Embarrassing moment at work

As most of you know, last Monday was my birthday. One of my teams had planned a cake cutting for me.

No, that was not the embarrassing moment. I didn't mind the cake cutting. Luckily the team had more girls and fewer guys. And even these guys haven't worked that much with me. So their request for smearing the cake on my face was rejected like an auto driver reacting to the red light at a signal.

So where was the embarrassing moment? That came up when the team gave my gift. The gesture didn't embarrass me. What really put me in a fix was the packaging it came under.

You see, the team got me a super cool Park Avenue shirt. But it was bought at the shop that is synonymous with ladies' undergarments in Chennai. I agree that this shop has diversified into men's and children's wear as well. They have opened up branches all over the city. They even have a trendy (but idiotic in my opinion) name to break away from what their core business used to be.

But for me, I still see them as only that - sellers of ladies' inner garments. Call me biased, chauvinistic or whatever. I don't care.

My mother buys sarees from that shop. But I keep telling my father not to buy anything there for himself, just because the men's section is one floor away. And if I ever have to take something in a plastic cover, I NEVER use their bags. I would rather go without a bag, than be seen holding one of theirs.

Given all this, I was under a major dilemma when the team handed that bag to me. Since I respect gifts, I didn't have the heart to throw out the cover and keep just the shirt box.

So I dutifully brought it home, just the way it was given to me. The first thing that my mother asked was how come I even touched that bag. There were of course remarks about my "attitude" when it comes to that shop, but I let it pass.

The shirt BTW, was very good. I liked it a lot. But it was very expensive and so, I've informed my team that for their next project party, I would be a co-sponsor.