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**** I've been gone quite a long time. However I'm still breathing though it's touch and go. Don't expect me to answer or check in much. ****

Welcome to the junkdrawer that is my brain! I know something about many things, and I if I don't know it, I admit that I don't know. That I am constantly finding things I know nothing about and correcting that ignorance keeps me busy and happy. More junk for the drawer.

I love and have experience with many types of animals, including the human. I don't offend easy and I am generally cynical and a smart-butt. I love to drive, read, work on the computer and I spend WAY too much time watching Anime and bidding on ebay.

advice

Ok well I know this question is really stupid but i don't know what to get my dad or brother for x-mas. My brother is 16 and plays guitar and stuff and i don't know what to get him. Any ideas for either of them? thanx!
~I rate!~

My ex was a bass player. He worshiped Steve Harris of Iron Maiden. Most guitarist have an idol or some influincial band. Go on ebay or to a flea market and see if you can find something old and rare that ties in with your brother's faves. That kind of gift it's usually the hunting, not the cost that makes it special.

No clue about your dad, mine loves chocolate and socks.

i have been feeling bad for a while.. i think i have the disease depression... im almost 16 years old and until recently i havent told anyone except my best friend... i want to tell my mom and go to the doctor to find out for real but im scared... im afraid she wont understand or not take me seriously or get mad... some of my symptoms are: alot of insecurities with myself, feeling empty, trapped, i always wanna stay home and sleep, i hate myself, im sick of my life, and i have alot of regrets.... im not so bad that im thinking of suicide though.. i would NEVER do that.... the thing is i think i have a pretty good life and im lucky for the things i have and that makes me feel really guilty about feeling bad..... i have a good house, im healthy, i have a family who loves me, my parents are together, and i have alot of stuff but i still feel depressed....... i no there are people who have it so much worse than me and all that makes me feel so much worse about how i have been feeling.... my questions are do u think i am really depressed like.. do u think i have the disease or do u think im just a moody teenager? and do u think i should tell my mother? please please time one million answer my questions!!!! i reallyyyyyyy need help!

I've fought depression since I was about 12. I'm 31 now and still have to work through bad patches and take daily medication. My mother was great, understanding and supportive. Much as I hate to admit it, not all parents understand when depression hits. Many think it's their fault, that they have failed you in some way. They react with anger, you may take the heat, but the anger is not at you, but at themselves. Although you won't see it that way and it sure doesn't feel that way, it's the truth. Like you, I have a great life and family and feeling depressed makes me feel guilty. But there are many many causes for depression. Hormones, stress, heredity, trauma, and so many others and combinations only a professional can clearly diagnose if you are truely, clinically (over and over, not institutional) depressed or just going through a stage of life. That is why it's so hard to deal with. At your age you're going through hormonal changes that make any depression worse. A school councilor can be a great help, although I also know it's scary to trust someone you don't know with something so personal. Try a coucilor first and ask advise for broaching the subject with your mom. She does need to know, but there are ways to make the knowledge easier for her to accept. The longer you wait to take the first step, the harder it will be to take. Don't expect your feelings and problems to just go away. They will not, but you don't have to deal with them on your own. A little help can make all the difference. Resist the temptation to bury yourself. That's the depression's greatest ally. You must remain connected to life although I know better than most how hard that will be and how tired you feel. Big hug, sweetie.

ok just recently down below has started to become very itchy! i don't know why though...like i shave so it couldn't be lice and i've been shaving for a long time so that couldn't be it but it's just really dry and itchy and i don't know what to do i haven't had sex before so it isn't a std

Hair conditioner works , it's gentle and rinses easy. Lotions tend to clog pores and cause more trouble than the dryness. As you get older your skin changes, everywhere. Also ask your gyno next time to see what they suggest. For general irritation to the lower more delicate areas mine suggests A&D ointment (it's in the baby care section). If you don't have a yeast infection, and with dryness you don't, this works great. Also if you're using new products it could simply be chemical irritation. Luck!

does any1 kno any good love songs to make a cd with?

Depends on your goal. I am an eighties child so my choices may not fit your style, but read through my list and you'll get the idea.

