I love being a dog groomer.

It's become a monthly and sometimes bi-monthly occurance at this point. It's really irritating... Let me explain.

I rent my grandmother's old condo from my mom, and really love living here. When i moved in, moving was made difficult because one neighbor kept parking his van directly behind my driveway. Since i only rent, my mother had to contact the HOA to file a complaint. At this time, the fire lane was not marked, but it was common knowledge among residents for the past thirty years or so, that the area behind the garages is not for parking. There is an area for overflow/guest parking around the side of the building... A large area. All other lanes in the complex had no parking signs, except ours. The HOA had NO PARKING FIRE LANE signs installed immediately after my mother called. No one parked there for a while.

When summer rolled around, my neighbors decided that those signs don't apply to them or their guests when they want to have a party.

Today, i came home from running errands to find that they are all, indeed, parked in the fire lane behind the garages. I am stuck driving my Dad's f-150 for the time being since my Jeep is not running, and is taking up my garage space... And my boyfriend uses the other side. I barely was able to wiggle the huge truck into my driveway. There just isn't enough room to park with one of their cars parked in their driveway, and one of their guest cars parked behind mine. After a lot of backing up and wiggling the truck straight without backing into the illegally parked car behind my driveway, i gave up. I am now parked in the middle of my two car driveway, behind both of my doors... Because there was no room to park correctly. If i have to leave again, i won't be able to get out.

There are at least four fire lane signs along our street. It is clearly posted.

What can i do? I talked to the neighbor, but he seems to see no problem with it, and he barely speaks English...

I live in MI.

Posted Mon 15 August 2011 05:46 PM

Recently, my fiance whom I've been with for three years, and engaged to for a year and a half - told me he wants to join the Army.

Two of his brothers are in the Army, and that's great for them. It works for them. One is married, one is not. Good for them.

My fiance has a four year degree, but has not found work in his field since graduating two years ago. To tell you the truth, he hasn't really put a whole lot of effort in either. But, then again, who would when they can sit on their butt most of the time and collect unemployment (and get paid more to do that than they would if they had a job)?

Anyway, I guess they fact is sinking in that unemployment will not last forever - and he's 26 (almost 27) and hasn't had a job in over a year.

He has a good chance for employment where my father works, but that won't utilize his degree so he is apprehensive to take that job even though it is union and 50K a year to start + benefits (his degree, in truth, is about as useful as a fine arts degree).

When he and I first met, he got a job out of state. We had been together for four months at the time, and I packed up my life and moved 3,000 miles across country with him. It sucked. I just about murdered him after a month out there. It was a small town, we were in a hotel and could not find housing, I couldn't find work, I had to give up smoking pot to move with him (which I still don't do anymore because he is very opposed to it), I had no friends there, no family, no where to go to meet anyone... It was hell.

Do I want the possibility of that again? No.

I have established MY CAREER now. I like living near by to family. I like being able to go out with friends. I have a classic car that I enjoy taking to shows. I have more of a life NOW than I did THEN, and now he's asking me to give it up again...

No, not even that. I have told him that if he enlists, I will give him back his ring and be done with it. I am tired of uprooting myself for him. I have made a lot of compromises and even forced myself to grow up too fast to be with him, and he has done none of that. Again, the tally... I moved across country for him four months into our relationship, I gave up smoking pot which I greatly enjoyed, I got a full time job (instead of pursuing school) after we came back from the cross country failure so that we no longer had to live in my parents' home since he had given up his apartment to move for a bad job, I have adapted to his friends since he dislikes all of mine, and I continue to work full time and pay most of our bills because he prefers to collect unemployment.

So yeah, I'm a little angry that now, on a whim, since he's looking for an easy way out... I am being asked to uproot my life yet again.

I know he really doesn't want to do this.

On top of that, he has been treated for ulcers, and has a "floating collar bone" from a motorcycle accident. I don't think they will take him anyway...

He won't talk to me about this. He doesn't seem to care that I will not be able to handle it. I told him already that if he enlists, I am gone... and there was really no reaction. But, it's always like pulling teeth to get him to talk about important things.

