ArcaMax

This guy in LA is not her "ex." He is her current. And you might be the guy she uses to manipulate her LA guy. Try not to be surprised when she tells you that she is going to marry him -- but that she would like to have some break-up sex with you on her next trip east.

And take precautions (and be tested) for STDs.

Dear Amy: I want my boyfriend to prepare for an exam so he can get a stable and good-paying job, but he doesn't want to prepare for any exam, and instead he took a low-paying job.

I don't see it as a good decision and we are continuously fighting.

Having a good job with a decent salary is important for me, otherwise my family won't allow me to marry him.

What should I do?

-- Disappointed

Dear Disappointed: If having a good job with a decent salary is important to you, then you should pursue this worthy goal for yourself. Your boyfriend may never get there.

Your boyfriend is not ready to adopt your values. He may never be ready to adopt your values.

The magic of adulthood happens when you finally become the person you most want to be with.

You should try it.

Dear Amy: Thank you a thousand times for running the letter from "Lonely and Alone," who wrote about the painful experience of having a spouse with a mental illness or brain disorder. I truly saw myself in his letter, and I saw that I need and deserve help, too.

-- Grateful

Dear Grateful: I thought this was a brave account outlining the stigma surrounding mental illness, and the impact on family members. Anyone in a similar position should contact NAMI.org and look into the NAMI family-to-family program.

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(You can contact Amy Dickinson via email: ASKAMY@amydickinson.com. Readers may send postal mail to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or "like" her on Facebook.)