Weird things

Just wondering

Does this guy KNOW that he stinks? A lot of times, people just get used to their own odor and they don't even realize it! I had a friend who would smell like onions after he came home from work and as far as he knew, he smelled just fine. Finally, I told him (factually) that i really couldn't sit next to him because he stunk so terribly. Needless to say there was a moment of embarrassment, but quickly thereafter, he took a shower and the problem was solved. You just can't think of it as a personal thing. The more embarrassed you are about it, the more embarrassed the stinker will be. Just be casual but not unfriendly! If you don't feel comfortable just saying how you feel, then you're going to have to act defensively. Get the incense. Keep it lit all the time. Create a new odor that he has to compare himself to! It sounds like you better move fast though. People adapt to odors and you don't want to get used to it!

What if a girl asks you if she's fat. How in god's name do you respond to that? Especially if she's maybe got a little tummy and could lose some around the thighs? Do you break it down and be honest, or what?

For the most part, if a girl asks you if you think she's fat, she really doesn't give a shit about what you really think. Clearly this is her own issue. Clearly she FEELS fat. What she NEEDS is to not feel the way she does. Your honest opinion REALLY doesn't matter. Don't be so egotistical to think that your thoughts on her tummy or thighs will motivate her to slim down. Your duty as a friend to the person who is asking is to get into what's really going on with her. Why does she feel fat? Why does she feel like she needs to ask YOU if she's fat? If this is someone you care about,then really CARE about her. Then you don't have to end up with guilty feelings from telling her she's a fugly, AND you haven't lied. Get to the core and you've gotten yourself out of a catch 22.

Jeanie, I have a question for your new "Ask" section. My friend keeps insisting that Dirt Bike Annie's headquarters used to be in Pennsylvania. Is this true indeed? Help!

To answer this question we'll have to travel waaaaaaay back. 1988. I was a seventh grader at this snotty private school in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Adam was just as unfortunate: he was an eighth grader in the same hell that i burned in. They called it Germantown Academy. Anyways....I had study hall with Ms. Kawaii and so did Adam. Adam and i had never met before this study hall, but by seeing that he had his ear pierced, I knew right away that he was cool. So i wrote him this note that said, "Where did you get your ear pierced?" and he wrote, "Piercing Pagoda". So then I wrote, "Well, did it hurt?" and he wrote, "No."

It was probably a few months later that I was in Mrs. Miller's classroom just hanging out when Adam came in with his big headphones. I asked, "What are you listening to?". He said, "Hang on, listen to this!" and OH my virgin ears!! It was the Violent Femmes and they were singing, "Why can't i get just one fuck"!!! I thought cursing was VERY cool.

It was really sophomore year that I got to know Adam, though. I was talking to someone in the hallway when Adam sneezed into his hand while walking by, then wiped his snots along the lockers. I believe it was at that moment that I knew we were destined to be friends forever. It was around that same time, I think, that Adam and his best friend Eric, and our CURRENT drummer Buzz formed this band called the Pale Green Pants. I became a groupie right away. I had a very big crush on Eric, so when they had rehearsals i would go to Eric's house and watch them practice. One summer day they had rehearsal and Adam rode Eric's brother's bicycle into the pool. Then he rode it into the shallow end. I thought that was badass. During this time, i was listening to the Cure and the Indigo Girls. Go figure.

After Pale Green Pants, the band reformed and called themselves Chocolate Surgery. Basically, this meant that they kicked out Buzz because he liked jazz too much. You are a very lucky person if you have either a Pale GreenPants or Chocolate Surgery demo tape. Look for for the "Love Slave" by Adam.Eventually, Adam took me to punk rock shows. One time we got very injured from being moshed on at a Dead Milkmen concert. Shortly thereafter, Adam and Eric went to college. After finding out that Eric was not such a nice person, I followed Adam to NYU and ended up living across the hall from him! 1993. That year, Dirt Bike Annie was born.

Hope that clears things up for you!