skinimalinki

Last week I found out that I am approximately five weeks pregnant (six weeks by now). I told my partner about it and he did not take it well as we had never planned on having a baby. We had a huge fight and I ended up leaving, staying at my parents' house for a few days. He asked me to come back, but since then, he does and says nothing to acknowledge the fact that I'm pregnant. He knows that I plan on having the baby, with or without him. I had thought that by asking me to come home, he had accepted it and that he would be excited about it, at least a little bit. But nothing.

I have my first proper doctor's appointment next week and I am going to ask him to come with me. I am hoping that hearing the heartbeat for the first time will get his excitement up but I'm scared that it freaks him out even more.

I really don't know what to do. This is supposed to be a happy time but I am so stressed that he gets scared and our relationship ends.

What should I do?

I've had a strange metallic taste in my mouth for the last few days that I can't get rid of. I've used mouthwash, I've brushed my teeth more often and extra carefully, I rinse my mouth with water a few times per day, but it is still there. What could it be?

Why do so many people believe that a man and a woman can not be friends without it ever leading to sex? I have a lot of male friends (I'm female and straight) and I have never become sexually involved with any of them!

No childish answers please.

I'm not really comfortable in calling my boyfriend a "boyfriend" for the mere fact that we are not kids any more. We're in our 30's and we've been together for over 3 years! We live together and are basically a married couple, except that we're not married and I don't want to call him my "husband" for that reason. I'm not sure about calling him my "partner" either because that makes it sound like a business relationship! "Man-friend" just sounds funny!

Any suggestions?

I'm not really comfortable in calling my boyfriend a "boyfriend" for the mere fact that we are not kids any more. We're in our 30's and we've been together for over 3 years! We live together and are basically a married couple, except that we're not married and I don't want to call him my "husband" for that reason. I'm not sure about calling him my "partner" either because that makes it sound like a business relationship! "Man-friend" just sounds funny!

Any suggestions?

I am currently living in Pretoria and have been working in Joburg for the last few years. As you can imagine, the traffic is getting to me in a big way! I'm getting tired of spending 3 hours every day on the highway (hour and a half each way... on a GOOD day!!)

So I've decided to move to Joburg. Does anyone know of a good, reputable estate agent that is not going to rip me off? I've tried contacting people on privateproperty.co.za but it hasn't worked. I've left my details at some estate agents and no one has called me back.

I'm looking to move into the northern suburbs of Joburg. A 2 bedroom place, not too expensive.

Any suggestions, ideas, etc, would be most welcome!

Thanks!

I work in an open plan office, with about 30 people. Many of them have recently gotten the latest BlackBerry and they are obviously very proud of their newest toy. All of them are doing the BB Chat thing during working hours and it sometimes sounds like a games arcade in the office with all the message notifications going off. The boss is hardly ever at the office, and she's one of the people with a new toy too. The noise is sometimes so bad that I can't concentrate on my work.

How can I politely ask that people put their phones on silent mode while at work?

My younger sister and I have never been very close. We had a huge falling-out almost two years ago and we have not spoken in over a year. Her birthday is in April and last year, I sent her a message on Facebook, with a polite birthday message. On my birthday, in June, I received nothing from her and I was actually somewhat heartbroken. Do I send her another message on her birthday this year?

Two years ago today, I suffered a miscarriage. I only found out I was pregnant when it was too late and I was already losing my baby and it was too late to do anything.

I'm sitting here at work, tears streaming down my face. I can't stop crying. I feel so broken, so useless. I know I need to pull myself together and work... I'm trying to hide at my desk and avoid everyone, especially the two pregnant ladies. I wish I could just go home and hide there. How do I explain it to my boss? What can I do? I'm so sad right now.

I was very sick with the flu last week and the doctor prescribed antibiotics for me. Before the course was finished, I started feeling better and wanted to have sex with my hubby. He asked me if the antibiotics would make the Pill less effective and I really didn't have a clue!

Do antibiotics make the Pill less effective? Is it fact or fiction?

I need to get to Riversands Farm in Fourways this weekend and I have been trying to find directions on the internet with no luck. Does anyone know how to get there?

Thanks!

I got my brake pads replaced today and they told me that my brake discs need skimming. I couldn't afford it today, but told them I would go back in two weeks when I get paid. They were ok with that, but stressed that it had to be done.

