[WWYD] What Would You Do?

A set of interesting case scenarios. When in a tight spot, what would you do?

One of the most interesting aspects of creating websites for clients is the use of case scenarios. This is where you create scenes for potential users and try to see how they work it out.

I find it interesting because it helps me understand what people are most likely to do and why they do it. It gives a glimpse of the minds of my users, helping me understand them better.

This time, I'm trying something new. Instead of me blabbering about stuff, I'll let you, my readers, do the blabbering. I'm presenting you with three case scenarios. All you have to do is post a comment on how you would react on these case scenarios. Feel free to explain or elaborate. There are no right or wrong answers of course, so feel free to think and experiment..

Case Scenario 1

You're walking down an alley one morning. It's so early that no one's even walking with you. It's cold and a bit foggy, but you somehow catch a glimpse of a big black thing sitting on the sidewalk.

You come closer and you realize that it's actually a small black bag. Feeling curious, you picked it up and after a closer examination, you decided that it's safe to open the thing. Inside the bag are ten rings of cash, each (to your estimate), is worth around a hundred thousand pesos.

You notice a small note that says "It's for you." Puzzled, you try and look for any name or any other indirect-object on the note. Nothing. Of course, being logical and a little more knowledgeable in grammar that others, you quickly thought that "Hey, you can refer to anyone--even a monkey." But there's no one else in the alley. So you examine the bag. Still, no identification whatsoever. It's almost six o'clock and you're pretty sure that you emptied your stored-value MRT card last night. It's now or never. What would you do?

Case Scenario 2

Your bestfriend fancies someone both of you know. Wait, fancy is the wrong word--your bestfriend is madly in-love with someone you both know. Unknown to him or to anybody else, you also fancy that person. Of course, you never plan of telling your friend, since he doesn't really need to know. And besides, you just fancy the person right?

One Saturday morning, while eating breakfast at a small cafe in Tomas Morato, the person you and your bestfriend likes passes by. You notice him, you call him out and he waves at you, giving you a smile that you swear just melted the foam atop your hot cappuccino. You invited him for some breakfast and he agreed to sit with you for a while. He ordered some Cafe Americano (ooh, so strong and manly) and the small talk started.

Of course, being such a good friend, you decided to build-up your bestfriend and you started talking about how cool, great and uber-fascinating your bestfriend is. You both laugh and exchange great stories. He remarks, "Your bestfriend is really interesting.." and you mentally do your victory dance. Your bestfriend will finally get the man he wants.

At around 8, he excused himself and waved you goodbye--he was off to this charity event to teach some poor kids to read and write. You gave him a nice wave (just so he'd remember all your great remarks about your bestfriend) and he takes off. He's gone, and you start finishing off the cold coffee you ordered. You realize that if it wasn't for your bestfriend, you'd be with that guy to that charity event. But oh well, friendship can sometimes be a bummer...

As you were standing up, you notice a small tissue with something written on it. You dismiss it as some doddle the guy just dropped but then you realize that it's a note, written in his beautiful handwriting: "You're bestfriend is interesting, but I like you more. Go out with me." Your jaws just dropped. What would you do?

Case Scenario 3

You had this highly-publicized scuffle with someone from work. You don't know how it really started, but it seems that you have become quite unpopular with his peers (who form a larger group than yours).

A few days before your Christmas party, you were tasked to prepare the food for the party--which unfortunately meant you coming earlier than usual to your office and sharing the kitchen with the other person tasked with the food preparation: your arch-nemesis.

On that morning, you woke-up, feeling a little gloomy. You got dressed and went to the office. You saw your archnemesis already there, preparing his famous carbonara (so last year). You set-up your workcamp a few meters from him, on the table closer to the sink and started working on your new sushi recipe.

While you were deboning the fish you were to serve (in perfect Martha Stewart hand movements), your idiot archnemesis suddenly tries to hold the hot steaming pasta bowl with his bare hands, causing his ugly fingers to swell-up and burn. As the smell of burning flesh slowly rises around the room, your archnemesis quickly tries to run towards the sink, stepping on the small chamois you dropped--causing him to slip. He bumps to you hard, hitting you on the knees and sends the small (yet deadly) fillet knife you were holding straight into the air.

Almost like a prayer answered by God with choirs of angels, the knife lands directly on your co-worker's nape and severs his spinal cord. Shaken and disoriented, you stand up and see your archnemesis on the floor, now but a mere vegetable. You approach him and examine the knife sticking out of his nape. You look up and see five of his friends at the door, holding plastic bags filled with ingredients your archnemesis asked them to bring and looking at you nastily.

Shit. What would you do?