This conversation is over

Most of us have talked to ourselves at one point in time or the other. But not many would have experienced talking to themselves with 15 people in the CC field. Hi, I’m Sayesha and this is the story of how my plan got sabotaged.

Almost a decade ago, a lost freshie was sitting in the university canteen when she spotted a senior of hers mourning the loss of his mobile phone. They got into a scintillating conversation about lost mobile phones, which somehow led to a great friendship that survived the years.

Recently, the lost freshie heard some breaking news from the senior R and his wife A, and freaked out. The Bhai, on the other hand, was pleased as hell at the possibility of yet another franchise. Anyway, this email was promptly sent out.

Date: 9 July 2007 (Monday)
From: Sayesha
To: Buncha people

Hi people,

As you know, our favourite mallus are leaving sunny Singapore for (dubious?) Dubai. Viv and I are planning a surprise farewell party for them this weekend, most probably on saturday night at our place. We'd like to invite you to bid them farewell in style. I don't have everyone's email ids, so please feel free to invite anyone else whom they're close to.

I'm also planning to do up a slideshow with old photos and sabo-ing captions, so if you have any old (and preferably, ridiculous) photos of the two of them, please send them over asap. Sorry for the late notice, but I found out only this morning to my utter horror that they may be leaving as early as mid-next week!!

I will follow-up with another email as soon as I find whether they're free on saturday or sunday evening (depends on when the movers will be coming to err.. move their stuff.)

Hope everyone can make it! Do let me know, please! :)

And needless to say (but I'll still say it), if you bump into them somewhere before the weekend, shhhhhhhhh! :P

Cheers!
Sayesha

The response to the email (via sms, calls and emails) was tremendous, and her email was forwarded on to more people. And that’s when something happened…

Date: 10 July 2007 (Tuesday)
From: Sayesha
To: Buncha people

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the awesome response to my email. However, the latest is that our two mallus have pulled a fast one on us! Word is that unaware of what's cooking here, they may be trying to arrange a get-together of their own somewhere outside on Friday!!!! *PANIC ATTACK*

In order to avoid a "Hello again! Didn't we just see you like yesterday?" kinda situation for all of us, we have to do something. Is it possible for you guys to stall his get-together to sunday so that we can carry on with saturday's "surprise party" (after which they may choose to have or not have the sunday thingie, depending on how much of us they can take)? I don't know if he has contacted any of you guys or any plans have been made, but do let us all know what's happening.

In the hopeful case of us carrying on with our saturday plans, I'm thinking of getting everyone in by 7.00 pm, and getting them in by 7.30 pm. I think a pot luck party would be fun. But please don't stress too much about what to bring, cos that's immaterial. Just bring anything. If you really can't think of what to bring, get ice-cream or alcohol and juices, or disposable cutlery. But do let me know what you're bringing so that we don't end up with a mountain of plastic spoons and forks and no food to eat with them! :P

Cheers!
Sayesha

Meanwhile, R sent an email out to the very same buncha people asking them to meet for dinner at a mallu place! Needless to say, intervention was needed again.

Date: 11 July 2007 (Wednesday)
From: Sayesha
To: Buncha people

Hi people,

It's me again. (I'd be surprised if you haven't put my name on your junk mail filter by now.) Sorry for the third email in succession, but I thought I should send an email in case you're wondering what to do about R's email about meeting on Friday night. (No wonder there is total silence on that thread, poor guy must be heart-broken by now, thinking no one wants to see him before he leaves.) And now he's brought in the senti mallu food angle too, so we can't go ahead and do the whole "turn-him-down-on-Friday and surprise-him-on-saturday" thingie. Sheesh!

Okay lah, so we just go ahead and meet him on Friday, and if you guys are still keen (or if friday's attendance is not too large), we can continue with saturday's plan.

SIGHHHH!!! :(
Sayesha

After we returned from Friday's dinner, Viv was checking his email and to my horror, since he did not have the emails that were sent to me as a 'Reply' instead of a 'Reply all' to everyone, the thread really looked like I had just been talking to myself. So I figured there had to be a grand finale. An email to say "This conversation is over!"

Date: 13 July 2007 (Friday)
From: Sayesha
To: Buncha people

Hi people,

Continuing the insanity of talking to myself on this thread, it is time to formally announce the cancellation of tomorrow's surprise party, seeing as to how most of the people in this thread already met the mallus tonight. I'm so heart-broken. I'd actually designed a 'How much do you know 'em?' quiz to have at the party, with embarrassing questions from his past which only people who were close to him would know (and win the grand Ferrero Rocher prize). And that's not all. I printed 20 copies of the quiz. May the trees and the office printer forgive me.

Amen.
Sayesha

Okay fine, so surprises don’t hit twice. And even though I think that “It’s the thought that counts” is a crappy concept introduced by lazy procrastinators who can’t put together a half-decent party or a gift, I’ll say something just as crappy.

At least I tried.

Farewell, my friends, and do the Bhai proud in the land of legal tax evasion!