For the strictly romantic look into some old Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, or Billy Halliday. The old stuff is the greatest for cuddle and slow dance (this doesn't always mean a dance floor). One step up: Sade, No Ordinary Love. Actually anything by Sade has a sexy romantic feel to it. Next step up: Anything that makes you feel warm and slick without graphic detail in the lyrics. Graphic isn't neccessary if the music has the right feel. example(Duran Duran - Come Undone, Queen - Who Wants to Live Forever) Next: this is where things get serious, Whitesnake - Slow and Easy If this song doesn't set off some sparks you're not going to get any.

For something purely physical you's need rythem not ballad and lyrics. I've had some good times to Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson - Get Your Gunn among others... Enjoy!

I had a dream that my boyfriend's, mother's... boyfriend poisoned them and killed them. I woke up from that dream in my dream and went to see if it was true and it in my awaken dream, he really did die like that. I was crying and tossing. My parents heard me crying and tossing and turning. Then my dad woke me up and i was so relived it was a dream. The whole time though i was thinking, its just a dream call buck make sure he is still alive. When i woke up from both dreams called my boyfriend and he was alive. I have no idea, why i had such an awful dream like that. What do you think this is suppose to mean?????

Short answer: From my experience, you distrust the mother's boyfriend. It could be something as simple as a fear that he poisoning your relationship between you and your boyfriend or that he's poisoning the relationship between your boyfriend and his mother.

Detailed answer: Dreams are rarely straightforeward, and none of my own seemingly dire and proftic dreams have come true. I've never know anyone's that have, but it is true that dreams are a link to your subconcious. Something about your boyfriend's family relationship is really bugging you. Try to think clearly during the day about how each member makes you feel and why. Don't ignore your dreams, but don't let them rule you either. Hope this helps.

I've already asked this but didn't know how to ask everyone. I'm male, 25. I've been going through a very stressful time with my job and family recently - I got laid off despite excellent qualifications, because they have outsourced to Canada, and was quite severely depressed. I am introspective, and don't have many friends, but value the ones I do very deeply. Anyway, I rather stupidly decided that I would be jealous of my friends' families, and their lives generally, being so much better than my own. In a moment of despair I told some of my very best friends (some of who I fancy majorly, but that's another matter!! LOL) that I never wanted to see them again. I swallowed my pride a few days later and apologized, but I don't know if they'll ever truly forgive me. I don't even know what I'm asking advice for... Maybe how do I broaden my friendship circle so I'm not so dependent on these few, given how shy and reticent I am? Or how do I stop myself reacting angrily under extreme stress? I just feel so lonely sometimes, I don't know what to do. I know I need a more positive outlook but what possible reason do I have?

Listen to Chaos, she's been my best friend since high school. In fact she's the only friend I still have from high school. I personally have a bad tendency to just drop people I really like for fear of being too, something. Other than overly willing to give advice and talk the mortar from between bricks, I don't know. I can tell you for a fact that friends will forgive your supidity. Just don't stop communication. Sometimes a friendship can rekindle, but it's so much easier just to keep in touch regardless of pride and fear of rejection. If you're friends with women, you should know eventually we'll either tell you are or were being a jerk or just forgive you after you've truely proven to us you're sorry. Don't ask how to prove it. As for myself I just arbitrarily decide "that's good enough, ok forgiven" and forget the offence.

Can anyone help. I am currently working for a firm which due to expansion is doing a re-structure within the office. All of us have been told that they will try and get similar jobs for us to take but there might be redundancy. I have been offered a job which pays £10 less then i am on and have taken away the company car. I started with the compnay when there was 13 people and now there is over 200. Can they do this to me as i feel totally let down by the company.

