Thursday, October 1, 2009

Who Have You Helped Today?

Have you ever tried to help someone only to have it backfire on you?

A couple of weeks back, a colleague asked me if I knew of any houses that were available for rent around where I live. A friend of hers was moving to Cal from Bombay as the Regional Head of Sales of a company that manufactures automotive lubricants, and needed a place to stay.

The next day, I ran into a neighbor who was looking for a tenant, so I passed on the information to the guy who was looking for a place to stay. I must have spoken to him for two minutes on the phone, and after I hung up he started pestering me to meet him through text messages. The day he was scheduled to inspect the house, he messaged me every hour to come see the house with him! I ignored his messages, hoping he'd get the hint but that hasn’t discouraged him from messaging me almost every day! And he’s taken to calling me from random landline numbers because I won’t take calls from his cell phone.

The man is in his mid 30s and has a wife & kid back in Bombay. It didn’t come as a surprise to me. I’ve seen enough married men trying their luck with single women, and those of us who’re vulnerable fall right into the trap. I’m not freaking out over this yet, but it's getting really annoying. And thinking that he’ll be moving into the building next to mine this weekend is not a happy thought.

4 comments:

Moonshine said...

Weirdo!!!!!! Just tell him off one day!! Then he will not trouble you again.

Scarlett said...

@Moonshine - A will, of course, never let me hear the end of it. The ex-colleague whose friend this guy is, is also a little weird, and A is like, "what were you thinking when you decided to help him out? He is XYZ's friend after all!"

RJ said...

Hmm.. Do I smell a potential psycho/stalker? Also, if you think your ex-colleague is weird, wasn't there the likelihood that her friend might be weird as well.. I agree with A on this one :) Ask the ex-colleague to tell him to lay off..

Scarlett said...

@RJ - I guess I should've been smarter about it but the guy needed a house...I've done the whole house-hunting thing plenty of times, so I know what a pain it can be! Was just trying to help him out. Also, I abstain from judging people until I know them myself...landed me in trouble this time but overall, it's served me well.