly and escaped from the scene of crime!

But I am foolishly optimistic. Here is an attempt at being nice with a stranger gone wrong.
This happened on Chinese New Year in Singapore when I was leaving for India. I called for a cab to go to the airport, which showed up earlier than anticipated. In spite of my hurried attempts to finish my tea and burning my tongue in the process, I was late and the cabbie was about to leave. When I stopped him, he told me sternly, “you late la, we not wait more than 5”. “Yes, I’m sorry- it came earlier than I thought it would”. “No wait so long la”, he repeated, but let me into the cab.

We rode in silence to the airport. Once we reached there, after taking back the change, in the hope of redeeming myself I told him brightly, “Thanks! Happy new year!”

“What?” he asked as though I had said something ludicrous.

“Happy New Year.. Chinese new year” I repeated

“I don’t celebrate New Year” he said angrily. I didn’t dare ask why and pushed my trolley into the airport, rather crestfallen.

So the next time you see me not attempting small talk- you know why!

 Life is funny a lot more than we notice it to be. It’s nice to sometimes look at incidents in our lives with an external lens and laugh at it as though it is a sitcom.