Marni

When I was a teenager, I had two fillings done. Oddly enough, as I got older, the filling came out and my teeth kind of "broke" when I went to go eat a chip. Seriously, I ate a tortilla chip when I was 18, and my tooth broke and came out. Didn't hurt for more than a few days, and has stayed that way. Just the other day, it happened again! I guess it got pushed into the tooth in a weird way, and it cracked it again...it became loose, and fell out with ease.

Right now, I have no insurance, and haven't for a while. I am eligible in a few months. I haven't experienced any harmful effects, nor has anyone I know who has had the issue. I just want to calm my paranoid mind and tell myself I will not die...just long enough to get to the dentist and maybe have both replaced.

My sister has gone back to college to pursue her teaching degree, which I am proud of. She noticed that a friend, or a few friends of hers have graduated with things she is not sure how they got. An example being: her best friend graduated with a Bachelor's in elementary education, but with a certification in special ed as well as her elementary ed certificate. She is not sure how you go about getting the certification. I was thinking that you take a test to get certified to teach special education (not necessarily a major and a minor) and obviously you need to be state certified to teach elementary education. Have I gotten this right? I don't want to give her false information.

My boyfriend is a programmer, so technically, I could ask him this question, but it's not subtle enough to pass off, so I am here to ask you.

My BF is turning 21 in two weeks. I want to get him a cake with some code on it that basically says "Happy 21st birthday, John. I love you". I could write it out like that, but code would be much appreciated, and I know it would amuse him. I have witnessed his programming abilities and have read up on the many languages, and I just don't get it. At all. It's not like I can do more research and suddenly become so competent that I can write anything in any programming language. He uses a few of the languages at work, it varies depending on what he is doing that day. He is extremely fond of Ruby, and it's his favorite language, so anything in Ruby would be awesome. But it's not as if Perl or C# or something is off limits either.

Can you help me out here?

Thank you so much!

I have fairly thick, mid-length hair...it falls just above my boobs. I usually blow-dry and straighten a little bit at the ends. It's in good condition, but unless I am brushing it constantly, it never manages to stay put. If I walk around for a little while, it gets a little stringy and separated at the bottom, and it looks so bad. Is there any way to prevent that from happening? I just can't keep brushing my hair in the middle of a store, or at work! I want it to stay put like most people's hair does. Any advice?

I am a teacher, and my sister wants to become one, but in a state I don't know much about. She moved to GA with her fiance, and wants to pursue a degree in early childhood ed. I have tried googling information on what she wants to know...health benefits as well as retirement benefits. I can't seem to find any sources for that kind of information?

Are their any websites out there or links to this kind of info, or would she have to ask a school directly?

Thanks!

I have a 10 month old cat. She is fairly loving and sweet, likes attention, and not what I would call a "typical" cat. Lately I have been having increased problems with her aggression. I can be minding my own business, making a meal or something, and she will come up and bite my foot, bite my calf or bite my ankle. I have tried to see if it was because of a dirty litter box, no food or water -- but that doesn't seem to be the problem. I started off simply as her coming up and biting, but now she has started to follow me and do the same thing.

The aggression is not accompanied by hissing or a frantically moving tail from what I see. I am not ready to believe this is her version of playing, since she doesn't bite my live-in boyfriend unless they are truly playing together. She does not behave the same way around him as she does me. She is not so nice to me anymore, and I am truly at my wits end.

We want to come up with a way of disciplining this cat who shows some form of aggression to it's owners. I have read books and such and have found no information to go on.

Do any of you have suggestions?

Okay, I may not be the typical person asking a question like this, and I even feel a little lame for doing so. I am 22 years old and feel horribly trapped with my life right now. I am not in college at the moment since I just moved to a new state for the second time this year. The thing is, I am not sure if I even want to go back to college.

My mind changes kind of frequently about what I'd like to do. I was a psych major, but I realized it wasn't for me. I also did sociology, and a handful of other majors. I like the idea of teaching older kids, and I have taught in a school setting pre k and k classes. However, college is sort of a daunting task because of tuition and the fact that I don't have the money to do it myself -- my mom would pay, but she needs her money, especially after the divorce. Financial Aid doesn't cover anything, and student loans are out of the question because my boyfriend and I can't afford to be in debt at any time. I'm just looking out for myself financially. I know college is important, but most jobs in the US don't require a degree. My boyfriend has a high paying job with no degree, he is a programmer, so he lucked out.

I want to at least get certified in something, the money might be a little easier to work out if it was a bit cheaper and shorter time than normal college. I enjoy teaching, I do...but I also enjoy massage, interior designing, and cooking. Other than that, I wouldn't say I have many other interests other than reading, and just being around people in general.

I feel at a loss about what to do with my life, and I really want to have a job that I can do for a long period of time, and make enough money to live on my own if I ever have to do that (God forbid we get divorced after marriage or something). I know I probably sound desperate and rambling, and maybe a bit stupid for feeling as if college right now is just not the best move.

Do any of you have any suggestions?

My husband and I are here from San Francisco, as my mother-in-law is dying, and we are spending the remainder of her life by her bed side. Athens is a nice little town, and we are considering moving here permanently in the near future. My only huge gripe about Athens is just we believe that New York, where my hubby is from, and SF, where I am from, have much better food. I have found food that I enjoy, and restaurants I love, regardless of my bias, but I cannot seem to get decent Chinese food. We have tried many places in the area, including Peking, China Wok, and something or other with "Golden" in the name. I know there are a few -- just not sure which one it is. If you have ever had Chinatown (NY or SF) food, then you know the kind I am talking about and looking to eat again.

Are there any places that will serve chinese food that is on par with what we have back in our home state? I have found that some schezuan beef here is not too tasty (esp at peking), and their fried rice is never actually fried.

If you live in Athens, can you please tell us where you get the best American-Chinese food? Thank you.

After pulling my emergency brake a bit too hard, and it got stuck, it seems as though after that happened my dash keeps showing that my emergency brake is "on", when in reality, it is not. It is irritating, but I am concerned this means something else is wrong. I was wondering how in the hell to fix the issue, or if it means I somehow managed too massively screw up my car just by pulling the brake hard.

I am at a loss, my husband is at a loss, I am utterly confused. Can anyone shed a little light on this issue?