One New Year just passed and another one is on it’s way. I’m talking about the Chinese New Year and my buddy Adrian is going to take full advantage of it!

The Chinese calendar has been particularly lucky for Adrian. Remember the lovely Chinese Moon Festival he had with Cathy? After his success there, he’s decided to do something special for Cathy on the occasion of the Chinese New Year too. Lately, he has been sitting at my computer and doing a lot of research on the year of the ox. He matched their Chinese year signs and looked for compatibility tests. “Really Adrian, if you had done half that research on your theater roles, you’d have been the next big thing in Hollywood,” I told him. But I have no doubt that he’ll definitely be the next big thing on the ‘love circuit’, going by his steady progress! Adrian just smirked and went back to his “research”.

After Cathy’s ultra-romantic surprise, Adrian wants to do something really special for her this Chinese New Year. When he found out that the new Chinese year is the year of the ox, he decided to make it the motif of his plans. He’s getting Cathy a “Chinese zodiac ornament set”. Don’t ask me what that is because I could get no more out of him, and I didn’t see the stuff he ordered. Whatever it is, I’m sure Cathy would see his emotions rather than the aesthetic or monetary value of the gifts. I personally feel that gifts are only as good as the emotion it comes along with. Do you think Adrian’s choice of the Chinese New Year gift is right? What do you say? Write in to support or suggest him.

I strongly believe that there is a strong uncertainty factor involved with cooking. Even when you are aware of the recipe. Even if you have the right ingredients in the right proportion. Even if you have done the dish to death before, the odds of it going haywire is as much if you are making it for the first time. Megan trained hard to get rid of the tag of a ‘horrible cook’ to rustle up fairly delicious stuff in the recent past. But the uncertainty principle I was talking about did her in.

She was at Seth’s place, making chocolate cake for him. Seth is a great cook himself, but Megan wouldn’t let her enter the kitchen. So she left the cake in the oven and started talking with each other. They were talking about the good ol’ times and time flew. Seth reminded her twice to go check the oven, but Megan was so emotionally involved in the conversation, she didn’t pay attention to it. It was only the burning smell that could pull her out of the stupor. Seth rushed into the kitchen before she could be up on her feet and then it was mayhem.

Seth said something about Megan being careless (that’s outrageous, don’t you think so?). Megan was deeply hurt. To her she was not careless at all and secondly, she was in a state of an emotional high. “I thought Seth would understand,” she told me later, “but I guess I was wrong. When will men get some sensitivity?” I wanted to protest at the unfair generalization, but knowing the mood she is in, I gulped it down. Apparently what followed between Seth and Megan was a shouting episode like the ones you’d see on ‘Top Chef’. But the crux of the story is, Seth and Megan are at loggerheads and that’s not a good sign, especially this early in the year.

There is a lovely analogy between the journey of life and the journey of a relationship. Both take you through a process of development and leaves you wiser than what you were before you started out. There will be many people that you will meet in the course of your life, some for short periods of time, some for longer lengths. What’s important is that you build up these relationships in the best way possible and stay in touch. If there’s something that I’ve learned in my personal and professional life, it is that nothing is more important than contacts.

Kate and Jeffrey, after parting ways amicably, are still in touch. It is easy to upgrade your friendship to love, but it is very difficult to accept your love as your friend. It’s not for everyone, and certainly, not for every relationship there is. Things always come to a bitter turn when your ‘friend’ dates some other person. Kate and Jeffrey know they run that risk, but they are mature, sensible people, so they know what they are getting into. They have already shown a lot of responsibility and character in dealing with the situation. There hasn’t been any incident as yet. I hope they can support each other by staying in touch and be there for each other in times of crises. It’s always good to keep friendships intact.

Steve, you know by now, has become a totally different person recently. His meetings with Natalie, the mystery friend, has taken him out of his cubicle and put him in a garden of fresh air. The other day he walked into my cubicle with a small pack in his hand. The pack had a pink ribbon tied on top, giving it away clearly that it was a gift for Natalie. Yes, he’s still to learn the finer points, but he is making steady progress. At least he chose the color pink and that’s a lot coming from him!

I was curious to know what was inside the packet, and I was shameless enough. “May I know what that is?” I asked with a smirk on my face. He seemed happy that I asked. Maybe he was feeling awkward to just come up and talk about it. He beamed, “It’s a watch.” I pressed on, “A watch?” He sat down. A lengthy explanation from Steve, who either mumbles through long answers or gets away with a “Huh” or “Duh”, is something that will be very interesting. I was on the edge of my chair now.

“Well ya see Bob,” he began, “Natalie is very punctual and is really precise when it comes to time management. So I thought of complimenting her punctuality by this small gift. Ya think it’s a nice idea?” Bravo! I wanted to mask the pleasant shock and surprise, but couldn’t. So i had to reassure him that it was one of the best ideas I have heard in the recent times. Complementing someone is a very nice habit and there’s no one who can do without a little appreciation. He looked relieved that he was taking his first few steps in the right direction. Way to go, Steve!

So there you have it folks, my friends are a riot. They’re always doing the roller coaster ride. They’re my friends after all. So what can I say? I also have to run for a date so I’ll leave you with this Zen quote real quick. It’s actually a Chinese proverb that Adrian found while ‘researching’, it says: “One joy scatters a hundred griefs.” I thought that was really simple, yet profound.