Gretchen

I manage an apartment cluster of 15 adults with mild developmental disabilities. They are all extremely high functioning and live on their own in private apartments, many who work full-time jobs. We are planning a craft night for them next weekend, and I'm having trouble coming up with an idea for the main craft. Some of them may bring their own supplies and make crafts independently, but I want to prepare a craft for those who do not usually craft on their own. I want the craft to be easy enough that they can understand and manage it (many have trouble opening packaging, putting money in their wallets, etc.), but not childish. I was thinking we could possibly decorate reusable tote bags for them to bring grocery shopping. Does anyone have any other ideas? It should be fairly inexpensive (we will probably ask them to contribute $3 each to offset the supply costs), useful/relevant to their daily lives, and take around an hour or an hour and a half.

I am trying to remember a 90s TV show that I believe aired on One Saturday Morning. It took place in a classroom, and everything was cartoon except for the faces of the characters, which were actual human faces. All I can remember is that the main character was a girl, and I'm pretty sure there was a group of mean girls in the class. Does anyone remember the name of this show?

I am writing an article about the progression of the gay & lesbian film genre for my Reviewing the Arts class. The article will be focusing on the following films: "Philadelphia," "Brokeback Mountain," "Milk," and "The Kids Are All Right." This article is going to be 10 pages long, and discuss different representations of gays and lesbians within modern film, citing progressions within the last decade. I originally titled it "Progressions in Gay & Lesbian Film," but that is too boring. I need some title suggestions. Thanks!

I'm going to a Halloween party in trendy gayborhood next weekend, and I need an awesome costume idea. I don't want to do any of the obvious costumes like Lady Gaga, Snooki, Sarah Palin... Everyone is going to be them. Also, I don't want to go boring like a witch, nun, devil, etc. Any suggestions? I have curly brown hair, so it would be cool to work with that. But I don't mind straightening it or wearing a wig.

This morning I hopped out of bed to drop my boyfriend off at the airport, leaving my laptop on, sitting on my bed. When I returned, there were a bunch of lines across the screen and I couldn't do anything. So I turned the computer off and tried turning it back on, but a few lights flash above the keyboard and then turn black. I removed the battery, removed the harddrive, removed the ac power, replaced them all, pressed the power button for 30 seconds, etc., but nothing is working. Is my laptop toast?

I'm looking to purchase a wireless printer in the very near future. I would love to keep the price of the printer under $100, however, I am willing to pay more for a printer that requires less expensive ink cartridges. If the savings from the ink will eventually pay for the printer, I'm on board. I always want to make sure I'm not just buying an ink-eater. If the cartridges cost $10 but only print 50 pages, that is a waste.

The problem is, I don't really know anything about printers. I need advice from the experts on Yahoo! Answers. What wireless printer would you suggest I purchase?

I responded to a Casual Encounters ad on Craigslist tonight and have been chatting with a chick for an hour or two now. She gave me her cell number, which I called (blocked my number) and heard her answer (loud music on in the background). I hung up. She sent me two pictures that looked like she had just taken them. All of her messages say they are from her iPhone. She seems legit, and I'm sure it's a pretty safe situation. But I've never actually gone through with a CE personal before, and I'm nervous. Not that she won't like me or I'll be awkward, but that I'll die. There's really no reason for me to think I would die, but I'm still scared. I know the townhouse community she lives in, she gave me her house number, and she said the porch light would be on. I mean, if she was planning to kill me, I feel like things would have gone down differently. Anyway, what do you think? Am I safe?

Usually when I start to rub my cat's belly, he'll wrap his hind legs around my arm. I initially assumed he was just encouraging me to rub his belly more, but lately I've been wondering if it is something else. The reason why I'm thinking this is because when I stop rubbing his belly, he usually gets up, walks a few feet away, and begins to lick his genitals. Whenever he does that, he gets a "red rocket" (erection). Is this normal for neutered male cats? He never humps anything, and I've never seen him ejaculate. Could he just be grooming himself? It's certainly possible I only notice him doing it when I've just rubbed his belly, and he actually does it regularly when I have not rubbed his belly. What's up with my cat?

I have a dear friend who is getting married at the end of the month. She only got engaged a week ago. The person she is marrying is not right for her. How do I tell her this without offending her?

This is a sticky situation. My best friend has told me about her feelings for me on more than one occasion, but in the past I always made it clear that I loved her only as a friend. She recently got engaged, and asked me to be her maid of honor. She also asked me to help with the wedding planning. Since we've started her wedding planning, I've realized I'm in love with her. It's excruciating every time I'm with her, and it is especially painful when her fiance is there, because I do not care for her. I jokingly told her a few weeks ago that I might object at the wedding out of jealousy, and she basically acknowledged that I mean a lot to her. I don't know what to do. I don't want to make her engagement unpleasant by professing my love to her and being rejected. But I don't think her fiance is the right person for her. I really don't. Not to mention, I want to be with her. I honestly don't know what she would do if I told her I wanted to be with her. I think it could go either way. What should I do? Take a chance? Or suck up my feelings and just be there for her?

