How often have you been asked "How are you?" or one of its two hundred and ninety-five million sibling queries starting from "wassa?" to Joey's "How you doing?" ? It is an accepted form of greeting and almost always follows a hi or a hello. This is especially the case when you are meeting the other after a time longer than, say, 4 hours.

How often have you answered such a question truthfully and honestly? I know it would probably be inappropriate and even irritating if I were to answer someone's "Howdy?" with a detailed summary of my current state of being, yet is it not true that a "How do you do?" is almost never answered in truth. I would venture, bravely enough, to even say that you are expected to answer it untruthfully with that blatantly colourless "Fine" and maybe add a "und Sie?" to generate the same gray-tinged "Fine" that reveals nothing and says everything. Go up to someone looking completely distressed and say a "How do you do?". You will, in all probability, be rewarded with the expected monotony.

What if, for a change, we decide to answer the question face-up. What if the next time you meet someone, at a moment when you are ecstatically stretching out on that fluffy cloud numbered nine, you give the person a run down on the exciting news that you have to share. What if you go on "... remember how I always wanted to sharpen my pencil until it could prick the boss's skin.. Well, guess what1 I did and now I am overjoyed and walking around grinning like a kid that has just cheesed a chocolate cake. So how are *you*?"

Go on. Try it. Helpless looks are guaranteed!!

P.S: I wanted to put up something on this blog. It was beginning to look exactly how my brain cells seem to - blank and deserted. It's that deadly affliction called laziness. If your sensibilities have been disturbed from their silken fine resting place my sincere appologies. :)