You'll have tons of fun... I live in that general area, and it's got lots of great tourist attractions!

I'd go with the older people, personally. That way they'll treat you more like an adult, less like a kid who needs supervision.

We had a lot of fun with "your mom" jokes last year (you'd think I'd grow out of it by age 19, but I haven't!)

Typical exchanges would go like this:
"You're stupid."
"Your face is stupid."
"Your Mom's stupid."
"Oh yeah? Well, your mom wears army boots!"

For some reason saying that someone's mom wears army boots is absolutely hilarious. Totally unrelated, you can't get in trouble for it, and it'll get a couple laughs.

I'm not over 20, but I'm 19 too. Check out my column, and if you like what you see, contact me :)

(P.S. I don't have AIM, but I do have MSN messenger.)

If you're trying to get out of something by causing harm to your body, it's the wrong way.

It may seem like the easiest solution, but maybe if you post your actual problem on here, we can help you with it.

One little tip: flights that leave at weird times are usually a lot cheaper. I have to fly from Toronto to Winnipeg every summer for my job, and if I leave at 5 in the morning my flight is really cheap.

Guess what? The others who answered before me are wrong. REGARDLESS OF HER AGE, whether she's 18 or 45, she's living in her parents' house and she has to live by their rules. So, until she moves out on her own, there's legally nothing you can do about it.

HOWEVER... don't lose all hope! :)

Try getting to know the parents. Find out what they're concerned about. Maybe you can come to a compromise that allows you to go out with her, but keeps them from worrying. Show them what a nice, respectable young gentleman you are, and how well you'll treat their daughter. They could just be over-protective or may have had a wrong first impression. Dress nicely, speak respectfully, and there's no way they could not like you.

No matter WHAT they say, remember to keep a cool head and don't let them provoke you into giving them anything to prove their preconceived notion of you right.

Good luck!

A lot of women don't orgasm simply through intercourse.

What might help is extending foreplay... make sure he gets you to the limit before you have sex.

If that doesn't work, you can always 'lend a hand'... if you know what you like, just stimulate yourself during sex. Make sure it's allright with your boyfriend first... let him know that he really turns you on, but because of the way women are built, you need stimulation in a different way. It's great eye candy for them, and you get to have your orgasm (or orgasms!)

:)

If you really like him, let him go... at least until his relationship is over. By no means should you try to break them up, because he'll see you as being jealous and manipulative. I know, it sucks... but it's true.

I know it hurts to be in love with a best guy friend... been there, done that. Unfortunately, telling them that does NOT go over well. Trust me on this one.

However, you do have one advantage over the other chick: you know him better. You know what makes him tick, and you probably know what he likes better than she does. That means that you can do those little things that he loves, without looking like a creepy stalker; bring him fresh-baked cookies, or whatever else floats your boat.

Just try to act normal around him, and maybe after the breakup he'll be more appreciative of everything you've done and everything you mean to him, and develop romantic feelings of his own.

Good luck!

Wow, that's a nasty surprise...

Sometimes people will lie about things, even when they don't have to, in order to protect the person they care about from something they perceive will hurt them. In this case, she thought that by telling you that you were her first (whatever you've done) you would feel more special. Or maybe she was scared you'd think she was a slut because of it. There are a bunch of reasons why a girl would lie about that, none of them acceptable of course, but it's not a malicious thing.

As for her talking badly about this guy, it's really understandable. If he took her virginity (ESPECIALLY if he pressured her into it) and then was a jerk to her, she probably hates his guts now.

The condomless fooling around. If you're worried about that guy's cleanliness, you should get an STD test. It's no big deal, just a little swab and you're done. It's better than worrying. She should get tested too. You're better off safe than sorry, right?

So, talking to her about this whole thing. Ask her why she felt she needed to lie about it. Let her know that you would be far less hurt by knowing something than by not knowing and finding out later. Don't get angry, don't yell. Be as understanding as you can.

Are you mad at her? Only you know that. Should you be mad? Probably not. Hurt, upset, disappointed, yes. But mad, no. She made a mistake, and willingly gave you the information she had lied about before, and that takes a huge leap of faith.

My guess is that she has no good feelings for this guy anymore. If she talks about him like he's a jerk, he probably was. The fact that he took her virginity probably made her hate him even more, so don't worry about that.

As for trusting her, time will tell on that one. It might be hard for you to trust her at first, but please be forgiving. Her coming to you to set things right is a big indicator that she really wants you to trust her, and wants to be honest with you.

I know this whole situation really isn't fair, but she definitely did the right thing in telling you.

Good luck to the both of you!

What I did to negotiate a later bedtime is to offer to go to bed at the set time, but be allowed to read until half an hour later.

I know it's unfair, but it's the price you pay for being the oldest... I know, because I got the same treatment.

Well, you didn't post a genre, so I'll give you a little of each of what I can figure out.

SciFi/Fantasy:

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr
- Set in the future. There's a monastery dedicated to preserving books from the pre-nuclear war age. Pretty much everyone is illiterate. A monk from the monastery finds a bomb shelter with 'valuable documents' in it... and finds out they belonged to the guy who founded their monastery. Everyone thinks it's so valuable, but it's really just a shopping list! Really interesting.

Nightfall by Isaac Asimov
- Set on a different planet which has 7 suns. They're in everlasting light (even indoors they always have lighting) and they find out that there's going to be an eclipse. Since these people have never been exposed to darkness (they sort of think of it as a taboo subject) it drives most of the population into madness.

