Alice

So, last summer I stopped talking to a kind-of friend. She was someone I had met online, and I knew she had depression and anxiety and a whole bunch of other stuff, so I would try and talk to her and make her feel better. We hung out a few times, but all our conversations were awkward and forced, and things got really busy for me with school so I just stopped replying to the email thread we had going... Today, I found out she went to the hospital for drug overdose.

I feel like a huge jerk for vanishing and ignoring her without saying anything, and I feel like I could've stopped this somehow... Should I say something to her? If so, what should I say?

My friend from my old school keeps texting me, every single night. When he texts me, all he does is complain about how horrible his life is, talks about some random 'smart person' fact he's heard, and expects me to be all impressed. Whenever I try to tell him about my day, he ignores me, changes the topic, or gives me one-word answers. I don't want to be mean, but I want him to back off a little bit. What should I say?

It's her birthday, and I would like to get her something within the 20-40 dollar range, max. She likes Legend of Zelda, especially Twilight Princess. She has all the games up to the 3DS ones, since she doesn't have a 3DS. Something from Amazon, preferably?

When people tell me a joke, or tell me something that they did, I often find that I don't know what to say. Not when it's about topics that interest me, but on other topics. Especially in a group conversation, I find it hard to join in and I'm usually left listening on the sidelines. Help?

I'm in 8th grade. I have very high grades- all of my averages are above 95. But my parents keep giving me extra SAT or college workbooks and say that I have to do them, and then say that I'm going to grow up to be 'stupid' when I'm on the computer for as little as 20 minutes. They say that I neglect my studies. Sometimes, they even say this when a few moments before, I had been studying RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM.

Advice?

ピク

It's a sound effect from a manga. The character seems shocked.

It just happened a few moments ago. It was only a bit. He's been a bit droopy today, but no diarrhea. Help?

We recently got a puppy a month ago. I've really fallen in love with him- taking care of him and all that. He's a lovely little thing.

But my parents won't let me do anything anymore. Whenever they catch me on the computer for more than 15 minutes, they're all like, 'Have you checked on the puppy? We knew you would slack off and not take responsibility.' etc, etc. Whenever I want to buy a game: 'you don't have enough time for that, with the puppy and all. Do you want to sell the puppy, then? To make free time?' They make it sound like buying a puppy was a bad choice, and that I deserve to have all my free time taken away. What should I say to them?

Mainly because he bites and barks a lot. My parents yell at the puppy a because they want him to be quiet, even though I told them that it wouldn't work. Should I sell him? I don't want to- it's been a week since we got him.

My 9-week old westie puppy I got a few days ago was fully paper-trained, so we were having him go on newspapers in the house. He was doing perfectly, with zero accidents. Today, all of a sudden, he started going to the bathroom anywhere he wanted. Tips?

I miss your rival (Green as he was officially called in the Japan version) from the Red/Blue games. I don't know, but he was the only rival in all of the generations that really made you feel like you had to beat him. Nowadays, the rivals are just becoming another obstacle like the trainer encounters, except with more dialogue. They just don't feel as alive to me.

I really hope they make a remake of Red/Blue, maybe adding onto the plot a bit more and adding some post-story features. Might just be me, though.

Thoughts?

I was bitten by a cat while I was volunteering at the shelter today. It didn't seem very serious, but when I got home (about twenty minutes later), it was swollen. I cleaned it, soaked it in hydrogen peroxide, and applied neosprin on it. I'm allergic to cats. Will I be okay?!

I was bitten by a cat while I was volunteering at the shelter today. It didn't seem very serious, but when I got home (about twenty minutes later), it was swollen. I cleaned it, soaked it in hydrogen peroxide, and applied neosprin on it. I'm allergic to cats. Will I be okay?!

Is this fair? And also, is it perfectly acceptable that I sue this person?

I am currently a owner of a home, just moved in. But I rented a house before moving into the house I am in now and have lived in the rented home for three years. Now, the owner of the rented house has charged me 3300 dollars for tiny bleach stains on the upper floor carpet that were made while cleaning the house just before moving day. The cleaning of the house, which included all the countertops and flooring, took six hours.

First, the owner claimed that, after inspection, the counter on the kitchen was dirty and had to be replaced (?!) but after I went along with them so they could show me the problem, it turned out there was no problem with the counters in the first place, since I had cleaned them. Then the owner went along to say that there were the bleach stains in the carpet, and the whole upper floor carpet had to be removed. Now, the bleach stains were basically the same shade of white as the original carpet and you basically had to squint to see the 'stains'. The owner also claimed that the carpeting on the stairs had to be removed as well, 'just in case'.

I have a feeling this is just a scam to get money.

I got a budgie from PetSmart the other day (well, about a month ago) and got its wings clipped and vet checked. But, even after trying to bond with it, it still refuses to get near me. So I decided to call PetSmart, to see if they had some tips on training my budgie.

However, they kept me on hold for about five minutes until someone picked up. I asked them how I could hand train my budgie, and the person asked if their wings were clipped. I said yes, so what do I do?' The person responded with, we have a lot of books in our store, come and buy some'. I went to the store, and asked an employee directly. The person said, just grab them'. Which is definitely not right.

Is this only the store I am close to? (And how should I get my budgie to like me?)