The-Burg.com - Central Virgina's Arts, Culture and Entertainment Weekly

Dear Emily: My 75-year-old mother has a very old, and very sick, dog. I keep telling her it is cruel to keep him alive, but she just won’t take him to the vet and put him to sleep. I don’t want to force her to do something she isn’t ready to do, but my heart breaks for the dog, as his suffering only seems to get worse.
— Defending the Dog

Dear Emily: A group of my friends all bought tickets to see a baseball game together in May, and we’ve been planning this trip for a couple of months. One member of the group, “Justin,” just told us that he can’t make the game due to a wedding he has to attend. As a result, he said he would have to sell his ticket on eBay. Some of the guys are annoyed because the seats for the game are all together, and it would have been nice if he offered one of us the ticket first. This way we could have sold it to another friend. Is Justin obviously in the wrong here, or are the guys just overreacting?
— Troubled Over Ticket

Dear Emily: I lent my friend $8 a few days ago for lunch since the restaurant we went to didn’t take credit cards and she didn’t have cash. Well, we’ve been out with each other since that, and she still hasn’t paid me back. I don’t want to be petty over a small amount of money, but I still think it is only right she offers to pay me back! Should I say something?
— Minimal Amount of Money

Dear Emily: I have met a man at church. He and I are very cordial with one another. I have had parties at my home where he has attended and met three of my close girlfriends. We hug and speak when we are at church as though we are just friends, but recently we have shared some intimate moments - heavy kissing, after which I make up some sort of excuse not to go any further. I like him and I believe he likes me. I don’t want our friendship to end once sexual activities come into play. I would like to know what questions to ask leading into the next level of our relationship that will give me a feeling that “he is into me.” You see, when he comes to my house to visit, he never brings anything with him or asks if I need anything. The reason I am questioning his actions in this area is because when I visit someone’s home and I know that I am going to be depleting their supply of anything, i.e. drinking and eating, I usually like to take a bottle of wine, chips, etc. to let them know that I am not just coming to be an expense or an inconvenience. So far my friend being week in this area is a minor fraction that is holding me back from really letting him in my life.

- Is He Into Me or What?

Dear Emily: What’s the best way to deal with a thief? A co-worker of mine has a habit of “borrowing” things and not returning them. Sometimes it’s something small, like a stapler, and other times he’ll take books that I need. When I ask him for my things, he’ll try to play it off like he thought he already returned it. I am not confrontational and don’t want to accuse him of lying. But I also don’t want to keep losing my possessions!

- Need to Stop the Stealing