How can I express to him, without causing a fight, that I love him and I don't want to lose him, and joining the army is the worst possible thing he can do at this point? We have a pretty good life! He can find work here! He just has to actually try!

I cannot deal with moving. I cannot deal with him being away for long periods. I cannot and will not for my sanity. I am bi-polar and DO NOT do well being away from family, friends, and familiar surroundings.

What can I do?

I don't think I'm being selfish. I work a full time job that I enjoy, I come home and cook (or pick up) dinner, I keep the house clean (which since he's home all the time I wish he'd attempt to help with), but I enjoy this life. I don't want it to change.

I am going on vacation the middle of this month. I am supposed to get my period the last couple of days of my vacation. I went to my doctor and explained the situation and she suggested that I start birth control. She said it may not be 100 percent that could prevent my period from starting on vacation.

I had originally wanted her to prescribe me aygestin (sp?), so that I would only have to take 3 pills a day while I wanted to skip my period, and not be on birth control. She decided that prescribing me tri-sprintec was a better idea.

I have never taken birth control, and I never wanted to be on it. Since she prescribed this I looked up the drug online and I am reading almost all negative reviews for it. She will not write me a different birth control prescription or one for the drug I went to her to get.

My vacation is only a couple of weeks away from the 15th through the following friday. How bad is this birth control she prescribed me, and I are the reviews spot on? What are the chances that I will develop brown spots on my face from sun exposure as I am a fairly fair person, and I will be in the sun constantly on my vacation? What are the chances that it will actually help prevent me from getting my period on vacation?

Basically, I would like to know, should I avoid this birth control altogether and deal with my period coming on the last few days of vacation?

I can't seem to get my actual doctor on the phone, just the lady who takes and responds to her messages.

In The last day or two, my toilet has developed a flushing problem.

When flushed, the bowl fills almost all the way to the rim, and then the water level goes down very slowly. It is a very weak flush. Then, the bowl does not refill, but rather only has a very small amount of water in the very bottom.

We live in a mobile home. This toilet was brand new, with stickers still on it, when we moved in a year ago. I am unsure if we are on a septic tank in our park or not. The other toilet in our house flushes just fine.

The water level in the tank is good. The flapper thing is functioning normally. I see no leaks around the toilet.

I have this male friend who I've known since high school.

We go to each other for advice, and about three weeks ago... he told me he was dating a girl we both knew in high school... and she has a baby (not quite a year old). He asked me what I thought.

I told him, that because of his age (23), he can make his own decisions... but he should move forward cautiously. I have other friends who have a strange attraction to young single moms... and have moved too fast in those relationships... and things never ended well. They got used, they got their hearts broken... they thought the kid was now their daughter or son... and the kid was ripped away when the relationships ended.

So, basically... I told him that if he really wanted something good with this girl, keep the baby out of it for a LONG time. He told me he thought that was good advice, and he and his new girlfriend were doing that.

Now it's three WEEKS later, and he's already calling this girl's kid his daughter.

Three weeks ago, he and this girl were just "talking."

How can I tell him, nicely, that he needs to slow down? He just ended a 4 year long relationship, in which he was engaged to the girl for two years, back in July... He was very hurt, and that's the last thing I want to see him go through again... and I fear that because there is now a kid involved that he is obviously very close with already... it will hurt him when or if things go south... which I predict they will.

I am a dog groomer. I work on commission only. I have been with my employer for 2 years this coming January.

In August, business slowed down considerably, and my employer bumped me from working 5 days a week to only 3. She had recently hired back an ex groomer to bathe dogs, and do other duties that groomers do not do. However, shortly after bringing this girl back... my employer started to give her some of my grooming dogs, thus, cutting into my ability to earn as much money as I can.

So, I took the cut in days voluntarily more or less... because I was spending too much money coming to work on days when there would be only a couple dogs for me to groom. I live 20 minutes from work, so driving to work to groom when there are not enough dogs to make money is pointless.

So, in August I started to look for a 2nd part time job to supplement my income. I also applied for and was awarded unemployment benefits to cover the days I was no longer working and making money. I never got a 2nd job. I interviewed for quite a few and applied for dozens... but because my current employer requires that I work weekends - other prospective employers have deemed that a reason to not hire me... I do not have open availability, and would never be able to work a weekend for them (this is my thinking as to why I have not been hired for a 2nd job after so many interviews and applications). So, I have continued to collect my unemployment benefits.

