Meeting a Journalist II

(This is getting interesting now, and I am actually enjoying writing about these meetings.. future posts may not be in the chronological order and the title would depend upon the memorable incidents :))

After that first interaction, we exchanged some story related emails and then she wanted to pay visit to the scientific co-founder of our company, our Professor. She arrived early and asked whether i would be available. Ofcourse, I was !! (Anil Kapoor said in tezaab: Waqt hota nahin hai, nikalana padta hai :D)

After some customary small talk, the conversation went towards her hometown and the naxalism that was happening there (the Dantewada incident happened just then, though i was not really listening, just looking at her ;)). She had her hairs tied up and the her purple streak was not visible. She was wearing a kurta and trousers (which she vehemently denies today saying that she has no black trousers, though i believe my memory always, its kind of photographic B-))

So accompanied her to the Professor's office and then asked her to get back to me once she is done, as i was looking for an opportunity to extend our conversations further (Some guys look good, some guys sing,.. well i just talk (thats what i do for a living also i guess, just talk).. ab aur kuch kar bhi to nahin sakte :P)

We took time to reconnect as it was tough for her to find her way through the labyrinth which is IIT Delhi. Another coffee and a walk, conversing about her interests in reading, travelling etc. and then asked her about whether she would be interested in going to a play ( 'Run for my Wife' : fellow dude Ashish Goel was acting in it, though plays are not much up my alley, i thought intellectual women dig plays ;)). She didn't seem very enthusiastic and suggested that one of her friends would be very interested in attending. (that was unacceptable for me, as i was looking for some face time alone ;) (don't misinterpret face time now ;), I sometimes wonder how much of a loser i am, hahaha :))

Something happened then which is memorable to me, and I respect her for it. As we were departing, we started talking about TR, EmTech 2009 ( I was a speaker there ;)), when in a bout of self-deprecation, i belittled my work. She said that 'Ink is an important chemical, it is used everywhere and what you are doing will impact the printing industry worldwide.' (my memory might have exaggerated it, but the essence is the same ;)). I guess journalists treat all their stories with respect, but for me it meant a lot. Seriously. (:))

So that was the second meeting, again based on professional grounds, but I had established the 'communication beachhead' (management , hhhhuuh !!) on FaceBook and her mobile number was handy.

Smses and babbar shers are great ice-breakers which i used abundantly. Also got a lot of dope to interact by stalking her facebook profile (cheapster!) and was amazed to find that she is a Sherlock Holmes fan. A woman who reads Sherlock Holmes is very attractive. Tried to trick her into meeting over exchanging Sherlock Holmes novellas but she is smart enough to see through it.

Next came unabashed hitting on her through smses ( damn i was very quick, by own standards :), impatience is a virtue, but not with women i guess :)). One noteworthy incident centered around her 'kissing prowess' which didnt go down too well with her. She blasted me saying 'is it right to hit on a woman you just met like this'.. though i felt defensive, but being dramatic i am , i responded: 'DIl to Bachcha hai ji'... (well i thought that was very clever :))

Meeting was no where in sight and she was busy completing the story, which was very important for us also. So tried to lay low and wait till the story got over. Nonetheless, dispatched her the Sherlock Holmes DVD, which was kind of well received. (somehow i feel i can make women happy ;))

Had to wait for nearly a month and we were looking at April end. Then came the TR story and the worldwide acclaim it brought. It was bigger than the TechCrunch coverage (again re-inforcing that am not much of a loser professionally, getting covered in TC is huge for Indian start-ups and we are in the mundane business of making eco-friendly printing inks.. oops green chemicals is a better positioning :)) I couldn't be happier and thought she deserved a treat for doing a fabulous job!

I sensed that now is the time to ask her out on a date ..errrrrr!! I was horribly mistaken.... To be continued!!