I think I peaked between 24 and 27. I'd started figuring out what looked good on me, my self-confidence was blossoming, and I had this nice slim-yet-curvy thing going on. After that my lifestyle got more sedentary, since I no longer went everywhere by bike or on foot, and I've been battling my weight ever since. Sigh. But I'm hoping to be a very hot 35-year-old. (I just turned 34.)

Usually, on Happy Days, when there was a band playing at Al's, the plot was something like, "We need to raise $500" "I know, we can have a dance marathon!" "We'll do it at Al's!"

Was it ever Al's? I know it started as Arnold's, and I could swear it stayed Arnold's even after Al took over for Mr. Miyagi.

I am bummed about Ossie Davis. Does this mean that BUBBA HO-TEP is his swan song?

Sad about Ossie, in the "wow, he lived a long time" way.

The free sample of fibre drink this morning had artificial sweeteners. I hate that.

Sad about Ossie Davis.

But Jesus, I sure picked a good night to get out of town for the evening last night. This happened right outside my building.

I probably peaked at 16 or 17 but that is way too depressing so I'll pretend it isn't so.

Holy crap, brenda.

Yeah, shoulda been clearer -- by "mall jeweler" I mean the big chains, not the physical location per se. The two I trust are in strip malls, but then, in NC, everything is in a strip mall.

Oh, believe me, I understood! I actually clarified out of habit: whenever I recommend this place to people, I make sure to specify that, while it's physical location is in a mall, it's most certainly not a mall jeweler. (The mall in question is weird and upscale, but it does contain many shops I like. Also, it's mentioned in Say Anything, and is thus Lloyd Dobbler approved.)

I am pretty naive about jewelry, though.

Me too.

I have a question: Years ago I knew a woman who had a bunch of jewelry that she said had been appraised for $15,000. So she went to a jewler to try to sell it and was only offered $1,000. Unrelated to that, here in Chicago we have a place that advertises their low-cost jewelry (they "cut out the middleman" or have their jewelry "baked by elves" or something) - they guarantee that all jewely you buy from them "will appraise for at least doubel" what you paid for it.

So my question is, is this jewelry appraisal thing a big scam?

This happened right outside my building.

Ugh. I saw that on the news this morning. The bastard's still loose, too....

So my question is, is this jewelry appraisal thing a big scam?

Depends on who's doing it. You'll almost never get appraisal value when reselling, and it's more useful for things like insurance than anything else, to get a ballpark for replacement. I see people trying to sell things for close to the appraisal on craigslist, and just have to say, "Honey, no!" because what they want is usually double what a similar item will go for at market value.