I understand your posistion better than you may imagine. Here's some background. I entered the company where I work during a mass assistant defection, they found out they weren't being paid market wage. I stuck with the company through a bankruptcy, a re-structure and down-sizing, coming out of bankruptcy with yet another re-structure and down-sizing, a sale (to a company who swore to put money in and not change the way we do business) to the resignation of the CEO and his second, the President of Human Resources, two people that had kept our company whole through the hard times before and who were and still are much loved and missed by those of use who'd survived those times. Another re-structure and up-sizing, then a re-structure that planned to combine us with a sister company with most everyone but accounting losing their jobs in my office or being relocated or getting possitons in other areas with lower pay or only temporary assignments. I'd already signed my severance package and was two weeks away from my last day when... Call all that new re-structure to a halt, call back those who have already been sent to other jobs in other places, (Sorry about the new house, has your old one sold yet? I hope not you'll need to move back in.) We're for sale again, both us and the sister company. A hasty re-structure so both companies can be sold seperately or together, offer raises and incentives to beg severanced people back until the companies are sold and yet another re-structure can be devised. Seven years. All that in seven years. And yes they can do it. Lawyers and human resource have most likely gone over every aspect of the offers they have given yourself and your co-workers. It seems heartless with all you've put into the company, but the business world is an uncaring machine that needs more and more every year to continue. Sad as it is, your company is probably doing all it can to help you and your family make it through the changes required by any business, much less one that has grown as yours has over the years. My company has hired lots of outside counceling services and change resource companies to help us cope with the massive changes. I've always been a cynical person and I've been hardened by the constant turbulance of these past years, but I know the reasons they give for change are valid even though it hurts to my soul to see friends and co-workers come and go. Once 20 and thirty years was not uncommon for someone to be with my company. Now at seven years, I'm concidered an old hand a senior. If you need someone, I'll be happy to lend an ear. shannon216@earthlink.net

I think i may be losing my company car soon so i am on the look out for car, does any1 know what is the best sites for 1, looking for used cars and 2, guide to what prices i should pay for a particular car.
many thanks

KElly Blue book is good, but talk to the insurance company you'll be using. I use State Farm, and my reps office workers are the greatest. They'll look up retail, black book, give you insurance options and comparisons on any car you ask. Rental car sales like Enterprise and Hurtz are often a good place to find a quality used car. They have the vehicals on a strick maintenance schedule and get rid of them every two years. Most have extremely low miles and they usually still have some factory warrenty left. Also, your company, since it has company cars may be part of a fleet program. My current car is a brand new Mazda I bought through the fleet program at my work. No doc fee, you still get any kind of buyer insintives, and lots of other discounts and pluses. I thought I'd have to settle for some old beat up clucker for what I could spend in monthly payments, but my little Mazda is EVERYTHING I was dreaming for. Definately look into fleet programs. Happy hunting!

Ok I met this girl online like 11 months ago and in April I asked her out. I have pics millions of letters and we talks hours everyday on the phone. I really love her. But her past relationship she was raped and had a baby so now her dad doesnt trust guys being with her and since she met me online that makes it even worse. I really wanna see her yesterday was 7 months. I need advice on getting her dad to trust me if anyone can help. And no im not leaving her shes perfect we never argue or fight. Please dont give me answers saying to dump her I understand long distance is hard but I know with her dads trust it will work. Thanks much guys and gals.

Her father needs to know you as well as she does. From what you've said, you want to be a part of her life. So be a part of it. Realize this means you'll be a part of her family's life as well. Suggest dinner with her family. Work on a car with her dad, or find an interest the two of you can discuss that has NOTHING to do with his little girl. Don't just try to get her off alone with you. That can come later and will be more rewarding if you're not constantly both worrying about how her dad feels about it and what he'll say or do when you bring her home. Her dad is frightened for her. In a very real sense her past hurt may have scarred him just as deeply. He failed to protect her once, and I can see why any male interest in her would freak him out. You have your work cut out for you. There will be no easy way to gain his trust and don't forget hers. That she's ready to become close to someone again is wonderfull, but it's a long way from being healed. I wish you love and luck!

when is the best time to get your puppy nuetered? I have a puppy and he is like starting to hump his stuffed animal dogs..lol

Anytime after their little testes drop in site is fine, but I have always waited until they were about six months. This gives them plenty of time for their hormones to help them develop. Any later than that and the puppies will be more prone to hormone effected cancers.

Ok.Im 37 weeks pregnant...And i Know your not aloud to be around Cat Litter...What i dont know is Can You be Around the CAt Itself?? Im concerned and have no clue so please help! And exactly how can it harm the baby,Like what Kind of harm can it do on the baby?

