I think, therefore I write

Creepy or Paranoid?

  1. I go with my guy by auto once in a while to office since our offices are in the same direction. After a couple such trips, I happened to go alone once. I didn’t recognize it was the same auto guy who dropped us earlier.  When I get down, he asks “Where is that other person who comes with you and why didn’t he come today?” Same happened with my guy when he went alone.
  2. In the usual browsing centre where I take print outs, the guy starts chatting with me since he belongs to the same state as me. However, I have always been uncomfortable giving out details even though I was a regular customer to the browsing centre. I try to avoid as much as possible. In spite of me being an introvert and reserved with him, he knows all the details like where I work, what investments I have made because he deliberately noticed what I give him to photocopy or scan or printout. I agree that he cannot do the job without looking but there is a difference between noticing and remembering and just looking because you have to.
  3. The auto guy notices I speak a South-Indian language over phone and asks me whether I am from so-and-so city.
  4. My guy goes to a regular medical shop where he gets his medicine and most times he uses the same card for payment.  After a few times, the store guy knows the pin and asks “It’s xxxx only na?” and enters it himself.

What do you think of the such incidents? While they might be classified as vendors/shopkeepers just trying to make regular business by being friendly, it doesn’t feel so. Certainly not for me. Maybe the ever-increasing crime rate has made me paranoid It feels right for me that we have stopped going often to the places where the business seems over-friendly than it actually should be. When seen from a criminal point of view, all these information that the vendors or shopkeepers notice about us seem very valid and useful pointers to manipulate us. Some might feel it’s good to keep switching places to avoid over-familiarity. Now, we do that wherever possible and a few places we go often, only where people keep up a professional only .

Is life getting creepy or am I being paranoid?

Until later 🙂

12 Comments

  1. Wanderer

    Oh I find it 100% creepy…even if it’s meant to be or not. It feels like an invasion of your privacy… Plus, if I were in your guy’s placce I’d have changed my pin by now.

    • Keirthana

      True, yeah he changed it too.

  2. Ajay Kontham™

    I guess both.

    The fourth point is scary. What if on some salary day, we find out that all the money has been swiped off. That though is itself scary.

    Paranoia is our sense of feeling about how we look at things. But if we are scared, that leads us to being paranoid.

    Being friendly is a good gesture actually. But as you have mentioned about the crime-rate, well that does put a two more dots at the end of our thinking process.

    • Keirthana

      Yeah, bad things keep happening that I am tempted to jump at any familiarity from any unknown person

  3. RED HANDED

    Except the 3rd point…rest all are creeeepy!!!!
    the fourth one scared me like helll!

    • Keirthana

      Yeah, the 3rd point kinda happens a lot but somehow any stranger asking me anything personal makes me think “Why is this person asking this?”

  4. Soumya

    Woaaahhhh!! 100% creepy and borderline paranoia.

    I guess we can excuse the third point, because people not only auto drivers tend to ask that. The first point can be passed off too I guess because auto guys notice everything and as long as he is not asking details about the relationship it should be okay.

    Second and fourth point are creepy for sure. My advice, get your printouts from elsewhere or still better invest in a printer. And go ask your guy to change the pin code now. Next time, hand the chemist cash only.

    • Keirthana

      True dear! I have started getting printouts from office as applicable and yeah we changed the chemist and also prefer cash payment now.

  5. Srikanth

    It sure is creepy. Familiarity to the point where it doesn’t intrude someone’s privacy is ok. But knowledge thereby inquiring into one’s private and personal matters is crossing the line. And knowing the financial details is almost a criminal act, even if the intentions aren’t bad. But we Indians do not understand this. Atleast most of us don’t. So your paranoia is justifiable in this case.

    • Keirthana

      Yes, I have heard that in many other countries, professionalism is maintained without compromising the friendliness and vice versa.

  6. uma

    It is surely creepy. Remembering the pin and all is too much. Please ask your guy to be careful too and request him to change the pin and his pharmacy at once.

    • Keirthana

      Yeah we did. Hope such incidents don’t happen in the future now that we are so careful that we border on being paranoid. Better safe than sorry.

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