I met this girl over an online dating site 18 months ago. We hit it off right away, talked constantly, but we couldn't see each other because I was working away, for several months.

Within a few weeks of meeting online, she said she was falling for me. But I was skeptical, since we'd never met in person. I told her I was very flattered, that I thought she was amazing, and maybe I'd feel the same but not before meeting in person.

Fast forward a year - I started dating this other girl that I met at university. I still talked to the girl I met online, but our conversations became mundane and less frequent. I knew that university-girl wasn't 100% compatible with me, but I looked at it as a positive experience. She broke up with me after six months.

I finally got to meet online-girl in person, and we hit it off again. I said I was very interested in her. However, she recanted how she'd fallen for me before, and said she "doesn't like to date people," and felt that we wouldn't be good for each other.

Yet she was the one to initiate kissing/touching, and I reciprocated. Eventually, we had an amazing weekend together, but I regretted not focusing on getting together with her sooner. Since then, we talk daily, chat, flirt, etc., and she wants to see me again. However, when I say I want to date her, she says, "its just hormones." But we have a history, a genuine rapport.

Was I wrong to brush off our connection so early on? Do you think her feelings for me could return? We were previously always in the wrong places at the wrong time. (When you're a university student without a car, it complicates things.)

Confused

Keep seeing her and see where it goes. You were more savvy than many online daters, by not getting carried away about someone you'd never met. You're still young and it's normal for you to have dated a girl from school.

Don't push for a label of "dating," she's obviously somewhat wary. But the more you get together and the attraction stays, the more likely this'll become a romantic relationship.

Our son, 38, cannot get a credit card of his own due to bad decisions in the past (not paying his bills). We've allowed him to use one of our cards for business - hotels, entertaining clients, etc. He turns in his receipts to work and is refunded but doesn't reimburse us for the full amount right away. His attempts to pay us back take months.

We think he should be taking responsibility for his own finances by now, but if we cut off his card it'll affect his job, as he needs a credit card to book hotel rooms, etc. Should we give him an ultimatum... like three more months and that's it?

Fed Up

Yes, it's time enough to cut the cord. A deadline is a fair way to alert him that you're through bankrolling his adult life.... but you must be firm. Also, he should now have a better credit rating, plus his record of earning income from work, so he should be able to get a card.

I think my mother hates me. What should I do?

Upset

Ask her. And say that you want her love. Do this when you're not in pitched battle over household rules vs. your wishes to do something otherwise.

How can I let someone know that their table manners are getting on my nerves? The person wondered why he/she burped so often, so I sent an article explaining that open-mouthed chewing can result in swallowing more air.

But polite approaches haven't worked. Is learning to bear it the only option? I live with the person and nowadays I want to flee the dinner table.

Disgusted

If it's an in-law, and you live in the same house for financial reasons, look the other way... and save up to move. If it's a parent, sibling, or a partner, speak up.

One approach: Take a video of the dinner table one time as if just showing a family scene. When playing it back, let the person get a full, personal view. Then say, privately, that you hope it became obvious that open-mouthed chewing is unattractive, makes the person look unmannerly, and turns others off.