A/S/L?

a/s/l??

A long long time ago, when people actually started affording home computers, my parents brought us one, a cute little HCL, with Windows 95 as the platform. Anyway, I digress!

My sister and I were initially too scared of using this contraption, so we decided that we will only use the computer if dad was around, just in case we goof up and cause the computer to 'break'. So whenever we wanted to play a game, or just get excited over typing in Word, we'd tell dad to switch on the computer and sit next to us the whole time.

Gradually, we began using the computer on our own. And then, BOOM, the internet happened. Again, dad became our savior and introduced us to the internet. We started exploring slowly, and then, BOOM, the chatting phenomenon happened! Indiatimes chat, yahoo chat, msn chat...what? Sister and I were completely oblivious to these.

One day, dad switched on the computer, quite excitedly. Apparently, someone had told him about chatting. So he wanted to try it out. He sat us and mom next to him, while he landed on indiatimes chat. And thus began a surreal conversation, which I still remember. Some girl (?) sent him an im. And so it went on, something like this:

Girl(G): Hie
Dad (D): Hello
G: a/s/l?
D: what?
G: a/s/l???
D: What are you talking about?
G: You don't know a/s/l?
D: No I'm sorry, I don't.
G: Bye.

I think that was the first and last time he ever went to a chat room. And he still doesn't know what a/s/l means.