The perennial problem with many people I know, including me to a certain extent! Loving won’t make you a lover to reckon with, you have to express your love as if that is the only thing that you can do! So how do you go about being the perfect romantic lover? You have to work at it, everyday. You have to be committed to prove your point. Your partner won’t take you to be romantic if you are just a flash in the pan. I mean, if you take her out on a great dinner and then don’t call her over the next seven days, you undo all the good work.

So what did we learn from this? You have to be consistent. A message every morning to wish your love good morning, a special message when it’s a big day for your Significant O. These little things make your love smile and that should always be your aim. Wish with flowers now and then. But don’t overdo things. That would make you come across as someone who’s obsessed and that is a stifling thought for anyone. If you have a flair for writing, write sweet nothings and paste it at unexpected places. When your love finds them, I bet they will be more than delighted.

And the most important point: say ‘I love you’. Don’t keep your partner guessing or waiting to hear these magic words. If you think that your partner knows about your love and there is no need to say it loud, dump this idea. You should tell them how much they mean to you and how much you care. They’ll always get you brownie points. But again, I’d caution against saying it too much, it might just smother the feeling. If your partner has an important meeting, it’s not the time to open your romantic book and read from it. Make use of opportunities instead of trying to create them. Love, if anything, is spontaneous.

Would you like to add to this list? If your ideas are romantic and have potential to trigger the romantic imagination of our friends across the globe, send them to me. I might publish them on my blog or the newsletter.

After Donna and Megan wrote for us about International Women’s Day, it’ll be Kate today. Kate is one of the strongest women I have met. She’s been through a lot in her life, including a sad break-up. But that didn’t dent her spirit, nor could it take away from the person that she is. She continues to live on her own terms. Over to her…

Hi,
Bob exaggerates. I’m no strong person living on her own terms. I’m just another girl, wanting to live, rather than exist. It may sound simple, but it is not. We stumble, we trip and make bad choices. I don’t see any harm in making bad choices, but having the determination and will to make a choice and stick to that.

I cannot write anything that can be remotely inspirational. But I can talk about myself. Yes, I have made wrong choices, some of them have left me crushed and broken. But I have no regrets. These wrong choices have a lot of contribution into making me whatever little I am today. I come from a small town in Iowa. Living in New York has been a dream and I am happy that I have been able to realize it. This city has given me a lot: a career, wonderful friends and love. He may not be there with me anymore, but I know I have him by my side. Everyday. Every moment.

Life takes us to lots of places where we never wanted to go. It also takes us to places where we wanted to go, but didn’t know how. This International Women’s Day, I want all of you friends to dream. If you dream, only then can you dare; and if you dare, you can achieve. That is what I have learned from life.

Wish you all the best!
Kate

Bob again. Another heart-warming post. Like Kate, if only we could all see and feel the simple things in life. Life would be so much more joyous. Don’t you think so?

A night of surprises! It all began with Irina coming in late to watch the American Idol Season 8 with us. She has never been late for this show and it has become a ritual for us now, more so for Adrian and her. I miss the show every now and then! But they don’t. Irina can very well watch the American Idol show at her own place, but she likes it at our pad because she has someone to discuss the show with. And of course, fight occasionally. So when she got late, Adrian thought she wouldn’t turn up at all.

I was quietly sure she would come, and she did. Then the show started. We were immersed in the performances, both with the microphone and without it. The next surprise was that Adrian and Irina seemed to agree unanimously at each of the judges’ choices. They were nodding their heads in approval. I have to admit I didn’t like it when they agreed on a point. They were so much more entertaining, sometimes more than the show! I tried to tease them to go at each other, but I think they had a sort of mutual agreement that they would not fight over the American Idol Wild Card winners.

The last surprise was, of course, the show itself! We’re expecting Top 12, we got Top 13, Anoop being the lucky 13th! My fellow watchers thought it was okay, the more the number of performers, the more stiff the competition was going to be. I’m not so sure about it though. I mean, with twelve contestants the competition would have been tough too! What do you think? Are you happy with the choices for the American Idol wild card winners? I’d like to know.