I've since been told that skimming brake discs is a more of a money-making scam than beneficial to the car. I was told that doing could cause even more damage!

I don't want to get ripped off!

What is the viewpoint on skimming brakes discs?

My man and I have been together for just over three years. We've had our fair share of ups and downs in this time. Lately, it seems as though we are having more bad times than good. We have silly, petty fights almost every day. A lot of the time, I just agree with him, just to keep the peace, but I know that I'm not being true to myself. I love him but I don't know if I'm still in love with him. I don't want to give up on our relationship, but I can't carry on the way things are going. I feel as though I am losing myself. When we fight, we never really resolve anything... He'll distract himself by hanging out with friends and I throw myself into my work so I don't have to think about anything. I want to work things out, but I don't know how. We've spent three years together, and I think it's worth saving. It's gotten so bad that even our sex life is suffering. We haven't had sex in almost a week. We used to have sex four to five times a week! I just don't feel romantic towards him and in the mood for sex when we're fighting all the time.

What should I do? Should I just give up? Should I try to fix things? How do I start a conversation with him without getting all emotional and crying? I don't want him to feel as though I blame him for this. I think it's up to the two of us to do whatever it takes to get our relationship back to the way it was, but how do I start it?

Who will be voting in the next presidential elections?

I am.

I look at the questions and answers in this section on a regular basis and I'm getting really tired of people saying that South Africa is a hell hole, that it's dangerous, that there's no hope.

Is there anyone out there that believes that this country has potential?

Are there any patriots out there, that love South Africa and want to do whatever it takes to make this beautiful country of ours better?

Or is everyone happy to just sit back and complain about how bad things are? Is everyone waiting for someone else to fix things?

We've been living together for 3 years. He has taken over the cooking because he enjoys it and he's a much better cook than me. I help him with the cooking as well. But apart from that, I do everything else around the house. The laundry, dishes, taking out trash, straightening up... Everything. When he sees me doing housework, he tells me that he'll be right there to help, but he never pitches in. Otherwise he tells me to come relax with him. I would love to just sit and relax with him, but things need to get done. Plus, he's quite messy, so it feels like I'm constantly picking up after him. It would be so much easier if he helped me a little every day. We both work and we get home at the same time every day.

What can I do to get him to pull his weight a little more around the house?

We've been living together for 3 years. He has taken over the cooking because he enjoys it and he's a much better cook than me. I help him with the cooking as well. But apart from that, I do everything else around the house. The laundry, dishes, taking out trash, straightening up... Everything. When he sees me doing housework, he tells me that he'll be right there to help, but he never pitches in. Otherwise he tells me to come relax with him. I would love to just sit and relax with him, but things need to get done. Plus, he's quite messy, so it feels like I'm constantly picking up after him. It would be so much easier if he helped me a little every day. We both work and we get home at the same time every day.

What can I do to get him to pull his weight a little more around the house?

Last night I dreamed that it was the end of the world... It looked like a combination of a number of disaster movies I've seen, although I didn't watch any before going to bed. The movies I could recognize were 2012, Titanic, Deep Impact, and I can't really pick up out any others. In my dream, I was pregnant and I was being driven away from the disaster by a girl I don't know. And she was driving a bus.

Any ideas on what this could mean?

One of my closest friends is getting married in April and has invited me to her wedding. I've never been to a Hindu wedding and was just wondering what to expect. Do I need to take a gift, like in a Western wedding? What would I wear? Any other tips?

I used to sit in the open plan area of my office and I was friends with this one woman who sat next to me. We'd chat, go on our smoke breaks together, etc. My boss wanted his team of people to sit in a closed office as we do very intense work and we need the peace and quiet. Now this woman that I was friends with has taken this as a personal insult and refuses to even acknowledge me in the office! She also has a lot of issues with other staff members, lots of people have complained about her attitude. I was her friend because we have a few things in common and I never understood why she wasn't liked. Now she's just downright rude to me and actually turns away from me when she sees me and tries to avoid me when we're crossing paths in the office.

My question is: How do I handle this woman? Do I treat her the same way she's treating me and ignore her? Or do I remain polite and greet her when I see her and continue being snubbed?