That depends. Usually anyone who has been around cats all their life as had a little illness everyone probably thought was the flu. This is a one time thing like chicken pox, and if you've had it your baby will be immune through you and you can sleep in a boatload of kitties with no problem. I've forgoten the name of it, but your prenatal doc should know and can give you a simple blood test to ensure you have the antibodies to protect your baby. I'm not sure what effects the illness would have on the baby if you don't have the antibodies, but any possible threat is to be avoided. About the litter... great time to get out of that nasty chore. Happy baby!

I've just started breeding my male and female zebra finches -she layed 4 eggs a few days ago, one hatched but it's now been 3 days why haven't the other 3 eggs hatched? are they okay?

Not all eggs will be fertilized, but it may just be the time they were laid. Usually, my Zebra finches would push the bad eggs out of the nest after awhile. A littel note you may already know, but that killed my first laying female because I didn't. Everytime you turn the lights on and off in their darkened room, the finches think it's a new day. My poor first girl laid 14 eggs in a week. She didn't survive to a hatching. I started reading everthing I could after that. Luckily, I was able to get a new female quickly. Mates will greive themselves to death. My poor boy didn't eat until I brought in the new girl.

Any one know anything about dogs My sheltie has a sore under is neck it doesn't seem to brother him but it sure is ugly. any ideas ?

Shelties are nothing but fur, and the ruff around their neck can get matted, even if it doesn't look it and you brush everyday. This time of year they are still shedding, but their winter undercoat is trying to grow in also. Chances are your dog has developed what's called a hot spot. This is a sore caused by heat and irritation complecated by licking and bactieria. If you don't think the sore is bad enough to take to the vet, try an over the counter medication and keep the spot as clean and dry as possible. Moisture aggrivates the condition and prevents healing. IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT ANY ANIMAL. All animals will try to seem as healthy as possible until they just can't pretend anymore. This is a survival tactic too deep for them to control. If YOU are worried, don't just wait until the dog ACTS sick. Depending on the illness or wound this can be deadly. Vet first, relief later. The more experienced you become with your dog, the better you'll be able to judge what is serious and what isn't. Hope it's just a hot spot. Wishing you and your pet the best.

i have this dog who is two years old, and i love him sooo much. the problem is, he has gotten my other dog pregnant twice, and each tie we had a horrible time trying to give the puppies away. My parents are furious, and they want to castrate him. i just cant bear the though of him losing his gender! just in case any of you know, what happens when you castrate a dog? are there any side effects?

Unless you plan on breeding a dog, the very best thing , especially for the pet, is to neuter (male) or spay (female). In the case of dogs it helps them live longer, healthier lives and the only side-effects are good, even if they'd never made puppies. Males become less aggressive. They no longer try to roam as often or as far away from their homes. They are half as likely to develop certain kinds of cancer. If a pup is fixed, nuetered, by 6 months it is almost 80 percent less likely to die of hormone related cancers. Plus even in the wild, when dogs run in packs, only the leaders are allowed to breed anyway. You are the leader in your pack, controlling breeding behavior is your right and duty.

As for his age, I had planned to breed my AKC Sheltland Sheepdog years ago. Sir Micheal was 2 when we finally admitted his genes were not good enough to improve the breed. We had him neutured. His personality never changed, he did not become depressed or angry. The sugery only requires a little cut and three or four stitches. After a week, he didn't even remember anything had happened. He still looked forward to visiting the vet (only dog I've ever had that did, but the surgery didn't change it.)

Ok. My cat Zoey will not stop pooping on the floor! She has a litter box and all she does is poop on the floor right next to it. She's not a baby, shes almost 4 yrs. old and she's always used the litter box fine, just recently she has started doing this, her litter box is clean because i clean it at least once every two days and i dont know what to do with her anymore, she has done this at least 10 times. I know that like putting their nose in it and saying no works on dogs but does it work od cats? Please if anyone knows anything i can do then tell me! Thanks in advance!

The suggestions to take her to the vet are good. Also any change of life, and with a cat this can mean as little as rearranging the furniture in your room (I've had cats my whole life, yes some are that sensitive) can cause distress that she is trying to show you how upset she is. Another thing about smell, the plastic in a litter box can become full of old nasty smells that we don't really notice but that a cat would be unable to stand. In that case it won't matter how clean the litter is. If you can't afford to replace the box, try scrubbing it with a mixture of vinager and baking soda. Make sure to rinse and completely dry the box before refilling it. This has helped me in the past. Good Luck!

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