How has the New Year been treating you? Is it still snowing where you’re at? This is a remarkable winter isn’t it? Wait till you hear what’s been changing with my pals!

Kaitlin didn’t talk to Rick since that disaster at my New Year Eve party. Rick didn’t know what he did or didn’t do. (If you missed the story, read it here.) Of course, he still couldn’t figure out what’s wrong and Kaitlin refuses to talk to him so he consulted the love guru — no not me (I wish!) — he asked Jeffrey. So Jeffrey sat Rick down and explained to him what happened. He told how he needs to pay attention to Kaitlin more often, even the little details or the little things that she says. Basically the suave Manhattanite told Rick that life isn’t just about cars, sports and beer.

I think Rick finally got it. He got to the nearest spa store and got himself a big spa kit — the whole works folks! I can’t even tell half the stuff that he bought but he spent almost half the day educating himself with the store clerks. It was just his luck that they had the patience and didn’t have a lot of customers since it’s after the holiday season. I bet he knows more about that stuff than Jeffrey now! Then he got a whole bunch of flowers and candles and sort of re-decorated his pad. Then he called up Kaitlin and asked her to meet him, even if it was one last time that she’s going to talk to him.

When Kaitlin got to his place there was one surprise after another. Flowers were everywhere, big screen TV was turned off. The stereo was playing Kenny G (Kenny G and Rick?!) and the bath was running with bubbles. He had a bubble bath for her ready surrounded by scented candels and flowers et cetera! Of course she was really surprised and really speechless. Needless to say, I don’t think this is the last time Kaitlin is going to see Rick. And yes, she’s talking to him again and he’s paying extra attention now to what she needs and wants. Love can do really strange things to people!

Talk about strange things, guess who’s been changing his character too? Steve has made a great start to the New Year. I can say that with conviction because he’s meeting this secret pal of his more regularly now. Oh yes, we are referring to her as his secret pal because she was supposed to turn up for our New Year party, but she didn’t show up and neither did Steve! Steve’s been taking time off his busy schedule to meet her. She’s a single mom with twins and a dog, so you can well imagine she’s hard pressed for time. They cannot really ‘hang out’ but Steve’s being really sweet about it. He’s dropping in whenever he can, and helping her with baby sittings. Steve, who was always a great friend to Kong, took an immediate liking to her dog as well. I don’t think Kong would like to hear that!

The point is that Steve’s secret pal is making a great positive impact on him. I don’t remember when was the last time I heard him yell. And his humming has gone up a couple of more decibels these days. The other day, he received a call on his cell phone while he had a computer split up in front of him. Now if you knew Steve personally, you know that he’s never distracted from his geeky missions of assembling and disassembling techy stuff. But low behold, our Steve allowed a distraction! While he was fixing a computer he picked up a call! Now that’s like watching a super nova happen live with your naked eyes. This has never EVER been heard of before. When he took the call, the entire office went so quiet that we can hear the screw driver drop from his hand on the carpet. I guess he must’ve realized it because he quietly slipped out of his cubicle then out of the office to talk to his secret pal. So all for our geeky Steve! All for love! Of course, the whole office couldn’t help but smile and giggle silently to ourselves when he walked back in.

Fred met me at a diner the other day and said, “What is that thing you keep saying about wine and old friends?” I was a little taken aback by this sudden question. Anyone would be taken aback with a mouthful of the most delicious shepherd’s pie that I was having then. I gulped down some of it, to be able to answer him. Then I mumbled, “Old friends are like old wine.” An expression of recognition passed over Fred’s face, looked like he has been trying to remember that for some time now. I was curious, so in addition to his answer, I added a question myself: “Who do ya ask?”

Fred seemed happy to oblige. He started explaining, “The thing is Bob, I met a couple of my old friends over the weekend. I know some of them since my very young days. A couple of them have also been with me during my war days. We met after years. They are all very excited by the prospects of the changing times. We can feel that air again, the ones that we used to feel when there was a lot of things happening during the 60s and the 70s. We discussed our new President-elect and talked about his stimulus plan. It was nice exchanging ideas, and insights. I felt rejuvenated somehow. We wanted to meet up at least once a month and see how things are with everyone. It’s time that we’re there for each other.” That’s what friendship is all about right? I’m telling you I feel rejuvenated every time I meet Fred, and he’s an older dude. Ya know?

Talk about friendships I am a little jittery about writing this section because I don’t want to sound like a senile actor giving out a ‘thank you’ speech after receiving a lifetime achievement award. However, there is an urgent need to thank all of you out there on the 123Greetings fan Clubs in my social networking profiles on MySpace, Facebook, Hi5, Friendster, Bebo and Orkut. All of you deserve a special word of thanks for responding to my invitations to join the group and for turning up on your own as well. Thanks to all of you, the number of friends in these groups are swelling each day and I can’t be any happier.

The groups are going to have a lot of activity in the coming days. We’ll be asking for your opinions on a lot of topics and we’re definitely going to like it if things go a little out of control! I mean, what is a discussion if it doesn’t heat up a little? Stay tuned to these groups to avoid missing the action. Please write to me and let me know what you want to see in these groups and fan clubs. Remember this is your club more than it is mine so let’s make it a great community for our band of “friends of Editor Bob”. Thanks again for all the support.

The Zen quote this week had to be something about football. It comes via Rick, he knows he’s going to be a good boy and not mention about sports, but this is Super Bowl season! This football Zen quote comes from Frank Gifford, who is also a football player. He said, “Pro football is like nuclear warfare. There are no winners, only survivors.” Do you agree? Write to me!