Creativity dazzles you into admiration. In this edition, find out how a simple craft can say a thousand words. Also, what you can do to save penguins and how irritating it can be when you slog your days out and people do not recognize that as ‘work’. Join me…

If Sarah is anything, it’s that she is creative. I have noted that Sarah likes customizing her personal belongings according to her tastes. Sarah carries her cell phone in a delicately designed cover. Sarah has added some touches to her purse as well. Very artistic, very original. The other day I received a very special gift from her. The envelope that was there in my mailbox gave it out that it was a card. But I was curious to see what it was because I knew that Sarah is not someone who’ll mail a card without adding her bit.

Sure enough, what emerged from the envelope was not a card that you get to buy. It was a handmade card. There was a flap which said, ‘Pull Me Up’. I pulled up the flap gingerly. What emerged was a big teddy bear’s head. As I slowly pulled it up, the arms emerged and they shot up sideways in the posture of a hug! I pushed the flap in and the arms collapsed and the bear went into its resting place. I played with the flap for a long time. I love the teddy as it stretches out its arms, as if to say, “Hug me!”

It seems that all of our actions are having a repercussion somewhere, though we may not be aware of it. That’s the philosophy Donna wants us to believe. Donna apparently saw this show on penguins. Donna firmly believes, and I think that her belief is right, that we are harming those adorable creatures in an indirect way. On a very basic level, Donna feels that each time we take out a car when we can cycle, we are pushing these penguins closer to the verge of extinction.

“Global warming is an effect of what all of us do in our daily lives,” Donna insisted at lunch that day, while our colleagues listened to her with rapt attention. “Even when you keep the lights on for no reason, you are making sure that your next generation can’t see penguins and other endangered species affected by the environment.” We really thought that Donna made this issue rather tangible for all of us out there. To all of you out there, we can make a difference to how we see the future. Let’s make a start, if not more.

Kate is spending a lot of time these days convincing people! Not out of choice, obviously. The thing is that Kate works from home. This makes many of her friends and folks wonder if Kate actually does any work. They are always asking her to do stuff for them, like picking up a CD or something from the store. This is getting on her nerves. Kate complained the other day, “You know, Bob, these people think that because I’m staying home, I have nothing to do all day! But that’s just not true! I do work!”

I think it’s not her problem alone. When I was doing freelance stuff and worked from home, I faced the same thankless barrage of requests to run errands. I thought things changed with the changing times, but it seems that some ideas do not really morph into better ones. Kate has decided to really put her foot down on anyone who asks for favors again. Do you have a friend who’s working from home? If you do, you got to be considerate, guys. They have deadlines to meet, too.

A pet generally reflects the personality of the person who keeps the pet. This fact was known to me. You can say that Kong grew up to be what I wanted him to be. He’s well mannered, he’s good with guests and strangers. And though he defies me completely when Eleanor’s goodies are lying here and there, Kong is pretty well trained. Remember Kong managed to get Adrian a date, who’s now the love of his life? I feel good about the fact that there has been no serious complaints against Kong, except the vandalizing of Eleanor’s roses.

In the same vein, I have observed badly trained puppies with some amount of disgust. I meet some of them when I take Kong out for walks. One time there was this bully of a dog which picked a fight with all the other gentle dogs in the park. The person who was with the dog was no less a bully. When people complained to him, he was very arrogant about it. Last heard, someone sued him for his dog’s violent nature. Though I wouldn’t suggest such a drastic step, but pet lovers should inject some etiquette in their pets. Wouldn’t you agree?

This week’s Zen quote is about hugs. Let’s hear what Bil Keane has to say about it in ‘Family Circus’: “A hug is like a boomerang – you get it back right away.” Simple and precise.