Jamie Lauren Sutton

Dear Ms. D., 

We are about to sell our apartment in a condop where one broker, who lives in the building, has most if not all of the listings. We do not think she is a good fit for us - she is very abrasive and pushy - and want to try with a broker we know well and trust. Friends and neighbors have advised us this is not a wise course of action.

What do you think, Ms. D?

Signed,

Dear Ms. Demeanor,

My housekeeper has been working for me for two years at the same rate.  Should I give her a raise or wait until she asks for it?

Signed,

Cleaned Out

Dear Cleaned Out,

Dear Ms. Demeanor,

My neighbors' 20-year-old nephew is staying with them, probably until the end of summer.  He has no job and appears to have no purpose in life other than to flirt with my 14-year-old daughter.  I love my neighbors but I am about ready to threaten the punk with a shotgun, if I weren't morally opposed to guns.

Signed,

Love-thy-neighbor-not-their-shiftless-relatives 

Dear LTNNTSR,

Dear Ms. Demeanor,

My upstairs neighbor wakes at 7 am and promptly puts on her high heels....The sound is so loud, irritating, and disruptive I often wake from dreams about jackhammers boring into my skull.  I have called her numerous times and asked her to wait until leaving the apartment to put on her shoes.  Her last response was, "You should be up by now anyway!" followed by clanging down the phone.

Signed,

Dear Ms. Demeanor,

We have a respectable, small gym in our building.  It is very convenient for me to work out there in the mornings before I go to work.  It is, apparently, also very convenient for the stinkiest man alive to work out there at the same time.