Bomb threats and stalkers in Pune

Surveying Pune wasn’t so easy. The only grocery store that expats shop at was full of workers and security, all of which did not want me taking down prices. The third time I got caught typing into my phone, I was forced to speak to the manager who spoke to me like I was a little kid who needed to be put in time out. They “didn’t appreciate it at all” and were “quite disappointed” and it was “too late to reconcile”. So, I left reluctantly; but I had no choice at this point. I wasn’t going back. During the second time that I got kicked out, I was approached by security personnel and I was prepared to be asked to stop writing down prices. That didn’t happen. Everyone on the side of the grocery store I was in was asked to move to the other side. We were no longer accessible to cookies, baby food, flour and sugar. Damn, I was so close to being done there. Amid the chaos, I got myself caught by one of the shelve stockers. I asked to speak to a manager but he was much too heavily involved in the “crisis” going on outside. Since I got caught and it didn’t make much sense hanging around, I used the opportunity to check out a pretty impressive bomb scare. The street was blocked off on both directions and hundreds of people crowded the edges to get a glimpse of what was going to happen when the man in the bomb suit approached the package left outside the highly populated expat grocery store. It was like watching Hurt Locker, the man in the space suit look-alike couldn’t turn his back when walking away from it. Of course, nothing was in that bag. India receives bomb threats all the time. However, they do have their share of serious threats, like the one that blew up the very popular German Bakery in Pune 6 months prior. For this reason, it’s not taken lightly. I don’t blame them and certainly wouldn’t want it to be.

I may have picked up a short-term, one time stalker while in Pune. How does that happen? Just like this. I get a facebook message from someone I didn’t recognize saying “hey, I thought I saw you in Pune and then just happened to come upon your profile on facebook, are you still in Pune?” OK people, what’s wrong with this picture. Rather, what’s wrong with this guy. Seriously… he just happened to come upon my profile among the millions of facebook users out there? Probably a quarter of them with blonde hair? Curious as hell, I badgered him for more information. After a few ridiculous “no really I just found you randomly” tries and me wondering if he thinks I was born yesterday, he finally admits that someone gave him my name. But, he wouldn’t admit who it was, no matter what. So, I didn’t press him for it. But bizarre though right? And creepy to say the least. After that one day of exchanging emails, I never heard from him again.