Jen

My boyfriend and I have been together for over 7 years. During which that time I have earned my MS degree and moved us from MA to GA back to MA to CA for my job. Now I have landed a (hopefully) permanent job in California. I make more than 5 times what he makes. I know that part of the reason that he does not have a career is that I have moved him all over the country for mine.

However, now that we are settled in I would like to start working on his career, but he is not motivated to find a better job. We live in the very expensive bay area and he is making $12/hour. I want to be able to afford a house in the next five years, but that I not happening on my salary alone. We have also not gotten married yet for the sole reason that he cannot afford a ring (not my wish but his).

He does not want to go to school or switch jobs. He is a very good worker, working 6 days a week at more than 60 hours/week. I would like to get him in school or a better job that he could work less and make a decent living wage.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

I will be paying the college tuition for my boyfriend. We are not married and we both file our taxes separately, and are not claimed by anyone as a dependent. Can I claim the tax deduction for his college expenses and can he still get the student tax credit if he is not paying his tuition?

What is the best way to approach this situation from a taxes standpoint? For the record he made less than $20K last year, and he will be getting some (not much) grant money as well.

I am moving from Massachusetts to California in a couple weeks. I have a cat, and I am not sure how to get him to California. I am driving myself, but my cat does not do well in cars.

Last year I moved from Georgia to Massachusetts (which is a much shorter drive) and within 5 minutes he had pooped in him crate and ripped out several of his claws. I immediately took him out and held him for the rest of the way as he continued to pee on my lap. The entire trip he meowed, clawed, and tried to escape the car. I have had a similar incident every time I have to take him to the vet. Therefore, I do not think that driving with him for four days is an option.

I am usually against sedatives, but I was thinking of giving him a sedative and having a pet moving company fly him out (on a commercial airline). Has anyone tried this?

My number one priority is to find the least traumatic way to get him from MA to CA while keeping him safe.

Please any comments or ideas?

I have added a picture in word 2007. I have selected Wrap Text - Square. The first paragraph wraps correctly around the picture, but the second paragraph just places itself underneath the picture and will not wrap around the picture. I have been playing with it for a while and tried Tight text wrap as well, but cannot get the text wrap to work correctly.

I am writing an email to my ex-boss, and maybe my future boss again. It is just a personal email about my life and how everything is going now. I want to avoid the "hi" or "hello" subject line. Any tips for subject lines for a miscellaneous personal yet professional email?

My office is have a holiday grab. We have to spend $20, and no gift cards. I have no creativity when it comes to getting gifts. I work in a really small office and everyone has a good sense of humor, so I want to get something that is fun. Any ideas?

I am a female engineer. I am confident about how to dress in the office or for a meeting, but I have a field survey to do. My office recommends wearing a khakis and a polo, but I feel that I look unprofessional and that I belong back in Middle School. I am also busty, and polos are not the most flattering thing for busty women.

For the most part I will be doing a lot of walking, climbing ladders and squatting/kneeling, so I need to be able to move a lot.

I am not a fashionista, but any comments that would help me to find a balance between professional and functional, and preferably a little feminine, would be appreciated.

I am currently working on my master's degree in engineering and am really second guessing my choice (I am more than half way done and planning on finishing before applying med. school). For years I have wanted to go to Medical School, but I have always been told by people that I do not want to put myself through all those years of school and residencies. I have found engineering to be a little boring too straight forward. I also do not feel like that I am making a direct positive impact on society. (I am also really into missions work and charitable work and feel medicine is the most useful skill for missions work)

I graduated with my bachelors with honors from a reputable school and I am 23. I am a couple courses shy of what most schools want for prerequisites, which I could make up at a state school at night. I understand studying medicine is vague, however I am in the preliminary stage of research.

I want to know your opinions. Is studying medicine and becoming a doctor worth all the money and the schooling required? Do you feel like you are making positive changes for people? Am I being too idealistic about the profession?

I am looking for any feedback that I can get from people about the pros and cons of Medical School.

My cat meows incessantly day and night.He meows for food, to go out, for attention and sometimes for nothing at all.

A new thing that he has started is clawing too, now he claws us incessantly too (not hard enough to draw blood, just hard enough to get out attention). If we leave our bedroom door open he claws us, if we close the door he claws the door.

I have tried using a spray bottle, but he does not mind water. I have tried ignoring him, but that just makes him meow louder and start clawing more. I have tried yelling at him or using a loud shaker thing, and it does not even phase him.

He is a really sweet cat when he wants to be (ie sleeping), but I am getting to wits end about him.

Are there any other ways that I can break him of these bad habits?

I am against anything that will cause him pain, no shock collars or cayenne pepper spray.

I live in Massachusetts and my cat came into the house with a small animal in his mouth. At first glance it looked like a mouse, it had the same coloring, but it was about double the size of a normal mouse. It also had a much rounder head with a flatter face, and its ears were so tiny I could barely see them. Does anybody have any idea what my cat ate?