It seems to be the season of birthdays! Thankfully, the Birthday Reminder Service is around to remind me about every one of them. There’s a different New Year this week, along with reasons to smile, to feel dejected and also to look forward to life. Join me…

The Chinese New Year has always been a special occasion for Adrian and Cathy. During their initial period of courtship, they had celebrated this event. Since then, they have put together a little party every Chinese New Year. This time they have decided to have a theme party. The color of their choice is red. Cathy is putting up red wallpaper in her room. She is also putting up red covers on the chairs, table and bed. The lights of the room will be scarlet red, too. They have called everyone on their ecard dashboard.

Adrian is looking forward to making this day a success. If you guys remember, Adrian is going to propose Cathy this Valentine’s Day. He’s not planned his move yet, but I’m sure that it will be something special. This is the first time since I know him that Adrian is serious about taking a responsible step in life. Adrian admitted that his relationship with Cathy was the most engaging and beautiful relationship of his life. “I found my life in Cathy,” Adrian added with a smile. I’m all excited to know what Adrian has planned for V-Day, aren’t you? I’ll give you the scoop next week!

Ryan, the eccentric techie of the office, has a broad smile on his face and a spring in his steps. He has reasons, of course! He bumped across a friend from his college days when he was trying to run across the street with grocery bags in both hands. They exchanged numbers. His friend, Alexis, has moved to New York recently, and is working as a financial consultant. Ryan promptly took the chance to talk to her about his haywire finances. He added her to his instant messengers and is constantly in touch with her.

Work mixed with the nostalgia of friendship proved a heady cocktail. As a colleague who knows Ryan to be bent over his laptop even when the office is empty, I find it really surprising that he leaves as soon as his shift ends. The friendship, if you can call it so, is paying off rather well for Ryan’s subordinates! They were not quite happy with a boss who’s often cranky and stretched. Now that Ryan is more relaxed, he’s a much better as a team player. Last heard, his team members have seriously considered thanking Alexis with a token gift!

If you are looking for an opportunity to smile and have a good time, send invites for a house party today. Track RSVPs and find out how many would show up and then make arrangements accordingly.

When do you know that your relationship is over? To be honest, there is no such point that you can pin down as the beginning of the end. More often than not, you find yourself drifting away from each other. One fine day, you realize that when your partner says “I love you”, the same words getting stuck in your throat. You can say it out because the words sound hollow and meaningless. You feel that you are not really reciprocating the feeling and saying so would mean further disrespect to the relationship.

That’s exactly what’s happening to Kate and Henry. Yes, the couple who was slated to marry this June is suddenly run out of steam. If you can rewind a couple of months, I told you that Henry was probably attracted to someone at work. Then things fell in place as the families got serious about the marriage. But when there is a crack in the bond, the eyes of those in the bond remains glued on this crack. Though the material elements of their love began to take shape, the feelings in the heart rapidly dried up.

Emails are excellent for business communication, but when you have started dating someone recently, it’s advisable that you stick to phone calls and personal meetings. That is something that Megan found out to her dismay. Megan was actively dating a guy who was not always available on the phone. Megan decided that emails were the best ways to leave a smile for him. She got into the habit of writing short messages and mailing them over. “I wanted him to feel special!” Megan told me, more as a justification than assertion.

Megan’s good intent did not reach over. Her date got this wrong notion that Megan wanted to keep the communications limited to emails and online interactions! The guy, already hard-pressed for time, decided that he couldn’t make time for such a relationship, which is more like an indulgence to him than gratification. Megan understood the misunderstanding only after things went out of control. I had to try real hard to assure her that it was just an unfortunate mistake and she need not be too harsh on herself.

This anonymous quote sums up the Adrian and Cathy story aptly: “Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale.”