Dear Fred,

Alas, you are discovering why so many professionals are loathe to work with college students -- so many refuse to get their act together and take decisive action when it's needed.  It's a fast-paced world out there and many students refuse to take part in it.

This is a volunteer job.  If these lazy teens and early-twentysomethings are causing you such distress, then it's time to move on.  Keep volunteering -- just do so with a more responsible, active crowd.

-- M

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Dear Isabella,

Today's youth, so unintentionally humorous.  You know, for much of recorded history, humans didn't have air conditioning.  Alas, we grow accustomed to our comforts.

Try this:  close all of the air vents downstairs.  Make sure all of the vents upstairs are open.  Let the AC run.

All of the cold air will be funneled upstairs.  Cool air will eventually fall throughout your townhouse.  See if this doesn't make it easier to sleep.

Now, if your thermostat is downstairs, it may rarely register a cool enough temperature to turn off.  And the concentrated coldness may turn upstairs into Siberia.  To balance energy costs with comfort both upstairs and down, experiment opening and closing different combinations of vents.

-- M

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Dear Billy,

My dear poppet, some of the most interesting folks in my life are in their 50s ... and still don't know "what they want to do."  Life is precious -- enjoy it!

While you're having fun, think about this for me:  My grandma used to say that the luckiest people in the world were the folks who would do their job for free.  Happiness is key.  What do you love to do?  What are you passionate about?  What are the first and last things you think about in a day?

You'd be a fool not to switch your studies to your answers to those questions.

-- M