I'm beat. I haven't been sleeping well lately and I'm sure it's stress related. I am just looking forward to moving this Saturday and actually lining in a place that has more than two windows once again. Yes, windows will be a good thing... and tonight I actually get to sign the lease.
I've been in meetings all morning and this afternoon I get my hair cut.
Life is very exciting indeed.
So every Wednesday I become The Answer Guy. If you need advice or need the answer to something, click on any of the � advice links on this site and ask anything you would like to.
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name: m0ok
email:
url: http://m0ok.diaryland.com
question:
Are foreskin reclamation therapies (see http://www.oil.ca/~dkettle/journal.htm *mature content warning*) tax deductible?
Answer:
I am unsure of tax law in your country, but in the U.S. - unreimbursed medical expenses for you, your spouse, and any dependent are deductible on a Schedule A to the extent that the expenses exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.
The definition of what constitutes a medical expense is very broad and includes expenses to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat or prevent disease. However, cosmetic surgery is not deductible unless it is related to disfigurement from a congenital abnormality, accidental injury, or a disfiguring disease.
So you could attempt to make a case that you were circumcised by accident because your parents really did not want you to be - but the doctors did it as is custom in Great Briton - and thus you deserve to have your penile foreskin reclamation therapy covered...
or you could attempt to prove the harder case (pun intended) that the reclamation procedure should be covered because parents do not have the right to make that decision for their children.
By the way, most people can't deduct their medical expenses because of the 7.5% of adjusted gross income floor.
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name: clover imp
email:
url: http://findyourself.diaryland.com
question:
So lets say, theoretically, that a person has a boyfriend whom they love very much. Then lets say that this person also has a best friend who is a lesbian. Then lets say that the both of them get very, very drunk one night, and end up making out. Lets also say that this person is not a slut, as a matter of fact lets say that was only the third person she's ever kissed in her life, and it had nothing to do with liking her friend, it was just 100% out of curiosity (okay, and also a lot of drunkenness).
Theoretically.
Is this cheating? Should this hypothetical person tell her boyfriend, whom she adores with all her heart? Should this person feel guilty, since there was no emotion, just a learning experience between friends?
You know, just in theory?
Answer:
Is it cheating? Yes it is, take the gender out of the question, or just pretend the girl was a boy and ask the same question.
Should this person tell her boyfriend? No. What would be the point in hurting the boy?
Should this person feel guilty? Consider the case of a motorist making a left turn from your right, inadvertently pulling out in front of you to cross your lane, after stopping and looking right at you while obviously not seeing you. Usually they pull out nonchalantly right in front of you with you driving right at their door -- then perhaps suddenly see you - mouth dropping open with eyes bugged out in terror because they realize they have dangerously screwed up. Or they may not ever see you and never even realize they nearly just got themselves killed. This is different from the case of someone who intentionally tries to cut you off or cuts in front of you; and it is usually obvious which case is which.
I would immediately forgive anyone who pulls the inadvertent stunt because I understand it is just some sort of human error, not some selfish or malicious character flaw. I don't even get mad; but often find it even amusing - as long as no one gets hurt.
The person who cuts you off because they just don't care about your wellbeing and the person who continually cuts people off by accident are both another story. Humans are supposed to learn from their mistakes, not keep repeating them with absolutely no attempt to improve.
So should this hypothetical person feel guilt for making out with her lesbian best friend? It all depends on if it was something that just happened that they don't plan on repeating while they are in a committed relationship, or if they knew what they were doing and said "Screw the consequences, I'm going to play me some tonsil hockey!"
I'd just chock it up to a learning experience.
You know, theoretically...
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name: Piper
email: [email protected]
url: http://white-rook.diaryland.com
question:
John Powers, oh great hero of mine... what exactly is a person to do when they encounter a complete stranger in public who is a dead ringer for their former fiance? How exactly does one handle this situation without becoming hostile or bawling uncontrollably?
P.S. In one of my last questions, I inquired as to where to find old school Converse hightops, and even you, the all-knowing tiki god of Providence, were unsure of where to get them. Well, guess what? I found them! Old school hightops! They are camoflage, even! If you are ever in the Chicago area, go check out a store called *Strange Cargo* on Clark between Belmont and Addison. They have a fabulous selection. And as soon as I get another 29.99 and a ride from South Bend to Chicago, I am going back for a pair of plaid low tops. I ::heart:: my Chucks. :)
Answer:
Tell yourself over and over again that this is not the same person. Is a man in a really good Richard Nixon mask repeating over and over again "I am not a crook! I am not a crook!" really Richard Nixon?
No. Firstly Richard Nixon is dead, and secondly outward appearances never directly correspond to the inner person - to the mental aspects of a person that - especially once we get to know someone well - actually define who a person is.
Lets say your ex-fianc�e was a twin. You would never be able to switch between the two twins without knowing who was who - at least after a while - because everyone is different - especially beneath their skin.
Chock it up to coincidence, remember a few good times, forget the bad, and move on.
Ps. Congratulation on finding your Chucks!
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name: Anonymous
email:
url: http://
question:
Should you feel like a complete naive moron when you trust someone and they take advantage of you?
Answer:
No, but you should feel betrayed. Extending your trust to someone is a big deal. By extending trust, you are opening yourself up for injury.
Take rock climbing. If I have a belaying partner (the person holding the rope keeping me from cracking my skull on the rocks 50 feet below me if I fall) I am trusting them with my life. I have to know them pretty well and trust that person on a couple of levels before I would put my life into their hands. If I find that person not paying attention while I'm clinging precariously to a crack by my finger tips, then that person is not who I thought they were. Chances are they misrepresented themselves to me, and yes, next time I would try to be more careful whom I choose for a partner, but I would not beat myself up over it (presuming I lived) because basically that person lied to me.
It sounds to me as if the person who took advantage of you misrepresented themselves to you, and that is nothing to feel stupid about.
Take it as a learning experience and move on.
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name: Kaylee
email: [email protected]
url: http://queenmab776.diaryland.com
question:
Like the girl who asked you for a debate topic, I value your opinion. My English teacher wants me to write a fictiontal story, and I have no clue what to write about. Pls. give me some topics! Please also note that I go to a very strict Catholic high school and I am in the 10th grade. Thanks a lot!
Answer:
You could write the untold love story of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Nah, probably a bad idea.
How about a world who's sole entertainment is business meetings?
A village that finds a never-ending wheel of cheese.
The adventure of a penguin that gets lost in Cleveland.
Rewrite a short Trains, Planes, and Automobiles type of story.
Take a dance, take a girl meeting a boy, take out any kissing, and write the story in reverse.
Just write about what you know. Fiction based on real life experience usually results in the best stories. Trying to conjure up something you've never done or been exposed to - tends to result in less than believable writing.
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name: your mom
email: [email protected]
url: http://
question:
so i moved here to join a band that was due to get signed, leaving behind the girl i loved. my drummer and friend of six years who got the gig through me then kicked me out of the band. i also lost the girl.
i have been drinking copious amounts of whiskey while contemplating my next move. what should i do once i sober up?
Answer:
Hrmm.
At some point you're going to have to decide what you need from life. I'm not saying you should settle, but I'm saying you're going to have to decide what things you need as a person to make yourself happy.
It would be easy to tell you to get a full time job again and start blending in with the rest of us working stiffs, but if you can't do that, then you're going to have to make some decisions accordingly.
