How do I get rid of the gross tea/coffee stains on my white mugs?
Sincerely,
Boring Little Old Lady
Dear Ms. Lady,
Fortunately for you, my parents, in one of their greatest gift giving feats yet, gave me a triptych of books with Over 100 Helpful Household Hints for vinegar, baking soda, and salt. In those pages, I found your answer: Sprinkle baking soda on a damp sponge and scrub. If the stain is persistent, add a little salt for abrasion. Ta-da!
Sparkling clean,
Ms. Pants
Dear Miss Smartypants,
This past winter I was offered a 4 month research assistance-ship by my academic supervisor at grad school. At the beginning of the semester he handed me a book and asked me to summarize it “and give it to me... whenever.” 8 months later, “whenever” has turned into never, and I still have the book. There is some time left in my contract, but not enough to summarize the book. Plus, I don't want to do it.
I have no personal tensions with this man to speak of, but our working relationship is a wreck. We have a history of not really living up to each other's expectations. I have already switched to a new supervisor. At this point, I'm pretty embarrassed about not having completed the summary. I don't know how to go about returning the book, or whether or not to bring up the incomplete work.
Thoughts?
Love, Academically Awkward
Dear It happens,
Leave the book in your old supervisor’s school mailbox with a note along the lines of “Here’s your book.” Your problem isn’t personal, it’s professional, and, while it is unprofessional not to complete a task, it’s better to sever the relationship and move on. It’s possible he may not even remember assigning you the summary. One BIG caveat: if there is any reason to believe that this man could or would attempt to sabotage your working relationship with your new supervisor or your academic career by bringing this oversight up, suck it up and drop the book with the summary in his mailbox ASAP, or start preparing your defence on why you didn’t follow through.
Summing up,
Miss Smartypants
Dear Miss Smartypants,
I'm having a lot of trouble sleeping at night. It's not as though I have anything that is keeping me up (no loud noises, no animals etc.), and yet I seem to hover on the edge of sleep, wake up several times during the night, and I never wake up feeling rested. It's really starting to take its toll because I feel tired all the time, and I can't concentrate at work. What should I do?
-Sleepless Nights
Dear Have a nap,
First off, you should probably speak to a doctor in order to rule out anything serious. After you’ve done that, consider the external and the internal.
External: you say there are no loud noises, but there are plenty of other things that can interfere with your sleep. Is your room sufficiently dark? Are you too hot or too cold? Is it too quiet? Some people need at least a little noise to sleep, so experiment with different quiet things you can leave on to help you get your shut eye. Make sure you go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every day. Start a bedtime routine, and stick with it. All these things will signal to your body that it’s time to rest.
Internal: Stress is a pretty big sleep killer, so try something to let your mind know that it’s okay to rest. You can read (nothing work related) for around ten minutes each night before lights out, or try making lists. Write down everything that you can think of that you need to accomplish in the short term (not “finish my undergraduate degree” but “take out the trash”), and then write a due date next to it. When it’s done, cross it off the list. This will also help signal to your brain that you have everything under control, so there’s no reason to stay up at night worrying. Finally, limit the number of activities that take place in your bed (try two: sex and sleep). Save reading, studying, and watching TV for chairs and couches, so your mind and body can create a link between the bed and rest.
Basically, you want to train yourself to go to sleep given a particular set of circumstances. It takes a while for you to get into the groove, but it does help. If the sleeplessness is unusual for you, if it persists, or if you are sure you aren’t suffering from an undue amount of stress lately, hie the hence to a doctor, posthaste. And don’t underestimate the restorative wonders of a power nap.
Well rested,
Smartypants
Dear Miss Smartypants
I heard that you can only use 'nor' in a sentence if you also use 'neither'. Is that legit?
-NeitherYouNorI
Dear NotSoMuch,
You can use ‘nor’ in a sentence even if you don’t use neither. Exciting, no? Good old fashioned coordinating conjunctions (and or nor for but so yet, or FAN BOYS if you’re hooked on mnemonics) work fine without extra help. It’s just that you see ‘neither’ and ‘nor’ together so often that people assume that they are partners, but they’re not mutually exclusive. Check it: I did not raise my hand nor did I intend to. Now let those geniuses behind School House Rock! take you home:
To legit to quit,
Smartypants
Don’t forget to send your problems, issues, and grammatical confusion to Miss Smartypants at
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. She may even get back to you.
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