The problem with first impressions…..

…. is that they tend to stick! or so we have learned in school.

You all know my dad right? No no, not SCT, he is the biological one. I am talking about the one who signed all the leaves notes for me in engineering, Clinton. (Yes, that same dude who is right now sitting somewhere in the USA and is most unclear as to he will be attending my wedding or not). Well, for years, he thought of me (and probably still does) as a perennial late latif.

Last week, RR had come in from Bangalore and i went to meet her at Chembur. (and believe it or not, i lost my way there!). After our coffee, Panini, pasta and gupshup, i said i’ll drop her home. Despite years of knowing her, it was the first time she had seen me drive. As i entered a main road, slight error in judgement, a bus came too close and she went “you are a very bad driver”. Imagine! didnt matter that the bus guy just kept on coming despite blinker, indicators and horn! And now she will live with that impression all her life! Just like Clinton, who was once kept waiting for 30 mins at BARC because i misjudged the time it will take me to travel from Airoli where i had just shifted to.

Now, anyone who know me well, will agree i am a safe and decent driver who manages to reach everywhere more or less on time! But just illustrates how wrong first impressions can be!

Which brings me to the most important first impressions of my life – marriage. For all practical purposes, me and my fiancée decided to get married to each other based on very little information (assuming some broad criteria are fulfilled) on both sides. A 40-45 minutes conversation, most of which we don't remember,(except for the criminal record query i had) and we said OK to our parents. (Typical arranged marriage?? like in the good old times? hmmmm.) First impressions (from my end, dunno about her)– talkative, aware of the world around her, understands responsibility, family. thats all.

As the illustrations with CC and RR showed, i could have been horribly wrong. Only time will tell how things work out, because people with a courtship period of 1000 years have known to realise they got it wrong later. Its a risk either ways.