I’m often asked, “What kind of doctor do you aspire to be?” My response typically involves a blend of internal medicine and pediatrics, with a potential segue into Hematology and Oncology. Yet, the journey to becoming a doctor is far from a linear path. In this month’s column, let’s delve into the intricacies of medical training.

Dear Annie: My mother, who is now 62, has always been a dominant personality, keen on having things go her way. I’m 34, an independent graphic designer, and I pride myself on being self-sufficient and creative. But every time I share aspects of my life with her -- be it career choices, romantic partners or even smaller decisions like adopting a pet -- she critiques them, often unsolicitedly, making me second-guess my decisions. Her disapproval, which is always veiled as concern, is making me not want to be around her.

The Biden administration recently stopped a plan to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes. The excellent arguments for why they are dangerous were overcome by good arguments for why making them illegal didn’t make sense.

This is not directly about the issues animating the 'pro-Palestinian' demonstrations at many colleges. Rather it's about the air of privilege filling the sails of hypocrisy on which many ride.

The historian John Lukacs used to say all the old 'isms' of politics were defunct. They've become 'wasms,' except one nationalism.

Dear Annie: My friend 'Emily' and I go way back to our college days, when we used to share absolutely everything with each other -- the good, the bad and the ugly. She recently got a promotion at work (she works for a well-known accounting firm), something I know she's been dreaming of for a while. Of course, I'm super happy for her, but things between us have kind of shifted since then.

Dear Annie: I have a question I hear many people ask about wedding gifting. The old rule of thumb was the gift should cover the plate.

Just prior to leaving the Capitol in early April for our April recess, two senators made separate motions to pull two failing bills, SB 135 and SB 355 out of the committee they were assigned to. By rule, the vote on such a motion will take place on the following legislative day, which in this case was after the 20-day recess. A motion to pull a bill out of committee takes 24 yes votes. If that motion is successful, it would almost assuredly be followed by another motion to put the bill on the Senate floor for debate and a final action vote, which takes 27 affirmative votes.

I love to watch home remodeling television shows. They give me confidence that I really could remodel a kitchen, build a shed or even install new windows all by myself. Usually, the feeling passes quickly, but I find myself feeling comfortable around power tools, and I do enjoy a good home improvement store. Recently, the host of one of the more extreme house 'rescue' shows said something so profound, I wrote it down so I wouldn't forget how he phrased it. There he was on the roof of a house, totally exasperated by one problem after another created by previous homeowners or contractors, problems he would have to rectify before the job could move forward.

Wouldn't it be great if low interest rates never changed? Sadly, the saying 'All good things must come to an end' applies to credit cards too. Credit card companies are known for raising interest rates unexpectedly. They only need to give you a 45-day notice before increasing your rate, which can feel sudden.1 Have you heard from your credit card company lately? Millions of cardholders have. Believe me, we're not talking about love letters. Credit card issuers are raising interest rates across the board. On everyone. More than likely, you were given about six weeks to decide whether you want to accept the increased rate. If you opt out, your account will be closed to future purchases while you have the opportunity to pay off the balance at your current rate. Even once you pay it all off, you can't use the card anymore because it's closed.