In a vessel upstream

As I walk hurriedly down the busy pavement I accidently overhear a cellphone user, "what the f@#@!! mein(man), I thought you said 5 30...ah.......yup! yup!...chiao meinnn....lets catch up the coming weekend...you rock till then ah! YO!
I walk past him and then it hits me...arre he is our old chum Parandaman!! We are both glad, we give our typical swinging hi-fis(oh, we have not forgotten them..great!).
"Hey da Parandaman, how are you doing now-a-days"?
"Paddy mein , Paddy is the name"
Errrr...gulp. We gulp a quick drink at a coffee joint, exchange contact details and get up to leave. He doesn't shake my hand, instead, puts a queer signal, the forefinger and little finger outstretched and the other fingers folded in. "Yo mein, nice meeting you, keep in touch ah"

Now, Paddy aka Parandaman is the personification of fashion, attitude, hep-and-happening.

We have our hair gelled up to look in all sorts of ways, our jeans is so worn, that it fights hard to defy gravity and stay up there(I once saw a gentleman pulling it up when he thought no one saw him. Uncomfortable that he looked in that attire, nevertheless he had to keep pace with his fashion-breathing comrades!), you got to show you are cool by saying kewl, you will be grunted at if you said ok...its ookkiiee!
This is fashion, this is attitude, this is help and happening.
We live like this because 8 out of the 10 people in our office shuttle bus live this way, or talk about living this way. The fear of being left out of the pack, or looked down upon due to not keeping up with trends, is as intense and perennial as the fear of death. We do all that’s possible to overcome it.
No matter how scenic the downstream route is, how enjoyable and easy the rowing is, we prefer to row upstream because 25 out of the 30 rowers decided to go that way. Perhaps our emphasis of staying in the herd is stronger than the joy of true beauty and comfort.
Now a few observations:
1. Walking down the ramp with your mom makes you look macho.
2. Greeting your Significant Other in your traditional, rich ethnic attire will give him /her immediate goose bumps and sleepless nights of pleasant dreams.
3. Fashion, style and attitude are in the heart of the wearer and not in eyes of the audience.

What do you feel?