The Crystal Cave series by Mary Stewart
- The story of Merlin.

Dune by Frank Herbert

Fiction:
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
- Really famous story about a teenaged girl during the Civil War. I know you don't like historical fiction, but this one is a really good story, and doesn't focus too much on the actual history part so much.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
- About a country girl whose family is really poor, so they send her off to some rich relations. It follows her life as things go wrong after that. Again, it's set in the 1800s because that's when it was written.

Mystery:

Susanna Gregory has some great books. I KNOW you said no historical fiction, but these ones are really neat. It's murder mysteries set in the middle ages, solved by a monk. I really liked them.

Give these a try. I was in the same position you were, and it was really rough. I know these aren't the type of books most teenaged girls read, but I personally hate the really girly stuff that's out now; it's not nearly enough of a challenge.

Good luck!

That doesn't make you a bad kisser. In fact, you really shouldn't be trying to make your tongue go really far into his mouth; it's not tonsil hockey!

I'm sure that he's not thinking about how short your tongue is when he's kissing you...

How about making your own? Find a really cool, funky picture that you like, and recreate it using your colours. Something simple, of course.

That way you're guaranteed to have a unique picture, and it costs a lot less than buying one.

All you'll need is a canvas, paints and paintbrushes.

If you use thin pads, and wear a padded bra, you could always pop one in your bra. I know, sounds weird, but it's a safe place to keep things when you can't carry a bag, and shouldn't be too noticeable.

(It's how I carried my money at Disneyworld!)

The yolk is really high in cholesterol, so you should keep your consumption of yolks down. The whites are a great source of protein, low in fat and cholesterol, and pretty tasty too, so you can eat those!

I don't think she's jealous so much as a normal (if somewhat prudish) teenager.

I know things are different now for young teens from what it was 5 years ago when I was one, but I was really disgusted by the thought of intimate contact with guys... that all changed, of course, as I got older, but I started off as a bit of a prude.

Some people believe that things like kissing should be reserved exclusively for private settings, so her being grossed out by people kissing in front of her is actually fairly normal.

In no way does her behaviour indicate that she's jealous, though, so don't worry!

I personally hate meditating. I've tried it as a way to get rid of excess energy/anger, and all it does is piss me off more.

If you can afford to take up a non-school based extra-curricular activity, try taking up a martial art. I did karate for 7 years, ended up with a black belt and became one of the calmest people ever.

It's not so much about beating the stuffing out of someone/something, it's about learning to focus and use your anger in a constructive manner.

Wow, I'm amazed at how much I've forgotten since high school physics... a little googling and I think I've remembered enough.

1. Sound pressure levels drop by 6dB every time the distance is doubled. This means that the sound level will decrease to 90-6-(6/2) = 81 dB. (I may be wrong on this one, though)

2. This is an easy one. Illuminance inside is equal to daylight factor times outside illuminance, so it will be 5000 * 2% = 100.

I've taken up to first year engineering physics at university, so I can usually answer any physics questions you might have. Feel free to ask anytime!

Here's a list of things that can cause blood in urine:

My guess is bladder or urethra infection, but he should go to a doctor, because only a doctor can diagnose him properly. Even if it is caused by drinking or drugs, the doctor will still help him get better!

* Kidney or bladder stones
* Infection of the bladder, kidney, or urethra
* Inflammation of the bladder, urethra, or kidney
* Cancer of the bladder or kidney
* Trauma to the kidney, fractured pelvis, or recent procedure somewhere in the urinary tract like catheterization, circumcision, surgery, or kidney biopsy.
* Polycystic kidney disease
* Kidney failure (acute or chronic)
* Kidney disease following strep throat, called post-stretococcal glomerulonephritis; this is a classic cause of blood in the urine in children

I've been to a few house parties in the past couple years (albeit adult house parties, but some principles stay the same)

-Make sure people stay in the house or backyard. People may call the police if there are tons of people on the front lawn.

- Inform your neighbours beforehand, and let them know that you'll do what you can to keep the noise and inconvenience down.

- Go to your nearest grocery store and get cardboard boxes. Lots of cardboard boxes. Then flatten them and cover the floor with them. Trust me, it makes cleanup a lot easier. And there will be a lot of cleanup.

- Make it an invitation only thing. Some people love to crash these things, get drunk and break stuff/generally make a mess. Don't be a victim!

- Remove anything breakable, anything valuable, and your parents' booze. If it can be broken, stolen or consumed, it will be.

- You really should make sure it's alcohol-free. Why? You don't want to get caught with an underage drinking charge. That's bad news. If nobody is drinking, then the cops can't do much of anything if they bust the party.

Good luck, and have fun!

My Personal Forum

My name is Amanda and I'm 26 years old. I'm currently studying electrical engineering. Armed with a fairly odd sense of humour and a sunny outlook on life, I'll take on just about anything. I'm also cussedly stubborn, which has its ups and downs. Things get tough sometimes, and I've never been one to run from it.

In my last 8 years with Advicenators, I've gone from honours student to failing out of university (and getting back on top again!), from single to married, from tenant to homeowner.

Until lately, I have been struggling with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and OCD, which had basically ruined my life and taken just about everything from me. I'm thankful every day for every experience I've had because of this ordeal, because it's helped to make me who I am today. Things like that really make you appreciate what you do have. Now that I'm back in work and school and starting to become myself again, I couldn't be happier. I credit Advicenators with saving my life back when I was a teenager, which is a big part of why I'm still here.

I won't necessarily give you the answers you want to hear, but I'll always be honest and do my best to help.

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