Unijewdha

I've been carrying around a nickname for past 6 years: J-LO. Funny, I got branded with that name from Marky Mark and Ex-5 during the same week but for different reasons, but we'll save those details for some other post :)

But now there is new one.

Last week I met Other Persian Guy for drinks. OP Guy is a really nice guy I worked with a long time ago who I recently ran into while shopping a Middle Eastern grocery. What I didn't know was that Former Persian Boss, who hired us both, would be joining us for drinks.

It was interesting to see the two together since they both come from the same city, Tehran, similar backgrounds and religion but are separated by a generation; OP Guy is early 30's, FP Boss is early 50's. The difference between them is night and day.

FP Boss was one of my favorite bosses. Not only could he get a project out under budget and on time, he was just fun. About once amonth I would get a panic phone call from FP Boss telling me to clear next week's schedule because he needed me at a conference to explain the technical aspects of our project. Usually this involved two hours of answering questions from disinterested conference attendees, the other 4 days and 22 hours involved riding around with FP Boss in his convertible, exploring every local bar and restaurant and 'socializing with the people', which involved FP Boss chatting up everyone blonde girl who came within his line of sight. The week I spent in South Beach with him is still a blur in my mind since we never got back to the hotel before 3am. He never let me pay for anything and he covered all of our nightlife expenses out of his own pocket not the company tab.

FP Boss is single again, and I'm glad to report he hasnt changed much. During our two-hour drink reunion he excused himself about 20 times, each time to introduce himself to a blonde girl. He also picked up the tab for all of us.

OP Guy, on the other hand, is very serious and part of that seriousness, I found, is coming from his parents pressuring him to get married. A nice Muslim girl, they want, no, insist upon. But OP Guy, much like FP Boss, likes blondes, non-Muslim blondes.

I can't understand parents who would impose wishes on their children that would make them unhappy. My parents wouldn't even consider the thought. Even if they did it wouldn't do them much good since they raised me and my sister to be wickedly independent.

OP Guy: You couldn't understand, you aren't Muslim. You're like some flavor of Christian, arent you?

Me: Difficult to answer; I'm maternally Jewish, raised Unitarian then started practicing Buddhism when I was 19.

OP Guy: So, that makes you what? A Unijewdha? LOL

FP Boss immediately broadcasted my new name to everyone over his Crackberry.