I am available to come back to work full time for my current employer whenever she asks me to. When she can fill my schedule with a reasonable amount of grooms everyday... Then she knows she can call me back full time and I will be there.

Here's what gets me... She keeps giving the third girl that she hired back my grooming dogs. Dogs that I could be grooming and making money off of are going to a girl who already makes an hourly wage and does not need to be grooming my regular clients' pets.

So, I received a letter today stating that my employer has reported to the unemployment agency that I don't deserve my benefits because I do not have open availability to work for her. That is bullcrap. Even today, since I have to take Thursday off to take my cat to be spayed, she asked if I work work Friday instead and I immediately agreed to do so.

Now I am at risk to have to pay back my benefits X2 or X4 because of this VERY FALSE accusation.

I have not spoken with my employer about this yet, but I will be doing so.

What should I do?

What ramifications are there to my employer for making this false accusation?

I live in Michigan.

In the beginning, he was very insecure and kept asking me if I was cheating on him or he'd make jokes about me seeing "my other boyfriend" when I wasn't with him. I told him that those things were hurtful, and he needed to stop saying that stuff... And eventually he did stop.

About four months in, I left my facebook open on my personal computer and he looked through it. He found that I was talking to one of my friends about getting some pot. I used to be a huge stoner, and he knew this when we met. I was still smoking quite a bit of pot at that time. He had expressed that he would like me to quit. I agreed that I would cut back, but at that time had never said I would completely stop. He got mad that I was looking to get pot, and I got really angry that he looked through my personal messages.

We got over it, and now here we are two years later. I've quit smoking pot, but not because I really wanted to.

We also live together now.

Anyway, I thought the snooping had stopped.

The other night I was going to send a message to his mother over facebook to see what she thought I should get him for his birthday (which is two months away). I wanted to get him something really nice, because I've never been able to afford to really get him anything. He walked in while I was typing the message and I shut the screen before I could send it because I wanted it to be a surprise. Well, he got suspicious.

Now, I had been talking to an ex hook up... But not like that guys. Just catching up to see what was new in his life. He had asked me (seeing that I am now engaged) if I was "all ready to get married and have babies lol."

My fiance and I have been having intimacy issues lately. He doesn't kiss me much, never wants sex, doesn't say he loves me very often, etc... But we're still best of friends and I love him very much.

So, I told the ex hook-up that we were having issues, and I wasn't really sure about the marriage thing currently. I also told him that I love my fiance, and I'll see what happens in the next year.

I asked him how his love life was, and he mentioned something about not finding the right girl because he's an animal in bed (his words) and none of the girls he dates are like that.

I jokingly said "Oh I don't remember that part"

He responded "A lot has changed"

And that was the end of that conversation.

I have had many discussions, over many months with my fiance about our issues... and even told him that in my mind I keep telling myself to just give it another month and maybe things will change. And he told me "well then stop giving me another month if you don't think things will change."

I digress.

So, those messages were on there along with one of me seeing if I could find pot again. I just wanted a little bit to help me sleep, as I have been staying up until 2-4AM unable to sleep... and with work the next day... that's just no good. He knows pot helps me sleep, I have no insurance to cover seeing a doc about prescription sleeping meds, and he knows I haven't been able to sleep lately.

I never followed through on getting the pot, however, knowing that it would bother my fiance.

Also, there was a message on there where I was talking to a male friend of mine who has been a best friend for the last 6 years. I had dated him for like 2 months 5 years ago, but we've always just been extremely good friends. He told me that I was his biggest loss, and then we just reminisced about old times for a second. Nothing bad, nothing devious. This good friend lives many states away now, and is in fact on his death bed with cancer.

So, yeah, he snooped again and he saw all that. He's pissed, when really, there was nothing bad in there.

I had given my fiance my password for reasons of looking up bills, and without thinking that he may snoop, told him that it was my password for everything. I TRUSTED him.

