This week, there’s a new way to connect with your love if you are hard-pressed for time! Read how you can be a popular boss and how I got unburdened, thanks to a couple of wonderful friends! Join me…

This has definitely got to be the sweetest thing I have heard in a long time. Yeah, for most of us so called adults, it would be something overtly lovey-dovey. But I think we can overlook that when we take into account the fact that these are teenagers we are talking about. Rachael and her guy Charlie have their studies and all. So they are very busy in shaping things up. They cannot talk for long hours on the phone because their parents are a little particular about that. Their phone calls and time on the internet censured, they have improvised to keep the channels of communication alive.

They have created a common email id, with both having access to it. They write whatever they feel like in that account whenever they have the time. The other person reads it when time permits. This is a unique way to connect and it also has this sense of belonging to bond over something that belongs to neither. It is like this common ground where they meet. I told this to a couple of my friends and they all seemed to melt at the thought. I guess it came off Rachael’s mind. If you are in a similar situation, you could try this, too! It has a charm of its own. Try it!

For whatever he is, Ryan is a great boss to his team members. He may shout and yell at them, but at the center of it, it’s only that he wants his team to be the best in the office. He wants them to outperform themselves. We were all apprehensive about the way he treats his team members when he joined up. His team players looked unhappy and bogged down. But now things have changed for the better. Now they stick together like an unit and that is all because of something that Ryan does consistently: sharing the kudos and taking the blame.

Ryan reports to a superior, too. When Ryan’s team performs well, he shares the spoils with all his team players. He appreciates their contribution. When his team cannot do well for whatever reason, Ryan shoulders the responsibility. Ryan never hauls up any team member in front of his own superior. He is this protective boss and if fierce to anyone who raises accusatory fingers at his team. This attitude has got him the loyalty of his team and they are willing to go that extra mile to make things happen, for the team and for their boss who stands by them.

Steve‘s peculiar problem with his significant other has cropped up its head again. Remember Natalie was being hounded by this extremely close friend of hers? Natalie has been trying to avoid him ever since, but this guy is a rather tenacious one. He’s been talking to her daily, smooth talking his way sometimes, and being demanding on other times. To appeal to Natalie’s rather complicated sense of fair play, he’s been talking to her every day about their past when they used to have a great time. He supported her unconditionally when she was going through her messy divorce.

Natalie obviously feels indebted, and turns completely blind on our poor Steve. Steve has tired himself out telling her that he’s milking her gratefulness to draw a wedge between them. Natalie won’t listen to that. This passive way of wrenching her out of her relationship is beyond Natalie’s understanding, I guess. She thinks in black and white and that is what Steve can’t get her to understand. Steve is hopelessly in love, so none of us could tell him that this is really not going anywhere. I have no clue what Natalie is going to do with him in the long run. I’ll keep you guys updated.

The burden I had on me that I spoiled Sarah’s birthday is off me! She did celebrate the birthday after all. Yes, I turned up as well, though late by a long hour. No, don’t get me wrong, I’m very punctual, it’s just that sometimes I oversleep! Sarah’s two best friends, Ann and Sue, were there as well. They had planned to get her a cake. They were there at the venue and had asked the restaurant people to arrange the cake with the candles and all. Just a little after we started eating, the cake appeared. It was beautiful!

Ann and Sue have been friends with Sarah for fourteen years! Boy, that’s a long time. They started at school and now that they are in the same city, they connect regularly. They were really nice to me. They talked freely, though Sarah was a little tentative. She’s reserved anyway. Ann taught me a little coin trick. Sue is very chubby and is clearly the kid among the three of them. Sarah is the one with the brains while Ann is the one with the dare. They make a fabulous team. And their bonding is something that I have hardly seen anywhere. Here’s to you, Sarah, Ann and Sue!

This week’s Zen quote is from an anonymous source. It picked itself: “Everyone has a ‘best friend’ during each stage of life — only a precious few have the same one.” Sarah has two, she’s lucky!