I hate going to the gyno. It's uncomfortable and somewhat violating. But for some reason, when I get home I feel super horny. It's like it shoots my sex drive through the wall. Does anyone else experience the same thing?

Yesterday afternoon, I noticed that the back center part of my tongue was sore. I could mostly feel the pain when I would swallow or drink something. When I pressed my finger on this area, it hurt a little bit all over the left side of my tongue. When I woke up this morning, the soreness had migrated to the left side of my tongue, and now it feels more like the left side of my mouth is sore.

I'm not sure what the cause of this pain is. I am a rare smoker (about 3 packs a year), and I had a cigarette for the first time in a couple months the night before the soreness started. I'm wondering if that may be the cause? I also grind my teeth in my sleep, and I thought that might have had something to do with it. Any other ideas for why my tongue is sore?

I'm 22-years-old, and I'm going to the gynecologist for the first time tomorrow afternoon. The reason why I've put it off this long is because the idea scares the hell out of me. However, I've been having severe periods for the past year, so I'm pretty much ready for anything that will make them normal again. Still, I'm nervous. Some advice and assurance from women who've been through this before would be well appreciated. What can I expect? Should I trim or shave beforehand? Anything I should be prepared for? Thanks, ladies :)

I am writing a research paper for my Shakespeare course, and my argument is that Shakespeare was an early feminist. I am focusing primarily on the play Titus Andronicus, looking at the characters of Lavinia and Tamora. I am having trouble developing a thesis statement that makes sense. Here is one I have come up with:

Though Titus Andronicus is often considered one of Shakespeare's most bloody and misogynistic plays, behind the actions of several male characters lie Lavinia and Tamora, two strong, powerful and influential women, who suggest Shakespeare was an early feminist.

I feel like this is too wordy, and I hate the words "who suggest Shakespeare was an early feminist." How can I word my thesis statement so it includes:

1. A mention of the play Titus Andronicus

2. A mention of the names Lavinia and Tamora

3. The idea that Lavinia and Tamora were actually very powerful characters

4. The idea that Shakespeare was a feminist

I consider him a bitter victim, but what do you guys think?

I have an exam scheduled for tomorrow afternoon with my gynecologist, but I got my period this weekend. The problem is, I'm going for the exam because my period is so irregular. I could very well not have my period tomorrow--I never know! So it's hard to schedule anyway, because I really have no clue whatsoever as to when I won't be bleeding. It's been fairly light today, but it was incredibly heavy yesterday. Should I cancel? Or should I go in anyway to at least discuss my issues? Will they exam if I'm menstruating?

The least expensive one I have found is $230. I'm looking for something in the $50 area, if that's even possible. Does anyone have an idea if there is an eBook reader in that price range in existence?

I've been pretty much just getting by this semester. I started out REALLY strong, but the workload just got way too large to handle and I ended up blowing off a lot of homework. So far in my Shakespeare class I have three major grades. I got a 91 on a presentation, a 94 on a bibliography, but I just got my midterm back and I got a 64! It dropped my average down to an 83, which isn't horrible, but I missed a couple Blackboard posts so my class participation will be a 40/60 at the best. And I have a major paper due at the end of the semester that I need to do well on.

I was on the Dean's List 4 out of the 5 last semesters, so this is all so new to me. I am struggling in almost all of my classes. I took all of my Gen Eds so I'm loaded with English classes from now until graduation, and I cannot handle all of the reading. What can I do? I don't want next semester to be like this!

I got my lip pierced just about 4 weeks ago, and I felt like it was healing well up until today when I noticed a white lump on the inside. Someone told me that if the ring is too tight, the skin can start to grow over the piercing, and it looks like it might be doing that on the inside of my mouth. This is the first day I have felt any difference, though, so I don't know if that's the case. And my ring isn't tight, although my lip is a little swollen now, so it's more snug than usual. Should I be concerned? I have been cleaning it with a sea salt spray that I bought from a piercing kiosk in the mall, but I haven't really been using it on the inside of my mouth much.

We have to write personal essays in my Creative Nonfiction class, and I really want to write about the first time I found myself falling for a girl when I was in high school. It was a significant moment for me, but I am afraid of how people may react. I go to a state college, and the majority of the people in my class are pretty liberal, but I'm still worried that it will affect the way I am treated for the rest of the semester. Does the subject sound relevant, or does it sound like it would have no footing if it was about a heterosexual crush?