Embarrasing, awkward moments

A Toronto TV channel conducted a sampling of how Canadians know their geography. The question was fairly simple – what is the capital of the province of New Burnswick? To make things quicker, a multiple choice option for the answer was thrown in : a) Moncton b) St. John c) Fredericton. The question was asked randomly at pedestrians, shoppers, commuters on the busy streets of the city. The results were sadly pathetic ; only 3 got the answer for the first 10 samples. The highlight of the show was this woman in her twenties who enthusiastically answered the question almost high-fiving the TV reporter shouting St. John! I know it because I am from there! The correct answer is Fredericton. The poor woman probably didn’t even know that she made an ass of herself in front of national television. Sometimes it is not the lack of knowledge but the illusion of knowledge that can cause us supreme embarrasment!

Last summer, while chatting and sharing cold beer and nuts over a campfire, my close friends and I had fun talking about awkward and embarrasing situations, especially those that have the semblance of payback moments , the satisfaction of getting back at people guilty of disrespecting and belittling his fellowman. It wasn’t that we were reveling at the thought of getting even and casting pain at someone. We were simply discussing the merit of giving an overbearing person a reality check or a dose of his own medicine with that awkward if not embarrassing moments that goes along with the encounter.

The scenarios :

A newly graduated engineer who was applying for an apprentice job at an electronics company wasn’t just scratched from the hiring list. He was told by the hiring supervisor that his knowledge was inferior and he won’t get anywhere with it. Four years later, the engineer and the supervisor had to meet face to face once again. The supervisor was promoted to sales manager and was promoting his product to the company where the engineer was working. It turned out that the engineer was the technical supervisor responsible for evaluating new products for his company. Imagine for a moment the sales manager’s facial reaction when he saw the young lad he dissed four years ago was now the guy who would make the decision on his sales pitch!

A couple had a nasty altercation with a bitchy cashier with an attitude problem at a local supermarket. This cashier is one of those characters who would serve Caucasian customers with a cheery disposition and suddenly switch to a robot, almost taciturn and mono-syllabic when dealing with her Filipino compatriots. The couple hosted a school reunion at their home and the cashier showed up at their door! It turned out that she was the girlfriend on one of their alumni friends. Imagine that greeting ritual at the door with the hostess saying Oh! I remember you ! You’re that … The meeting was indeed awkward but the opportunity to bury the hatchet was ripe. For all its worth the meeting ended up on a positive note as the cashier began treating the couple like her Caucasion patrons everytime they visited the supermarket.

A man had an altercation with a woman at department checkout counter because she protested at her trolley being moved by the shopper that followed her in the queue. No big deal but the lady was extremely touchy and sensitive told the gentleman to lay his hands off her trolley! Who would ever have the compulsion to argue with a berserk woman at a checkout counter? Anyway, this woman showed up at the man’s office the following day for a job interview! Darn awkward meeting for sure. A subtle payback moment for the man would have been a real simple question – do you remember me?

Embarrasing and awkward situations indeed and whether we are at the long or short end of the stick in the aforesaid situations, we all have something to learn don’t we? There’s a saying that you must not look down on anybody because you might meet him on your way down. How true. Strangely enough, our minds seem to be preconditioned that whatever status we enjoy today would remain the same throughout our lives. Far from being true.I am not a fan of Rev. Jesse Jackson ( why does this guy always show up on every major news event ? ) but he had one quote that makes a lot of sense – never look down on anybody unless you are helping them up! With his in mind, I wish everyone a Prosperous New Year and a bountiful 2006!