Living up to the dream

Remember the mystery I was talking about yesterday? Well it so happened that a few months back Monu's future family told us about the entrance exam for SBI Probationary Officer and so without giving it thought, we naturally all signed up for it. In the first week of our enthusiasm of the great 'sarkari naukri dream', we bought books and study material from all over the place. We even studied for a couple of days, Monu Rahul and I. Then it obviously fizzled out. Here the problems start.

You would think a father would know his daughter's habits and quirks after 25 years. That is not the case with my old man. See he tends to get excited with every dream I conjure of a well-paying career and though I obviously lose interest in a while, he tends to cling on the dream. Now I got over the SBI PO dream as soon as the books came in but my father went overboard with it. The most difficult thing to do is not play along with the parents' dreams for you. So you don't do it. I mean not play along.

I had put in my resignation at work and was supposed to finish there by the end of July. Now Dad, in his excitement to see me through the PO exam began insisting that I quit work in the middle of the month and get down to serious studying. Let me tell you something about the old man... it is impossible to reason with him. It won't work. He knows no reason and lives in that time where his word was the law, except that there was no time as that so it is mostly imaginary.

So after 15th of this month, I was officially not working, at least in my dad's eyes. Now it is all ok for me to say "yeah yeah I am not working" but what do I do in the work hours when I am actually working and Dad calls every hour, as he is wont to do? Here comes the next lie then. I sign up for imaginary PO coaching lessons and tell Dad I am at the classes that last for the six hours during which I am actually working. So he does not call and we get through that phase too.

In the last few days leading up to the exam today, I have been studying when I was actually sleeping, studying when I was actually crashed before the TV set, studying when I was gossiping with friends and studying when I was doing everything anything else but studying.

Watch me explain why I failed the test to my old man!