Well, yahoo mail alerted me to the fact that there had been multiple failed log in attempts on my account. I had changed that password because someone had broken into the account, but my facebook pass was still the same. When asked if he was the one trying to log into my e-mail, he admitted to having snooped on there a 2nd time this morning, without realizing it. (He told me something about my messages that only I would know.)

He also accidentally admitted to looking at the internet history.

I have a 6 year old male pom whom I have owned since he was a puppy.

He has been perfectly housebroken since he was about 5-6 months old.

Lately, I've been noticing urine stains on my carpet - which is, of course, not good.

I have a feeling that this problem started about a year and a half ago when I moved into an apartment with my fiance. He would have accidents going #2 in the house. I attributed that to the fact that he had just come back from a long road trip with my fiance and I, lived back at my parents' house with us for a few months, and then was suddenly moved into a strange place - and he wasn't sure where to go to ask to go out.

It took him about a month, but he stopped having accidents in the house.

Then, about 8 months ago we moved into another new place. He had a few #2 accidents, and I attributed that to him being confused again. After a couple weeks it stopped again.

Then, he started piddling a little when he got excited - which he had never done before - or he was leaving little tiny piddle spots here and there. So, I took him to the vet thinking he had a UTI. The vet confirmed that his urine was extra concentrated and it had crystals in it. So, he went on antibiotics for a little bit, and the problem was solved.

Now, a month ago we moved into yet another new place. I started crating him again (after not crating him for years) when we are not home because at the last place he destroyed the mini blinds trying to see outside when we were gone. And so recently, I've been noticing large pee stains on the carpet. Not just little oopses because he has another UTI. No, these are deliberate in size.

And, to top it off... I just witnessed him walk past me sitting on the couch, not even go to the door to ask to go out, walk into the doorway of another room, and lift his leg and let loose.

I caught him in the act, startled him, and grabbed him to put him outside. Basically, treated him like a puppy who needs to learn where it is okay to pee.

But I don't get it, why is he suddenly thinking it is okay to pee in the house?!

He is neutered, doesn't seem to be peeing in the house to mark, my younger GSD is not neutered and does not pee or mark in the house (or even mark outside for that matter), and he gets plenty of potty breaks. This is also not the same behavior as when he had that UTI.

It is absolutely unacceptable for him to pee in the house, especially since this is a rental home and the landlord comes in to inspect the inside every 30 days. I can't have pee stains all over the place.

I have also been having trouble with him getting snappy with me all of the sudden. When I come to bed after my fiance has been sleeping for a while, he has started to bark and growl at me, and sometimes snap. He also has run away when I have caught him in the act of peeing and snapped at me on occasion when I picked him up to take him outside.

What is going on with my dog? He's normally a well trained, happy, sweet boy...!

And no, I do NOT smack him when he is bad!

Due to rules at our mobile home park and window size in our new home, we have been forced to buy a portable unit instead of using our window unit. Our window unit will automatically shut off the compressor and fan once the desired room temp is reached, then start back up again when the temp raises 5 degrees.

We purchased a great portable unit, however, it never auto shuts off the fan. Just the compressor. I cannot have one of these things running non-stop. It is not economical, and is also annoying never having a moment of quiet.

Even if someone out there knows a way to use the timer to turn the unit on and off continuously... Not just on at a predetermined time, or just off at a predetermined time. Know what I mean? Like, have it on for 30 min, then off for 30, then back on again?

I have had no luck looking them up online and reading descriptions... so if someone out there has experience in this area and can help me out, that would be great.

Thanks.

After 8 months of not using this dryer (we were in a house with a as dryer) we moved into a new house with only an electric hookup for the dryer.

So, we pulled this one out and tonight was the first time I tried using it again.

The cord had needed to be changed as it was an old prong, and the plug was for a 4 prong. My fiance changed it out. He said there had been a green wire on the dryer that wasn't connected, and he connected it along with the green ground on the new cord (new cord had 4 ends - red, black, green, and white, old one had 3 - no colors on the ends).

I threw my first load of clothes in to dry, and a little while later, my fiance tells me that the dryer is extremely hot. So, I felt the clothes - they were dry already - and I stopped the dryer. He checks on the dryer again in a few, and it has not cooled down. Opening the door, he discovers that even though the drum was no longer turning, the heating element remained on.

