I was at a governmental department this morning getting something done. The receptionist referred me to an old man who then referred me to a much younger guy who, interestingly, looked cute yet dignified.

This fellow was processing my papers, had me sign a couple, asked me some questions, and so on. He was very professional and really looked the part with his name tag and white shirt and black tie. The office was a quirky small space with three disks in it and piles of papers on each. The two other office people were having falafel sandwiches and orange juice for breakfast, and I saw a slice of tomato slip from one sandwich but a mouth quickly grabbed it.

Aside from that semi-comic sketch of breakfast in the “da2era,” everything else was very polished and neat. People walked in and out and the person handling my papers helped them out very quickly. Then, out of nowhere, I heard

Lil’ mama, show me how you move it,
Go ahead put ya back into it,
Do ya thang like there aint nothin to it,
Shake..shake.. shake that ass girl.

The guy continued to process my papers and I looked around for the source of the catchy beat but I couldn’t find it. Then, just as 50 Cent was saying You can have anything you want … If you shake that ass for me, Mr.Office Guy reached into his drawer and grabbed a cell phone to answer a call. He was very serious about it, too.

The contrast between the setting, the looks of Office Guy, the way he talked, and his ringtone was stunning. It was very amusing to hear him end virtually every sentence with “Inshallah” and “Hamdulillah” when his ringtone was très naughty. It was very much like this famous video: