Shop Fittings

where is a good place to shop for furniture on line? im really into french provincial (sp) things also please dont say walmart or target ive looked there and they dont have what im looking for so any other websites you can recommend would be great ive never gotten to decorate my own room before and i want my room to be girly thanks!!!!!

Home and Garden-How is shopping for furniture through Amazon like? Hi, I am trying to buy a Brown Microfiber Chaise Lounger from Amazon.com. The reviews that I have read so far is positive. As a first timer with on-line furniture shopping, I am nervous. I am trying to find out some basics of how long it really takes for the piece to ship? Does it arrive as the one in the picture and the condition it arrives in? If anyone had an experience with returning a piece? Hope it won't come to that, but thanks for reading.

Where can I find economically prices barber shop furniture and equipment in the state of Georgia or on line?

where can i shop on-line for household items? i am moving soon and i need to buy household furnitures like bedroom, living room and dining room sets and other household items and accesories. it would be great if they're on clerance. i've been searching and i still can't find anything that pleases me. thanks. Janice

Where can I find furniture stores in L.A. that offer fabric protection plan? I've looked into Easylife, Wickes and LA-Z boys but still cannot find what I wanted. My budget is about $1300 for a sofa and love seat. Where else can I look? On-line shopping does not work for me because I need to see the color in person. Thanks!

I would like to buy furniture from duty free in Clark? Does clark duty free have a web page or a way to shop on line?

where to buy things to sell in a bitz n bobs shop? hi im looking to open a shop selling cheap furniture and pound lines toys household, cleaning stuff etc..... and i was wondering if anyone knows where i can find warehouses etc... where i can buy things from and bulk buy from the net or where people get pallets of things for next to nothing. i am also interested in starting on ebay and if i do how do i go about it and where would you get furniture to sell on there from thanks

Where are the best places to shop for low cost quality used furniture in Phoenix AZ? I moved into a very large house recently and felt the need to move some living room furniture to the family room and now my I need to find something to put int he living room prefferably something or a couple somethings that are large and or unique like a sectional or a chair thats shaped like a shoe or something along those lines to fill the void before my roomate returns form his our of town vacation. But i am on a mildly limited budget between now and then so need someplace not too expensive? I.E. goodwill locations or cheap cosighnment stores?

I'm looking for good online discount stores for household items;rugs,in & outdoor furniture,kitchen stuff,etc. Also, for clothing...Good brands with great discounted prices. Can anyone help? I'm new to shopping on line and have yet to get the knack for finding the good places. Thanks!

Engagement, new furniture decisions, am I crossing a line? My fiance is moving into a new apartment for which he plans to get some new furniture and decor. I offered to help him shop and pay for furniture and decor. Like pay part or half, whatever he's comfortable with since he's not in a good financial situation. (but it is about to improve since he is getting another job next month and is getting equity from the last place he lived). We will be married in 4 months. Should I get a say on the furniture or am I crossing a line? He says that he feels like he doesn't need my input on the furniture because we can sell the ones he gets now and get new furniture before we get married. I think it's financially irresponsible to buy and have furniture for only 4 months and then sell it because he will end up losing money since the furniture will be used therefore having to sell it for less. I can kind of see his side where this IS his apartment for four months, but in my mind it is "only" four months. Like the time isn't large enough to matter. It's not like a year. This whole scenario or conversation between us started because his mother offered to buy him some barstools as a house warming gift type of thing. I told him that I wanted to see what they looked like, so that we could decide what kind we liked together. (We usually like the same color scheme and style so I didn't think it would be a big deal). He acts like he feels uncomfortable with it and I don't understand. Is it wrong for me to want to have a say about the furniture? Honestly, this was an issue that I never saw coming. Now I feel like an intruder that made a bad request. I really just wanted to make things easier, but now it's more complicated. What do you think? This will be our first home together.

I need to set up a compressor and air lines in my shop. What should I buy? Hi. I am setting up an all purpose wood and metal workshop to start my cabinetry and furniture business. For sandblasting and operating Pneumatic tools I want to invest in a decent compressed air setup. Per the answers community's advice, I already have purchased an 80 gallon air tank and a 5 HP heavy duty compressor pump / motor. I have a general idea of the setup for the shop, but I need some specifics on materials and equipment. I intend a 50 foot minimum line distance from compressor to the sandblaster, with drops every 10 - 15 feet to collect condensed water and sludge. I am considering installing an air condenser, but they are a little expensive for this start-up venture. Can I build something adequate from scratch? I'm envisioning a coiled series of pipe installed just after the compressor, embedded in cold water or cold air flow from a fan, with a drop at the end for water collection. Would that work as well as a $2000 condenser? Also, what pipe should I use. PVC is out, I've read enough horror stories in the forums. I am torn between steel and copper. Steel is easier for me to assemble (my soldering skills are rather lacking), however, copper seems to be a better choice due to rust resistance. Also, which would be cheaper over all in materials cost? regardless of metal, what SIZE pipes should I use? I've heard of some guys using 2 inch (?!) for the overhead main pipe, and dropping 3/4 inch down to the release valves and tools. Can I use the same diameter pipe for the whole system, or is it like HVAC where it needs to get bigger the closer you are to the source? Where should I locate cutoff valves, regulators, bleeders, water filters, and pressure gauges? Appreciate your advice. JB

My rights to cancel an order using GE credit line? Two days ago my wife and I went to a furniture store to shop for furniture and was talked in to buying over 12 thousand dollars worth of furniture using a GE credit line that the store was offering with 2 year terms with nothing down and no payment or interest for 2 years. The next day we realized that we had spent way to much money and we decided to call and cancel our order for this furniture since it was not scheduled to be delivered to us until Feb 2007. When we called we were told we could not cancel the order and that they had already placed our order to the manufacturer. My question is can I cancel this order if I do not want to take delivery of this furniture in Feb. 2007? We feel we were talked in to buying way to much furniture by the salesman and would like to not buy this furniture. It was all charged on the stores GE credit line that we opened on the day of the sale. Any help would be appreciated

where can I find baby furniture and product at bargain prices? I've been searching for a baby cot,pushchairs etc. at clearance price or bargain price on line but I would like to see the products before I buy them. Anyone knows if there is any shop that I can go and have a look at the product before I buy? and No secondhand shops. Many thanks..

conservatory furniture? hi we have just got a consevatory built and we are looking for furniture i can go on line to look at some but im wanting a shop where i can go in and look for my self i live in newcastle upon tyne the only places i have been is dobbies and fenwicks do you now where else i can find conservatory furniture thanks marina x

best uk ecommerce solution? I am looking to start selling furniture on line and the more I research the options for hosting a site, shopping cart etc. the more confused I become - can anyone recommend a cheap, simple solution offering multiple pictures per product?

i cant freakin shop for things without my fiance having to know first...? am i the only one who seems to think this is completely lame and dumb... ??? ive been shopping around for some nice furniture peices to add to the house with HIS money so i saw other things we could use in there and i bought them with MY MONEY so he wont go on about his stink cash and how i bought lamps and pictures rather than a dresser, etc.! this is so not healthy! he has an opinion about everything... planning wedding, decorating the house, etc. and yes he is into sports VERY much so. i dont freakin annoy him with sports and video games! all this voicing opinion and doing it his way sucks! ive officially called the wedding off, i do not see myself marrying him unless he stops this nonsense! we just purchased a home well HE just purchased a home... my points on what i wanted in the home were completely overlooked... therefore i decided NOT to get on the mortgage of course so i have no ties whatsoever when and if i decide to go on and move on to a man who actually acts like a guy... oh yea and he does infact have the "im not listening thing" like men and the "uhh yea if thats what u like" or "i dont know" he's trying to take on all roles! its freakin annoying... am i crazy people? what the heck is wrong with this dude? and his family seems to be intimidated by me further more they dont speak correct english and their views omg these are some country folks, let me tell you! obviously im sitting here venting roflmao btw we have a son and we have been engaged 6 months before he was even concieved but due to the fact that he has so much to say wedding keeps getting postponed... i mean i can understand he can do the dj, honeymoon, you know all that but damn i dont need help in the actual planning of my day! i feel i cant tolerate it! ugh! his line is, "im different, i just want to know" ughhhhhhhhhhhh! isnt all this the sure signs of not getting married huh? lol

I can't stand the idiots who bend to go under ropes all the time instead of walking around them to get on line? What is it with these wackos who do point to point walking, especially always bending under ropes instead of going around them to get on line. Then there are the nuts who walk in a straight line and will literally knock down anybody in their way to get to their cars. It's called point to point walking, in which you have to get everywhere you want to go in a straight line and anything in your way whether it's people or furniture you'll run into to knock out of the way. What do you think of these lunatics who are becoming the norm rather than the exception? It's gotten to the point that you almost feel like complementing a person who does things in sync and not like a bull in a china shop.

Credit card refund when a shop goes bust? I live in the UK and 6 weeks ago, I bought £2000 worth of make to order furniture from a local small business. The delivery time was 6 weeks Now when I chased for a delivery date, I've discovered that they have gone into liquidation. I paid in full by Mastercard. The transaction was on my following credit card bill that I paid off in full 2 weeks ago. What can I get back from the credit card people? so far, the credit card company have said that there will be no compensation from them and it is my problem. Does anyone know what the official line is on this for a UK resident? Thanks J

Will my butt be mad if I shop Ikea? I need a new couch. I'm considering one from Ikea because that's the only place I've seen the style I want. I want a loveseat or small sofa with a lounger (not a recliner, a chaise lounge) on one end. Ikea has the smallest ones I've found in this style (I'm going for smaller), and they look nice... But they aren't exactly cheap and I hear Ikea furniture is usually not comfortable. Plus you have to assemble it yourself, which is not a plus for me. I think I'm willing to get past the high-ish price tag and the needing to put it together if I really can't find my couch anywhere else, but it needs to at least be comfortable. Can anyone tell me from experience how uncomfortable an Ikea couch is? Is it worth it, or are they totally overhyped? Is there a certain line that is more comfortable than the others? Am I going to regret it if I get a Swedish couch?

Fable 2 DLC Knothole Island "Missing Mayor"? Yeah I recently purchased the Knothole Island DLC on Xbox Live. And everything was going well , I did the first 2 quests the mayor asked me to. The Cold and Heat. But now its raining and I have left Knothole Island many times and went to Bowerstone and many other places , even went to the Spire for ten years and still its raining and no Mayor. I read on the Lionhead forums about alot of people having this issue , but no response from Lionhead. Has anyone had this issue and found a way to resolve it? I would sure like to continue with the content I payed for but failed to get it seems. I don't know if it has something to do with my game being new , as I have yet to finish the main-story line. Also one other problem I have had since downloading is ever since I bought a house in Knothole island I have a msg at the top of my screen that says " Buy new pieces of furniture from a furniture shop if you want to update this item'' : / I went through the whole spire with this at the top of my screen and its STILL there..kinda annoying :( I appreciate any info anyone has on these 2 subjects.

How soon after closing house can you open another line of credit? We are closing on our house today and need to buy a refrigerator and would like to buy some new furniture before we move in. How soon after we close can we go and buy this things on credit(either an existing card or by getting a store credit card)? Do lenders check your credit after closing because we would actually like to go shopping right after closing! This is not our first home so we are aware of the costs of moving. Also we are moving to a less expensive county closer to our jobs so we will be saving money each month(hence the reason for moving). Monthly bills are not the issue I was just worried about applying for credit right after closing affecting the home loan in any way.

Which stores are good to buy jackets from? In CANADA .. Brands likes element, burton .. etc These are the stores that the mall has which I'm going to today. If you know of other stores which will have them, please suggest! 2nd Look Day Spa A&W Aaargon Dental Centre Access Acinda Jewellers Aldo Shoes Alive Health Centre Ancient Art Gallery Ann Louise Jewellers Arby's Ardene Aritzia Athletes World Superstore Atkinson & Terry Insurance B.B. Watch Service Bell Below The Belt Ben & Jerry's Ben Moss Jewellers Benix & Co. Bentley Blenz Coffee Blue Line Sports Bobby Dazzler Body Shop, The Booster Juice Bootlegger Bourbon Street Grill Boutique of Leathers Buffalo Build-A-Bear Workshop Capz Canada Care Point Medical Clinic Carlton Cards Cartunes Telus Mobility Change of Scandinavia Changing Seasons Claire's cleo Coast Mountain Sports Coles Coquitlam Centre Eye Care - Dr. Hardip Thind Coquitlam Dental Clinic Crabtree & Evelyn Dallany Jewellery Designs Daniadown Quilts Dollars & Cents Dr. Boyco's Image Optometry Dunn's East Side Mario's EB Games Eccotique Spa and Salon Eddie Bauer Escents Extreme Fairweather Fido Flight Centre Flowerchild Florist Foot Locker Framing & Art Centre Freedman Shoes Fruits & Passion Future Shop GAP GAPKIDS Garage Garden Fresh Express Gateway Newstands Generation Wireless GNC Golf Town Guess? H & M Heads Up Hair & Body Spa Heel & Sole Shoe Repair His & Hers Hair HMV House of Knives ICBC Driver Services Expressway Icing by Claire's In-Look Optical International News J76 Jacob Jacob Connexion Just for FEET K.R.C. Perfume Club Ltd. Ke Dong Kiosk Kebe Kerrisdale Cameras KFC Koya Japan L3 Fashions La Senza La Senza Girl La Vie en Rose La Vie En Rose Aqua Le Chateau Le Chateau MensWear Lenscrafters Lisa's Purse Shop London Drugs Lottery Center (Lower) Lottery Center (Upper) LUSH Mantique Clothing Co. Mappins Jewellers Mariposa Marlin Travel Mastercuts McDonald's Restaurant Mecca Metalsmiths Michael Hill Jeweller Montana's Cookhouse Motherhood Maternity Mr. Big & Tall Menswear Mrs. Vanelli's Pizza Naturalizer Shoes New Dynasty New York Fries Northern Reflections Nutrition House Off The Wall Office X-Press Old Navy Orange Julius/ DQ Treats Payless ShoeSource Pearle Vision Peoples Jewellers Personally Yours Please Mum Postal Outlet Premier Salons Premier Spa Boutique Pro Stitch Pro Systems Proactiv Kiosk ProfessioNAIL Purdy's Chocolates Quilts Etc. Randy River Reitman's Ricky's All Day Grill Roasty Jack Rogers Wireless Ronsons Rose Cosmetics Royal Lepage Kiosk Royal Lepage Showcase Ruffage RW&Co. Sacos Sweaters Saje Sashimi Sushi Satchel Shop Scotiabank Sears Sears Hearing Aid Clinic Selene Handmade Jewellery Shefield & Sons Tabacconists Showcase Shuangye Furniture Silkway Travel Sirens Smart Set SoftMoc Shoes Sparky'z Kutz For Kidz Specs on the Spot Sport Chek Spring Shoes Starbucks Sterling Shoes Sticky Chews - Urban Child Wearables Stitch It Stitches Str8Up Custom Tees Sunglass Hut Suzy Shier Sweet Factory T & T Supermarket Tabi Taco Time Tan Jay & Alia Telus.Connect The Bay The Children's Place The Little Tea House The Sony Store The Source By Circuit City Things Engraved Thomas Cook Foreign Exchange Timbo Dino Tip Top ToGo Sushi Too Smooth Kiosk Toy Jungle Trade Secret Tri-City Optometry. Dr. G.S. Leekha and Associates Tristan Urban Behavior Urban Vista Versailles Jewellers Vina Vietnamese Gourmet Vivah Watch IT! West 49 Windsor Ties WirelessWave Yogen Fruz Zellers Zennkai Salon Thanks! I'm a girl

Please help me! Very urgent :(? I don't understand any of these questions. Please help me: 1) Macy of New York sold Marriott of Chicago office equipment with a $6,000 list price. Sale terms were 3/10, n/30 FOB New York. Macy agreed to prepay the $30 freight. Marriott pays the invoice within the discount period. What does Marriott pay Macy? 2) Jordan's of Boston sold Lee Company of New York computer equipment with a $7,000 list price. Sale terms were 4/10, n/30 FOB Boston. Jordan's agreed to prepay the $400 freight. Lee pays the invoice within the discount period. What does Lee pay Jordan's? 3) Julie Ring wants to buy a new line of Tonka trucks for her shop. Manufacturer A offers 14/8 chain discount. Manufacturer B offers a 15/7 chain discount. Both manufacturers have the same list price. Which manufacturer should Julie buy from? 4) Logan Company received from furniture.com an invoice dated September 29. Terms were 1/10 EOM. List price on the invoice was $8,000 (freight not included) Logan receives a 8/7 chain discount. Freight charges are Logan's responsibility, but furniture.com agreed to prepay the $300 freight. Logan pays the invoice on November 7. What does Logan Company pay furniture.com? Please show me what to do to solve these problems [: Thanks a lot! ? I don't get it.

I need help! :/ PLEASE OPEN!? I don't understand any of these questions. Please help me: 1) Macy of New York sold Marriott of Chicago office equipment with a $6,000 list price. Sale terms were 3/10, n/30 FOB New York. Macy agreed to prepay the $30 freight. Marriott pays the invoice within the discount period. What does Marriott pay Macy? 2) Jordan's of Boston sold Lee Company of New York computer equipment with a $7,000 list price. Sale terms were 4/10, n/30 FOB Boston. Jordan's agreed to prepay the $400 freight. Lee pays the invoice within the discount period. What does Lee pay Jordan's? 3) Julie Ring wants to buy a new line of Tonka trucks for her shop. Manufacturer A offers 14/8 chain discount. Manufacturer B offers a 15/7 chain discount. Both manufacturers have the same list price. Which manufacturer should Julie buy from? 4) Logan Company received from furniture.com an invoice dated September 29. Terms were 1/10 EOM. List price on the invoice was $8,000 (freight not included) Logan receives a 8/7 chain discount. Freight charges are Logan's responsibility, but furniture.com agreed to prepay the $300 freight. Logan pays the invoice on November 7. What does Logan Company pay furniture.com? Please show me what to do to solve these problems [: Thanks a lot!

Is this a jewelry site pricing error? I was looking on line for earrings and found a few items on a particular site for only .01 (that's right, one cent!) so, i put like 5 in my shopping cart and the total is 5 cents. If i buy them can i get charged more when they catch the error? I have seen this before on a furniture site for a L-shape leather couch, but my husband was too skeptical. have u seen this before? what's the deal w/ that?

Help on a small business project? Well, in computers, I have a business project I chose my business as a gaming business Company Name: Gamers Live Tagline: We are gamers, live on gaming. Logo: Clueless, I have a picture of a brain and the international circle,square,triangle, and x around it I am currently stuck on what items I need I have... cash register cash wrap counter gaming chair alienware desktops I want to know what other furniture should go in a game store BOTTOM LINE Gamers Live "We are gamers, live on gaming" Crappy Logo Need more furniture QUESTION Can anyone name a couple of the furniture/items one will need to open a store that is for anyone with a desire to game? This means anything that would go in a shop of game. Board games, video games, computer games, game accessory, game anything. What is a good idea for a nice logo? I have a brain with the game symbols around it. It's very bad. :( What is another nice company name? I was thinking about infused gaming, but I dropped the idea. If anyone can answer these of post a link as to where to find the answers, it would be greatly appreciated. THANKS OH SO VERY MUCH! :)

Feeling overwhelmed with marriage? It's common problems that I've seen on here time and time again. but adding in my circumstances personalizes it. I'm 19 a mother of a 1 1/2 yr old pregnant with baby number two. I'm feeling so drained so tired of the same thing every day. I never get to leave the house except when my husband and I go grocery shopping or something along those lines. Or when I go to church which I wish to share with my husband. I got pregnant at 17 and everything I did and who I was changed 100% I drank smoked pot snuck out. Got pregnant then just turned into major I guess stuck up. I changed everything to what I want my children to see me as. My husband went out and got a good job( they treat him like crap and he hates it) He has health benefits brings home 1200 to 1300 every two weeks. Then he just wants to go back to living life like it used to be. I gave him the option to skip out as a father he chose to marry and support me. I just feel so overwhelmed because I'm the bad guy all the time his only motivation for not doing the things we used to do is because I'll give him hell and make him feel guilty (not on purpose) I understand I put so much pressure on him. I refuse to live in a crap hole or use baby furniture that's too used. Maybe he's right nothing is good enough for me. I believe it's my duty to take care of the kids and clean house have dinner for him when he gets home, I think that it's fair that that's how it should be most of the time cuz he works alot of hours, and it would be unreasonable to expect him to cook and clean after a 12 hr day. It just gets hard it's a job never done, I just want him to come home and want to come home instead of wishing he were out drinking the whole time. I just want him to want to go to church with me. We just have no compatibility anymore. I just want advice on how to make things easier? We just got in a fight and he pointed out how much pressure I put on him. I do put alot of pressure I just can't stand for settling for less. I tell him i'm willing to go out and work but he wants me to wait til the kids are in school. I'm not sure what I'm really asking on this question except for words of advice and encouragement. how I can be less naggy and get him to understand that I don't want to be the bad guy. I just want whats best for my family. Please no negative or derogatory answers. No we didn't know eachother when we got married. Especially since what he did know about me changed completely when I discovered I was in family way. I'm trying to tone it down but when I do he just takes advantage. On money i am actually quite frugal. Except on a few things like baby furniture, bottles and where we live. we could've got used furniture but I just started worrying about stuff like warranties or recalls I didn't know about. I strive to take care of it and show pride in what we have. Rapscallion what you said is one of the things that goes through my mind over and over again and that's what scares me the most on our marriage. I do want to point out that I know my stupidity and maybe that's why I strive to the level nagging that I do. I know that a marriage takes compromises and I have sacrificed just as much as he did even if I didn't go into detail every sacrifice I've made.

Is this jewelry site pricing error? I was looking on line for earrings and found a few items on a particular site for only .01 (that's right, one cent!) so, i put like 5 in my shopping cart and the total is 5 cents. If i buy them can i get charged more when they catch the error? I have seen this before on a furniture site for a L-shape leather couch, but my husband was too skeptical. have u seen this before? what's the deal w/ that?

Are you a Real Man Of Genius? are u any of these Mr. Bass Plaque Maker Mr. Bowling Shoe Giver Outer Mr. Bumper Sticker Writer Mr. Chinese Food Delivery Guy Mr. Driving Range Ball Picker Upper Mr. Fake Tattoo Inventor Mr. Foot Long Hot Dog Inventor Mr. Fortune Cookie Fortune Writer Mr. Garden Gnome Maker Mr. Giant Foam Finger Maker Mr. Hawaiian Shirt Pattern Designer Mr. Inspirational Poster Writer Mr. Jelly Donut Filler Mr. Losing Locker Room Reporter Mr. Major League Infield Raker Mr. Male Football Cheerleader Mr. Outside the Stadium Peanut Seller Mr. Parking Attendant Flashlight Waver Mr. Pickled Pig's Feet Eater Mr. Pit Crew Water Bottle Squirter Mr. Pro Wrestling Wardrobe Designer Mr. Professional Movie Extra Guy Mr. Putt Putt Golf Course Designer Mr. Really Bad Toupee Wearer Mr. Supermarket Deli Meat Slicer Mr. Underwear Inspector #12 Mr. Wrecking Ball Operator Mr. All You Can Eat Buffet Inventor Mr. Camouflage Suit Maker Mr. Company Computer Guy Mr. Edible Underwear Maker Mr. Experimental Medications Tester Mr. Golf Ball Washer Inventor Mr. Hockey Organ Player Mr. Horsedrawn Carriage Driver Mr. Male Fur Coat Wearer Mr. Nudist Colony Activity Coordinator Mr. Professional Figure Skater Mr. Professional Movie Extra Guy Mr. Renaissance Fair Performer Mr. Restroom Toilet Paper Re-Filler Mr. Supermarket Free Sample Guy Mr. Wedding Band Guitar Player Mr. Airport Baggage Handler Mr. Athletic Groin Protector Inventor Mr. Beach Metal Detector Guy Mr. Boombox Carrying Rollerskater Mr. Centerfold Retoucher Mr. Fancy Coffee Shop Coffee Pourer Mr. Fancy Restaurant Valet Guy Mr. Giant Inflatable Pink Gorilla Maker Mr. Giant Taco Salad Inventor Mr. Handlebar Mustache Wearer Mr. Hollywood Plastic Surgeon Mr. Parade Float Driver Mr. Silent Killer Gas Passer Mr. Souvenir Snow Globe Maker Mr. Sports Fan Face Painter Mr. Tiny Thong Bikini Wearer Mr. Tuxedo Shop Tux Renter Mr. Used Car Lot Auto Salesman Mr. Airline Meal Chef Mr. Art School Model Guy Mr. Baseball Designated Hitter Mr. Books on Tape Inventor Mr. Cargo Pants Designer Mr. Civil War Battle Re-Enactor Mr. Cruise Ship Entertainer Mr. Discount Suit Salesman Mr. Dishonest Cable TV Hooker Upper Mr. Furniture Assembly Manual Writer Mr. Giant Pocket Knife Inventor Mr. Grocery Store Cart Wrangler (TV) Mr. Homemade Pontoon Boat Maker Mr. In the Car Nose Picker Mr. Major Highway Line Painter Mr. Movie Theater Ticket Ripper Upper Mr. Multi Colored Sweater Wearer Mr. Next Day Carpet Installer Mr. Pet Toy Designer Mr. Pro Sports Heckler Guy Mr. Push Up Bra Inventor Mr. Really Big Pet Snake Owner Mr. Really Large Body Building Guy Mr. Really Stinky Breath Breather Outer Mr. Really, Really, Really Bad Dancer Mr. Street Lamp Bulb Screwer-Inner Mr. Way Too Much Cologne Wearer Mr. Accordion Player Guy Mr. Adult Film Movie Actor Guy Mr. Animal Husbandry Expert Mr. Bathroom Stall Dirty Joke Writer Mr. Clip on Tie Inventor Mr. Discount Airline Pilot Guy Mr. Doctor Tree Surgeon Mr. Excited About Storms Weatherman Mr. Extra, Extra Strong Glue Maker Mr. Gangsta Rapper Posse Member Mr. Gas Station Sandwich Maker Mr. Ghetto Car Driver Mr. Guy Wearing a Poncho Mr. High Protein Diet Guy Mr. Hot Stock Tip Advice Giver Outer Mr. In the Park Cartoonist Mr. Miniature Train Modeler Mr. Motorcycle Side Car Rider Mr. New Shoe Tissue Paper Stuffer Mr. Over The Top Carb Counter Mr. Oversized Fanny Pack Wearer Mr. Personal Space Invader Mr. Portable Toilet Cleaner-Outer Mr. Reality TV Show Star Mr. Really, Really Tight Jean wearer Mr. Restaurant Food Critic Guy Mr. Tiny Dog Clothing Manufacturer Mr. Warehouse Shopping Club Member Mr. Way too Much Team Clothes Wearer Mr. "Kiss Me I'm Irish" Pin Wearer Mr. 80 SPF Sunblock Wearer Mr. After Halloween Costume Shop Salesman Mr. Backyard Bug Zapper Inventor Mr. Basketball Court Sweat Wiper Upper Mr. Ceremonial First Pitch Thrower Outer Mr. Department Store Mannequin Dresser Upper Mr. Egg Nog Inventor Mr. Electric Carving Knife Inventor Mr. Frozen Turkey Helpline Guy Mr. Gasoline BBQ Starter Mr. Humongous Pumpkin Grower Guy Mr. Jean Shorts (JORTS) Inventor Mr. King of the Karaoke Mic Mr. Labor Day Inventor Mr. Las Vegas Trip Taker Mr. Law Enforcement Cavity Searcher Mr. Mail-Order Bride Orderer Mr. Moped Souper-Upper Mr. Nosebleed Section Ticket Holder Guy Mr. Overzealous Foul Ball Catcher Mr. Paranoid of the Ocean Guy Mr. Supermarket Produce Putter Outer Mr. Apartment Next to the L Tracks Guy Mr. Artificial Tree Maker Mr. Boneless Buffalo Wing Inventor Mr. Cell Phone Holster Wearer Mr. Enormous SUV Driver Mr. Exotic Cowboy Boot Wearer Mr. Fantasy Football Manager Guy Mr. Hair Gel Over-Geller Mr. Half-Time Shooting Contest Contestant Mr. Holiday Gift Regifter Guy Mr. Hot-Dog-Eating-Contes

Help with 9th grade Math final? i'm going over test questions that I got wrong on my test trying to correct them to prepare for final I have pre algebra ~Percents~ In a survey of 2500 ppl 750 said that they regularly drink OJ at breakfast what percent does this represent? An article of clothing regularly selling for $34.55 is advertised 45% off find the sale price At the end of the summer lawn furniture selling at a market price of $1213 is on sale for 24% off what is the discount? Bike shop employees set a goal of selling 200 new bikes in a 3 month period they sold d75 bikes the first month 130 bikes the second month and 125 the third month what percentage of their goal did they reach? ~Finding the Better Buy~ 8 square feet of wrapping paper for $2.25 or 5 sq feet of wrapping paper for $1.30? Please explain how to do this ~The counting principle~ You are purchasing a telephone you may choose a wall,desk,or antique style.You may select a touch tone or rotary dial.Color choices are white,ivory,tan,and black.How many possible choices of telephones are there? A committe is to consist of four members there are 6 men 5 women available to serve on the committee how many different committees can be formed? ~Intercepts~ What is the y-intercept? y=1/2x-1 What is the equation of the line? Slope = 5, y-intercept = -3 What is the equation of the line? Passes through points (3, -2) and (-2, 8); y-intercept = 4 You are buying exactly 20 yards of ribbon for a wreath. You can buy ribbon in 2-yard packages orin 5-yard bolts. How many packages or bolts of ribbon could you buy? Which equation represents the situation algebraically? Ok the ones i'm having most trouble with are the intercepts the percents and cordinate plots you don't have to answer every single question (although it would help a lot) at least pick from one of the three it would be most appreciated What is the equation of the line? x-intercept = 1, y-intercept = 3 ~Perimeter/area~ how to find area of a parallelogram? how to find perimmeter of a trapezoid? ~ Actually it's not i'm homeschooled and we're allowed to print off old tests to study for finals and If i have trouble with it I have trouble with it.

Pregnant and feeling really down in the dumps, want my partner to do more, but tired of asking...? My hubby and i moved in together in october 2008, found out i was pregnant april 2009 and married may 2009...i'm now in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy and its been an awful one, iv already got a 5 year old son from a previous relationship, iv had tonsilitis, and a long bout of food poisoning which i just recently got over, to be honest im shattered, i'm doing the housework everyday, taking my son to school and back which takes me 2 hours to walk altogether, and on top of that iv made the cot, decorated the bedroom and sitting room, sanded a dining table and moved quite alot of furniture around and done the weekly shop alone. My partner works in London his alarm goes off at 4am but he never gets up for it he was late again this morning and hes in a new job, he took four days off work last week compalining of a bad ankle even though he walked around on it for those four days he had off, i still need to get floor laid and some stuff put into storage from the hallway yet its been months since i asked and its still not done, to be honest i dont think he cares...iv bought everything for the baby even though we're married, cot, clothes, stroller.. When we go out people we know touch my tummy and ask how i am and how baby is, my partner dosent even go near my tummy, and when i tell him the babys moving hes normally rolled over given a quick is she and gone to sleep... I dont know what to do...iv tryed to get him involved but hes just not interested...i even went to a yoga class in London the other evening when he was off with his bad ankle, and got stuck in surrey having to get a taxi i didnt get in til nearly midnight, anything could have happened to me and when i walked in he was fast asleep not even one bit worried where i was, he didnt even notice id got in the bed, when i got up in the morning to get my son out of bed he'd been put into bed with underpants and a tshirt, no pyjamas and my son had a cold at the time... I'm so unhappy iv started crying everyday, i never cry infront of him as i dont think he'd understand why im crying....and i know crying is bad for the baby but things are that bad, i dont ask him for much and i gave him a little list of things to do before the baby comes, it would take him a day to do them yet it would probably take him a lifetime. And i know i shouldnt be lifting and moving things or painting, but if i dont do it it wont get done. I'm even starting to find it hard to wash my little boys hair bending over the bath... And i find it hard to make my sons bunk bed, asked hubby to do it, and the sheets just come away, and i ask him to hang his clothes up when he comes in from work so they dont get creased as i spend hours ironing them for him...if he had his way there would be clothes all over the house... And hes always always complaining his back is sore, hes got a cold or something along those lines. And hes always tired, always...i even sent him for blood tests but nothing came back as i was worried there was something wrong with him. Hes not even booked holiday for when the baby is due yet with work. I dont nag at him or argue with him i just ask him every now and then to do little things.But he dosent. and most of the time he just laughs things off. I'm tired and very sad...i feel like giving up

Why do people think nothing of...? ...dropping $500 or more on a new crib (or over a grand for a nursery furniture set) for their baby but freak out if someone spends a few hundred or more to invest in a good stroller. Now, I'm not talking about the $1000 and up ones, but something in the 3-5 hundred dollar range. The crib is where the baby will sleep only. A good mattress is the most important thing anyway. Unless it's a convertable one that can turn into a toddler bed, it's only going to be used for a couple years (my daughter has never even slept in her's overnight because I decided to co-sleep) then they are usually put up for sale. The classifieds around here (CT) are full of brand new cribs that were used for only a short while, some neer even slept in. A good stroller is so worth the money. I get crap all the time because I spent a few months researching strollers to find exactly the right one (which I spent about $300 on. I don't think that is at all unreasonable for the perfect stroller. It's something I use almost every day and it's the best purchase I ever made, however I consistently get flack from my family about it and other parent's who are friends. Just the other day I was in the mall doing a little shopping with my daughter in her stroller and this woman in line behind me had her son in a stroller too. I don't even know what brand it was but it was just your basic, decent 4 wheeled stroller - nothing wrong with that. Well, this stranger actually had the gall to look at me, then eyeball my stroller and look at me like I was flaunting something and she said "oooh... aren't we fancy..." Just like that. I couldn't believe it. So my question is, "what the heck is the big deal?" Why is it perfectly acceptable to spend $500 or more on a new crib or nursery furniture but people act like you are crazy if you spend over $200 on a practical necessity like a stroller? Ashley A - Like I said in my question, I use my stroller almost every day!

Is NYC Safe (DESCRIPTION OF NYC INCLUDED!)? I personally LOVE it, it is insanely awesome and undescrible over words. It is what I honestly call... "magic." You feel good when you're there; whether you like sports, shopping, jogging, nature, history, walking and looking around, looking for furniture, or simply want to discover it all, then NYC is the right spot for you to be at! What you are overall capable of discovering is tremendously amazing and the adventure never ends; the city is super big and extraordinarily sick! And imagine the following: EXPLAINING isn't even worth HALF of CHECKING IT OUT, and even then, you can't check it out completely. Dudes, go to the city! You won't regret it. I personally don't like museums or extra curriculum activities, not to mention sports and nature! I think they're pathetic; I'm a shopaholic who is obviously a real girly girl as well, not a tomboy. And even if you don't like shopping, NYC is different and gives you a different perspective on how to view things -- only because you're in NYC. Here's the guide to perfection: You can check out NYC-Obsessed.Piczo.com (Created, Developed, Managed and Monitored by me). I have a way with words! Close to the true matter behind it, you have to go to NYC and check it out for yourself. You can eat breakfast at Max Brenner (DELICIOUS, best chocolate EVER!) It's all chocolate, but listen up parents, PROTEINS, TOO! So, SHH.. don't tell you're kids - they'll enjoy the meal so much either way that they won't realize it's helping them grow! LOL. No need on letting them take on a white lie... no big deal! Anyway, you can also take them to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Research on it or read the book, The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E. L. Konigsburg, it is a book based upon it) ONLY because they're in the city, DUH! So, NYC is the place to be but bottom line, based on research and mainly the "Twin Towers," Tragic, the incident is simpy too harsh to forgive. And there are SO many different people - mean AND nice - and unfortunately technology hasn't gotten at all to the point where you can like track down what statistics and qualities people have - disguise is taking over. So, is it safe overall? GIMME, GIMME SATISFACTORY ANSWERS! But then again no one's checking in answers :-( OMG, thanks. I just love NYC and randomly asked this because I have read stuff about it, but as Rihanna notes: "It's the city of wonder," in her latest debut single, Disturbia. That's the song that got me thinking, LOL. ;-) DarcieBW86: Wow, yeah.. add me to you're contacts so that while you're there, or when you come back, you can check back to this question and leave me a comment.... so that you tell me how it went. I added u!

All ladies, is this true? 1....What women want in a man at age 22: 1. Handsome 2. Charming 3. Financially successful 4. A caring listener 5. Witty 6. In good shape 7. Dresses with style 8. Appreciates finer things 9. Full of thoughtful surprises 10. An imaginative, romantic lover What women want in a man at age 32: 1. Nice looking (preferably with hair) 2. Opens car doors, holds chairs 3. Has enough money for a nice dinner 4. Listens more than talks 5. Laughs at my jokes 6. Carries bags of groceries with ease 7. Owns at least one tie 8. Appreciates a good home-cooked meal 9. Remembers birthdays and anniversaries 10. Seeks romance at least once a week What women want in a man at age 42: 1. Not too ugly (bald head is fine) 2. Doesn't drive off until I'm in the car 3. Works steady - splurges on dinner out occasionally 4. Nods head when I'm talking 5. Usually remembers punch lines of jokes 6. Is in good enough shape to rearrange the furniture 7. Wears a shirt that covers his stomach 8. Knows not to buy champagne with screw-top lids 9. Remembers to put the toilet seat down 10. Shaves most weekends What women want in a man at age 52: 1. Keeps hair in nose and ears trimmed 2. Doesn't belch or scratch in public 3. Doesn't borrow money too often 4. Doesn't nod off to sleep when I'm venting 5. Doesn't re-tell the same joke too many times 6. Is in good enough shape to get off couch on weekends 7. Usually wears matching socks and fresh underwear 8. Appreciates a good TV dinner 9. Remembers your name on occasion 10. Shaves some weekends What women want in a man at age 62: 1. Doesn't scare small children 2. Remembers where bathroom is 3. Doesn't require much money for upkeep 4. Only snores lightly when asleep 5. Remembers why he's laughing 6. Is in good enough shape to stand up by himself 7. Usually wears some clothes 8. Likes soft foods 9. Remembers where he left his teeth 10. Remembers that it's the weekend What women want in a man at age 72: 1. Breathing 2. Doesn't miss the toilet 2.....A married man thought he would give his wife a birthday surprise by buying her a bra. He entered a ladies shop rather intimidated, but the girls took charge to help him. "What color?" they asked. He settled for white. "How much does it cost?" he asked. "Twenty dollars." "Very good," he thought. All that remained was the size, but he hadn't the faintest idea. "Now sir, are they the size a pair of melons? Coconuts? Grape fruits? Oranges?" "No," he said, "nothing like that." "Come on, sir, think. There must be something your wife's bust resembles." He thought long and hard and then looked up and said, "Have you ever seen a Spaniel's ears?" 3.....This one is to make amends to the ladies.... Why do only 10 percent of men make it to heaven? Because if they all went, it would be called hell. How are husbands like lawn mowers? They're hard to get started, they emit noxious fumes, and half the time they don't work. How can you tell when a man is well hung? When you can just barely slip your finger in between his neck and the noose. How do you get a man to stop biting his nails? Make him wear shoes. How many men does it take to screw in a light bulb? One. He just holds it up there and waits for the world to revolve around him. How many men does it take to screw in a light bulb? Three. One to screw in the bulb and two to listen to him brag about the screwing part. How many men does it take to tile a bathroom? Two - if you slice them very thinly. Why can't men get mad cow disease? Because they are pigs. What do you call a handcuffed man? Trustworthy. What does it mean when a man is in your bed gasping for breath and calling your name? You didn't hold the pillow down long enough. How does a man show he's planning for the future? He buys an extra case of beer. What do you call the useless piece of skin on a penis? The man. Why do men have a hole in their penis? So their brains can get some oxygen now and then. Why do men name their penises? Because they don't like the idea of having a stranger make 90 percent of their decisions. Why does it take 100 million sperm to fertilize an egg? Because not one will stop and ask for directions. What makes a man think about a dinner by candlelight? A power failure. What should you give a man who has everything? A woman to show him how to work it. What has eight arms and an IQ of 60? Four guys watching a football game. What's the best way to force a man to do sit?ups? Put the remote control between his toes. What's a man's idea of honesty in a relationship? Telling you his real name. What's the difference between Big Foot and intelligent man? Big Foot has been spotted several times. Why did God create man before woman? He didn't want any advice. Why did God create man before woman? Because you need a rough draft before crea

Anyone have any bedroom decorating tips? OK, I'm thirteen, and today my parents and I are going to be moving around furniture and such. I have a large, very heavy TV, that we're going to attempt to put on milk crates, so that I don't have to sit on the floor to watch TV. I also have an electric keyboard, and three guitars. I also have a saxophone that I have at school, but I have to bring it home for a concert I will be playing in next week. There's a hamper, and a fan on my floor, but the fan is lifted each night onto a chair so I can have it on when I sleep. My bed is too high for a fan to be sitting on the floor, and I get anything from it. On my dresser, I have a mirror, and on that mirror, there's pictures, a movie ticket, certificates, and a poem. There's also perfume, jewelry, my Edward and Bella dolls, my nail stuff, my makeup, my hair stuff, my deodorant, lotion, some pictures in frames, a mini mirror, two Cullen crests, and a lamp. On top of my TV are my remotes, a cable box, a DVD player, and a VCR, and a picture of my boyfriend. My old bedside table is behind my door with my trash can under it. On my headboard, there are two compartments for things, and in one, I have some journals for multiple projects I want to start, a book light, my old glasses, (long story about the glasses. To cut it short, I can't read with my new glasses on, and I have to read with my old glasses on.) and my flip video camera. In the other compartment, I have a math stencil I found on the bus, and am returning to the teacher on Monday, a book light, my DVDs, and my music case. In between them, I have my library books, and my glasses case. On top of my headboard, I have my alarm clock. Covering my walls are Twilight posters, a calender for the countdown to Eclipse, a regular puppy calender, a picture of my father, a 3D picture of a ship, and a stitching thing my grandmother made the day I was born. There's also a few sweaters hanging on nails, and two cork boards. In the top right corner of my room, my fan, my old school backpack, and two guitars are there. On my desk, there's a lamp, a pencil sharpener, a lava lamp, and a basket of junk. In a container that's connected to my desk, I have my board games, and my writing binder. Under the table where my keyboard rests are my shoes, they're in a small container, then my art stuff in a pink container. On my bookcase are my books, of course, some magazines that I hope to make into a collage for my room, my yearbooks from fifth and seventh grade, some music books, a Twilight bucket holding some stuff, a broken basket with another smaller basket inside holding twine and beads, it's on top of a wood shop project I made last year, which was a box, and it's empty. Those things are on top of a box, which holds tons of things. next to that is my science project I have to bring to school Monday. On my hanging shelves that my grandfather made, there are figurines, a small set of drawers holding a few things, such as my sewing equipment. Then my memory box, and some things from my dad. I also have my snow globe collection on it too. On my other shelf, there's a Wicca shrine. On a little table next to my dresser is a small table with a little purple lined basket. That's empty. I can't paint, wallpaper, or buy new furniture, but I'd like some tips on how to make my room seem bigger. The first thing I see when I walk in is my bed. That's annoying. Please help me out, and sorry for the lengthy explanation.

i will ask this again,why do you have to be married to receive family benefits? from the military?i asked this earlier and everyone put me down and my bf saying he wont marry me.but we agreed that we do not want to marry just for benefits.i always see these military commercials saying family first,well how is that family first?how can the government just pay for a legal spouse's move with their soldier when he pcs?that is not fair at all!!there are many families out there such as brad pitt and angelina jolie with kids and are not married and no one looks down on them.i know they are not military,but we are the families who have kids and not married considered a legal family too?it is already not fair the irs will not let you claim your gf or bf and child on your taxes,though you all have the same address.marriage is a commitment and no one should be forced into it just because they have children together. why cant anyone see things my way for a change.i am not self centered!i have a baby on the way that needs a father like any other child out there. plus i can use that tax free shopping,cheap food/clothing also.i can get a job for my own medical and dental.but the shopping on post is what anyone can use to save money while living anywhere especially an expensive place like hawaii!! maybe there should be some limitations on what the military and government does for every bf or gf.but when you have children with someone and have or are about to establish legal residence with them,that should count for something i think!if we have to foot the bill to hawaii for my son and i,money to live off post cause they will not let us all live on post,then they should at least pay for our furniture and one car down there.cause if the military is not concerned with me that much since we are not married,then where would my son stay if he were just visiting?my bf agrees with me totally on this. by the way i did not just have a baby to a random person,or are trying to play married or just shack up.we know we will get married,just not right away.we know within the next 2 years for sure,cause we will know how we did living together in a new place and state. i am happy in my relationship and not living daily thinking i married just for benefits!that is for the people who say my bf wont marry me.some of you military wives may have married just for that reason and are made at people like me who are smart and think before making commitments like and are not sure all the way.having a baby with someone,does not mean you have to marry them right away and that is the person that you will be with forever either.you can have plans to be with someone forever and marriage down the line,but it does not mean that marriage is guaranteed either! can someone who understands me please tell me your thoughts on this.cause i know i am not the only one who feels this way!

english/polish to chinese translation help? This short story was written by Bruno Schulz, a polish writter. It is about: Father's last escape. I found it from here:http://www.brunoschulz.org/13-ostatnia-eng.htm Here's the text: It happened in the late and forlorn period of complete disruption, at the time of the liquidation of our business. The signboard had been removed from over our shop, the shutters were halfway down, and inside the shop my mother was conducting and unauthorized trade in remnants. Adela had gone to America, and it was said that the boat on which she had sailed had sunk and that all the passengers had lost their lives. We were unable to verify this rumour, but all trace of the girl was lost and we never heard of her again. A new age began - empty, sober and joyless, like a sheet of white paper. A new servant girl, Genya, anaemic, pale, and boneless, mooned about the rooms. When one patted her on the back, she wriggled, stretched like a snake, or purred like a cat. She had a dull white complexion, and even the insides of her eyelids were white. She was so absent-minded that she sometimes made a white sauce from old letters and invoices: it was sickly and inedible. At that time my father was definitely dead. He had been dying a number of times, always with some reservations that forced us to revise our attitude towards the fact of death. This had its advantages. By dividing his death into instalments, Father had familiarized us with his demise. We became gradually indifferent to his returns - each one shorter, each one more pitiful. His features were already dispersed throughout the room in which he had lived, and were sprouting in it, creating at some points strange knots of likenesses that were most expressive. The wallpaper began in certain places to imitate his habitual nervous tic; the flower designs arranged themselves into the doleful element of his smile, symmetrical as the fossilized imprint of a trilobite. For a time, we gave wide berth to his fur coat lined with polecat skins. The fur coat breathed. The panic of small animals sewn together and biting into one another passed through it in helpless currents and lost itself in the folds of the fur. Putting one's ear against it, one could hear the melodious purring unison of the animals' sleep. In this well-tanned form, amid the faint smell of polecat, murder, and the nighttime matings, my father might have lasted for many years. But he did not last. One day, Mother returned from town with a preoccupied face. "Look, Joseph," she said, "what a lucky coincidence. I caught him on the stairs, jumping from step to step" - and she lifted a handkerchief that covered something on a plate. I recognized him at once. The resemblance was striking, although now he was a crab or a large scorpion. Mother and I exchanged looks: in spite of the metamorphosis, the resemblance was incredible. "Is he alive?" I asked. "Of course. I can hardly hold him," Mother said. "Shall I place him on the floor. She put the plate down, and leaning over him we observed him closely. There was a hollow place between his numerous curved legs, which he was moving slightly. His uplifted pincers and feelers seemed to be listening. I tipped the plate, and Father moved cautiously and with a certain hesitation to the floor. Upon touching the flat surface under him, he gave a sudden start with all of his legs, while his arthropod joints made a clacking sound. I barred his way. He hesitated, investigated the obstacle with his feelers, then lifted his pincers and turned aside. We let him run in his chosen direction, where there was no furniture to give him shelter. Running in wavy jerks on his many legs, he reached the wall and, before we could stop him, ran lightly up it, not pausing anywhere. I shuddered with instinctive revulsion as I watched his progress up the wallpaper. Meanwhile, Father reached a small built-in kitchen cupboard, hung for a moment on its edge, testing the terrain with his pincers, and then crawled into it. He was discovering the apartment afresh from the new point of view of a crab; evidently, he perceived all objects by his sense of smell, for, in spite of careful checking, I could not find on him any organ of sight. He seemed to consider carefully the objects he encountered in his path, stopping and feeling them with his antennae, then embracing them with his pincers, as if to test them and make their acquaintance; after a time, he left them and continued on his run, pulling his abdomen behind him, lifted slightly from the floor. He acted the same way with the pieces of bread and meat that we threw on the floor for him, hoping he would eat them. He gave them a perfunctory examination and ran on, not recognizing that they were edible. Watching these patient surveys of the room, one could assume that he was obstinately and indefatigably looking for something. From time to time he ran to a corner of the kitchen, crept under a barrel of water that was leaking, and, upon reaching the p

65 ways to get kicked out of wal-mart? 1. Set all the alarm clocks to go off in 10-minute intervals 2. Walk up to an employee and tell him/her in an official tone, “Code in Warehouses,…”and see what happens. 3. Go to the Service Desk and ask to put a bag of M&M’s on lay away. 4.Find one of the workers who is making a pyramid or a display of something and as soon as they are finished with it, ask for the thing that’s on the bottom and have a panic attack until they give it to you. 5. Get on the loud speaker and declare a “Going Out of Business Sale, All Items 99% Off” 6. Buy a $200 item and pay for it all in pennies. Lose count at least two times. 7. Dart around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the theme from ‘Mission Impossible’. 8. Move a ‘CAUTION - WET FLOOR’ sign to a carpeted area. 9. Sit down and relax on the patio furniture until they kick you out 10. Set up a tent in the camping department 11. Look right into the security camera, use it as a mirror and pick your nose. 12. Take pictures of absolutely everything. 13. When a clerk asks if they can help you, begin to cry and ask ‘Why can't you people just leave me alone? 14. Hide in a clothing rack and when people browse through, say “PICK ME! PICK ME!” 17. See what you can “catch” by casting fishing poles into different isles. 18. Play football and see how many people you can get to join in. 19. Play soccer using the whole store as your field 20. Try on bras over your clothes in the middle of the store. 21. Try to get people to race you across the store. 22. Sit on the floor and watch T. V. in the electronics department. 23. Pretend to speak a different language and see how many weird looks you get 24. Super glue quarters to the floor and count how many people try to pick them up 25. Switch all the radios to strange stations suck as polka or Mexican rap and turn the volume all the way up. 26. Fill up carts and just leave them around the store. 27. When someone is behind you in a narrow aisle, walk very slowly, humming to yourself. 28. Drape a blanket around your shoulders and pretend to be superman. 30. Walk up to random strangers and say “I haven't seen you in so long!” etc. 31. Do the same thing, except ask for their autograph. 32. Play Red Rover with other customers. Except don't tell them that they're playing. 33. Test brushes and combs 34. Take up an entire toy aisle with a G. I. Joe vs. Rescue Heroes battle of epic proportions. 35. Take bets on the battle. 36. Have sword fights with tubes of wrapping paper. 37. Follow people. 38. Play with the price scanners. 39. Spray air-freshener everywhere. 40. Play with the automatic doors. 41. Make a pillow fort. 43. Shopping cart races. Enough said. 44. Crawl into gym bags and laundry hampers. 48. “Re-alphabetize” the CD’s 49. “Re-alphabetize” the books. 50. When someone steps away from their cart to look at something, quickly make off with it without saying a word. 51. Running around the store screaming Walmart stinks, Walmart stinks let’s go to target! 52. Buy a candy bar. Eat it. Get back in line. Buy another candy bar. Eat it. Get back in line. Repeat until you get bored. 53. Drag a lounge chair on display over to the magazines, relax and if the store has a food court, buy a soft drink; explain that you don't get out much, ask if they can put a little umbrella in it. 57. Spill clear soap down an aisle. 58. Talk to the lady at the cash register for a whole 20 minutes about unicorns. 59. When an announcement comes over the loud speaker, assume the fetal position and scream.”NO! NO! It’s those voices again!!!!” 60. Pretend to be a monkey and get on all fours screaming “Oo-oo-aaa-aa!” And attack whoever buys bananas 61.Run up and down aisle with underwear on your head singing" I'm captain underpants until someone stops you 62.Open three packs of tissue and blow your nose in them and give them to other customers. 63.Take a bottle of tooth paste and wright"I was here" 64.Do the worm in the middle of the store. 65. Run around the store yelling"Code 4"

65 WAYS TO GET KICK OUT OF WAL*MART? 1. Set all the alarm clocks to go off in 10-minute intervals 2. Walk up to an employee and tell him/her in an official tone, “Code in Warehouses,…”and see what happens. 3. Go to the Service Desk and ask to put a bag of M&M’s on lay away. 4.Find one of the workers who is making a pyramid or a display of something and as soon as they are finished with it, ask for the thing that’s on the bottom and have a panic attack until they give it to you. 5. Get on the loud speaker and declare a “Going Out of Business Sale, All Items 99% Off” 6. Buy a $200 item and pay for it all in pennies. Lose count at least two times. 7. Dart around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the theme from ‘Mission Impossible’. 8. Move a ‘CAUTION - WET FLOOR’ sign to a carpeted area. 9. Sit down and relax on the patio furniture until they kick you out 10. Set up a tent in the camping department 11. Look right into the security camera, use it as a mirror and pick your nose. 12. Take pictures of absolutely everything. 13. When a clerk asks if they can help you, begin to cry and ask ‘Why can't you people just leave me alone? 14. Hide in a clothing rack and when people browse through, say “PICK ME! PICK ME!” 17. See what you can “catch” by casting fishing poles into different isles. 18. Play football and see how many people you can get to join in. 19. Play soccer using the whole store as your field 20. Try on bras over your clothes in the middle of the store. 21. Try to get people to race you across the store. 22. Sit on the floor and watch T. V. in the electronics department. 23. Pretend to speak a different language and see how many weird looks you get 24. Super glue quarters to the floor and count how many people try to pick them up 25. Switch all the radios to strange stations suck as polka or Mexican rap and turn the volume all the way up. 26. Fill up carts and just leave them around the store. 27. When someone is behind you in a narrow aisle, walk very slowly, humming to yourself. 28. Drape a blanket around your shoulders and pretend to be superman. 30. Walk up to random strangers and say “I haven't seen you in so long!” etc. 31. Do the same thing, except ask for their autograph. 32. Play Red Rover with other customers. Except don't tell them that they're playing. 33. Test brushes and combs 34. Take up an entire toy aisle with a G. I. Joe vs. Rescue Heroes battle of epic proportions. 35. Take bets on the battle. 36. Have sword fights with tubes of wrapping paper. 37. Follow people. 38. Play with the price scanners. 39. Spray air-freshener everywhere. 40. Play with the automatic doors. 41. Make a pillow fort. 43. Shopping cart races. Enough said. 44. Crawl into gym bags and laundry hampers. 48. “Re-alphabetize” the CD’s 49. “Re-alphabetize” the books. 50. When someone steps away from their cart to look at something, quickly make off with it without saying a word. 51. Running around the store screaming Walmart stinks, Walmart stinks let’s go to target! 52. Buy a candy bar. Eat it. Get back in line. Buy another candy bar. Eat it. Get back in line. Repeat until you get bored. 53. Drag a lounge chair on display over to the magazines, relax and if the store has a food court, buy a soft drink; explain that you don't get out much, ask if they can put a little umbrella in it. 57. Spill clear soap down an aisle. 58. Talk to the lady at the cash register for a whole 20 minutes about unicorns. 59. When an announcement comes over the loud speaker, assume the fetal position and scream.”NO! NO! It’s those voices again!!!!” 60. Pretend to be a monkey and get on all fours screaming “Oo-oo-aaa-aa!” And attack whoever buys bananas 61.Run up and down aisle with underwear on your head singing" I'm captain underpants until someone stops you 62.Open three packs of tissue and blow your nose in them and give them to other customers. 63.Take a bottle of tooth paste and wright"I was here" 64.Do the worm in the middle of the store. 65. Run around the store yelling"Code 4"

How to decorate a teen, kind of girly/sophisticated bedroom? Well, I'm 13 years old, and my bedroom at the moment is alright, but it just needs to actually show my style, and be interesting and needs decoration basically. My style?: I really love light and bright shades of purple, and I also love silver, black, and pink... stuff that colourful, but with a touch of sparkle (i love sparkles, any suggestions for sparkly things?) Well, I had in total 131 jonas brothers posters on my wall before, but I took them down cos they made my room look bad (cry cry.. lol)... SO any suggestions on what to buy?? How can I make it look good?? Also: - I CAN'T PAINT my walls, lol my mum started yelling when I asked her... :P (How the conversation went about wall colour (along the lines) "ugh, but they're white!" "I don't care... when I was your age, my walls were peach" "Well at least it's a colour.... and that was like 50 years ago or something... there's more paint in the world" "[YELLING and lecture about walls and old days for several minutes]" .... SO I can't paint................... Oh.. alsoooo... - Limit of about $250-$400 (remember, I don't need furniture, just deco.) Thankyou... In advance If someone says the JB's are bad... I will smash their face over the internet. ... THANKYOU!!! P.S: Lol I'm from Australia, so if you shop at walmart and like only american stores, don't suggest things with prices to go and buy from them cos that's kinda pointless, but if you say you can get things from walmart, I know what you mean, and they sell the same things in target and stuff... so yeh.

I caught my WIFE late last night on the computer looking at ...? Furniture, Clothes, Jewelry, Cars, and even looking at booking trips (for the two of us) to expensive far off and exotic places. Usually she's pretty good about hiding it, but last night I caught her red handed! What do I do?!?! I just feel so violated and worthless. It's like my wife doesn't care about the "material things" that I've already worked so hard to provide for her. Why doesn't she love and appreciate those things that she already has? When I confronted her about it, she gave me that old line "What? I wasn't actually BUYING anything, I was just looking!" I think she referred to it as "window shopping" or something. I don't know for sure though, I was just so hurt that everything is still kind of a blur. Ladies - How could you and why do you do this sort of "selfish and hurtful" thing to your husbands? Men - How do you get over this and cope? Does the pain, sense of betrayal, and inadequacy ever go away? -ô¿ô- (------) Thanks for all your answers and input on this question. Congratulations to those of you who have obviously made the association as to what I was "really talking about" and the point I was trying to make. For the rest of you who missed it, I'll elaborate. I was trying to take a gender stereotype and reverse it, to show people how silly some of their answers and questions are. A common stereotype about men, is that they're always thinking about and seeking "sex". Then when their wives catch them looking at porn online, they take it completely the wrong way. They get hurt and feel it is an attack against them, when really it may not have anything to do with "them". Another common stereotype about women, is that they're always thinking about and seeking money and material possesions. So I flipped the question... See... Get it now... ? Thanks to the rest of you though who got it. I'm glad that there are some smart people still here on Yahoo! Answers.

How tesco credit card works? Hi all, I recently moved into UK for work, and I would like to apply for a Tesco Credit Card, because I need to buy about £5000 furniture and appliances for the house I live in. I'm interested to repay a small amount per month, that's what the Tesco Credit Card allow to do. However I'm a bit confused about the summary box at http://www.tescofinance.com/personal/finance/finance/creditcards/clubcc/summary-box.jsp I hope someone of you can better explain the following: a) How can I specify the length of my debit, and to who should I tell this? To the seller or is it something I choose via an on line panel or something? b) On the APR table, I would expect the introductory rate is the one I'll pay accordingly to the period specified, after that I will start paying the monthly rate. Is this correct? c) Can I buy everywhere, or the card is bound to Tesco and shopping to their mall only? Many thanks Giuseppe

OHIO----I moved into an apartment and signed a month to month lease remitting $450 for security deposit and? I moved into an apartment and signed a month to month lease remitting $450 for security deposit and $450 for first months rent. I gave notice (due to: the neighborhood- Collingwood/Bancroft intersection, lots of drug trafficking and more often than not the SWAT team was in the back driveway with surveillance on the building next door, tenant below me was an older woman who had many people in and out, some who came up asking me if i like seraquil? or if I wanted to drink...also the price i was paying was as much as i could have paid to not live in that area) on January 1st that I would be moving the first of February, and i also knew an older woman named Yvette who was aware of the neighborhood (as she lived in the building next door that the SWAT team (LUCAS COUNTY)was constantly casing). Anyway, I informed Mr. McKitric that I would be moving out and to help aide him in returning my deposit, I even had someone to move in. I cleaned thoroughly after moving my one bed and one couch out (had no furniture as i never planned on staying there long after finding out about the ongoing investigation in the building next door, that I now found out has been seized by the city due to drug/kidnapping/felonious acts)On March 1st, i called Mr. McKitric regarding the return of my security deposit, and he asked me (and I quote) "didn't I give you a discount on the deposit anyway?" I said no and added that I had the receipt still if he needed to see it. He avoided my phone calls the rest of the day and never called back when I left him messages. On March 3rd, he answered casually and I asked what was going on with the deposit. he said he had to do a damage report and get with his father (who owns the building but it is in his sons name (LaQuan McKitric, Curtis Jackson, father) and that he would call me back today or tomorrow. I never received a call. I tried to reach him on the 4th and 5th, to no avail. Finally on March 6th, he frustratedly answered about 3pm (been calling since 9am) asked me to come meet him at the barber shop, where he handed me a damage report including $40 for cleaning a stove I never even used. (I used an electric eye pair for cooking, and only used gas to heat the water.) I am just wondering if, since he provided me with this report (although outside of the 30 day window) and since this report itemized polyurethane @$26/gal and Mineral Spirit? @$9/gal, Sander (for a tiled wood LOOKING floor??) for $80, applicator @$7/galx2, stripper $18/gal, wax $16/gal, $30 for "cleaning bathroom", $50 for tiled floor "cleaning" (have pictures of how clean everything was when I left), $75 wood floor cleaning, and $3 per bulb for 8 bulbs (all bulbs were left and worked, except one that didn't work when I moved in and was HIGH up on a beveled ceiling and I never used/changed it) $3!per bulb?? I have a copy of a rental agreement stating that a "security deposit in the amount of $450 to be applied for cleaning the dwelling upon termination of the rent agreement; return of all keys, fulfillment of this lease, vacating the premises, along with a detailed list of any damages dues and fees deemed necessary after final inspection of the premises by the lessor. DAMAGES &CHARGES: The lessee understands that he/she is responsible for all repairs that derive not from normal wear and tear, including damage to broken doors, screens, glass, and locks, etc. This also includes the removal of any foreign objects in toilets or drain lines.The Lessee must give the lessor a copy of any key of any locks that have been changed with in 24 hours." All of their "damages" add up to $490 (doing the math their way) and that leaves me OWING them $40 for an apartment I left in IMMACULATE shape and followed their requests as far as giving notice and returning keys in time interval depicted in the lease. How did he make a damage report (dated Feb1) itemizing all of these things but told me on March 3rd he had to fill out said report? He made a mistake, I am hoping, in signing the damage report and dating it for March 5th. Please advise, I know there is alot of detail, but I have NEVER been in this predicament before and this is all totally unexpected especially considering I went above and beyond and referred someone to them (who moved in Feb 6th, by the way) thank you for your time in advance,

Ideas For Nursery Theme & Decorations? I found out today that I'm most likely having a baby girl. I'm 20 weeks pregnant so I am going to go shopping tomorrow for the nursery and start putting that together. There are so many cute nursery themes out there, that I just can't choose. I definitely want a lot of pink to be used, I also really like lilac and mint green. I don't want a cartoon theme like Winnie the Pooh - more something like butterflies, or fairies, or unicorns etc. The furniture will all be white. The room is quite average sized, so I am sure all the furniture will fit nicely without every wall being covered. There will also be a fair bit of floor space left. I am thinking of getting a bookshelf, and putting books and cute ornaments on it. Any ideas? What sort of toys are worth buying at this stage? I will be using a white wicker basket, that will be lined with a fabric that matches the rest of the nursery as a toy box. I need to buy all the furniture, which so far on my list is: Crib Glider/rocking chair Change table Dresser Bookshelf Wicker basket Bouncer Bassinet Anything I've missed? The extras I will be buying are: Curtains Bedding Lamp Toys Books Photoframes Ornaments Wall decorations Rug Anything else?

What's wrong with my son? I have three children - a 5 year old daughter, a 3 year old son and a 1 year old son. My middle child has always been a bit of a handful - He used to cry for 20 hours a day when he was born! He has developed a lot of problems with asthma and excema. He crawled late, walked late and still cannot talk properly. I have had the feeling for some time that there is something more to it than the terrible 2’s – but I feel guilty for thinking that there is something ‘wrong’ with him. He does things like smack and kick his younger brother constantly. I have tried everything to stop him from hurting him – nothing works. He will throw himself off furniture and climb, he runs away from me in the street and will not stop running until I catch him. He throws things, breaks things, hits, spits, kicks, pinches, punches. He screams if he can’t get his own way and will lash out at anyone and everyone. He used to hit people in shops when I was pushing him along in his pushchair. He seems to have a red mist that descends and he starts fighting – he clenches his teeth and you know what’s coming! He is also obsessive about his cars being lined up a certain way – he likes to sort his building blocks into colours and shapes. He will not mix paints at all. He has to have the TV at a certain volume when at home. If he hurts himself he flips out and will hit me really hard. He won’t let me comfort him. He can be a lovely little boy who is loving and kind – he will kiss his brother and sister goodnight and will hug me and he is so funny and cheeky. This has been going on since way before his brother was born though and I am starting to run out of ideas. At nursery they say he is fine – nice and quiet is how the describe him. When I go to get him he is usually with the group of kids – but pretty quiet. A few times he’s been sat away from them. I haven’t mentioned this to my health visitor or anyone because I wasn’t sure if I was being paranoid. What do you think?

Is it right to hate my father? I mean he really is a jerk.? Now, now. Before you judge me, please read the following. 1. My parents divorced when I was about 2 or 3 years old. Why? Because my dad cheated on her with another married woman. He never provided for us any money, although he worked and gave his mistress everything she wanted. They even got an apartment with the best furniture possible, but OUR home, where my mom, sister, grandma and I lived, had nothing. Do note that my sister is not my father's daughter. She was from my mom's first marriage, her father died and my mom remarried my dad. 2. My dad often brought me out whenever my sister was in school and mom was working (to find money for the family, for US to SURVIVE, whilst he never did one single thing). Yeah, we were that poor. While he enjoyed his life with that woman, we were suffering like you can't even imagine. Sometimes we skipped our meals because we couldn't afford it. My mom sacrificed so much for us. She worked really hard to support me and my sis. All the while, she never knew about the affair. 3. Even at that age, I knew something was wrong. Why is my dad with another woman? That's not what they write in fairytales, right? I'm not sure what happened after that, but I do remember saying something spiteful to his mistress one day, telling her she's not supposed to do this to our family...or something along those lines. Yeah, I was a smart kid. Well, the mistress got angry at me and told on me to my dad and guess what he did when he heard her? He slapped me. Right there and then, in that shopping centre. Everyone watched me and I remember crying like mad. And I was a toddler too, mind you. WHO ON EARTH SLAPS A TODDLER?? 4. His mistress' husband finally found out about the affair, and he knew my mother so he told my mother about it and she ran away with me and my sister, and we moved to Batam (my mom is Indonesian) but being the selfish idiot that he is, he fought for our custody. He said he'd sue my mom if she refused to give him custody. My mom's not rich, and she definitely didn't want to go to prison. Eventually I moved back with him, but my sister remained in Batam with my mom (I was Singaporean, my sis is Indonesian so that's how it naturally went). I hated him for separating me from my mom and sis. 5. He fought a lot with my mom over the phone after I moved back to singapore. he's sooo fond of calling her insulting names it made me mad. And she wasn't the only victim. Oftentimes he would also call me a 'stupid', 'awkward' and 'sad' kid, when I'm nothing but normal. I always cry when he does that. I grew up insecure, afraid of my image because he'd raise me like that. 6. He ended the affair with the mistress soon after my parent's divorce, but he never stopped. He went through a series of women after that. Possibly more than 10 of them. 7. Then, my sister was involved in a car accident and they didn't have enough to pay for her medical bills. My mom's job gave her only about $300 a month(Batam's salaries are reallllyyy low) and she was desperate. My father had a great amount of money in his medisave account, but he didn't lend my mom a penny, not a single piece of help, even when she literally BEGGED him to. My sister was IN PAIN and she was DYING. still, the bstrd didn't care. He had enough money to save my sister's life but out of his selfishness he didn't! Blood was oozing out of my sister's ears and nose and mouth and he didn't do anything about it!!!! Her brain was damaged and her whole face was swollen. And the next few days were torture; my sister went into a coma for a few days before giving in. She died, you know. She FREAKING DIED because OF HIM. Up to this day I still can't forgive him. he took a life. a freaking life. and it's my sister's. WHAT KIND OF A HUMAN EVEN HAS THE HEART TO do that??? 8. Now, i'm fourteen, and he still hasn't changed. he rarely comes home and whenever he does, we only exchange a few words. i live independently, and he only gives enough for me to eat. no money to spend for transport, clothes, etc. I have to do that myself. even so, my allowance is about half of my classmates'. but that's not the main point. he never talks to me, never asked me extensively about my life, never once attempted to be a father figure. occassionally, of course, he'd buy me some cool things for my birthday but that's it. he also borrows money from me sometimes. 9. He still has a woman now, and I know that because I've seen him with her before. I bloody refuse to acknowledge her. And he spends A LOT of money on her, too. 10. He reads my diary. He reads my freaking diary. Where is the privacy I deserve as a teenager??? 11. I'm fourteen and I share a room with my grandma. the room is tiny like you can't even believe. i sleep on the floor and my grandma sleeps on the bed. He doesn't give a

Anyone have any bedroom decorating tips? OK, I'm thirteen, and today my parents and I are going to be moving around furniture and such. I have a large, very heavy TV, that we're going to attempt to put on milk crates, so that I don't have to sit on the floor to watch TV. I also have an electric keyboard, and three guitars. I also have a saxophone that I have at school, but I have to bring it home for a concert I will be playing in next week. There's a hamper, and a fan on my floor, but the fan is lifted each night onto a chair so I can have it on when I sleep. My bed is too high for a fan to be sitting on the floor, and I get anything from it. On my dresser, I have a mirror, and on that mirror, there's pictures, a movie ticket, certificates, and a poem. There's also perfume, jewelry, my Edward and Bella dolls, my nail stuff, my makeup, my hair stuff, my deodorant, lotion, some pictures in frames, a mini mirror, two Cullen crests, and a lamp. On top of my TV are my remotes, a cable box, a DVD player, and a VCR, and a picture of my boyfriend. My old bedside table is behind my door with my trash can under it. On my headboard, there are two compartments for things, and in one, I have some journals for multiple projects I want to start, a book light, my old glasses, (long story about the glasses. To cut it short, I can't read with my new glasses on, and I have to read with my old glasses on.) and my flip video camera. In the other compartment, I have a math stencil I found on the bus, and am returning to the teacher on Monday, a book light, my DVDs, and my music case. In between them, I have my library books, and my glasses case. On top of my headboard, I have my alarm clock. Covering my walls are Twilight posters, a calender for the countdown to Eclipse, a regular puppy calender, a picture of my father, a 3D picture of a ship, and a stitching thing my grandmother made the day I was born. There's also a few sweaters hanging on nails, and two cork boards. In the top right corner of my room, my fan, my old school backpack, and two guitars are there. On my desk, there's a lamp, a pencil sharpener, a lava lamp, and a basket of junk. In a container that's connected to my desk, I have my board games, and my writing binder. Under the table where my keyboard rests are my shoes, they're in a small container, then my art stuff in a pink container. On my bookcase are my books, of course, some magazines that I hope to make into a collage for my room, my yearbooks from fifth and seventh grade, some music books, a Twilight bucket holding some stuff, a broken basket with another smaller basket inside holding twine and beads, it's on top of a wood shop project I made last year, which was a box, and it's empty. Those things are on top of a box, which holds tons of things. next to that is my science project I have to bring to school Monday. On my hanging shelves that my grandfather made, there are figurines, a small set of drawers holding a few things, such as my sewing equipment. Then my memory box, and some things from my dad. I also have my snow globe collection on it too. On my other shelf, there's a Wicca shrine. On a little table next to my dresser is a small table with a little purple lined basket. That's empty. I can't paint, wallpaper, or buy new furniture, but I'd like some tips on how to make my room seem bigger. The first thing I see when I walk in is my bed. That's annoying. Please help me out, and sorry for the lengthy explanation.

What would be a good slogan/tag line regarding a sales promotion for a furniture shop in Malaysia? something to catch the eyes of customers in regards to the sales promotion :D

I need one-line shops that sell white home furniture (decor,lightning,...)?

What are some quality lines of furniture? We are furniture shopping for our master bedroom and would like to find a good quality manufacturer. Any suggestions?

I want to make a room themed like a coffee shop? I'm redoing my room and I want to theme it like a Coffee shop. I want the wall color to be a light green or something along that line. I don't know what kind of furniture would go good with a green or light color.. If you have any ideas I would love to hear them, even if they involve a different color! Thanks so much :]

I'm trying to sell my furniture, is there any store or place that will buy them off of me? Like a pawn shop or something along those lines? I really need the money and need to get ready of stuff.

marketing furniture? I am wanting to market my line of furniture to "big business". Willing to do cold calls, but want to find the right people in wholesales not just small local shops. Any ideas?

Ever bought a piece of old furniture that suddenly spooks you? Bought a gorgeous old bedside cabinet circa 1920 from the local op shop. Started to lovingly strip back and restore it , however stains that were not once apparent became very evident, first looking like blood and then burns. The cabinet developed a horrendous musty almost death-like odour which kept me awake at night along with a creak that was spine chilling to the least. Tried every thing to rid the cabinet of its spooky odour but nothing worked. When I finally decided to return it, I suddenly felt curious about an old newpaper remnant that once lined its shelf. Several pieces made up what was left, carefully lifted them with my 12 year old daughter. Only more spooked to find the piece of an article about a murdered woman's body being found next to a river, and the other about women in their 40s being institutionalized with "the change". Sent the cabinet back immediately to the op shop but still feel spooked. Have many old pieces of furniture in my home , but this one was different. Still feel spooked by the experience and now sadly know that I will never fall in love with an old piece of furniture again. PLEASE if you have ever experienced anything similar, I would really appreciate your input. Thanks +++ in anticipation!!!

if i wanna start a new business of resturant and bar then how many rs. i wanna invest in that? i wanna start a resturant and bar, can you give me the details of this line. example: like how many rs.minimum i must invest in this, about bar permit (license)from where i can take it?,which type of wine,beer,spirit mostely used in bar?about suppliers?and if i cant start this and i wanna start just a wine shop then also what i want to do?means investment for this including permit_(license),furniture,material.....etc.please tell me about this.thanks

I need help finding a bedroom ensemble that goes with bedroom furniture that is black and brown? I just bought brand new bedroom furniture that is has both brown and black colors in it. I am having troube finging a bedding ensemble that matches. I want something simple and classy. Something that doesn't make the room overly dark. Something simple with clean lines or just a solid color. Not anything real ornate. My husband would hate that. Any suggestions? I shop at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Linens N Things, Kohls, Dillards, Macys, and JC Penney. I would appreciate any design help given.

Opinions? Is this a cool room? I got inspired by Sephora's Mermaid Makeup Line. Ok, I love the mermaid line and I thought about the color palette and I thought it would be a great room design. I used these colors: http://sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P235802&shouldPaginate=true&categoryId=3806 And I thought I could paint the canopy bed, the T.V stand, and the vanity desk shimmery gold. http://www.pbteen.com/shop/furniture-collections/chelsea-furniture/ I would get sateen-like blue bedding, and shell pillows. I had an idea to a DIY with pearls to make door beads, curtains, and a bed canopy. Do you think this would be a cool room. My walls are Resonant Blue by Sherwin Williams, and my floors are medium colored wood. And I absolutely adore this chandelier in Blue and Green. http://www.pbteen.com/products/p3856/?pkey=x%7C4%7C1%7C%7C6%7CCapiz%7C%7C0&cm_src=SCH Thanks to people who have nice things to say.

what do you think of this bed line? http://www.next.co.uk/shopping/homeware/bedroom/45/2 i am 15(nearly 16) and want my bed room to look girlie but a bit more grown up so what do you think i might get this furniture http://www.next.co.uk/shopping/homeware/bedroom/12 i put the question in this category because no one answered when i put it in home and garden what about gettin a more colourful duvet then?

My boyfriend claims that he can no longer help me with our expenses, what can I do? I have been living with my boyfriend for more than 2 years now. At first we decided that we will share our expenses 50-50, even when I make more money than he does. I can not say I has been an entirely equalitarian situation, since I have always bring more money to the house (for example, I have purchased all our furniture). I have helped him to get his High School Diploma by enrolling him into classes and preparing him for the Equivalent Test (he is 24 now, but for his "family situation" he never quite finished High School until he lived with me). I have encouraged him to go the College so he can fullfill his dream to become a teacher some day (he works as hair stylist, and he is very gifted at that). He began College 3 months ago, and although I have agree that for him paying tuition will mean that he will give less money for our shared expenses (I mean, all the supermaket and groceries shopping is paid by me, as well as land phone line, cable and all other services), now he claims that college takes much more money than he expected, and since he has been experiencing a dry spell at work he can no longer help me with our house expenses. I think this is unfair, I already support him a lot, I am pretty sure that while I can keep my lifestyle without him, he never could live as well-off by his own means. Another thing is that when he have good seasons (by December, for example), he never brings more money to the house, he just spend all that extra cash at himself. Why should I suffer from his dry spell periods, while never been "rewarded" at the good times? I really love him, and would like some suggestions to bring this up in a very sensitive way...

How was your Black Friday Shopping? What did you buy? We got at WalMart for 4AM to line up, and we just got back right now lol! I got a portable DVD player (I already have one but the price was so good), and I got tons of decorative items! And then we went to Target and I got a TV forr $180, and then we went to Best Buy and I got a camera for like half the price of what it usually is! We are having a break and then going to Macy's and then we might go to Wolf Furniture to get a new couch and some other things. What did you get?

Will the liberal media report this success in Iraq? The struggle to form a unity government in Iraq continues, but signs of hope are emerging. One of the sticking points continues to be Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, who has so far refused to resign; however, on Sunday the Iraqi Shia Alliance reported it was close to a deal to replace him. For a little perspective, travel back to the States, to the U.S. Senate and watch the immigration debate in the Senate. We've been doing democracy for several centuries now, and we can't get 100 politicians to agree on one issue. Considering we're the pros, we could cut the Iraqis a little slack as they continue to get the feel of this democracy-project thing. There continues to be plenty of good news to be found in Iraq. The Iraqi army continues to take over responsibility for more battle space, al Qaeda continues to take a beating, and rebuilding of the country is progressing. Moreover, the Iraqi economy is improving, and has doubled in the last three years. News for Pessimistic Generals The media has given an enormous amount of publicity to former generals who are calling for Rumsfeld to resign, and all but ignore those who remain optimistic about our efforts in Iraq. Colonel William Grimsley commanded the brigade that first took control of Baghdad Airport. Three years on he remains optimistic about the country's future: Grimsley, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Combat Brigade Team during the opening days of Operation Iraqi Freedom, said history — not current events — will tell the true story of Iraq's metamorphosis. And that story will show how Iraq ultimately emerged from almost 40 years of a regime that ignored the people's needs and undermined its potential, Grimsley, now a military assistant to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, said during an interview with American Forces Press Service and the Pentagon Channel. Major Kevin Carter just returned from Iraq, and shares this assessment: Charter believes not enough attention is being paid to the progress being made by Iraqis in taking control of their country. He said the people of Iraq are grateful Saddam Hussein has been overthrown. "I was told by an Iraqi that only two things could get rid of Saddam, the United States or Allah. I will never forget that," Charter said. "An Iraqi officer told me that if we just up and left the country would implode. They are so grateful for us being there and toppling Saddam. Even the Sunnis, who benefited under Saddam, thanked us." Before you think I'm just parroting the Pentagon line by quoting only officers, a Marine serving with an Iraqi unit had this to say: "Everybody hears about all the car bombs in Baghdad and how many people got shot. Those things are reality — I don't want to downplay them. But there's a lot of good things happening," he said. Despite being the main targets of terrorists and ex-Baathists, Iraqi soldiers remain well motivated: According to the commanding officer of the local Iraqi-army unit here, the soldiers' motivation to fight insurgents is steady despite the loss of two of their own comrades. During a memorial service for a fallen soldier, the Iraqi commander of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, assured his soldiers they were performing well and encouraged them to continue to listen and learn from the Marines. "I want the soldiers to continue to do the job they are doing," said the commanding officer, who wishes to remain anonymous. "We need the Marines' support and they are very professional when it comes to training my soldiers." A tip led U.S. troops to a house where forged documents were made: The two suspected forgers were found at a house where Soldiers seized $2,050 in U.S. currency, more than 500,000 Iraqi Dinars, 125 various forms of identification, fake stamps for the IDs and an AK-47. Another tip led U.S. troops to a weapons cache at a terrorist training facility: Found at the site were 19 155 mm artillery rounds and 21 mortar rounds of various calibers. The site may have been a training site of insurgents. The cache was transported to a secured location for controlled detonation. 320 Iraqis from Anbar Province arrived in Jordan to received training as police officers. The Iraqi army continues to take over more battle space: The 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division is assuming control of an area of responsibility that encompasses Balad, Al Duluyah and Yethrib, as well as the smaller villages surrounding these cities. In addition to taking over battle space, Iraqis continue to take the lead in more security operations. Operation Cobra Strike was lead by soldiers of the 8th Iraqi Army Division. The operation was planned, and conducted by Iraqis, with U.S. soldiers in support. Iraqi soldiers discovered four weapons caches during an operation in southern Baghdad: In total, the four weapons caches consisted of seven RPG rounds, three machine guns, 28 70 mm mortar rounds, 38 60mm mortar rounds, landmines, a large bag of homemade explosives, a sniper rifle, grenades, 13 pre-made roadside-bombs, ten rockets, 403 linked rounds of small arms ammunition, three bags of linked ammunition and 5,000 rounds of sniper-rifle rounds. 139 Iraqi soldiers recently graduated from commando school, and are ready to fight: "The Iraqi people are tired of the terrorists, extremists and instability and this unit fights that ... I am very proud that I am part of this special unit that will help stabilize this country," he said. "The terrorists have had their time. This is our time now." 39 of 45 planned border forts along the Iran-Iraq border are complete. The border posts are manned by Iraqis. U.S. troops discovered several significant weapons caches on an island in the Euphrates River: On April 5, Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, discovered 34 fused 82 mm rounds, five fused 120 mm rounds, 600 82 mm mortar rounds, 23 fused rocket-propelled grenades, five hand grenades, 28 55-gallon drums of TNT, nine 55-gallon sacks of nitrate, two bundles of detonation chord, a penetrator and 5,000 AK-47 rounds. The next day, Soldiers gathered 1,500 meters of command wire, a mortar sight, a receiver, 54 82mm rounds and a 107mm rocket. On April 7, MND-B Soldiers discovered the following items on the island: 1,450 18 mm anti-aircraft rounds, 27 125 mm aerial bombs, 30 anti-tank grenades, seven 60 mm mortars, five 82 mm mortars, 25 RPG rounds, 96 sticks of dynamite, 600 mortar primers, 156 hand grenades, three cylindrical containers, a RPG launcher, a rocket (caliber unknown), 37 boosters and a small mortar. In Mosul, U.S. soldiers discovered a significant amount of materials used to make IEDs. In Tikrit, a terrorist planting an IED was captured. In Yusifiyah, several terrorist were killed or captured after their safe house was attacked: During the assault, five terrorists, three of them wearing suicide vests, were killed; five others, one of whom was wounded, were detained. Two of the suicide bombers were killed before either could detonate his vest, and the third detonated his body bomb killing only himself and injuring no one else. I mentioned Operation Cowpens last week. The operation ended Friday, and the tally of captured munitions is impressive US forces killed five suspected insurgents and detained five others in a raid on a house southwest of Baghdad early Sunday in a hunt for an alleged Al Qaeda operative, the US military reported, according to AFP. In another raid, a senior al Qaeda operative was killed. Abu Umar was the terror groups "ambassador," and was charged with forming relationships with other groups in Iraq. Umar was an associate of Osama bin Laden. More than 115 top al Qaeda operatives have been killed or captured in Iraq over the last few months. Al Qaeda in Iraq continues to use unwilling people to carry out attacks. One attacker was identified by the fingerprints found on his hand, which was hand cuffed to the steering wheel of a car used as a bomb. It was the only part of him found. U.S. military vehicles in Iraq will be getting a new anti-RPG system called Trophy from the Israelis [This item has been corrected since posting. — Ed.]: The Trophy, unveiled by the IDF a year ago, combines two main systems: a radar built by Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd., detects threats; and a Rafael-designed system destroys incoming threats in flight. Rafael claims that the Trophy can protect armored fighting vehicles against all types of anti-tank rockets and missiles. The two conceptual innovations incorporated into the Trophy are 360-degree protection of the tank or APC, which eliminates the need for adding armor plating, which can double a tank’s weight, restricting its mobility and maneuverability; and to provide protection from new threats from the side and top in low-intensity combat, compared with frontal threats of the past. The State Department issued a report on Iraq's economy. Iraq's economy as nearly doubled in the last three years. GDP rose by 2.6% last year, and is expected to rise by more than ten percent in 2006. A carpentry workshop funded by USAID is helping Iraqis earn a living: The workshop focuses on fostering leadership, independence and financial stability among 18- to 24-year-olds. Profits from sale of furniture and doors made in the carpentry shop are reinvested in the youth center to purchase sports equipment, Internet access and secondary school supplies. Three new power substations are now online in Najaf. At a cost of $4.8 million per substation, each should provide 25,000 households with electricity. A ceremony in Baghdad marked the opening of a renovated youth center: The Youth Center offers programs and training in weightlifting, boxing, wrestling, judo and soccer. During the tour, the guests viewed young Iraqi boxers sparring; wrestlers practicing takedowns; soccer players kicking goals; and weightlifters pumping iron. The project was financed with funds from the 10th Mountain Division. Everyday Americans are also helping out in Iraq. Frank Casa of Fairport, New York raised $25,000 to send wheel chairs to disabled residents of Hilla: Casa has raised more than $25,000 to send desperately needed wheelchairs to Hilla, a city south of Baghdad, ravaged by the blasts of suicide attacks and car bombs. Later this year, he'll travel to Iraq to help distribute the wheelchairs. "There are many, many civilians that are caught in desperate straits, that were caught up in this war, and they're strictly victims," Casa said. "Not to have mobility is like throwing fuel on the fire." The latest weekly reconstruction update is available here. Highlights include: * A water system is under construction in Fallujah. When completed it will provide 200,000 residents with clean water. * A firing range is under construction at the police academy in Hillah. * Renovations are complete on the police station in Kadhimiya. * The rehabilitation of a sewer pump station is complete in Mansour. * In Baghdad, construction is complete on three solid waste transfer stations. * A project to provide 10,000 residents in Basrah is complete. * Construction of two power stations in Erbil Province is complete. * Reconstruction is complete on two fire stations in Karbala. * 13 of 15 school projects are complete in Karbala. * Construction of new classrooms is now complete in Mosul. U.S. and Iraqi troops conducted a dental clinic in Amu Shabi: A smile can light up one's face... and today, more than 200 Iraqis had a reason to smile. Iraqi-army troops, along with U.S. Special Forces medics, Civil Affairs and 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Soldiers, traveled to a school in Amu Shabi, Iraq, to provide a Dental Assessment and Care Clinic for local citizens. A Scottish company has plans to build the first water park in Iraq. This story is pertinent because of the what the company's sales managers said: International sales manager Jim Stuart said yesterday: "I am delighted to be involved in this project and it shows that rebuilding in Iraq really is happening." Sadly, the newly elected Miss Iraq won't be attending the opening. Norway's DNO will become the first Western company since the invasion to produce oil in Iraq next year. The company has discovered five oil reservoirs in northern Iraq. Iraqi Air is purchasing two new planes from Airbus. Iraq is spending $25 million to purchase two new oil tankers. OUR HEROES Petty Officer 2nd Class Juan M. Rubio will be awarded the Silver Star later this month for actions in Iraq: On Jan. 1, 2005, Rubio's platoon was ambushed on the Euphrates River. The Marines left their boats and pursued the attackers, only to have an explosive set off nearby. Rubio and three Marines were wounded. Despite having shrapnel wounds in his legs and arms, Rubio belly-crawled to the injured Marines and treated their injuries. He then dragged each of them across open terrain, under fire, to safety behind a wall. He showed the uninjured Marines how to care for the wounded troops and then began directing covering fire while he helped take the wounded back to the boats. "Your actions saved lives and you have set an example for future corpsmen and Marines to emulate," wrote Maj. Gen. R.F. Natonski, who wrote a letter endorsing the medal. "Your service is coveted by each and every Marine in the 1st Marine Division." One Marine died that day, Lance Cpl. Brian Parrello. Rubio believes Parrello saved his life. "He took a big chunk of artillery," Rubio said. "He absorbed 90 percent of the explosion for me. I owe my life to him." Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Jewett was awarded the Bronze Star for action in Iraq: Jewett ran through a hail of gunfire and dragged the injured teammate 20 feet to the protection of a large vehicle, the citation says. He then administered first aid. Under continuous attack, he supervised the evacuation of his wounded teammate. The Navy said Jewett's "courageous actions" saved his teammate's life. Lance Corporal Carlos Gomez-Perez was awarded the Silver Star this week for his actions in Fallujah: In the late morning, the platoon came under fire from machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades coming from three directions, according to a citation signed by Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter. Gomez-Perez first made sure that several injured comrades received medical attention, then moved another downed Marine out of the line of fire, suffering wounds to his shoulder and face in the process. "Despite his injuries, he again exposed himself to enemy fire and continued to attack the enemy with grenades and by firing his rifle with his uninjured arm," the citation states. "By his bold leadership, wise judgment and complete dedication to duty, Lance Corporal Gomez-Perez reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."

Landlord dispute with tenent? My father has been a tenent of a shop ,past 30 years,recently he retired and hand me over all responsibilities of the shop,as the shop was old plus the business was not doing good,i changed the furniture paint,and took franchise of a company,that also in cloth line,i did formally told my landlord of my willingness to modify my furniture,and he showed no problem ,recently i got a eviction notice from my landlord,accuseing me of subletting and causing structural changes with his property,he has filed an case at the high court,he even included that he needs the shop for bonafied use,where as he has 2 big shops at good location and he has other tenents too,the problem is the shop is looking so nice,that he clarified it to me that to take compensation and leave the shop,he even showed an agreement ,dated thirty years back,but the handwriting dosent seems like my father as my father is not well educated ,moreover the agreement is not registered,he has taken advantage by increasing our rent upto 50 percent after every 5 years and now this new haressment

Should I give my (ex) wife one more chance? We met at 17 and married at 21. We had 3 kids 2 years apart soon thereafter. Fast forward to 2001, when I found out that she was having an affair. She promised to stop and I forgave her. Six months later I found out that she was still having the affair. I forgave her again. In 2004 I finally gave her an ultimatum, commit to stay or commit to go. Well she made her choice and kept the house, the joint bank account all of the furniture, one of the cars (paid off) and I paid her $2200 a month for a year because she had gone back to school and wasn't ready to start her current profession as a teacher. In exchange, I got full custody of the kids and the mini van. At the time we were debt free other than the house so no issues there. Me and my kids went out and found a house to move to. When the time came for us to move, she had a change of heart and begged for several weeks to let her come with us. I let her come with us, under the condition she/we go to counseling. I agreed to re-commit again. Counseling didn't last and after one year of the same cold, unaffectionate treatment, we had another heart to heart and agreed that what mattered most was the kids and since we really didn't argue etc, I felt that maybe we could compromise and really make the most of it until they got a little older. Well in the winter of 2007 I met a woman at a family function that I had apparently met several years earlier but didn't remember. She remembered me and had heard that I was divorced, and she new that I was still living with my ex-wife. She was also divorced (for 4 years) and completely understood why I would stay in a loveless situation. We got to be very good friends and I decided to get romantically involved after I found out that my ex had been meeting guys on a dating site. I thought that maybe this just might workout, she would do her thing and I would do mine. It did workout for about 12 months this past June when my ex decided that she was going to put a stop to it. She began reading my text messages and listening to my voicemails. She was shocked that I had found someone and couldn't stand the fact that we called each other sweetheart and baby. (Something she and I never did) She started talking openly about her dates and I discover that she was taking some very serious risks, such as going home on a first date with a guy she met on the internet and not telling anyone where she was going and who she would be with. She hit an all time low when she disappeared the day before our 15 yr old son was going on a trip out of the country for five weeks. She sent me a very brief text at 6:55 on a Wednesday and didn't consider that her son would be pacing all night waiting for her to get home so that he could ask her about some of his items he was packing. He woke me up at about midnight wondering when she was coming home. She had turned her phone off and wasn't answering. Since she had never done this before we were really worried. She finally came in at 6am with some breakfast and a big smile, not a care in the world. I tried to tell my son that she was with a girlfriend, but he simply said "how old do you think I am"...he was crushed, because up to now, this part of our lives had been somewhat hidden. That was a little over a month ago and several other ridiculous things have happened. We agreed that it was time for her to move out. She chose an apartment and I broke the news to the kids. They took it really well. I guess they were ready for this. Now, true to form she has changed her mind again. She says that she will go back to counseling and that she's ready to really commit. In the past seven days, she’s "fallen off the wagon" 3 times. For example this past Friday, I set up a fake email account from a guy she had been seeing. I sent her an email that said "hey I changed my email address..." Later that day I asked her if she was sure she could do this and she said of course, I asked if anyone was still trying to contact her and she said no. So the next morning, she wakes up and is very affectionate, telling me that she wants me and no one else, that I could trust her this time. I went directly to my laptop and sent her another message from this "guy" telling her that he (I) wanted to see her. A few hours later, she told me that she was going shopping etc. The day went by and she came running in the house around 4pm, pulled me aside and said that she had done something really bad and she was really sorry. She said that she had sent the guy and email, but that she only said one or two things to him, but she felt terrible and she came right home to tell me. Well I said okay and the next chance I got, I checked the fake email address and she said a lot more than a few lines. She told him to email her at a new email address that she set up while at the library. She also made plans to see him the next day (Sunday) and told him that she was moving out. Later on Saturday evening, I sat down with her asked her again if she wanted stay or go and she pleaded that she wanted to stay. So I asked one last time, "if our relationship depended on it, could you tell the truth?" and of course she got defensive and was insulted that I could even ask her that, so I asked her again to come clean about what she sent this guy in the email and she insisted that she only wanted to see how he was...I pulled out the email that I printed and she claimed that she didn't remember what she had typed. Here we are a week later and she has been begging me all week to re-commit to her again. She says again that all that "crap" is over and it's me that she wants and now she's learned her lesson. I love her very much and it hurts really bad to think of life with out her. (I don't know why) I feel like it should be easier to let her go after everything she's done (there's more), but I'm no saint either and if the shoe was on the other foot, I would want her to give me another, last chance. Am I crazy for wanting her,when I have a caring, loving person waiting in the wings for me to clean up my mess?

halloween story? Rodney and Jessica were in a costume shop, browsing the racks of witches' masks and zombie suits. "Hey, here's a good one!" Jessica called, holding a grotesque mask in front of her face to show Rodney. "Ew, gross, it looks like my grandma, but with more hair," Rodney said, making a face. Jessica sighed and put the mask back. "You just can't be happy, can you?" she asked. "Hey, it's your mask. Go as whatever you want, don't let me decide," he responded. He was walking away from her now, looking left and right at the full-body costumes hanging from the shelves. "Whatever," Jessica said, and walked the other way, towards the scary props section to check out some bloody plastic sickles. Rodney walked down the hall slowly, looking like a ten-year-old faced with a candy buffet. He walked past the cloaks, robes, hoods, lions, other various animals, famous movie characters, and assorted random people, such as ninjas and pirates. A particularly gruesome thing caught his eye in the corner, an ugly green troll. Upon closer inspection, however, he found that the suit was very low-quality. He wouldn't be scaring anybody wearing that thing. He poked the troll's big ugly nose, and the whole thing fell over. It had been sitting on a box, he saw, and something was poking out of it. Curious, he opened the box and pulled out the contents. It was some kind of death suit, as far as he could tell. The main body was a black cloak, and a black hood was pulled up over a hideous skull. The skull was deformed and misshapen, but that somehow added to the frightening effect. He reached his hand out to touch it, and found it rubbery and cold. Tentatively, he put it on, hiding his face behind the mask and under the hood, slipping his arms into skeleton-gloves that looked real. He picked up a metallic scythe, also in the box, and held it in what he thought was a menacing position. He peered into a mirror at the end of the aisle and jumped a little at his reflection. He honestly looked like the messenger of death, eyes black pieces of burnt coal, nose just two slits in his skinless face. He took the costume off and searched for his sister. He found her back in the masks section, looking again at witches. "Hey. Ready to go?" he asked, startling her a little. She almost dropped the hag's mask she had been about to put on. "Just a sec," she said, and slipped on the mask. Rodney looked at her carefully, studying. It was a pretty good mask; fairly realistic, creepily scary, and it would go great with the small crooked sickle she had also picked out. "Looks great, now let's go," he said. "Really?" she asked, taking the mask off. "Great. Thanks." They carried their items to the checkout line, where they waited behind a stout old man who was buying candy, supposedly for trick-or-treaters but most likely for himself. When the large man had finished, Jessica placed her scythe and mask on the counter. The clerk ran her scanner over the bar codes of each, and the total came up to almost twenty dollars. "A bit expensive, isn't it?" Jessica asked, handing the clerk the money. "The best," the clerk replied. "Worth every penny." "Would you still say that if you didn't work here?" Jessica asked, smiling as she took her small bag of stuff. The clerk smiled back a little, and gestured to Rodney. Rodney placed the costume and scythe on the counter and watched as the clerk searched them for price tags. Unable to find any, he called on the intercom: "Price check for..." He looked at the face and scythe. "Grim Reaper costume and scythe accessory, please." A few seconds later, a reply came. "Grim Reaper plus scythe? $19.95." "Okay, thank you," the clerk said, and rang up the total. Rodney paid, but couldn't help feeling that he was being charged for the wrong item. He had seen a Grim Reaper costume earlier, and it had looked a lot cheesier and probably cost a lot less. The scythe, too. You could barely tell this one was plastic. "Thank you," Rodney said, and he and Jessica walked out into the parking lot. "Are you ready yet?" Jessica called up the stairs impatiently. "Just a minute!" Rodney called back, his voice slightly muffled by the death mask he wore. He studied himself in the mirror. He looked scary, all right. Very scary. He walked downstairs, showing Jessica his costume for the first time. She made a face, much like the one he had given her when she had shown him the witch's mask that looked like his grandma. "Ew, it's disgusting," she said, looking sick. Then she laughed. "It's great! It looks real, too. I bet you'll win the costume contest, if there is one." "You think?" he asked, voice still muffled a little. She would never tell him this, but she felt better when he spoke. She felt better knowing that under the horrible costume, it was still her brother. "Definitely," she responded confidently. "Now let's go or we'll be late," she said, and they got into the car and drove away. There was no costume contest at the party, but they still had a great time. Bowls of candy corn were laid out on a table, and Rodney was thoroughly enjoying the terrified looks people gave him when they first saw him. After the real fear, though, there was just an apprehensive curiosity about the person behind the mask. When they found out that it was just Rodney, they often laughed and smiled. At one point in the party, Rodney went over to get some candy corn. He got there just in time to see the last of it taken by a rather skinny, nerdy-looking guy. He walked up to the skinny guy. "Hey, do you know if there's anymore of that candy corn anywhere?" he asked, hopeful. The skinny guy jumped when he saw Rodney, and replied carefully, thoughtfully chewing his candy corn. "I don't think so, man. Sorry," he said, through a mouth of orange, white, and yellow. Rodney opened his mouth to say that it was okay, but instead he uttered a low grunt and punched the skinny guy in the stomach. Hard. The skinny guy bent over in pain, candy corn spilling from his mouth, groaning a little as he fell to the floor, clutching his stomach. Rodney backed away, horrified. He hadn't meant to hit him; he never would have. Why had his gloved arm suddenly plunged itself deep into the skinny guy's stomach? People were turning to look now, eyes wide and mouths open, and Jessica broke free from the crowd. "Rodney! What's the matter with you?" she asked, anger flashing in his eyes. "Why would you do that?" "I don't know," Rodney said, fearfully and truthfully. "I...don't feel good, can we go?" She groaned. "I don't know why you chose to goof this up, Rodney." She turned towards the gathering crowd. "Everyone!" she shouted. "Sorry about my brother! He's feeling a little sick. We're going to go now; sorry for the inconvenience." She leaned in towards the skinny guy, still holding his stomach on the floor. "I'm especially sorry for you," she said, meaning it. Rodney and Jessica walked out of the party, seriously doubting that they would be invited back next year. "Why did you do that?" Jessica asked again. "I don't know," Rodney replied again. "There has to be a reason. Why did you do that?" "Fine, you want the truth? I'll give you the truth. The costume did it, okay? That horrible death costume. Happy now?" he said loudly. "Come on, don't be stupid. It's just a costume, you can't blame your stupid actions on it." "You asked why, I answered. If you don't believe me, that's your problem, not mine. You remember how there were no price tags on it? I don't think this thing was manufactured for Store-O-Horror, Jess." "You're just being stupid and irresponsible." Wow, Rodney thought. Three stupids in a row. New record. "Believe what you want, I'm not wearing that thing again. I'm probably not going trick-or-treating tomorrow either." "You have to go! It's a tradition!" "Yeah, well, too bad," Rodney said, feeling sorry for his sister but not wanting to put on that costume again. "I'll catch up with you, if I'm up to it," he said, but didn't expect to feel up to it. "Okay," she said, looking depressed. That night Rodney dreamt about the costume. He dreamt it was coming for him, floating out of the darkness, coming towards him with the large scythe in its hands. Rodney tried to run, but had nowhere to go. He stood there, immobile, as the horrid thing swung its scythe towards his neck. He woke up on the verge of screaming, but somehow held it back, then had to struggle with it again as he looked towards his closet and saw the costume staring back at him with its charcoal eyes and gaping mouth. "Okay, I'm going now. Last chance to come," Jessica said, standing at the door with an empty bag in one hand and her sickle in the other, her hag's mask on her face. "Thanks, but I'll probably just stay home. Like I said, I'll catch up with you if I feel like it," he said, trying to smile at her reassuringly. "Okay," she said, looking put out as she walked out the door and closed it behind her. Rodney sat on the couch, watching TV, a scary movie marathon. What was that? Was that a noise from upstairs? No, he reasoned, just the scary movies playing tricks with my senses, he thought. But there it is again... "Trick-or-treat!" they yelled, holding out their empty bags. Mrs. Kramer came to the door, a bowl of chocolates tucked under one arm. "Well now, let's see what we've got here. Hm...An alien, a pirate, a ghost, and two witches. In other words, Billy, Andy, Larry, Jessica and Beth," she said, pointing to each one as she spoke. "You're getting older," she said, as though suggesting that they were too old to trick-or-treat. "Where's your brother tonight, Jessica?" she asked, handing out pieces of candy to the trick-or-treaters. "He's home sick, Mrs. Kramer," she replied. "Oh, well that's a shame. Tell him to get better for me!" she called as they walked away. "Will do, Mrs. Kramer!" Jessica called back, waving. At the next house, it was more or less the same thing, only with Mr. Rockwell instead of Mrs. Kramer at the door. "Let's see...We've got a pirate, a witch, a ghost, another witch, a bug, and good old Death himself," he said, pointing to each individually. With a start, Jessica whirled around and saw her brother standing there in his costume. "Hey, Rodney. Feeling better?" she asked. He said nothing. "Not very talkative tonight, are you, Rodney?" Mr. Rockwell asked, handing out candy to each of them. He stopped when he got to Rodney, who apparently had no trick-or-treat bag. "Hey, where are you keeping your candy, boy? In your pants?" he asked good-naturedly. Rodney said nothing. "Oh well, I guess you're not feeling much better after all. Maybe you'd be better off inside, getting lots of rest," he said, and shut the door. They walked down the road, a strange procession of a pirate, an alien/bug, a ghost, two witches, and Death. "What's up, Rodney?" the ghost, Larry, asked. "You're not in the mood for candy tonight?" Rodney raised his scythe back over his head threateningly. Larry laughed nervously. "Haha, well, try not to hurt yourself." His expression changed from concern to worry to fear to out right terror in the space of a few seconds as Rodney swung his scythe with all his might. The blade connected with Larry's throat, cutting through his vocal cords and spinal cord, spilling blood across the pavement and scythe blade. Jessica and Beth screamed, Billy and Andy looking on in open-mouthed silent horror as Larry's head hit the cement with a wet smack. "Rodney!" Billy screamed, backing away. Rodney turned from Larry's decapitated body to Billy. He advanced, holding the scythe high above his head. "Hey, come on, man, this isn't funny!" he shouted, his last words as the scythe came slashing through his body, cutting it vertically in half. Well, almost. The blade got stuck about halfway through the cut, and Rodney had to place a foot on Billy's waist to yank the scythe out. Billy was making funny gurgling sounds as his blood spewed out onto the sidewalk and grass. Beth grabbed Jessica's hand and ran away, but Andy was paralyzed with fear. Rodney walked towards him, slowly, casually. "What's wrong with you?" Andy asked, and Rodney slashed through him horizontally, sending his torso crashing to the ground on top of his legs. "You're not you," Andy's upper half croaked, his last words before he slipped into the sweet relief of death. Jessica and Beth burst into the house. They were greeted with a grisly scene: pieces of Rodney were strewn about the living room, blood coating the walls, the furniture, the floor, even the ceiling. A meaty chunk of flesh slid sickly down the wall. "But..." Jessica breathed. "We just saw Rodney...Didn't we?" The living room door flew open, letting in a gust of wind and good old Death himself, bloody scythe in his hands. Jessica cast a glance to the ground, and realized with no real surprise that there were no feet there. The costume was floating. Beth turned towards Jessica as the thing slowly advanced, stepping through the puddles of Rodney's blood. "You or me," she said softly, and pushed Jessica towards the thing while running in the opposite direction, towards the back door. She heard a sickening squelching noise and opened the door in a hurry, escaping out into the cool black night. Death, like a shadow, was never far behind, and caught up with her eventually. It now lies dormant, waiting for one so foolish as to awaken it. You should look for it at your local costume shop. soz its so long hello again for you that are wunderin this was a mixed thing i made parts of it up and some bits i took from other stories you can find on the internet and your local library

plz. help me to write the main idea of this article in the NY Times. in two pages.? November 5, 2006 Where Plan A Left Ahmad Chalabi By DEXTER FILKINS 1. London, August 2006 Many miles away in a more dangerous place the dream is ending badly. The bodies pile up. Good people stream to the borders. Leaders pile money onto planes. The center is giving way. The apartment on South Street in London is an antidote to Baghdad in nearly every respect. Where the Iraqi capital rings with chaos and violence, the sidewalks of Mayfair are quiet enough to hear your own voice above the cars. Baghdad is treeless and tan; the South Street apartment opens onto a private park filled with the lushness of an English garden. Just across the way is the Anglican church where General Eisenhower, stationed here as the commander of Allied forces during the war, came to pray. A maid greets you at the door, an elderly Lebanese woman who doubles as an Arabic teacher for the children. The parlor is neatly appointed and filled with art, most of it European, different from the Baghdad house, where most of it is Iraqi. There is “Sketch of a Woman,” by Lucien Pissarro, the French painter who propagated Impressionism in London; it catches the light nicely. The furniture is expensive, the kind that makes you hesitate to sit down. But the place has a lived-in quality too; family members come and go, clutching bags and calling to one another down the hallways. No one seems the least bit awed by the man of the house, who is dressed in a bespoke suit and carries himself like a monarch, and who, until now, hasn’t spent more than a day at a time here since before the Iraq war began. For Ahmad Chalabi, Iraq is an abstraction again. Once again, his native country is a faraway land ruled by somebody else, a place where other people die. It’s a place to be discussed, rued, plotted over, from a parlor on an expensive Western street. Iraq’s new leaders, the men who excluded Chalabi from the government they formed this spring, still call for advice — several times a day, Chalabi says. He is here in London, his longtime home in exile, temporarily, he says, taking his first vacation in five years. At lunch at a nearby restaurant an hour before, he ordered the sea bass wrapped in a banana leaf. He walks the streets unattended by armed guards. But the interlude, Chalabi says, is just that, a passing thing. His doubters will come back to him; they always have. As ever, he wears a jester’s smile, wide and blank, a mask that has carried him through crises of the first world and the third. Still, a touch of bitterness can creep into Chalabi’s voice, a hint that he has concluded that his time has come and gone. Indeed, even for a man as vain and resilient as Chalabi, his present predicament stands too large to go unacknowledged. Once Iraq’s anointed leader — anointed by the Americans — Chalabi, at age 62, is without a job, spurned by the very colleagues whose ascension he engineered. His benefactors in the White House and in the Pentagon, who once gobbled up whatever half-baked intelligence Chalabi offered, now regard him as undependable and — worse — safely ignored. Chalabi’s life work, an Iraq liberated from Saddam Hussein, a modern and democratic Iraq, is spiraling toward disintegration. Indeed, for many in the West, Chalabi has become the personification of all that has gone wrong in Iraq: the lies, the arrogance, the occupation as disaster. “The real culprit in all this is Wolfowitz,” Chalabi says, referring to his erstwhile backer, the former deputy secretary of defense, Paul Wolfowitz. “They chickened out. The Pentagon guys chickened out.” Chalabi still considers Wolfowitz a friend, so he proceeds carefully. America’s big mistake, Chalabi maintains, was in failing to step out of the way after Hussein’s downfall and let the Iraqis take charge. The Iraqis, not the Americans, should have been allowed to take over immediately — the people who knew the country, who spoke the language and, most important, who could take responsibility for the chaos that was unfolding in the streets. An Iraqi government could have acted harshly, even brutally, to regain control of the place, and the Iraqis would have been without a foreigner to blame. They would have appreciated the firm hand. There would have been no guerrilla insurgency or, if there was, a small one that the new Iraqi government could have ferreted out and crushed on its own. An Iraqi leadership would have brought Moktada al-Sadr, the populist cleric, into the government and house-trained him. The Americans, in all likelihood, could have gone home. They certainly would have been home by now. “We would have taken hold of the country,” Chalabi says. “We would have revitalized the civil service immediately. We would have been able to put together a military force and an intelligence service. There would have been no insurgency. We would have had electricity. The Americans screwed it up.” Chalabi’s notion — that an Iraqi government, as opposed to an American one, could have saved the great experiment — has become one of the arguments put forth by the war’s proponents in the just-beginning debate over who lost Iraq. At best, it’s improbable: Chalabi is essentially arguing that a handful of Iraqi exiles, some of whom had not lived in the country in decades, could have put together a government and quelled the chaos that quickly engulfed the country after Hussein’s regime collapsed. They could have done this, presumably, without an army (which most wanted to dissolve) and without a police force (which was riddled with Baathists). In fact, the Americans considered the idea and dismissed it. (But not, Wolfowitz insists, because of him. His longtime aide, Kevin Kellems, said that Wolfowitz favored turning over power “as rapidly as possible to duly elected Iraqi authorities.”) The Bush administration decided to go to the United Nations and have the American role in Iraq formally described as that of an “occupying power,” a step that no Iraqi, not even the lowliest tea seller, failed to notice. They appointed L. Paul Bremer III as viceroy. Instead of empowering Iraqis, Bremer set up an advisory panel of Iraqis — one that included Chalabi — that had no power at all. The warmth that many ordinary Iraqis felt for the Americans quickly ebbed away. It’s not clear that the Americans had any other choice. But here in his London parlor, Chalabi is now contending that excluding Iraqis was the Americans’ fatal mistake. “It was a puppet show!” Chalabi exclaims again, shifting on the couch. “The worst of all worlds. We were in charge, and we had no power. We were blamed for everything the Americans did, but we couldn’t change any of it.” It’s three and a half years later now. More than 2,800 Americans are dead; more than 3,000 Iraqis die each month. The anarchy seems limitless. In May 2004, American and Iraqi agents even raided Chalabi’s home in Baghdad. He has been denounced by Bremer and by Bush and accused of passing secrets to America’s enemy, Iran. At the heart of the American decision to take over and run Iraq, Chalabi now concludes, lay a basic contempt for Iraqis, himself included. “In Wolfowitz’s mind, you couldn’t trust the Iraqis to run a democracy,” Chalabi says. “ ‘We have to teach them, give them lessons,’ in Wolfowitz’s mind. ‘We have to leave Iraq under our tutelage. The Iraqis are useless. The Iraqis are incompetent.’ “What I didn’t realize,” Chalabi says, “was that the Americans sold us out.” Turkish coffee is served, then tea. I consider Chalabi’s predicament: the Iraqi patrician, confidant of prime ministers and presidents, the M.I.T.- and University of Chicago-trained mathematics professor, owner of a Mayfair flat, complaining of being regarded, by the masters he once manipulated, as a scruffy, shiftless native. “I’ve been a friend of America, and I’ve been its enemy,” he says. “America betrays its friends. It sets them up and betrays them. I’d rather be America’s enemy.” And so he is. Sort of. With Chalabi, it’s hard to be certain, and not just because his motives are so opaque, but because he is never still. He is enigmatic, brilliant, nimble, unreliable, charming, narcissistic, finally elusive. The journey to Mayfair is a long one. What happened to Chalabi? Well, you might ask: What happened to Iraq? 2. Mushkhab, January 2005 The election is coming, and we are heading south. Twenty cars, mostly carrying men with guns. They hang out the windows, pointing their Kalashnikovs at the terrified drivers. Get out of the way or we shoot, and maybe we shoot anyway — that’s the message. But that’s Iraq. We move quickly, weaving, south in the southbound, south in the northbound. Very fast. Unbelievably fast. Drivers veer and career. We go where we want. We’re low on fuel, and a gas station beckons. It is one of the strange and singular facts of Iraqi life that despite sitting atop an ocean of oil, Iraqis must wait hours — often days — for gasoline at the pumps. Lack of refining capacity, smuggling, stealing, insurgent attacks, Soviet subsidies: it’s complicated. On the road outside Salman Pak, the line is perhaps 300 cars long. The Chalabi convoy cuts straight to the front of the line. No one protests. It’s the guns. The Iraqis wait for days, and our effrontery brings no protest. Not a peep. We get our gas and we speed away, guns out the windows. Very fast. An hour later, we arrive at our destination, Mushkhab. It’s a mostly Shiite town about 100 miles south of Baghdad. It is friendly country — to Chalabi, and still, then, to Americans. The whole town — the males, anyway — gathers round. Chalabi stands in the center, dressed in a dark gray Western suit. The Iraqis clap and read poetry; some of it they sing. It’s a tradition, a kind of serenade to the honored guest. “Hey, listen, Bush, we are Iraqis,” the poet says, and everyone is clapping. “We never bow our heads to anyone, and we won’t do it for you. We have tough guys like Chalabi on our side — be careful.” Everyone laughs. We move inside the mudhif, a tall, long, fantastic structure woven of dried river reeds, a kind of pavilion of rattan. The room is laid with hand-woven carpets, and on the walls hang framed yellowed photographs of the leaders of the tribe, Al Fatla, meeting with their British overlords many years ago. A pair of loudspeakers are set up in the front. Chalabi takes a microphone. “My Iraqi brothers, the Americans pushed out Saddam, but they did not liberate our country,” Chalabi tells the group. “We are asking you to participate in this election so that we can have an independent country. This is not just words. The Iraqi people will liberate the country.” He goes on a little more, warming to the Iraqis assembled about him. “On my way here, I saw a huge line of people waiting for gasoline,” Chalabi tells the group. “Some of them were there for two nights, carrying blankets with them. It makes me very sad to see my brothers wait for days to get gas at the station.” Shameless, huh? I thought so, too. Almost a thing of beauty. It was so outrageous I almost wanted to forgive him, as a teacher might her sassy but cleverest boy. And that’s the thing about Chalabi: he’s very difficult to dislike. It may be his secret. It was Chalabi, after all — a foreigner, an Arab — who persuaded the most powerful men and women in the United States to make the liberation of Iraq not merely a priority but an obsession. First in 1998, when Chalabi persuaded Congress to pass the Iraq Liberation Act (in turn leading to payments to his group, the Iraqi National Congress, exceeding $27 million over the next six years) and then, later, in persuading the Bush administration of the necessity of using force to destroy Saddam Hussein. And when it all went bad, when those nuclear weapons never turned up, the clever child shrugged and smiled. “We are heroes in error,” Chalabi told Britain’s Daily Telegraph. Almost with a wink. Lunch is served: a long table heaped with rice and roasted lamb. No seats. Everyone stands, dozens of us, and we dig in with our fingers. After a time, we prepare to leave. The table and the ground around it are littered with rice and lamb bones. We re-form into a convoy and speed toward the holy city of Najaf. By the time we arrive in Najaf, it’s dark. The fighting between American soldiers and the Mahdi Army irregulars laid waste to the city only a few months before, but on this night, Najaf seems remarkably calm. The pilgrim hotels lie in ruins, but the golden dome of the shrine of Imam Ali shimmers under a January moon. Chalabi exits his S.U.V. and strides inside through the 20-foot-high wooden doors. A clutch of Sunni leaders, whom Chalabi has agreed to show around, trail in step. The curiosities intersect: the Sunnis are not Shiites, and this is the holiest of Shiite places, the tomb of the son-in-law of the Holy Prophet and the very heart of the Shiite faith. But they are still Muslims, and they are allowed to pass. As a non-Muslim, I wait outside in the street. More unlikely than the presence of the Sunnis is their tour guide, Chalabi. Or it was unlikely. Not anymore. Chalabi, the Westernized, Western-educated mathematician, has entered his Islamist phase. It’s not terribly convincing. He does not don a turban. He has no beard. He does not pray. He does not, really, even pretend. But as a practical politician — as an exile come home to a strange land getting stranger by the day — Chalabi had to do something. Relations between Chalabi and the Bush administration began to sour almost immediately after the fall of Hussein, when the Americans decided against putting Iraqis — presumably Chalabi — in charge. Bremer considered him an egomaniac. When no W.M.D. turned up, more and more Americans came to blame Chalabi for the war. Chalabi’s association with the Americans grew more disadvantageous by the day. The break came on May 20, 2004, when the Americans, accusing Chalabi of telling the Iranian government that the Americans were eavesdropping on their secret communications, swooped in on his Baghdad compound. American troops sealed off Mansour, the neighborhood where Chalabi lived, while scores of Iraqi and American agents kicked in the compound doors. One of the Iraqis, Chalabi said, put a gun to his head. “Look, I think they tried to kill him,” Richard Perle, the former Pentagon adviser and longtime Chalabi friend, said of the American and Iraqi agents. “I think the raid on his house was intended to result in violence. They had sent 20 or 40 Humvees over there. Chalabi was being protected by a force of about 100 guys with machine guns. It is a miracle that it didn’t result in a massive shootout.” No shots were fired, but the break seemed final. Isolated, Chalabi turned to Islam — and, in particular, to Moktada al-Sadr, the Shiite cleric and leader of two armed uprisings against the Americans and the Iraqi government. Sadr is an erratic and unpredictable young man who sometimes ends his sermons with apocalyptic visions of the “hidden” 12th imam revealing himself. He is also the most popular man in Iraq. In the anarchy that ensued following the fall of Hussein, Iraqis, once known for their largely secular outlook, ran headlong toward Islam. Religion and anarchy moved together: the worse conditions got in the streets, the more Islamic Iraqis became. In the three and a half years that I have known Chalabi, I never once saw him pray. Or give any indication that he harbored religious beliefs at all. Mowaffak al-Rubaie, the Iraqi national security adviser and a devout Shiite, told me once that when he and a group of five senior Iraqi politicians visited the Imam Ali shrine in 2004, all of them prayed but Chalabi. While the others knelt, Rubaie said, Chalabi stood quietly with his hands folded in front of him. On this return visit to the Imam Ali shrine, Chalabi and his Sunni colleagues spent 10 minutes inside and exited without saying a thing. But word travels quickly down Najaf’s narrow streets, and by the time our convoy sped back to Baghdad, there were very few people in Najaf who did not know that Chalabi had come. Once, when I asked Chalabi about his flirtation with the Islamists, he answered not in terms of religion but of politics. Moktada, he explained, was not essentially dangerous but merely misunderstood, an outsider who could be coaxed into Iraq’s new democratic order. Chalabi was happy to act as the bridge, and if he benefited politically from his efforts, he was not complaining. “The Americans made a mistake when they excluded Moktada in the beginning,” Chalabi told me. “Our real business is to persuade everybody that Sadr is better inside than outside, and to provide some measure of comfort to the middle class that he is not going to eat them up.” Indeed, Chalabi and Sadr are not as unlikely a pair as they may seem. Musa al-Sadr, the late Iranian-born ayatollah and Moktada’s cousin, presided over Chalabi’s wedding in Beirut in 1971. Chalabi’s wife, Leila, is the daughter of Adel Osseiran, a leader of the Lebanese independence movement. Musa al-Sadr was the founder of Amal, which became the prototypical Shiite party in the Middle East. It seemed like a game, and not one that Chalabi liked to give away. Whenever I asked him about his coziness with Moktada, and how it squared with his own religious beliefs, I usually received a curt retort. For a time, Chalabi — and the Americans — got the better of the deal. Moktada fielded candidates in the January 2005 election, and his militia, though still untamed, fell into line behind its leader. He endorsed something less than an absolute role for Islam in the Iraqi Constitution. By early 2006, parties loyal to Sadr held the largest bloc in the Iraqi Parliament. As for Chalabi, Moktada kept him afloat a little longer. But in siding with the Islamists, Chalabi helped make them stronger than they were, and he threw his weight behind a number of trends that were only then becoming dominant: the Islamization of Iraqi society, the division of Iraq into sectarian cantons. Those trends later spiraled out of control, into the de facto civil war that is unfolding now. Some Iraqis who watched Chalabi then still don’t forgive him — and they think that ultimately, the Islamists got the better of him. “Ahmad’s problem is that Ahmad is usually the smartest man in the room, and he thinks he can control what happens,” I was told by an Iraqi official who worked with Chalabi at the time and who would speak only anonymously. “But these guys don’t care if you have a Ph.D. in math; they’ll kill you. In the end, things went way past the point where Ahmad thought they would ever go. I can’t imagine he wanted that. But he helped start it.” 3. Baghdad, October 2005 Chalabi is standing on the rooftop of his ancestral home in Khadimiya, a heavily Shiite neighborhood known for its shrine. Mansour, the area where he has lived since Hussein’s fall, has slipped into anarchy. The final round of nationwide elections is a couple of months away. For the moment, Chalabi is the deputy prime minister, behind the affable but ineffectual Ibrahim Jaafari. Across the street stand a pair of grain silos built by his father, Abdul Hadi Chalabi. Downstairs, on a wall in the sitting room, there is an old British map dating to the 1920’s, showing Baghdad, which was much smaller than it is now. North of Baghdad, in what was then farmland and what is now Khadimiya, a dot indicates a town. The dot says, “Chalabi.” At the time, Chalabi’s family owned nearly two and a half million acres throughout Iraq. Those vast holdings are reduced to the compound where Chalabi now stands. It’s about 10 acres, including the main house, which a team of workers is renovating, a large swimming pool, a grove of date palms and, in the back, a mudhif. There is a row of garages, decrepit now, where workers once serviced the machinery and trucks that brought the wheat and dates to market. “Imagine,” Chalabi says, turning to me. “And C.I.A. says I have no roots here.” Chalabi spent 45 years in exile. Under the Hashemite monarchy installed by the British after World War I, the ruling class of the new Iraq was largely made up of Sunni Muslims, as it had been under the Ottoman Turks. The Chalabis were part of the small Shiite elite; most of the rest of the Shiite majority formed a vast underclass. The remnants of that Shiite elite now form a sizable slice of the political establishment of post-Saddam Iraq. In addition to Chalabi, there is Adil Abdul Mahdi, the vice president, a Chalabi friend since boyhood; Ayad Allawi, the former president, who is a Chalabi relative by marriage; and Feisal al-Istrabadi, the deputy ambassador to the United Nations in New York. In the 1950’s, Chalabi, Mahdi and Allawi were schoolmates at Baghdad College, an elite Jesuit high school. Even in their class photos, nearly a half-century old, all three men are instantly recognizable: Mahdi, the soft-spoken intellectual; Allawi, the charming bully; and Chalabi, the boy genius in a bow tie. On July 14, 1958, King Faisal II, the British-backed monarch, was deposed and killed; a day later, the prime minister, Nuri al-Said, fled to the home of Chalabi’s sister, Thamina. She dressed Said in an abaya, the head-to-toe gown worn by women. With the army closing in, Thamina Chalabi took Said to the home of Feisal al-Istrabadi’s grandparents. Ahmad Chalabi, then 14, watched his mother and Bibiya al-Istrabadi weep as they pondered the prime minister’s fate. “Three or four hours later, Said was dead,” Chalabi told me. “He shot himself.” Chalabi fled Iraq a few months later, first for Lebanon, then England and then America, where he received a degree in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate from the University of Chicago. (Dissertation title: “Jacobson Radical of Group Algebras Over Fields Characteristic p.”) He did not return to Baghdad until April 11, 2003. Chalabi’s homecoming, after the U.S. invasion, was not the triumphant return he hoped it would be. What should have been his principal claim to legitimacy — his central role in toppling Saddam — never carried him very far; it became a liability as Iraq descended into chaos. In the new Iraq, Westernized elites carried less and less authority. Power belonged to the clerics and to the populists. And then there was the scandal at Petra Bank in Jordan, the outlines of which every Iraqi, no matter how dimly educated, seemed already to know: that Chalabi had been convicted in absentia for fraud and sentenced to 22 years in prison for embezzling almost $300 million. (Chalabi, who fled Jordan before he could be arrested, has long denied the charges, maintaining that they were cooked up by the Jordanian government under pressure from Saddam Hussein. Last year, the Jordanians signaled that they were willing to pardon Chalabi. But Chalabi insisted on a public apology, which the Jordanians refused to give.) Even the small army of Iraqi exiles that Chalabi had raised before the war never grew to be much more than a personal militia. One poll, conducted in early 2004, showed him to be the least trusted public figure in Iraq — even less trusted than Saddam Hussein. Dexter Filkins The suspicions that ordinary Iraqis harbored about Chalabi were never relieved by his industriousness. As oil minister and deputy prime minister, Chalabi worked night and day, often on the minutiae of Iraq’s oil pipelines and electricity lines or the precise wording, in Arabic and English, of the Iraqi Constitution. I typically went to see Chalabi at night, sometimes at 9 or 10, and usually had to wait an hour or so while he finished with his other visitors. If it was true that Chalabi had returned to Iraq with the expectation of acquiring power, it was not true that he was unwilling to work for it. Chalabi, like all Iraqi political leaders, functioned in conditions of mortal danger at nearly all times. Even when he wanted to walk into his backyard, he had to be followed by armed guards. It’s an exhausting and debilitating way to live. But while many Iraqi exiles either gave up and returned to the West, or now spend as much time outside the country as in, Chalabi stayed in Iraq almost continuously following Hussein’s fall. For all the hard work, his zigging and zagging across the political spectrum frustrated many of the Iraqi elites — his only natural constituency — especially after his flirtation with the Islamists. “I don’t think Chalabi has any credibility left,” Adnan Pachachi, the 83-year-old former foreign minister, told me before the 2005 elections. “He is not acceptable to Iraqis. People don’t like him shifting all the time. This thing with Moktada — it’s ridiculous.” One who remained true was his friend Mahdi, who seemed, perhaps from his boyhood days swimming in the Tigris with Chalabi, to carry a deeper understanding of his old friend. “This is the style of Ahmad,” Mahdi told me just before the elections. “He was a banker. He works a dossier. Each time it’s different — he invests here, he invests there, he invests elsewhere. He has had successes, he has had maybe his failures. I can work with him.” Chalabi never grasped his essential unpopularity. In the first round of elections, in January 2005, Chalabi rode into office as a member of the United Iraqi Alliance, the Shiite coalition pulled together by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the powerful Shiite religious leader. Nearly every Shiite in Iraq voted for the U.I.A., and a name on its slate all but guaranteed a seat in the Parliament. The leadership of the U.I.A. was sharply Islamist. Nearly a year later, as the December 2005 elections approached, Chalabi veered again, away from the Islamists, away from Moktada. Chalabi publicly chided the Shiite coalition as being too Islamic-minded, declaring he didn’t want to be a member of a government that was planning to transform Iraq into an Islamist state. By that time, of course, Iraq was already quite Islamist anyway. “They’re Islamist, and I don’t want to be part of the sectarian project,” Chalabi told me just before the elections that December. I actually believed him, but given his association with Moktada, it didn’t seem that many other Iraqis would. The reality, anyway, was more complicated. In the weeks before the election, the Shiite alliance offered Chalabi and his supporters 5 seats on its 275-seat slate; Chalabi demanded 10. Some Shiite leaders told me that they had deliberately offered Chalabi a low figure in the hope that he would leave their alliance for good. Mahdi, the vice president, denied that this was true. “For four days I tried to convince him; I even threatened him,” Mahdi told me. “I said, ‘Ahmad, if you leave this room, we will be no more friends.’ I was not serious. I was only threatening.” So Chalabi went his own way. If he had wanted only a seat for himself, he could have taken his place in the Shiite alliance; plenty of other Iraqis did. In going alone, he must have known that he was risking disaster. He went ahead anyway. A few days before the election, I drove up to Chalabi’s compound in Khadimiya for a lunch he was holding for tribal leaders. In much the same fashion as in Mushkhab 11 months before, about 100 sheiks from Sadr City listened to a Chalabi speech before descending on heaps of lamb and rice. One of the sheiks, a man named Sahaeh Masif al-Kindh, approached me as he walked out. “Chalabi didn’t forget us when we were living under Saddam,” al-Kindh told me. “He was Saddam’s biggest enemy. We don’t forget that.” 4. Washington, November 2005 The second round of Iraqi elections is only a few weeks away, and the wheel is turning again. Chalabi, once in favor, then out, is back in. Ostensibly, he has been invited to Washington by Treasury Secretary John Snow to talk about the Iraqi economy. But it’s more than that. He’s going to see Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The allegations that prompted the raid on Chalabi’s compound 18 months before, that he tipped the Iranians to American eavesdropping, are mysteriously forgotten. Indeed, everything seems to have been forgotten. Chalabi is rising on the catastrophe that Iraq has become. The Bush administration is grasping for anyone who might help them. On paper at least, Chalabi has a shot at becoming prime minister. Most of the meetings are private. There is a dinner at the home of Richard Perle for some of Chalabi’s old Washington friends. One of the events, a speech at the American Enterprise Institute, is public. The room is filled. At the end of a speech, Chalabi is asked by someone in the crowd if he would like to apologize for misleading the Bush administration about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Chalabi nods as if he knew the question was coming. “This is an urban myth,” he says. The audience gasps. Chalabi told me later that his role as an intelligence conduit on weapons of mass destruction began shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, when he was contacted by the Department of Defense. Not vice versa. “They came to us and asked, ‘Can you help us find something on Saddam?’ ” he said. “We put out feelers.” By that time, the autumn of 2001, Chalabi had a long record of working with the American government in its shadow war against Hussein. Throughout the 1990’s, however, Chalabi demonstrated time and again that he would pursue his own interests, even if they clashed with those of the United States. There was the time in 1995, for instance, when Chalabi, under the employ of the C.I.A. in the Kurdish-controlled city of Erbil, launched an unauthorized attack on Hussein’s army. The attack failed to spark an uprising against Hussein; the Turks sent troops into northern Iraq; the C.I.A. was furious. It was a fiasco. “Very quickly he got out of control,” one retired C.I.A. officer who worked with Chalabi told me. “We didn’t know what he was doing over there. He was trying to provoke a war with Saddam.” Then there was the time, in 1996, when Chalabi interfered with a C.I.A. plot to topple Saddam. I heard the story not from Chalabi but from Perle, the Bush defense adviser and Chalabi friend. As Perle tells it, Chalabi called him in a panic from London, telling him that a C.I.A.-backed plot against Hussein was fatally compromised. The fact that the C.I.A.’s Iraqi front-man for the plot, Ayad Allawi, was a rival of Chalabi’s (as well as his relative) had nothing to do with his concerns, Perle said. As Perle tells it, he quickly telephoned the C.I.A. director at the time, John Deutch, who agreed to meet in downtown Washington. Perle said he spent an hour laying out Chalabi’s worries. “He was obviously concerned,” Perle said of Deutch. The plot went ahead anyway. It was a catastrophe. Hussein arrested as many as 800 people and reportedly executed dozens of high-ranking officers. As a final indignity, Hussein’s men dialed up Allawi’s headquarters in Amman, Jordan, on a C.I.A.-provided communications device they captured from the plotters and left a message: “You might as well pack up and go home.” Some people in the C.I.A. held Chalabi responsible, believing that he had spread word of the plot in order to deny Ayad Allawi the upper hand in the exile movement. “There was abiding suspicion in the agency that Chalabi blew it,” the former C.I.A. agent said. The fallout over the failed coup precipitated the C.I.A.’s decision to break ties with Chalabi. Chalabi dismisses those claims, and some in the C.I.A. from the period back him up. “Chalabi was as true to me as the day was long,” says Robert Baer, a former C.I.A. field agent in northern Iraq. “If Chalabi was going to blow the operation, why would he tell the C.I.A.?” There was the money issue, too. Throughout the 1990’s, as the C.I.A. and Congress funneled millions of dollars to Chalabi’s organization, the Iraqi National Congress, rumors swirled about corruption. One of the skeptics was W. Patrick Lang, a senior official at the Defense Intelligence Agency. In 1995, Lang told me, he was sitting in the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, when he overheard a group of Iraqis talking about the money they had received from the American government. “I knew who these guys were, and I heard them speaking Arabic, and it was obviously Iraqi Arabic,” Lang said. “So I went over and sat next to them and listened. So what they were talking about was how to spend the Americans’ money, going on shopping trips, stuff like that. Oh, they were talking about going shopping for jewelry for women, toys for kids. Consumer goods. They were also talking about Las Vegas. ‘We will sneak out of here and go to Las Vegas. We have a lot of money now.’ ” A couple of years later, Lang said, he visited the office of Senator Trent Lott, then the Senate majority leader. After introducing an Arab businessman to Lott, Lang sat in Lott’s anteroom with a number of Capitol Hill staff members who helped draft the Iraq Liberation Act, which provided millions of dollars to Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress. They were praising Chalabi: “They were talking about him, that Chalabi fits into this plan as a very worthwhile, virtuous exemplar of modernization, somebody who could help reform first Iraq and then the Middle East. They were very pleased with themselves.” Lang, an old Middle East hand who had worked in Iraq in the 1980’s, said he was stunned. “You guys need to get out more,” Lang recalls saying at the time. “It’s a fantasy.” Years later, Lang said, many of the same men who were sitting in Lott’s office that day became key players in the Pentagon’s plans for an invasion of Iraq. Which brings us back to Chalabi’s “urban myth”: the notion that he provided bogus intelligence to the Bush administration and helped persuade them — or provide the pretext — to invade Iraq. In his speech at the American Enterprise Institute, Chalabi exhorted the audience to turn to Page 108 of the Robb-Silverman report, a recently completed blue-ribbon investigation, which, he said, exonerates him. It does, in a way. The report does not say that Chalabi & Company played an important role in the events leading to the war. It says only that the Bush administration did not rely much on intelligence Chalabi handed over in making the decision to invade. “In fact, overall, C.I.A.’s postwar investigations revealed that I.N.C.-related sources had a minimal impact on prewar assessments,” the report says. This is also Chalabi’s version. In the run-up to war, he says, he provided only three defectors to the American intelligence community. “We did not vouch for any of their information,” Chalabi told me. One of the people whom the I.N.C. made available to American intelligence was Adnan Ihsan al-Haideri, who claimed that he had worked on buildings that were used to store biological, nuclear and chemical weapons equipment. Chalabi told me that he made Haideri available to American intelligence at a safe house in Bangkok. He didn’t think much of Haideri or his information, he says, and was astonished to learn later that the information he provided became a pillar of the Americans’ charges against Hussein. “We told them, ‘We don’t know who this guy is,’ ” Chalabi said. “Then the Americans spoke to him and said, ‘This guy is the mother lode.’ Can you believe that on such a basis the United States would go to war? The intelligence community regarded the I.N.C. as useless. Why would the government believe us?” Perle, from his perch on the Pentagon’s Defense Policy Advisory Committee Board, backs Chalabi’s version. He was privy to much of the intelligence the administration was collecting on Hussein in the days before the war. He says that American intelligence officials began from the premise that Hussein had never destroyed his stocks of banned weapons and that he had kept his programs alive. American spies were only looking to confirm what they thought they already knew. In any event, Perle said, very little of their information came from Chalabi. “I had all the security clearances,” Perle said. “I was pretty much aware of the people that the I.N.C. was bringing to the table to talk about what they knew. Everything they did came with a disclaimer. To the best of my knowledge, there was no single important fact that was uniquely conveyed to U.S. intelligence by anyone who had been assisted by the I.N.C.” Indeed, Chalabi says, much of the most important evidence that led America to war did not come from the I.N.C.: not the report on the uranium from Niger, and not Curveball, the Iraqi defector who made bogus claims about mobile biological weapons labs. “It’s not our fault,” Chalabi says. But the story doesn’t end there. A second report, released by the Senate Intelligence Committee in September 2006, reached far more damning conclusions. The report states flatly that Chalabi’s group introduced defectors to American intelligence who directly influenced two key judgments in the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate, which preceded the Senate vote on the Iraq war: that Hussein possessed mobile biological-weapons laboratories and that he was trying to reconstitute his nuclear program. The report said that the I.N.C. provided a large volume of flawed intelligence to the United States about Iraq, saying the group “attempted to influence United States policy on Iraq by providing false information through defectors directed at convincing the United States that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and had links to terrorists.” (Five Republican senators disagreed with the report’s conclusions about the I.N.C.) Chalabi’s denials are unconvincing for another reason. His role in the preparations for war was not just as a source for American intelligence agencies. He was America’s chief public advocate for war, spreading information gathered by his own intelligence network to newspapers, magazines, television programs and Congress. (A New York Times reporter, Judith Miller, was one of Chalabi’s primary conduits; in an e-mail message sent in 2003 that has been widely quoted since, she wrote that Chalabi “has provided most of the front-page exclusives on W.M.D. to our paper” and that the Army unit she was then traveling with was “using Chalabi’s intell and document network for its own W.M.D. work.”) Indeed, the press proved even more gullible than the intelligence experts in the American government. In a June 2002 letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the I.N.C. listed 108 news articles based on information provided by the group. The list included articles concerning some of the wildest claims about Hussein, including that he had collaborated in the Sept. 11 attacks. David Kay, the former chief weapons inspector in Iraq, offers one of the most compelling explanations for how pivotal Chalabi’s role was in taking America to war. Kay said that while the C.I.A. had long regarded Chalabi with suspicion, disregarding much of what he gave them, Chalabi had succeeded in persuading his more powerful friends in other parts of the government — Vice President Dick Cheney, for instance, and Wolfowitz. The pressure brought by those men, Kay told me, ultimately persuaded George Tenet, director of the C.I.A., that the White House was committed to war and that there was no point in resisting it. “In my judgment, the reason George Tenet and the top of the agency came over to the argument that Iraq had W.M.D. was that they really knew that the vice president and Wolfowitz had come to that conclusion anyway,” Kay said. “They had been getting information from Chalabi for years.” Of Wolfowitz, whom he has known for years, Kay said: “He was a true believer. He thought he had the evidence. That came from the defectors. They came from Chalabi.” Kay said he continued to feel Chalabi’s influence with Wolfowitz even after the invasion, when Kay was leading the team searching for W.M.D. from mid- to late 2003. “Paul, when faced with evidence that we had developed on the ground, would say, Well, Chalabi says this, the I.N.C. says this, why are you not seeing it?” Kellems, the Wolfowitz assistant, disputed Kay’s story, saying that Tenet’s views were shared by officials across the government. “The position taken on weapons was the consensus view of the United States, including of the Clinton administration and other Western intelligence agencies — as well as that of Mr. Kay himself prior to visiting Iraq,” Kellems said. Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell in Bush’s first term, adds a final turn to the labyrinth. In the frantic days leading up to Powell’s speech at the United Nations in February 2003, when he laid out the case for war, Wilkerson said he spent many nights sleeping on a couch in George Tenet’s office. During those preparations, Wilkerson told me, Powell insisted that every point he would make at the U.N. had to be supported by at least three independent sources. “We had three or four sources for every item that was substantive in his presentation,” Wilkerson told me in an interview in Washington. “Powell insisted on that. But what I am hearing now, though, is that a lot of these sources sort of tinged and merged back into a single source, and that inevitably that single source seems to be either recommended by, set up by, orchestrated by, introduced by, or whatever, by somebody in the I.N.C.” Wilkerson said that the revelations, some of which he says he has heard from his own friends inside American and European intelligence agencies, have forced him to rethink how America went to war. “I have maintained pretty much the same thing that the president said, ‘Well, we all got fooled, it was lousy intelligence, and no one in the national leadership spun the intelligence,’ ” Wilkerson said. “I am having to revisit that. And that is disturbing to me.” Wilkerson raises a crucial point. Assuming that Chalabi was a source for at least some of the bogus intelligence, we might ask ourselves: so what? Was the American national security apparatus so incompetent that it could be hoodwinked by a handful of shopworn engineers and an Iraqi mathematician to take the country into war? Or is the lesson more disturbing — that Chalabi simply gave the Bush administration what it wanted to hear? “I think Chalabi and the I.N.C. were very shrewd,” Wilkerson said. “I think Chalabi understood what people wanted, and he fed it to them. From everything I’ve heard, no one says he is dumb.” 5. Tehran, November 2005 Amid the debate about Chalabi’s role in taking America to war, one little-noticed phrase in a Senate Intelligence Committee report on W.M.D. offered an important insight into Chalabi’s identity. One of the principal errors made by the Bush administration in relying on Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress, the report said, was to disregard conclusions by the C.I.A. and the Defense Intelligence Agency that “the I.N.C. was penetrated by hostile intelligence services,” notably those of Iran. The Iran connection has long been among the most beguiling aspects of Chalabi’s career. Baer, the former C.I.A. operative, recalled sitting in a hotel lobby in Salah al-Din, in Kurdish-controlled Iraq, in 1995 while Chalabi met with the turbaned representatives of Iranian intelligence on the other side of the room. (Baer, as an American, was barred from meeting the Iranians.) Baer says he came to regard Chalabi as an Iranian asset, and still does. “He is basically beholden to the Iranians to stay viable,” Baer told me. “All his C.I.A. connections — he wouldn’t get away with that sort of thing with the Iranians unless he had proved his worth to them.” Pat Lang, the D.I.A. agent, holds a similar view: that in Chalabi, the Iranians probably saw someone who could help them achieve their long-sought goal of removing Saddam Hussein. After a time, in Lang’s view, the Iranians may have figured the Americans would leave and that Chalabi would most likely be in charge. Lang insists he is only speculating, but he says it has been clear to the American intelligence community for years that Chalabi has maintained “deep contacts” with Iranian officials. “Here is what I think happened,” Lang said. “Chalabi went and told the guys at the Ministry of Intelligence and Security in Tehran: ‘The Americans are giving me money. I’m their guy. I’m their candidate.’ And I’m sure their eyes lit up. The Iranians would reason that they could use this guy to manipulate the United States to get what they wanted. They would figure that the U.S. would invade. They would figure that we would come and we would go, and if we left Chalabi in charge, who was a good friend of theirs, they would be in good shape.” Lang’s thesis is impossible to prove, and Chalabi denies it. And even if it were true, Chalabi’s role would be difficult to discern: so many different Iranian agencies are thought to be pursuing so many different agendas in Iraq that a single Iranian national interest is difficult to identify. Still, if Lang’s and Baer’s argument is true, it would be the stuff of spy novels: Chalabi, the American-adopted champion of Iraqi democracy, a kind of double agent for one of America’s principal adversaries. In late 2005, I accompanied Chalabi on a trip to Iran, in part to solve the riddle. We drove eastward out of Baghdad, in a convoy as menacing as the one we had ridden in south to Mushkhab earlier in the year. After three hours of weaving and careering, the plains of eastern Iraq halted, and the terrain turned sharply upward into a thick ridge of arid mountains. We had come to Mehran, on one of history’s great fault lines, the historic border between the Ottoman and Persian Empires. As we crossed into Iran, the wreckage and ruin of modern Iraq gave way to swept streets and a tidy border post with shiny bathrooms. Another world. An Iranian cleric approached and shook Chalabi’s hand. Then he said something curious: “We are disappointed to hear that you won’t be staying in the Shiite alliance,” he said. “We were really hoping you’d stay.” The border between Iraq and Iran had, for the moment, disappeared. More curious, though, was the authority that Chalabi seemed to carry in Iran, which, after all, has been accused of assisting Iraqi insurgents and otherwise stirring up chaos there. For starters, Chalabi asked me if I wanted to come along on his Iranian trip only the night before he left — and then procured a visa for me in a single day: a Friday, during the Eid holiday, when the Iranian Embassy was closed. Under ordinary circumstances, an American reporter might wait weeks. Then there was the executive jet. When we arrived at the border, Chalabi ducked into a bathroom and changed out of his camouflage T-shirt and slacks and into a well-tailored blue suit. Then we drove to Ilam, where an 11-seat Fokker jet was idling on the runway of the local airport. We jumped in and took off for Tehran, flying over a dramatic landscape of canyons and ravines. We landed in Iran’s smoggy capital, and within a couple of hours, Chalabi was meeting with the highest officials of the Iranian government. One of them was Ali Larijani, the national security adviser. I interviewed Larijani the next morning. “Our relationship with Mr. Chalabi does not have anything to do with his relationship with the neocons,” he said. His red-rimmed eyes, when I met him at 7 a.m., betrayed a sleepless night. “He is a very constructive and influential figure. He is a very wise man and a very useful person for the future of Iraq.” Then came the meeting with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president. I was with a handful of Iranian reporters who were led into a finely appointed room just outside the president’s office. First came Chalabi, dressed in a tailored suit, beaming. Then Ahmadinejad, wearing a face of childlike bewilderment. He was dressed in imitation leather shoes and bulky white athletic socks, and a suit that looked as if it had come from a Soviet department store. Only a few days before, Ahmadinejad publicly called for the destruction of Israel. He and Chalabi, who is several inches taller, stood together for photos, then retired to a private room. At the time of Chalabi’s visit, Iran and the United States were engaged in a complicated diplomatic dance; the American ambassador in Baghdad, Zalmay Khalilzad, had been authorized to open negotiations with the Iranians over their involvement in Iraq. Still, Chalabi insists he carried no note from the Iranians when he flew to Washington the next week. Officially, at least, Iran and the United States never got together. As ever, Chalabi had multiple agendas. One was to learn whether the Iranians would support his candidacy for the prime ministership (the same reason he traveled to the United States). It makes you wonder, in light of the Baer and Lang thesis: was Chalabi telling the Iranians, or asking them for permission? Or making a deal, based on his presumed leverage in the United States? The possibilities seemed endless. Chalabi played it cool. “The fact that Iraq’s neighbor is also a country that is majority Shia is no reason for us to accept any interference in our affairs or to compromise the integrity of Iraq,” he said after his meeting with Ahmadinejad. Richard Perle, Chalabi’s friend, discounted the idea that Chalabi might be a double agent. “Of course Chalabi has a relationship with the Iranians — you have to have a relationship with the Iranians in order to operate there,” Perle said. “The question is what kind of relationship. Is he fooling the Iranians or are the Iranians using him? I think Chalabi has been very shrewd in getting the things he has needed over the years out of the Iranians without giving anything in return.” For all of the skullduggery surrounding the trip to Iran, though, the greatest revelation came later in the day. When the meeting with Ahmadinejad ended, he asked Chalabi if there was anything he could to do to make his stay more comfortable. Chalabi said yes, in fact, there was: would he mind if he, Chalabi, took a tour of the Museum of Contemporary Art? So there we were, in the middle of the Axis of Evil, strolling past one of the finest collections of Western Modern art outside Europe and the United States: Matisse, Kandinsky, Rothko, Gauguin, Pollock, Klee, Van Gogh, five Warhols, seven Picassos and a sprawling garden of sculpture outside. The collection was assembled by Queen Farah, the shah’s wife, with the monarchy’s vast oil wealth. And now, with the mullahs in charge, the museum is largely forgotten. The day we were there, the gallery was all but empty. We had the museum’s enthusiastic English-speaking tour guide all to ourselves. “Thank you, thank you, for coming!” Noreen Motamed exclaimed, clapping her hands. We walked the empty halls. Chalabi moved through the place deliberately, nodding his head, pausing at the Degas and the Pissarro. “Wow,” Chalabi said before Jesus Rafael Soto’s painting “Canada.” “Look at that.” A retinue of Iranian officials walked with us, unmoved by the splendor. Ahmadinejad had stayed behind. For all of the furies that emanate from the halls of the Iranian government, it has taken fine care of Queen Farah’s collection. Indeed, about the only way you would know you were not in a museum in New York or London was the absence of the middle panel from Francis Bacon’s triptych “Two Figures Lying on a Bed With Attendant,” which depicts two naked men. “It is in the basement, covered,” Motamed said with disappointed eyes. Finally, we came across a pair of paintings by Marc Chagall, the 20th-century Modernist and painter of Jewish life. The display contained no mention of this fact. Chalabi gazed at the Chagalls for a time. Then, with a rueful smile, turned, to no one in particular, and said loudly: “Imagine that. They have two paintings by Marc Chagall in the middle of a museum in Tehran.” The Iranian officials seemed not to hear. 6. Baghdad, December 2005 A winter rain is falling. Chalabi is standing inside a tent in Sadr City, the vast Shiite slum of eastern Baghdad. He’s talking about his plans for restoring electricity, boosting oil production and beating the insurgency. People seem to be listening, but without enthusiasm. The violence here, worsening by the day, is washing away the hopes of ordinary Iraqis. Less and less seems possible anymore. People are retreating inward, you can see it in the glaze in their eyes. As Chalabi speaks, I pull aside one of the Iraqis who had been listening. What do you think of him? I ask. “Chalabi good good,” the Iraqi man says in halting English. Whom are you going to vote for? “The Shiite alliance, of course,” the Iraqi answers. “It is the duty of all Shiite people.” When the election came, Chalabi was wiped out. His Iraqi National Congress received slightly more than 30,000 votes, only one-quarter of 1 percent of the 12 million votes cast — not enough to put even one of them, not even Chalabi, in the new Iraqi Parliament. There was grumbling in the Chalabi camp. One of his associates said of the Shiite alliance: “We know they cheated. You know how we know? Because in one area we had 5,000 forged ballots, and when they were counted, we didn’t even get that many.” He shrugged. But the truth seemed clear enough: Chalabi was finished. Chalabi, who could plausibly claim that he, more than any other Iraqi, had made the election possible, had been shunned by the very people he had worked so hard to set free. No amount of deal making or of public relations foot-work, or of endorsements from friends, was able to save him. Chalabi may have helped bring democracy to Iraq, but it was democracy that finished him. He was, in the end, a parlor politician, someone from the world of his father or grandfather, or maybe of Victorian England: a brilliant negotiator and schemer who might settle a country’s problems over a cup of tea. But in Iraq, by late 2005, real power was no longer held by the parlor men, or by politicians at all. It was held by people like Moktada al-Sadr, populist leaders with a militia and a mass following in the street. The election results were a harbinger of the civil war. Iraqis voted almost entirely along sectarian and ethnic lines: Kurds for the big Kurdish parties, Sunnis for the Sunni parties and Shiites for the big Islamist Shiite alliance. Iraqis who tried to run on a secular platform — Chalabi, for instance, and his relative, Allawi, in another party — found themselves abandoned. Just two months later, in February of this year, following the destruction of the Askariya shrine, a holy Shiite temple in Samarra, the civil war began in earnest: Shiite gunmen, who had for years been restrained by the Shiite leadership in the face of the Sunni onslaught, were finally free to retaliate. Chalabi, shut out of the government, claimed that his sin was one of miscalculation. There was some truth to this: in all likelihood, Chalabi did not lose because he had been convicted of stealing millions of dollars from a Jordanian bank. Or because of the rumors swirling around Baghdad that he had looted the treasury. Or even because he was an exile close to the Americans. No: plenty of Westernized Iraqi exiles were elected to Parliament — among them Mowaffak al-Rubaie and Adil Abdul Mahdi — who, like Chalabi, didn’t have local followings and were trailed by similar questions. Practically speaking, Chalabi lost because he had broken from the big cleric-backed Shiite alliance that swept the election. “I had not realized how polarized Iraq had become,” Chalabi told me after the election. He might have gotten a seat in the cabinet, but that didn’t work out, either. That stung: the new Iraqi government is staffed with Chalabi’s old colleagues, many of them members of the exile alliance he once led. Jalal Talabani is president. Adil Abdul Mahdi, his boyhood friend, is vice president. Barham Salih, comrade of many years, is deputy prime minister. His old confidant Zalmay Khalilzad, who played a central role in forming the new government, is the American ambassador. In the end, they couldn’t — or wouldn’t — bring him aboard. “Chalabi really made a mess of things,” said one Iraqi political leader who now occupies a key post in the government. He declined to elaborate. As anticlimactic as was Chalabi’s fall, its real meaning lay in a paradox: democratic politics no longer mattered. For three years, the American-backed enterprise in Iraq rested on the assumption that the exercise of democratic politics would drain away the anger that was driving the violence. Instead of bullets, there would be ballots. But at the culmination of that long process — two constitutions, two elections and a referendum — the violence was worse than ever. It turns out that democratic politics does not stop violence; indeed, the elections, by polarizing Iraq’s sectarian and ethnic communities, may have helped push the country into civil war. Effectively, by the fall of 2006, the overwhelming majority of Iraq had no government at all. It was a failed state. Yes, there were Iraqis — Chalabi’s friends — who went to their jobs every day, toiling dutifully and not so dutifully inside the Green Zone, which every day seemed more and more divorced from the reality outside. In the Red Zone, as the real Iraq is called, Iraq was a nightmarish, apocalyptic place, where gunmen kidnapped children and sometimes killed them, where bodies turned up at the morgue peppered by holes from electric drills and corpses lay uncollected in the streets, along with the trash, for days on end. Ahmad Chalabi devoted his whole adult life to toppling a dictator and achieving power in the place of his birth. He felled the dictator, helping along a reckless gamble that wagered the future of a nation. The gamble failed, a nation imploded and Chalabi never ascended to the throne he so coveted. But in an odd turn of fortune, the throne no longer had anything to offer. 7. London, August 2006 The conversation is wrapping up. The talk turns to the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the machinations of those around him, what the future might hold. Chalabi, in an expansive mood, gets up, goes into a closet and brings out a note that Bob Baer, the C.I.A. agent, scribbled to him in that hotel lobby when the two men plotted a coup many years before. The talk, improbably, turns to memoirs; at the moment, Baer’s, “See No Evil,” was a best seller. I ask Chalabi, who is back on the couch, if it isn’t time that he write his own. He doesn’t hesitate to answer. “Too early!” Chalabi says. “Too early!”

Feeling Pinch, Stores Woo Lagging Shoppers. Evaluate Article? Lackluster sales in this holiday season have retailers scrambling to wring a few last dollars from procrastinators by slashing prices, extending hours and wooing customers more persistently than last year. The moves show that retailers' strategy during this final weekend before Christmas -- when about 10% of holiday sales are expected to take place -- has become increasingly reliant on the same promotions and marathon hours once unique to the "Black Friday" weekend following Thanksgiving. But the discounts also reveal the pinch stores are in this year as the credit crunch, rising gas prices and winter storms have taken a toll on companies dependent on end-of-year sales. The tough economy has left aisles more empty this year. Total foot traffic at U.S. retail outlets took an 8.9% dive during the second full week of December, compared with the same period last year, according to an estimate from ShopperTrak RCT Corp., which bases its numbers on a formula that involves an electronic count of shoppers in malls and other retail outlets nationwide. A bright spot, however, has been online, where aggressive discounting and cut-rate deals on fast shipping have contributed to a surge in spending. From Nov. 1 to Dec. 16, online shoppers spent $23.5 billion, 19% higher than the corresponding days last year, according to comScore Inc., a Reston, Va., market research firm that tracks Web spending and traffic. Videogames, consoles and accessories are the fastest-growing category, more than doubling from the comparable period last year. Furniture, appliances and equipment ranks second, up 63%, while event tickets and consumer electronics are up 29% and 24%, respectively. Now, a final push is on, both online and in stores. Web retailers continued to hunt for business by cutting shipping charges to seal deals before the pre-Christmas shipping window closes. Shoebuy.com, a Boston-based unit of IAC/InterActive Corp. offered free express shipping until today. Online handbag merchant eBags upgraded purchases made by Wednesday from standard shipping to two-day air-shipping through UPS for no extra cost. Brick-and-mortar stores, meanwhile, retooled their hours for the weekend, hoping to spark their own shopping flurry. J.C. Penney Co. stores are staying open until midnight tonight and Saturday. Select Macy's Inc. stores on the East Coast will stay open nonstop throughout the weekend -- 107 hours straight for one branch in Queens. And New York-based FAO Schwarz made discounts of 25% to 50% on certain toys. Ed Schmults, the chief executive officer at FAO Schwarz, said that while foot traffic was up, business had not been as booming throughout the season as he hoped. The National Retail Federation, a trade group, is predicting just 4% in sales growth for 2007, the smallest growth rate in five years. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, paints an even grimmer picture: He lowered his forecast of 2% retail sales growth to 1.8%, his lowest forecast in nearly 10 years. In the apparel category, men's clothing has showed modest single-digit growth through the first 20 days of the shopping season, according to MasterCard Spending Pulse, a unit of MasterCard Advisors, which tracks spending of all types. But women's apparel -- which last year constituted three times the sales of men's -- has been a major disappointment, as shoppers have avoided big purchases. Sales were down 5.7% from the same time last year. Retailers have responded with a flurry of price cuts, but large inventory remains in some stores. One of Gap Inc.'s Old Navy stores in downtown Chicago on Wednesday had piles of festive sweaters marked down to $20 from $36.50. Women's coats still stuffed the racks, despite being already marked down 50%, and its signature "performance fleece," also half off, was stacked eight shelves high. The bad tidings for apparel have left some retailers looking for other items to push. At Banana Republic, also owned by Gap, $64 gift sets of its perfumes, body creams and shower creams were marked down 30%. Gold-boxed gift sets of a new line of bath products at Ann Taylor Stores Corp. stores were discounted to $19.50 from $29. At Limited Brands Inc.'s Victoria's Secret, stores were piled with beauty gift sets, many 40% off. Meanwhile luxury goods are expected to have a good season this year, and retail consultant Frederick Crawford of AlixPartners predicts "pockets of good news" for high-end retail. For brands like Prada and Gucci, he expects to see 5% to 7% growth. According to retail surveys, electronics sales were down 0.5% in the three-week period between Nov. 18 and Dec. 9 compared to a year ago, according to Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for market watcher NPD Group. He said consumers in recent years have been delaying purchases until closer to Christmas, which may account for the slowdown. Indeed, Angela Smith has waited until the last week to make her purchases. A 39-year-old bank employee in Dallas, Ms. Smith said she is waiting for prices to drop further as well as trying to spend less. For her three nephews, ages 12, 8 and 7, she plans to buy remote-controlled cars, which Wal-Mart Stores Inc. initially priced at $59 and has since dropped to $49. "I am going to swing by this weekend and see if they are going to take it down one more time," says Ms. Smith, who was shopping for a co-worker's present at her local Wal-Mart midweek. Home-furnishings retailers, fighting the weak housing market, are being particularly aggressive with their promotions this year. At Williams-Sonoma Inc.'s Pottery Barn store on Chicago's Michigan Avenue, Christmas-tree-shaped candles were discounted 50%, and holiday garlands of fake evergreen branches were 30% off. Wrapped gifts such as silver jewelry boxes, also marked down 30%, were stacked high Wednesday afternoon. Home-improvement outfits like Lowe's Cos. Inc. and Home Depot Inc. are destined to be hardest hit, says AlixPartners' Mr. Crawford. "Consumers are absolutely showing us that they will be delaying discretionary purchases" like gear to remodel a kitchen, he said. A boom-bust pattern is typical after Thanksgiving's Black Friday discounts, which encourages a flurry of purchases early but leads to a tapering off in early December, killing shopping momentum. This year the pattern was more pronounced: A double-digit sales surge on Black Friday exceeded retailers' expectations; but come December, throngs of shoppers didn't return. There was one exception, however: online retail. Web merchants have discounted and promoted heavily this season, say industry analysts. Shipping promotions have been particularly popular. Sixty-eight percent of surveyed Web retailers said they are offering express shipping promotions this year, up from 49% last year, according to Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org, an online retail trade group and unit of National Retail Federation. As the boom continues, these companies are becoming increasingly creative to draw customers. This year Ice.com, a Montreal-based Internet jeweler, has rolled out new videos to promote products and free overnight shipping. It has experimented with new marketing tricks such as buying front-page ads on Microsoft Corp.'s MSN and Yahoo Inc.'s Web sites this week. Ice.com even tried to tap influencers to drive word-of-mouth among blogs, magazine mentions and celebrities.

Hi, Can anyone please help me with this questionnaire. Thank you and merry xmas and a prosperous new year!? In this questionnaire you are presented with a series of situations that are encountered by Sainsbury's Trainee Managers in their day-to-day work. For each of the situations your task is to read the description and the four options for dealing with that situation. You then need to rank the options in line with what you feel is the best course of action to take first in the situation. (Rank each action from '1'=Best Choice; to '4'=Worst Choice). When reviewing the options in each situation, you may feel that there is more than one suitable answer. Remember that you should always choose the option you feel would be the best course of action to take first in the situation. As this questionnaire only concerns how you would personally react in certain situations, not how well you know Sainsbury's, please disregard any prior knowledge you have relating to Sainsbury's standard policy and procedures when answering each question. This questionnaire should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. While there is no time limit, we recommend that you avoid spending too much time considering each question. Please ensure you allow enough time to complete the questionnaire in one sitting - it is not possible to save your responses unless you complete all of the questions. Finally, we recommend that you complete the questionnaire in a quiet area where you will not be disturbed. You are a Trainee Manager on the Sainsbury's 'Trainee Manager Scheme'. You are working in the warehouse when three deliveries arrive at the same time. You should only have one at a time in your store. BestSecondThirdWorst Check the schedule and unload the vehicles in the order they were meant to arrive Check the contents; unload priority goods e.g. fresh and frozen foods Unload the lorry with the least on, to get rid of it quickly and clear the backlog Ask the driver to go to their next stop and come back later, when you will be less busy ___________ You are a Trainee Manager on the Sainsbury's 'Trainee Manager Scheme'. You are working on a Friday, late night. It is 16:00. You have a problem with a CTS (Team Leader) and one of his Colleagues. The CTS believes they have asked a Colleague to stay until 20:00. The Colleague believes their shift finishes at 18:00 and wants to go home on time. The department is short staffed. BestSecondThirdWorst Talk to the CTS; check the schedule and follow what it says Tell the Colleague to stay till 20:00; the department is short staffed and they are needed Sit them both down in the back of the store and ask them to talk through it Take the Colleague aside and ask him personally to do the overtime _________________ You are a Trainee Manager on the Sainsbury's 'Trainee Manager Scheme'. It is 09:00. You are working as the Checkout Department Manager. The Security Guards work close to the checkouts, and are therefore seen by most of the customers. Today, one Security Guard is not wearing the correct uniform. The Deputy Manager, who is in charge of the Security Guards, is not in this morning. The Security Guards do not work for Sainsbury's, but instead an external security company. BestSecondThirdWorst Speak to the Security Guard yourself and ask him to dress appropriately Leave the Deputy Manager to speak to Security Guard in the afternoon Contact the Security Guard's company and ask them to speak to him Inform the Deputy Manager that the Security Guard is not dressed appropriately and leave it to him to deal with in the afternoon ______________ You are a Trainee Manager on the Sainsbury's 'Trainee Manager Scheme'. A customer has come into the store looking for a garden furniture set they have seen advertised. They have approached you and complained that they can not find the furniture set in the store. You are new to the department and do not yet know where all of the products are. BestSecondThirdWorst Ask a Colleague to deal with the customer Find out when the next delivery is and offer to put one aside Offer to ring a local store to see if they have any available Confirm there are none available; find out if there is going to be another delivery; offer to ring when the next delivery comes in ___________ You are a Trainee Manager on the Sainsbury's 'Trainee Manager Scheme'. You are on the shop floor, whilst all of the Managers are involved in a meeting, in the Store Manager's office. The meeting is being run by a Regional Manager. An external health and safety auditor comes in to the store and wants to do an audit on the state of the store. BestSecondThirdWorst Deal with the auditor yourself, the Managers are all busy Find out when the meeting is finished and ask the auditor to come back then Interrupt the Manager's meeting and explain an auditor has arrived Interrupt the Manager's meeting and offer to take notes on behalf of one of the Deputy Managers, so they can meet with the auditor ____________

How can I improve my essay? How can I improve this? Dwellings The home is the place where people live, store items, and find shelter. It is also where our domestic affections are centered, where the householder’s personality is reflected in a contained space. Home is where outside matters can leave us to focus on we care about most. Scott Fitzgerald's book, The Great Gatsby, contains a fictional story by about the decline of the American dream. The characters, Jay Gatsby, Nick Caraway, the Buchanan’s, and the Wilsons all keep homes that reflect their unique characters. Since many key events are chronicled in the homes of the persons, each dwelling is crucial to understanding the setting, story and disposition of the each person in the novel. The book is set in New York. The majority of the homes are placed on West Egg, "a slender riotous island which extends itself due east of New York". The origin of its name comes from the placement of two egg-shaped islands outside of New York that are parallel to each other on east and west ends. West egg is home to those who have recently come into great wealth, because of this they spend their money frivolously, engage in loose conduct, and have few worries in life. Gatsby and Nick live here. Yet, Nick is the only one who describes it as the “least fashionable of the two”, because of the garish taste of its residents. East egg is where Tom and Daisy Buchanan live. Nick Caraway describes the homes there as “… white palaces of fashionable East egg...” Nick Caraway, the narrator of the story, lives in West Egg, (at the very tip), in between two much more expensive homes. As a young man (he turns thirty during the course of the novel) from Minnesota, Nick travels to New York in 1922 to learn the bond business. On his right was Gatsby’s home, of which he had a partial view of his lawn. But Gatsby wasn’t the only one richer than him, he was surrounded by millionaires. His home was nothing in comparison to their large mansions. He had ‘a weather beaten bungalow’ that cost eighty dollars a month. Like Nick, the house is small, aging, overlooked, modest, and quiet. His neighbor Mr. Gatsby had weekly parties that lasted till the next morning. But Nick’s house was only visited a few times by Gatsby and had one occasion when he had his cousin and Gatsby over for tea. As his home had been overlooked so had he, but his quiet reflective attitude also made him the perfect candidate for a narrator. Everyone he meets seems to tell him information he did not ask for or did not even want to know. Whereas Nick is modest, his neighbor, Jay Gatsby, is the complete opposite. Mr. Gatsby owns a home that is “a colossal affair by any standard.” Nick describes it as being an imitation of Hotel de Ville in Normandy. Hotel de Ville is French for, “city hall”, so one could imagine how massive the building was. Gatsby’s house had a brand new tower on one side, under a thin bed of ivy, a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of greenery. The whole front of the house is positioned to catch the light. Yet it only took him three years to make the money to buy it. It was filled with, “period bed rooms swathed in silk and floral arrangements, dressing rooms, pool rooms and bathrooms with sunken baths.” Gatsby’s bedroom had a bath with a study area and cupboard in the wall. His own residence was actually quite modest, as the most expensive items were a grooming set on his dresser, which was plated in dull gold. Gatsby’s personal room reveals a lot about his character. His room is simple, yet he keeps a monstrous mansion filled with people. He throws parties, yet doesn’t mingle with the guests. He has a great deal of wealth yet very few know where it really comes from. This shows how he is putting on a sort of façade to impress someone though he only needs little. Nick noted that his “…personality is an unbroken series of gestures.” Nick soon finds out that Gatsby has acquired everything to impress Daisy who did not marry him previously because he was not rich. But rather than move on Jay has tried to recreate the past, which is not possible. In East egg, Daisy, along with her husband Tom, and their child, lives in a cheerful red-and-white Georgian Colonial mansion overlooking the bay. Their lawn starts at the beach and ends at the front door. The greenery wrapped around the sides of the building. In front was a line of French windows, coated in a reflective gold. There is an assortment of expensive furniture within their home but not much else is explained about the Buchanan’s home in detail. Like their home they are consumed with wealth but have little regard for others. Both husband and wife have affairs. Daisy has a new relationship with Gatsby, and Tom has had many affairs and was recently with his mechanics wife. Between New York and West Egg lies a desolate land. Nick describes this location as, “a place where ash grows like wheat.” This point is the residence of George and Myrtle Wilson. They live in George’s shop, where he serves gas to Tom whenever they go out to the city. Their home is not even described in detail because of its insignificance. The whole area is described as being made of ash. The only distinctive object is a billboard for an oculist, which has a pair of eyes with large spectacles that seems to watch the valley, which may be a metaphor for God. Obviously this is the flux of poor people left from the figurative burning of money buy the rich. And this reflects its owner perfectly. George is a simple man, but he is overly submissive, and lacks the colorful character that the others possess. His wife, Myrtle, longs to escape this grey land and looks forward to each meeting with her affair, Tom. Throughout the book the great Gatsby homes play a crucial role in telling the story. The author mentions in fragments details about each dwelling which is placed each time at the proper moment of present action, for maximum effectiveness. The homes kept by the persons involved reinforce the established personalities of the characters. Gatsby is eventually assassinated in his marble pool, by Myrtles husband after Daisy runs over her in Gatsby’s car. The façade created Mr. Gatsby is shown to be superficial when no one comes his funeral, but his home revealed this previously by the number of people who are there as moochers, leeching off Gatsby’s wealth but not proving to be true friends. The Buchanan’s retreat back into their carefree lifestyle and Nick returns to the Midwest where he is more accustomed.

roommate or no roommate? rent would be cut into 3rds me and my husband would pay $400 and have two bedrooms one for us and one for our son my sisters friend would pay $200 for rent and get to choose from the two smaller rooms she gets her own bathroom she would pay 1/4th of food $175 except i will shop for the food and cook it so she has to hand over her $175 to me, she will pay 1/3rd of electric $100 in the winter a little less in the summer, i will pay for both our cable unless she wants a resever in her room which cost $5 a month, i will pay for both our internet services and both our land line phone charges but not her cell phone. i will not allow friends to stay over unless i recive a 2 day notice i will not allow misplaced things herstuff belongs with her, i will do all the furniture i will not allow her funiture in the living room even though she has none.. my rules are simple pay the bills a week before they should be payed, clean after yourself, follow the chore board, and dont use fowl language in front of my son, do not punish my son since i am the disaplinary when he gets in troble he is not grounded he has to do extra homework and if you buy private food do not eat it in front of my son eat only in the dining room or in your bedroom not on the sofa so should i have nicole as my roommate or should it only be me, heath and daly are the arangments ok i have lived with her when i was 16 its been three years i do know she never ever locks the door which i hate since she has to take her dog outside often she just doesnt lock it at all ive had ppl brake in before so im not into unlocked doors but i stay up longer then her and lock them when she sleeps i like her because she hold the same beliefs as me she doesnt do drugs and would influance my son to stay away from them and also visit gods house church and make donations the thing is she likes to leave her leashes in my hutch and it gets dog hair everywhere her dog sheds but is very very well manerd and doesnt mind my son grabbing him

Is this any good?/novel? BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW Chapter 1 Wow, that was some story thought Joan as she placed the paperback onto the coffee table. The novel, Chick Lit, was not really intended for her age group, mid sixties, but she’d thoroughly enjoyed it, and why not? The elderly were just teenagers in old skin. Joan sat back on the shiny, leather sofa and sipped her coffee. Sparked off by the contents of the book, she reflected on the fifty years she deemed wasted on two dead leg husbands. Jeez, that’s half a century! The first, fat, flawed and futile, the second and current one, well, yes, the second and current one… She lit a cigarette, drew heavily on it and made her mind up there and then that she was going to get a life, not just any old life, a young life, a sort of Chick Lit life, a life she’d missed out on all those years ago. Three kids before ones twenty first birthday had been far from a good starting point. Joan hadn’t been in love with him but a sexual ‘experiment’ had led to an unwanted pregnancy and society at that time made sure there were to be no single mothers. A man-child for a so called husband and an even worse mother-in-law, the type you could gladly drop into an acid bath so all trace had gone, well except for dentures. She glanced at the calendar and pondered on a date from when her new life should begin. But where to begin? Botox, Crystal-blast, Face-lift? I need something. It’s ok to think chick but when your skin thinks hen…there’s more lines on it than a Rhode Island road map. Dvorak’s Humoresque belted out from the phone and penetrated Joan’s thoughts. ‘Help the aged,’ she answered. ‘Hi, it’s me.’ ‘Jules! I was going to ring you but I thought you’d still be zedding it. How’d it go?’ Joan perked up at the sound of her best friend’s voice, and then realised, that her voice sounded wary. ‘You’re not going to like this Joan, are you sitting comfortably?’ For Jules to say that, the news had to be big. Joan leant against the arm of a chair. ‘Go on, what happened?’ ‘She’s blonde, tubby… and wait for it…about twenty five years old.’ Joan was silent for a moment. So it was true beyond a doubt, Pete had a bit on the side. She slid down the arm of the chair to the seat. Maybe Jules had seen the evidence, but Joan herself hadn’t. ‘Get her address?’ ‘Yeah, rough district, look, I’ll come across and we can chat at length. Ok?’ Joan replaced the receiver and went to the drinks cabinet. At least she’s fat. She mused. Selecting the most expensive red, she uncorked it and poured a large, no, a very large glass. Her friend liked red too, as she always said, ‘at our age it’s good for the old arteries.’ Jules arrived in her brand new Smart car; it had made a good disguise the previous evening for tracking Peter, Joan’s husband. ‘I suspected some time ago he was playing around Jules, although, really I can’t imagine who’d fancy a clapped out eighty two year old. He’s recently invested in some new Y-fronts too, what sort of woman shags a man who wears Y-Fronts? The mind boggles.’ The second bottle of red was having a pleasant couldn’t-care-less attitude on Joan’s grey matter. She giggled along with Jules imagining Pete getting his leg over. ‘Perhaps he makes a better sugar-granddaddy than a sugar-daddy,’ she laughed. For all the mirth, Jules could see a deep sadness behind her friend’s eyes. Pals from school days they’d stuck together over the years. They’d become more like sisters than their own sisters. ‘This isn’t the first woman Pete’s shagged but this time I want facts, enough’s enough. besides, this new sex-on-legs-cow’s had a profound effect on him.’ Basically a kind person, in recent years he’d become retaliative, sarcastic and decidedly cold in his manner towards her. ‘In the early years my ‘fiery’ nature turned him on and he even admitted that to this end he sometimes goaded me! What really bugs me as well, he used to love the way I flounced off when we rowed, he loved watching my long, dark hair swinging about. Now, he says I’m aggressive or I need anger therapy, cheeky sod, he obviously thinks silver hair isn’t good enough for him. Jeez, he doesn’t even have looks. Mind you, he has some charm and a good sense of humour.’ ‘Joan, you’re getting morose, have another glass.’ Jules uncorked another bottle. ‘The only saving grace in all this is that he’s fifteen years older then you.’ ‘And?’ ‘Well, odds are that he’ll die before you.’ Joan held her head back and laughed, it was a long drawn out belly-laugh. ‘Don’t make me laugh; he’s like a fucking robot. Do you know the only thing wrong with him is that he’s got a corn?’ She laughed out loud again then gulped her wine. She became morose again. ‘Do you know what the experts say in the scientific world? They say if one is fit by the age of eighty, there’s no reason, as to why one won’t reach ninety.’ She began to sob. ‘I can’t go another shite decade with him’ ‘The booze is making you miserable Joan. You know, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, being a widow. Ones income’s halved for starters.’ ‘You’re right, I’m always bloody moaning, aren’t I? The only thing is, in ten years time, I don’t want to be sitting here wishing I’d got a life, and just crocheting antimacassars. Anyway what do you think of this idea?’ Joan lit yet another fag. ‘Let’s have a bite to eat and a nice black coffee first, don’t forget I have to drive home.’ ‘Good idea.’ She glanced at the clock, ‘Pete’ll be at least another hour yet.’ Whilst they both tucked in to ham sandwiches and sipped black coffee, Joan explained a few ideas she’d come up with to enhance both hers and Jules’ lives. Her friend listened intently, eyes widening from time to time. ‘I’ll get back home now and I promise that I’ll have a good think about what we’ve discussed.’ The two women bade their goodbyes and Jules drove off, back to her bungalow a few miles away. Joan tidied up the lounge then washed the dishes. She liked everything to be neat and tidy. The bungalow was a new build when they had bought it. Three bedrooms, a large lounge, the kitchen wasn’t small either. The gardens front, back and side were extensive and over the years the many plants and shrubs they had planted together now gave the garden a colourful, mature look. Joan’s favourite spot was where the swing seat was positioned. Under a pagoda, covered with purple and white Clematis, it gave shelter from the hottest sun and a peaceful haven away from neighbours prying eyes. She was proud of her achievements for someone stemming from a childhood of poverty; you’ve not done bad lass. She often told herself. She heard Pete coming in after his visit to his daughter’s, well, after his night of passion rather. ‘Hi,’ she greeted him all smiles. ‘Hi,’ was his response. ‘Have a nice evening?’ She continued dusting the furniture, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. ‘Oh, it was ok, she wasn’t well enough to make us a meal so I went out for a take-away.’ Oh, yeah, a blonde-tubby-about-twenty-five-year-old one, she wanted to say but desisted. ‘When she feels better, she wants me to take her to her old school friend’s for a weekend, she lives in Newcastle.’ ‘That’ll be nice for you both,’ said with just a tad of sarcasm. ‘You don’t mind, do you?’ Pete side glanced at Joan and waited for her reaction. ‘Who? Me? I’ve never restricted your movements, of course I don’t mind.’ Great stuff, she thought, now my plans can come into being, how could he moan about me travelling now? Ha. She laughed to herself, some men are so stupid. Pete went off into his study, no doubt reliving the night of passion he’d had with his lover and dreaming about the forthcoming weekend with the slag. Joan continued with the housework whilst plotting her new life, well, he was being economical with the truth and what’s good enough for the goose is good enough for the gander, but in this case surely that should be what’s good enough for the gander is good enough for the goose. Who wrote these proverbs? Dvorak’s Humoresque rang out. ‘Orphaned widows,’ she answered. It was her friend Mo, crying down the phone, should she get a divorce from her lying, cheating husband. Jeez, that’s all I need. Why can’t others deal with their own nightmares? I’ve got plenty of my own to be going on with thanks. Mo’d found a packet of condoms again in the pocket of his best suit. Think yourself lucky he’s got the sense to use ‘em, she wanted to say but thought it too cruel. The husband in question was six feet four, drop-dead-gorgeous and had women just drooling and dropping at his feet. Joan had wondered how long it’d be before he strayed when he took Mo to the registrars…well, it was her third marriage, (church was out of the question) but at least the ceremonies had been that close together, Joan had been able to wear the same outfit for each one. ‘Best not to worry Mo, why don’t you go out and go mad with his credit card.? That’s good therapy.’ ‘You’re right Joan; I’ve seen a gorgeous leather coat and boots I like.’ ‘Good, hurt his pocket. I’ll see you next week then.’ Joan replaced the receiver. Women just can’t win. Here’s an ugly old fool shagging around and there’s a handsome young fool doing the very same. Or was it the women? Why do women shag others husbands? Sex with Pete that night was as boring as ever even though she suspected he was practicing various methods to try when screwing his tart. Besides Joan had other things on her mind, she had dinner to cook tomorrow for four friends…vegetarian friends. What the hell can I make? Pete turned her over. Perhaps a Soya spag bol could be the answer. Where to get Soya though? Pete’s hand was wandering. I could get some humus and tortillas, yes, that’d be nice as a starter. Pete was reaching his climax now. Jeez, planning dinner for four is damned harder than having sex. The following evening, Joan served up the spaghetti bolognaise. It had been simple to make and she was most impressed with the taste of the Soya meat. Pete poured out the wine for their friends. Joan had a head start on the others; she’d partaken of a few glasses whilst preparing dinner. The strange mixture of characters seated themselves at the table. Sebastian and wife Isabel, not their real names but they liked the sound of them. Both retired civil servants they were quite boring and staid. Joan had thought long ago that their real names were probably Cyril and Ethel or the likes. John and Anne, real names, he was great fun and an extravert, how he came to be married to her was always a mystery to Joan. He was still quite shaggable. John was a lawyer; she was a barmaid when they met. She sure knew what she was doing having got pregnant a couple of weeks later. They had more money than sense. Nevertheless, they were good fun and Joan liked them both, she sat with her guests. ‘Help yourselves to Parmesan and get stuck in.’ ‘So, what are your plans for this summer, each and all?’ asked John. ‘Jules and me are going for a month to a nudist complex in Jamaica,’ she blurted out. The others didn’t know whether to believe her and reacted with guffaws. ‘I’m serious. Then we plan on going to Bali for a further month, lots of nightlife there apparently.’ ‘I’ve always wanted to try nudism,’ offered Sebastian. ‘You’ve never mentioned that.’ Isabel looked horrified. Joan viewed Seb from the corner of her eye, hmm, more to him than he lets on. Dark Horse, eh? ‘When was all this arranged then?’ Pete’s eyes flared. Oh here we go; there’ll be a few days of sulky silence now, the cheeky two-timing bastard, don’t get mad…get everything Joan, she smiled back at him. ‘Oh, it’s not been arranged yet, me and Jules were just talking about it, when you were at your…’ ‘I would never go anywhere without John.’ Anne butted in. Joan sipped her wine and eyed up John this time, I bet you wouldn’t, now if my husband was as gorgeous as him…..’More garlic bread anyone?’ ‘Why don’t we all go to Jamaica?’ John took the proffered bread. ‘Sounds great fun.’ Joan bit into a chunk of bread, yeah, right; your wife’d look gorgeous nude….not. Anne was at least eighteen stones but only five feet two. She’d had a weight problem as long as Joan could think back, well a stuffing-your-face-with-food problem more like. She had a copycat problem too, constantly clocking the clothes Joan wore and racing down to the shops to buy duplicates. This amused Joan greatly and took it as a compliment. Sometimes and just for devilment, she would tell Anne a different shop to where she’d bought her clobber and watch her friend’s frustration when she couldn’t find replicas. Even if she did, there was no way they ever looked as good on her as on the five feet ten, slender Joan. ‘I need a facelift or something before I travel, either of you tried that crystal-blasting treatment?’ Anne looked indignant, ‘My skin doesn’t need any treatment whatsoever, and I haven’t even got any wrinkles yet.’ Oh yes you do, it’s just that the fat puffs your face out, wrinkles with it. Joan smirked to herself. Lose ten stone and your skin’d look like a bloody pachyderm’s. ‘Yes, you have beautiful skin,’ commented Isabel. ‘For her age,’ quipped John at which Anne’s face became decidedly ugly. John’s and Joan’s eyes met, she quickly looked away and bit on a gherkin to stop her bursting into laughter. That would have been the end of her and Anne. The trouble with Anne was that if she wasn’t the centre of attraction, she wasn’t playing but this sort of attention wasn’t the type intended. Joan waited for her to explode and wasn’t disappointed. ‘You’re a shit a friggin’ shit. Do you know that?’ Isabel blushed to the roots of her hair and chomped on a gherkin. These gherkins were coming in handy. Seb looked at his watch. John didn’t react; he was as used to these outbursts as were the hosts. There were a few moments silence. ‘We’re going to the Festival Hall next weekend,’ announced Seb. ‘What’s on?’ Pete asked. ‘A Beethoven concert, it should be excellent.’ ‘Indeed,’ said John. A conversation about the classics ensued. Anne went into a sulk but Joan was accustomed to that and knew that she would soon ‘come round’. Apart from the one fracas the evening went well and it was three am before the guests left. John had still seemed keen on the nudist holiday, as did Seb but Joan didn’t want any hangers-on, not at the launch of her new life. Pete’s hands began to wander. Oh, no, puh-lease not at this time in the morning, does he never stop it? This time there was no dinner for four to plan so she lay back and thought of her session at the gym and pool the next day. The four friends relaxed in the Jacuzzi, a white wine each. This was their time to be together once a week; an hour in the gym followed by forty lengths in the pool and then a dip into the hot bubbling water for a natter. Privately owned the complex was luxurious never crowded and suited the quartet perfectly. Anne was still reeling from the night before, ‘I’m going to really go mad with the credit card now,’ she sipped her wine. ‘Not another Prada bag, how many’s that you’ve got?’ asked Brenda. ‘Do I give a shit? I’ll buy matching shoes an’ all.’ ‘He was only joking Anne,’ said Joan. ‘Yeah, well I’m teaching him not to give sly digs even in jest.’ ‘Why, what did he say?’ Brenda leaned forward; she liked nothing better than a bit of gossip and others’ disharmony with one another. ‘He implied that I looked alright for my age.’ Jules glanced at Joan and they both smirked. Anne lacked self esteem and they all recognised this, it did get tiresome sometimes though, always trying to reassure her that she was a loved and treasured friend. She had more clothes in her possession than the whole of Debenham’s put together, or should that be Christian Dior or the likes, only exclusive stuff was good enough for Anne. ‘Have you seen Newbloom’s new range?’ asked Brenda enthusiastically. ‘They’ve got some gorgeous tops in.’ ‘I haven’t been in recently,’ replied Joan. Newbloom wasn’t her style but did agree that the stuff was enough to pay for fashion items that were out of style within weeks. Brenda didn’t look nice in anything, at sixty four, she’d no fashion sense but none of the others had the heart to tell her. Today she’d mixed a trendy top with a 1970s skirt, and a pair of 1980s shoes. The top as usual was way too young for her and bordered on the ridiculous, she preferred sleeveless too and Joan thought there was nothing worse than having wrinkled old arms on display. Brenda and husband were vastly rich and so she got away with any look according to her, and not giving a damn for what anyone thought. ‘Anyway, I’m more interested in face treatment at the mo,’ said Joan. ‘A friend of mine has just had that…that…er, is it crystal-blasting or something?’ ‘Round here, Brenda?’ Joan was keen to find out. ‘No, in London somewhere.’ ‘Fancy a trip to London Jules?’ Joan and her friend chuckled. ‘I’m up for anything these days,’ she replied. ‘I’ll come with you an’ all.’ ‘You said last night that you’d never go anywhere without John.’ ‘I know but that were last night and I’d had a few jars,’ Anne sipped her wine. ‘Any road, I’ll be able to shop at Harrods, that’ll piss him off.’ The four left the complex and went to the nearby pub for lunch and to discuss their plans for a weekend in London. Mysteris...don't you ever read books????????!!!!!!!!!!

I was sent a W-2 from an old business PARTNER!? Here is the dilemma, I am a furniture designer. I knew another one that I was friendly with that, like I was trying to start their own business. When I went to show my furniture at retail markets I showed hers as well and sold from both catlogues. While I did the work she paid some of my bills that were incurred in the running of my shop. Electricity, rent, lumber, fabric, etc... After a while the partnership dissolved. Now, here it comes time for taxes, she has sent me a W-2 form claiming I did "non-employee compensation" of about $2500. This was not our agreement. After the partnership dissolved she really made my life difficult and now the drama continues. I would like to know, is there a way I can fight this as there was no contract between us or any written form of the agreement? Can I file something with the IRS to avoid having to pay this? Can I ummmm reciprocate in some way to her along the same lines? Thanks for the help!

Julie Walsh - Scam Apartment - Boston? Hello, Thanks for taking the time to look at my property. I lived in this Condo(2 Bedrooms/2 Baths) for over 5 years and loved every day of it.The prime location can't be beat, and the garaged parking is an amenity sure to be appreciated by anyone who has lived in a big city. Harcourt Street is located just off the busy streets of Newbury and Boylston. You have the convenience of being just two blocks away, without the inconvenience of double parked cars and countless pedestrians. Harcourt is a small, quaint neighborhood street nestled behind the Copley Square Marriott and the Colonade hotel. In less than a block you are at the entrance of the Prudential Center and Copley Square Mall. One more block and you are at Newbury and Boylston Streets. With countless retail from big names to small boutiques, the Back Bay has it all. The cities finest restaurants are within walking distance, Fenway Park is a mile away, and the entrance to the Mass Pike and I-93 are within blocks of this condo.The condo is fully furnished with all necessary amenities(exactly like in the pics),the unit is equipped with recessed lighting, central air and heat, the condo come with two parking spots,a storage unit where you can deposit my furniture (if you don't like it and you want use your furniture) ,there is also a linen closet, and most importantly, a new front loading stacked washer and drier...Pets allowed. The kitchen eating area is a large piece of granite that serves as counter space in the kitchen, and as the table in the Living Room side. The counter seats 4 comfortably. The entertainment center is a beautiful credenza that is topped with a brand new 55' High-Definition lcd tv. The stereo acts as the 5 speaker surround sound for the tv, the radio and cd player. The stereo also is a dvd player and is capable of having an i pod plugged right into a usb port.The Master Bedroom is large with high ceilings, has two windows, a walk-in closet and it has it's own bathroom. The room has a large, very comfortable Cali-King bed. There are several dressers with an ample amount of drawers. The room also has a desk with several drawers and a file cabinet. The walls are decorated with nice artwork and floating shelves. The bathroom has a large, tiled shower stall behind a glass door. The vanity is covered with a beautiful piece of granite and between the vanity, shelves and medicine cabinet, there is plenty of space for toiletries.The Guest Bedroom is actually larger than the Master. It has high ceilings, two large closets and a dresser with two matching nightstands. There is one window, a coffee table and a brand new chair and ottoman. Just outside the door two the bedroom is the Guest Bathroom. The guest bath features a large jacuzzi tub and shower. The vanity is large and is covered with granite. There is also a linen closet, and most importantly, a new front loading stacked washer and drier.The entire unit is 1246 square feet. It has high ceilings, hardwood floors and by being a corner unit, it has 10 large windows. The space below is a commercial unit that has several offices for financial planners and a internet software company. This is great because after 5pm and on weekends, there is nobody below my unit.The building is only 5 stories high. The condominium is two buildings connected by a glass atrium in the middle. There is an elevator and staircase that goes from the lobby, to the garage, and all the way to the top. The elevator takes you to the garage, where my unit has two deeded parking spaces and some shelves and closet space that can be used as storage and can be locked (the condo also come with a storage unit so you'll have space to deposit all my furniture). The building is located on the boarder of the Back Bay and the South End. As I mentioned, the shops and restaurants are just a block away. To the right of the condo is the South West corridor. This corridor goes from the Back Bay T-station on Dartmouth Street, all the way to Mass Ave. This corridor is lined with parks, a children's playground, a dog park, tennis and basketball courts. It's a beautiful place to walk the dog, take a jog, or take the kids to the swings. The area is clean, safe and beautifully manicured with trees and flowers.I've moved to United Kingdom with my job (i am a construction engineer) and decided to rent it because the rent is is very expensive here.The price is so low because I'm here and is very hard to find a tenant.I can rent you the condo for max. 6 years .I really want to find a good and responsible tenant for it, and I hope that you can send me some personal information about yourself.The rent of the condo for 1 month is $1200 including all utilities(water,electricity, Internet,cable, parking,air conditioning, fireplace, dishwasher, garbage) and I want to receive the money monthly in my bank account.You can move in the condo in the same day when you receive the keys. The only problem is that I`m the onl