This is a fairly old dryer that we purchased used almost two years ago. It has always worked without a problem. save for not entirely drying a load in one try. Like I said, it was stored in a shed on a concrete floor for 8 months.

It is a Whirlpool - Heavy Duty - Extra Large Capacity - with 3 heat settings. I am unsure of the model #.

We live in a mobile home park. We have been here for 8 months, but decided a month ago to sell the home we owned, and rent a nicer one.

We just got finished moving in yesterday, and last night was our first night sleeping here.

We were not warned until after our new lease was signed, that our new neighbors are unhappy people who complain about everything. The park manager told us that they are unhappy about the simple fact that there is a house next to theirs. The manager said that they thought there would never be a house next to theirs (yeah right, it's a mobile home park!), which was never the case. The park had already planned to put a house there. Well, now we have the pleasure of living next to these people.

Our new house does not have central air, so we brought a window unit with us - with the understanding that we have to get an indoor portable unit to replace the window unit ASAP. Not a problem, we already have one on order and it should be here within a few days. Park management approved the use of the window unit until the arrival of the portable unit because we have 2 dogs and a cat. They cannot sit in the house all day long with the windows shut (we do not leave windows open when we are not home because of the possibility of theft) and no cool air. That is inhumane.

My fiance, knowing that these people are complainers, walked over there yesterday to just kindly explain to them why the window unit is there, we have park approval, and it will be gone shortly. The woman didn't say a word and slammed the door in his face. He was just trying to be nice.

We are ignoring the fact that their lawn swing, bird feeder, and some other things are on our property in front of our backdoor (used for emergencies only).

Well, this morning, after not even having been moved in for 12 hours - our wonderful park managers called us to the office to tell us that our nasty neighbor has already made more than 3 complaints against us.

They have complained about the window unit even though that was explained to them.

They complained about my fiance coming over to their house not wearing a shirt (it was 90 degrees out while we were moving in and it's not like he's bad to look at - he's tan and has a 6 pack) to tell them about the a/c unit.

They complained that we have too many animals. We have two well behaved, quiet dogs... and a cat that never leaves the house. All are park approved, and we have permits for them in the front window.

They complained that we are loud and vulgar. We were talking in normal tones all day yesterday, and the day before while moving... and are no where near being vulgar.

And those are just a few.

I can see where this is going with these people, and I want to be prepared with a plan of action if it does not cease once they realize we're going to be here for a while.

I live in MI. If I were to eventually contact my local police, if this persists, to file a police report for harassment what information would I need to have documented? I have already started keeping a written diary of their complaints.

I believe their goal is to complain so much that it will be impossible for us to live in peace next to them. I mean, come on, we've been here for ONE DAY. We are courteous and quiet people, and have never had a neighbor complain ever.

Now, I'm not really a cat person. I work with dogs all day as I'm a dog groomer, and I also own two dogs. I've worked in kennels as well.

My fiance and I decided to get a kitten about a year ago, and adopted one for free from craigslist.org. She was about 5 weeks old when we brought her home. Her mother had been hit and killed by a car when she was 2 weeks old, and she had been bottle fed and basically hand raised. She already knew to use the litter box when she came home and is an exceptionally intelligent cat in general. She knows her name and will look at you when you call her, and she definitely knows what no means.

I don't understand her at all though.

She NEVER seeks out attention. She does love to be around us, however. She will sit on the love seat, on the TV stand, or on an end table across the room where she can see us, but she never comes to us for attention. She will allow us to pick her up with no problem as long as we remain standing, but if you sit down with her in your arms she struggles to get away.

She loves to be in the bathroom with us as well. She will follow us in there, rub all over our legs, stand on her hind legs with her front paws on the vanity, stand on her hind legs with her front paws on our legs, and basically act like she wants attention. But when I attempt to pet her, she will grab on to my hand with her front paws and bite. And she bites hard! She also grabs on with her front paws, and kicks my arm hard with her back legs while biting.

She will also often lay on the bath mat, kneed it, and suckle on it while purring furiously.

She loves my dogs and will initiate play with both of them.

