Hope you guys are enjoying the Fall! In this edition, read how I reconnected with a friend after some cold vibes, about a friend who’s suddenly become conscious of numerous germ cells around us, about a lover’s nest in the making and finally about the inspiration that is named Kong! Hop on…

Sometimes the pause in relationships become so frozen, it is difficult to reach out. There are multiple layers of misunderstanding and you know you can’t scape it out at one go. You want to get rid of this bit of the glass wall, but something holds you back. It happened when Steve was going through his break up. His mood was frayed and that is understandable. He was not able to talk in the best of spirit. I didn’t want to be touchy about it but things just spun out of control.

I found myself out of touch with Steve for weeks. I was conscious of that and I stuck to my work and saw very little of him in the office. Mostly he was busy. He didn’t stroll in to say “Hi” and neither did I do it. Then we literally collided on the way to the cooler. It was a little awkward, breaking the meaningless ice that had accumulated. Once the initial pleasantries were exchanged, it was a relief. It’s tough when you are not talking to an old friend for weeks. And all for no apparent reason.

It could only have been something that Eleanor could think of. This has to be a rather astonishing innovation. Andrew keeps getting these gifts from family and associates. That’s not out of place, given how cute and chubby he is. Mike and Lisa usually writes thank you notes for these gifts. Eleanor asked them to allow Andrew to say what he thinks about the gift. That becomes the text of the thank you message. Mike poked Eleanor that people might not buy that these are actually Andrew’s words!

Eleanor had a solution. She told Mike, “That’s easy! Inscribe his name through dots on the message and ask him to draw lines through the dots, People can then find his signature on the thank you note!” The plan worked well. Mike and Lisa are planning to use this for Thanksgiving as well. As all big plans, this one isn’t perfect as well! There’s this doll that Andrew got and he hates it. When asked to thank his aunt for it, Andrew’s reply was, “This is bad and eeks!” Obviously his mom had to edit that!

Rick’s landlord has some issues. He wants the space to do something else. So Rick has to look for a new house. Since Kaitlin has moved in with him, he has to look at other factors as well. They looked around with a broker and both of them individually liked two different pads! This was only expected, given their violently conflicting tastes. Rick wanted the one which was close to the throbbing night life of the city. Kaitlin wanted the other one, which was a little way off. Kaitlin likes her peace and quiet.

Rick would have none of it. They argued over this thing and finally Rick gave in. All of us think that it was a smart move by Kaitlin. Kaitlin didn’t pursue the matter of living in a quiet neighborhood. Kaitlin simply raised concerns about safety of the place Rick liked. Kaitlin convinced Rick that it would not be a good idea for her as she came home late from work. Rick understood and relented. Finally they have their love nest and both look extremely happy. “It was a real worry finding a house in this sort of an economy,” was what Rick offered. Waking up, isn’t he?

After successfully inspiring Rachael to get her pup Max, Kong is back to his tricks again. This time his victim is Eleanor’s grandson, Andrew. Kong is great pals with him. Andrew wants a pup for himself now. His parents, Mike and Lisa, are both working. It’s difficult for them to get a pup at Andrew’s insistence because he’s too young now. He can’t take care of himself, how will he manage a puppy? But he would have none of it. The task fell upon Eleanor. Eleanor explained to him that a pup was a lot of responsibility.

Andrew was told that a pup would need attention and his parents didn’t have it at this point in time. Andrew seemed to understand. Eleanor assured him that once he grows up, she will get him a pup. This assurance, when it came from his parents, didn’t mean much to him. But the assuring voice of Eleanor did the trick. After this incident, I saw Kong and Andrew sitting together near the stoop of Eleanor’s house. Hope Andrew is not bribing Kong to walk out of our pad!

Here’s an anonymous Zen quote that I loved: “Dogs have owners, cats have staff.” Sums up the dog-cat debate very precisely, eh?