Jacqueline

I've been to only two metal shows, but both times I tried to get in the pit (it looks fun). I ended up falling immediately, so I figured I'd stop bothering people and just got out of the way. I am a girl, but I'm 5'8" and 150 pounds, so my size isn't the problem (there were tiny kids in there). It was by no means an especially rough pit either time. So...

1. Why do I keep falling, and how can I keep my balance?

2. Should I be looking for a direction people are moving in (like a circle), or do people just flail randomly? How do you know which direction to run in (you run, right)?

3. How hard is too hard (or should I just assume I'm not strong enough to hurt anyone and push as hard as I can)?

4. What's the best way to get into the pit from the sides?

5. Once you're in, do you push against the person in front of you, the people to your sides, the people who push you, or just whoever's closest?

6. I noticed people standing on the sides pushing the people in the pit. If I do this, how can I make sure I don't accidentally shove someone who's trying to get out, and how hard should I push?

7. Is everyone this terrible at it when they start, or is it just me? I really want to do this, but I feel like an idiot having to get scraped off the floor after 3 seconds. And I doubt everyone else appreciates me getting in the way.

tl;dr: I suck at moshing; help me.

I'm going to be taking out my nostril piercing soon and I need help. This is a straight bar with a round backing that was put on after the jewelry was through, and I'm not sure how to get the back off. Do I screw it off? Do I pull it off like a snap? And is it better to use tweezers/pliers or do it by hand?

I tried looking this up on YouTube, but I mainly saw piercings that can just be pulled through, and this one definitely cannot until I pull the backing off the stud, since it's quite a bit larger than the actual piercing hole.

I just really like band tees. I don't like blouses, but I don't want to wear plain solid tee-shirts all the time.

Is it considered odd to own more than one shirt from the same band (different designs, obviously)?

I am writing down a piece of music that has C#, F#, B flat, A natural, and G natural (just these notes in this part). Which would be the best key signature to mark so that I would have the smallest number of accidentals?

Another question: can I just write in a nonexistent key signature and mark the 2 sharps and the flat at the beginning of the piece? I know the answer is probably "no", but I don't know why. Is there a simple explanation?

It's in the D Major scale, if that matters. Does that matter? I have no idea what I'm doing.

I like my hair long, but it's very wavy and kind of frizzy, so it poofs out like a cloud around my head. It's also VERY thick. I look like a heroin addict unless I take a flat iron to it. Can anyone recommend a good shampoo for hair like this? I don't know that it makes any difference, but it's worth a try.

I ordered a package from Amazon which is being shipped through "Fedex Smartpost". The tracking status of the package is "out for delivery" as of this morning, but the "expected delivery" date is this Saturday. It also apparently last departed their hub in Phoenix at midnight on the 25th, and I live all the way up in Oregon.

Can someone tell me what's going on? I thought "out for delivery" meant it was on the truck to be delivered that day. That can't be right if it's just left from Arizona yesterday. Which piece of information is most likely wrong here?

I'm trying to transcribe some rock music onto sheet music, and there is a passage that needs to be repeated 4 times before moving on. Is there a way to notate this? I've not learned much music theory at all, so all I know about is the repeat sign, which indicates one repetition of a given part. Do I have to write the same line out twice over, or is there a simpler way?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAXRKPGKXWs

I'm trying to play this, but I have no ear for rhythm. Is it in 3/4? 4/4? Something else?

I've been trying to find new jeans and having some difficulties. I'm about a size 8, but I have fairly curvy hips, and a lot of jeans seem to be made for people with no butt. Where can I get jeans that will fit me? I need both skinny jeans and boot cut, but none of this "jeggings" nonsense.

I know the dangers of giving out my debit information online, so no lectures, please.

Can I give my debit card information in place of credit card information if it's not specified on a website whether debit is accepted? Is a debit card considered to be equally valid, generally?

I like exfoliants because they make it less tempting to pick at my skin by keeping it smooth. What's your favorite scrub for the face and/or body, and why?

I'd like to create an online poll that people can take anonymously. Is there a service I can use to do this? I don't mind having to register, but it needs to be free.

I have a nostril piercing. It is only 2 weeks old. A small bump that is ever-so-slightly darker than the surrounding area has appeared over it. It is not oozing or crusty, and is barely raised.

Images:

http://i.imgur.com/6J6jADl.png

http://i.imgur.com/rdSARRp.png

http://i.imgur.com/Bx0HoHl.png

It's not actually yellow; that's the terrible webcam quality (I don't have a real camera, sorry).

Is this hypertrophic scarring or a boil (I don't get keloids)? It's probably not possible to tell from the blurry photos, but I tried. I probably wouldn't have noticed it, but I've been watching like a hawk for this.

Please advise. I have been soaking it twice daily with warm saline and a gauze pad. Or is a little swelling normal after 2 weeks? This is my first piercing.

I am a young woman, and I was wondering how many articles of clothing the average person in this group owns. How many pairs of pants, shorts, shirts, etc. do you have?

Can I use my U.S. debit card (or PayPal account) to buy from online stores where the prices are in Euros, assuming I have the equivalent amount in American dollars? Will I need to pay an additional fee if it is possible to do this, or would that depend on the bank?

I have a small amount of gum recession around one tooth (I suspect it is from brushing too hard, since it's on the left side of my mouth and I'm right-handed). It's not really noticeable, but it does cause slight pain when there's pressure or friction against the gum line (basically only when I press on it). It is not sensitive to temperature. I have no other gum problems (no gingivitis). There is also no bone loss - only the gum.

I have a dentist appointment tomorrow, and I was wondering if someone who's experienced something like this knows what I should ask for by way of treatment. Medical professionals don't always give a treatment unless the patient specifically asks for it, and I find this gum recession quite upsetting.

I know skin grafts are sometimes performed for gum recession, but this is a very mild case, so I doubt that will happen. What is a milder treatment, if there is one? Or can something like this heal on its own? Can gum tissue grow back naturally, and can the receding gum line reattach to the tooth?

Some websites give "stop brushing so hard" as advice, but will this allow the receded gum to grow back, or merely stop further recession?

I have been playing violin for over two years (I started very late at age 16), and I still have major problems with bumping the adjacent strings when playing (I don't practice much, however). Is it to be expected that I should still have this problem after so long? If you have practiced or taught violin, after how long (on average) would you expect someone to stop bumping the strings?

I know that the obvious solution is practice, and I have increased my practice time from "I dunno, whatever" to a minimum of two hours daily. Still, I know other beginners who don't have this problem, and I wonder if I'm just naturally terrible at it.

Why do guitarists use tabs (which only guitarists can read) instead of sheet music (which everyone can read)?

Is it that there are some techniques that can't be transcribed in traditional sheet music?

I've always wanted to sing (not professionally or even in a choir; just for fun), but my singing voice is awful. I sound warbly, strained, nasal - basically everything you associate with a bad American Idol contestant.

I know that part of vocal ability is training, and I only started trying to sing about a week ago after literally never singing in my life. Can some of this terrible quality be attributed to undeveloped muscles/lack of practice? Or is singing just something you have to be born with, to some degree?

I don't even want to be a great singer, just good enough to add vocals to some of my instrumental music without making my listeners' ears bleed.

Also: if I try to sing above about D5, I go into falsetto. I didn't even know women could sing in falsetto. :(