She occasionally attacks my hand for no reason while I am sitting and watching TV.

I got a kitten because I wanted another cuddle bug in the house, and I absolutely adore my cat. I just wish she was more personable and no so weird.

I can't touch her without her running away or biting. She has sat on my lap ONCE for more than 1 minute, that I can remember.

She's a beautiful, stunning, tiny black cat with striking green/yellow eyes and I love looking at her, but she's so cute - I want to pet her and give her attention and she will not allow it! Help!

Before I begin, I want to say that YES he HAS BEEN TO THE VET for this.

I have a 5 1/2 year old male Pomeranian who has been having seizures since two years old. We have had him to the vet for it, and asked her about medication but since his seizures were spaced so far apart and did not last long, she thought it best to not medicate at the time.

His seizures used to be very infrequent. Maybe one maybe two a year. In this past year, he has started to seize once every month or two. They are also longer in duration now lasting up to two minutes.

My vet has not told me what type of seizures she thinks he is having per my description.

He will start with a dazed look, and then get very stiff. He may still be able to sit up, and is still very conscious about what is going on around him. He might drool, or try to stand. I try to prevent him from moving, but if he manages he falls over and is uncoordinated.

He does not exhibit typical post ictus behavior. He is not overly thirsty, or hungry. I actually cannot get him to drink after a seizure. He does not pace. He goes right back to normal.

He has started to vomit at the end of his seizures now, and did not do that previously.

What kind of seizures are these?

For those of you with seizure prone dogs, what medications are you giving them, and what advice has your vet given you?

Are there side effects?

Has liver function been affected?

What questions should I ask my vet at his upcoming appointment?

I love my dog, but this has got to stop!

I've had to wash my bed sheets twice now because he was laying on the bed when I got home from work, and tinkled a little on them. He got the computer chair and carpet today as well.

He has NEVER been one to urinate submissively. He is housebroken.

My fiance is laid off work, and was only out of the house a couple of hours when I got home... I KNOW he was let out before my fiance left.

He's just started this all of the sudden.

I'll get home from work, and he'll be laying on the bed in his usual spot when no one is home. I'll walk in the bedroom to change, and he'll give me this look like he's in trouble but he's not. I'll go to greet him as usual, and he will piddle a little bit. Not a full-on pee. Today, we tried keeping him in the spare room with food and water so at least if he did it, it wouldn't be on the bed... and sure enough when I got home... Same thing. He was on the computer chair, piddled a little, jumped down and piddled a little on the carpet.

What would cause this all of the sudden?

He's healthy, doesn't do it if he hears me coming in and greets me at the door, eats and drinks just fine, plays, etc.

My cat is 7 or 8 months old at this point, and we've had her since 5 weeks. Her mother was hit and killed by a car when she was 2 weeks, and her mother's owner could no longer care for 8 kittens needing bottle feeding. So, we took her and bottle fed and weened her.

Around the time she discovered how to jump, she discovered toilet paper was really fun to unravel. So, we placed the toilet paper on top of the tank, instead of on the holder. She soon learned how to get up there, knock it down, and tear it to pieces. So, we started putting it in the under-sink cabinet.

Well, putting it in the cabinet has worked - most of the time... But it has its drawbacks, and she sometimes gets in there and still finds it.

The drawbacks are, of course, forgetting to grab it out of the cabinet before going 1 or 2. LOL. And forgetting to put it back IN the cabinet.

Toilet paper is not safe in my house, and I can't tell you all the money I've wasted because it's her favorite toy!

A few facts about my cat:

1.) She does not like much human interaction. Does not like cuddling, does not like scratches, does not like playing directly with people. Loves my dogs, but will often nip if a person tries to handle her in any way.

She was hand raised - so figure that out.

2.) She has tons of toys and things to climb on.

3.) She has two willing playmates - a german shepherd and a pomeranian.

4.) She learned, successfully, that the coffee table and kitchen counter are off limits.

5.) She always uses her litter box.

My sister's two cats outgrew their toilet paper fascination fairly quickly. So, I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why she will not outgrow this! I have scolded her, and yes... she DOES know what NO, bad kitten, and her name mean!

