Faux Pas...

...A social blunder. Thats how dictionary.com simply describes faux pas. I commit loads of them (which my good friend Dheeraj can readily assert ;) But I think I have found my worst. I seem to have an amazing knack for using the words "What are you doing here" in exactly the worst way possible. I meet a new person at the university, exchange hellos and nomenclature and then come to the logical inquiry about what the person is upto in life, so I simply say "What are you doing here?" and the person I am talking to interprets that as "State you business and it better be good cuz If I find that you dont have a reason good enuff for me for you being here I am going to fucking kill you"
I have had people look at me with a shocked, sometimes even offended look and giving out answers like 'I was just taking a walk...alright Ill see u then"!!!! This has happened so many times. I have even tried to change my tone and make it sound as polite as possible but doesnt seem to work! Neway here are my 2 favourite experiences regarding this.
1) I bumped into an American undergrad that I was acquainted with at a Diwali party (which was for desis) and due course of our conversation I realized I didnt know which year he was in...so I said "What are you doing here?". I would pay to see the look on his face again...he was shocked and embarrassed and quickly pointed to some desi at a distance and said "Uh...that guy invited me...Im sorry I didnt know this was only for Indians". I had a hard time convincing him that I didnt mean it that way :)
2) And just recently I got talking to some random person in the undergrad lab and since he was quizzing me a lot about my work I felt obliged to return the favour and ask him what he was doing there? The chap was taken aback but managed to blurt out..."Ohh I thought I would use these computers to do this course project we have to submit tomorrow"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WTF? :)

I think its the usage of the word 'here' that leads to the misunderstanding! But is it really too much to expect people to follow the train of thought and not assume I am suddenly extremely interested in their present activities. Dont know how many have I offeneded with this but for me it has now become good fun to see the looks on their faces when I blurt out my impoliteness :)