The Things I Do For Money

One of the sites I was called upon to build today was for a Chicago company that specializes in the planning and promotion of something called a Desi Party. I had never heard of this, and found myself sort of at a loss when it came to creating their site.

So I jumped on the web to do a little research, and it turns out that Desi is a Hindu word that loosely translates to mean "homeboy." Desi parties are these huge throwdowns held all over the country primarily for Americans of South Asian decent. Sort of like Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan-only raves.

From everything I was reading, it sounded like a pretty good time.

But it was also pretty apparent that reading about them was more or less the extent of what I would get to do. Not that I wouldn't be allowed in if I tried to go (I suppose), but more of the sort of awareness that this really isn't for me at all.

I'm not being excluded; I'm just not a part of it.

It's the same feeling that arises when your wife reads the comic strip "Cathy" in the newspaper and literally doubles over in laughter; but when you look at it you have no idea where the joke is at all.

     Strong enough for a man, but... well, you know.

So I go on reading articles, trying to get an idea of how to approach writing copy for this company. I learned about "ABCD's" and "F.O.B.'s," and found myself inundated with tons of lingo and information. Pretty interesting stuff, actually.

But when I tried to put it all together, everything I wrote sounded like "Ice, Ice, Baby."

               Peep this all you fly F.O.B.'s and ABCD's
               Get on down to the Desi party, yahherdme?
              Word to the mizzother!


Eventually I sort of took the middle ground and wrote something about the company's services, something professional and straight. It's what my boss would want me to do, although I would have a hard time imagining the client liking it all that much.

     I swear to god, I've never sounded like such a honky in my entire life