Help! She just destroyed the last roll in the house and it's storming pretty bad outside and now I have to make the drive to the store in this horrible weather or not pee for the rest of the night. LOL.

We live in a very closely packed mobile home park, and have a nuisance neighbor. Blaring their radio at all hours, leaving their dog out unattended (against park rules), leaving cans of brake fluid in the street, and now... Parking right IN FRONT of a fire hydrant.

He is literally parked on the sidewalk ON the yellow paint that denotes it being illegal to park there.

We called our local fire department to report that this was going on, first my fiance called. They said they'd send a sheriff out to check out the problem. They did, and the sheriff drove by TWICE and did not stop to issue a ticket or ask the neighbor to move his car. Now, I'm genuinely concerned because of the close proximity of all the houses in the park that if one goes up in flames - the houses next to it most certainly would... and mobile homes burn FAST.

Anyway, so an hour after the cop drove by, and nothing happened... I called back and the fireman at the department told me that the cop said there was no hydrant there! I said, well... Yes there is, it's yellow and there's yellow paint that the car is parked on on the sidewalk that says you cannot park there. He sent the cop out again.

All the cop did was make the man move his car, no ticket or anything. Isn't he supposed to issue a ticket by law? What's to keep this man from doing this again if there were no ramifications?

Alright.

I'm currently a full time pro groomer who does between 4 and 6 dogs a day. I've been a pro groomer for a year and 4 months. I work at a privately owned, small, full-service/self wash facility in metro Detroit. I'm terrified about the "slow season" this year, as I have bigger bills to pay than I did last year... and can't really afford to make $350 for two weeks... I average $580-$630 every two weeks in the busy season.

So... I started to apply for new jobs and one of them was PETsmart. I applied to work in their pethotel, but got called in by their grooming salon to interview to be a groomer there. It's tempting, because I know if you don't commission out, you still get a guaranteed hourly rate.

I need to know from you groomers out there who may have expirience with them... Is it worth it? Will I make more? Will I be happy there? Or should I stay away?

Tell me all you can!

I know my friend who works as a groomer for PetCo in the same city as the PETsmart I will be interviewing at makes pretty good money... Do you think it will be comparable?

A month or so ago I noticed a small hard pea sized lump forming at the base of my skull right under the hairline on the left side. As I was sick at the time, I wrote it off as a swollen lymph node.

I didn't pay attention to it for a while, but I was rubbing the back of my neck today and noticed that it has doubled in size. It is now the size of a marble, and just as hard as ever. It is not movable.

I will be making a Dr. appointment for Tuesday, but does anyone have any clue as to what this could be?

I would like to purchase a home. However, I apparently can't get a mortgage because I've only been at my job for a year and I am paid on commission.

I am NOT 1099, however. I get a biweekly check with taxes taken out as if I were an hourly employee.

I have excellent credit.

How can I get approved for a mortgage?

I never want to have sex. I have to force myself to act interested.... and I'm only 22!

I am in a steady relationship. We've been together over a year, and we live together. I love my boyfriend. I can't wait to marry him, we've got a ring put on lay away. We get along great.

Before my current boyfriend, I had no trouble wanting sex or enjoying it... I had orgasms.

But... I never have the desire to have sex with him, and he wants it ALL THE TIME. When we first got together, all I could think about was doing him.. Not anymore. I'm not turned on by him, or by anyone else for that matter. Not movie stars, not anything I can think about turns me on.

I find myself rushing through sex with him just to get it over with. I don't want him to touch me down there with his hands because he does construction and his hands always look dirty. He does it wrong anyway, even though I've taken his hand and showed him EXACTLY how I get myself off.

I've had a lot of trouble with UTIs and yeast infections in the past... and with crappy insurance, I can't afford one of those right now.

I fake orgasms, because it seems I just don't have them anymore... unless I rub myself.

I hate when he says "I wanna do it" or "Let's go have sex."

I tell him it turns me off when he asks for it. I've asked why can't he just be sexy and start something without saying a word? I've forced myself to demonstrate that point by just starting something silently with him... but yet... he just hounds me and I want to kick him in the nuts for it!

I'm so frustrated! What can I do?