Happy Easter! The time of the year that we always wait for is here! In this Easter edition, find out what a diet freak is doing with all the goodies around! Also, read all about April Fools’ Day pranks at workplace, why you should date a geek and when you must let your kid be. Tune in…

Easter is when you let go. You have been a little serious on Good Friday, but when it comes to Easter eggs and bunnies, you can unleash the child within! Irina is the only one out here who promises to keep it low key. Apparently Irina is toning down to flaunt the summer collection and the Easter goodies get under her skin, well quite literally. “I can’t go on extra workouts!” is what Irina states as her reason for being careful about how many chocolates go down her throat.

After the very different but fantastic St. Paddy’s Day with Sarah, I was expecting her to be around for Easter as well. But Sarah will be going home to visit her folks. The thought of home makes me feel uneasy. I promised my parents to be with them for about the third year in a row. Easter doesn’t seem the same here. There’s no fun buying all the stuff that my mom makes back at home. I asked her to send some over for me and my friends here. With that parcel coming, Easter might just brighten up!

Whenever it’s April Fools’ Day, I think of office pranks! Playing pranks with office stationary or lying to get people into a soup are okay. But there are those nasty ones which make a co-worker really upset. Ryan, the person in office that we love to hate was telling us the other day that he takes it easy since an ugly incident that happened to him. Sometime in a previous office, Ryan made a female temp believe that the CEO had called her to his cabin. The hapless girl knocked and got in only to realize that the CEO didn’t even know she existed. The temp got a good drubbing and Ryan got some really nasty looks from his colleagues.

Donna agreed to this point wholeheartedly. Donna feels that you must not pull a prank on someone you don’t know well. “You never know how that person might take it,” Donna says. I think that’s a very valid point. I’d like to add, keep in between people you are friends with. You know how they would react and that will make you tone things down, if needed. The best part of advice comes from Ryan himself. He says, “Don’t involve the big boys! Keep it firmly at a level that you can control!” That’s some wise words there. So guys, if you are planning to be playful at work, put on your thinking cap well before you make a move.

Steve decided to listen to us! He explained to Chloe that things were not going well for him and he was saddled with a lot of work. The problem is that Steve is single again and he’s disheartened. Steve feels that it’s extra difficult for geeks like him to get a date. We challenged his idea, coming up with a number of reasons why a girl can date a geek. Megan told Steve, “Your girl may be tempted at the idea of dating you because you are so good with gadgets! You can fix her computer, her cell phone, her music player, practically anything! That too, for free! That’s a nice idea, what say?”. Megan rolled her eyes at Adrian.

Adrian took the cue. He said, “Yeah, absolutely! She may also find it easy to share stuff with a geek, because they are the sensitive souls!” Steve was smiling broader with each idea that tumbled out. Some were ridiculous in Steve’s context, like girls falling for geeks because they make a lot of money. Steve would never go for someone like that. I added, “Geeks remember everything! There will be no fights over forgotten weekly, monthly and the-first-time-I-kissed-you anniversaries!” Finally we could see that we have succeeded in giving hope to our friend. We just hope that we are right that it won’t be tough for him to find someone.

Eleanor told me once that Easter is more about family than it is about religion. I remember that while writing this because Eleanor stepped in to solve something that could have become a problem in the long-term. Lisa, her daughter-in-law, is very particular that her son Andrew always does things that he must do. Lisa keeps a strict eye on him, carefully observing his every move. No harm in a mom fussing over her kid but Andrew feels unable to handle this constant scrutiny at times. This is making him rebellious and numb to the course of discipline.

Eleanor pointed this out to Lisa. Eleanor explained to her that despite all of Lisa’s efforts to shield Andrew, he will have to learn from his mistakes. Eleanor said, “By being so caring, you are not making it better. In fact, you are making him weak.” Eleanor is right that Andrew needs to be aware of what’s good and what’s not and make his own decisions. “You also got to respect his choice. If it’s strawberry for him and not chocolate, so be it,” Eleanor advised Lisa. I think Eleanor’s words can hold true for any mom out there with a kid. Guide them, don’t push them.

Here’s a wonderful Clarence W. Hall quote on Easter: “Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won’t stay there.”