Unless you know your floors are unwaxed, you'll need to test for wax in order to know how to best care for your flooring. Dampen a piece of extra fine steel wool and use it to rub areas you think might be waxed.  Wax will show up as a light grey smudge or smear on the steel wool. Floors that date prior to 1930 typically have many layers of paste wax over a tung oil finish or shellac. You can screen and re-wax the floor or use a chemical stripper to remove the wax and apply a modern polyurethane finish. The easiest and gentlest way to restore an old floor to its former glory is to screen it with a buffer, which can be rented from most hardware stores. After cleaning the floor, use a handheld sanding screen to roughen up the edges and corners of the room where the buffer can't access. Use a buffer with a 150- or 120-grit sanding disc to screen the floor, or buff down the existing finish.  Sanding pads are color coded, with black, purple, and brown being abrasive stripping pads. Green and blue are mid-level abrasive, and tan and white pads are mild polishing pads. The sanding discs will wear out, so you'll need at least three to screen a typical room. Buffing will not remove deep scratches or heavy damage. It will, however, help restore shine and remove surface scratches to old or dull hardwood. . Once you've finished buffing, wipe down windowsills and other surfaces and vacuum the room thoroughly to remove all dust. Your choice of finish will depend on the results of your wax test. For waxed floors, apply paste wax. If your floor was finished with a modern sealer, go with polyurethane. You can't use one if you started with the other: don't apply wax to a polyurethane finish or vice versa. If your floor is more than 50 years old, you should avoid sanding it. There's a limit to how much wood you can remove without permanently damaging the floor. When cleaning and reviving an old hardwood floor, sand only if it's so heavily stained that screening or chemical stripping aren't options. Get professional help if your old hardwood flooring is seriously worn or damaged, or if you're unsure about its composition. Word of mouth is typically the best way to find a good contractor. Look for one with restoration experience who won't advise you to simply rip out the entire floor unless absolutely necessary. For example, if your floor needs patching, you could have an experienced contractor remove flooring from a hidden spot, like a closet, and use it to replace a worn or damaged area.

Summary: Test for wax. Screen your floor with a buffer. Refinish your floor Avoid sanding old hardwood floors unless absolutely necessary. Consult a professional with restoration experience.


One of the easiest ways to meet new girls is by hanging out with your existing friends and building relationships with their friends. When you get together for social situations, encourage your friends to bring their female friends along. You can ask your friends to introduce you to their friends before the social gathering if you're nervous. Talk to girls in your classes and make it a point to try to group up with them for class assignments. If you are out of school or don't go to school, sign up for a class at a local community center in a subject that interests you. Start by talking about class oriented things before moving onto more personal conversation. Say something like, "Jeez, this homework is the most intense stuff ever. Are you getting it?" Meeting girls at work will give you something common to talk about and will be less stressful than introducing yourself to a stranger. Go out of your way to talk to the girls at work that you like. Once you build up a friendship, ask them if they would want to chill outside of work.  Talk about work by saying something like, "Seriously? Three double shifts this week! Don't you wish that the scheduling was a little more organized?" Ask her to hang out by saying something like, "Yo, I think you're really chill. Would you want to hang outside of work sometime?" Or you could get more specific and say something like, "What are you doing this Friday? Want to go to happy hour with me?" A bookstore is a great place to meet new girls and gives you a good topic to strike up an initial conversation. If you see a girl checking out a book you enjoyed, introduce yourself and strike up a conversation about the book. You can say something like, "The second book in that series is one of my favorites. Are you a fan of Bukowski?" If you feel intimidated by the bar or club, bring along a couple of your friends. Try to make eye contact with girls that you see at the bar and walk up and introduce yourself to them.  If you want to talk to the girl, make sure you go to a bar or club that isn't too loud. You can say something like, "Hey I saw you on the other side of the bar. My name's Gerald, what's your name?" Or you could say "Your sneakers are really cool, are they the new Air Max Goraths? I was thinking about getting a pair of them myself."

Summary: Meet girls by hanging out with your friends. Introduce yourself to girls in your classes. Meet new girls at work. Go to a bookstore to meet girls. Meet new girls at the bar or club.


to help the less fortunate in a developing country. The Peace Corps is a government aid organization that U.S. citizens can join. Look on the Peace Corps website at https://www.peacecorps.gov/ to find out what it takes to join and what types of jobs you can get assigned to.  Keep in mind that working for the Peace Corps is the opposite of luxury travel. You will often be assigned to a very remote area with limited infrastructure. Also, don’t expect to make a lot of money, you will receive a modest income and accommodation, but it is more about giving back to the world than making money. Individuals who complete Peace Corps assignments also receive priority recruitment opportunities with the State Department upon their return to the USA. It is a good option if you aspire to work as a diplomat or other foreign service worker abroad. to represent your country abroad. Foreign service workers travel and live abroad, representing their country on issues such as immigration, diplomacy, and international aid. Check online for the requirements to apply for a foreign service job in your country.  Every country has different foreign service job requirements. In general, you will likely have to pass a qualification test to show that you are fit to represent your country before you can select a career track within the foreign service department for your country. For example, if you are a U.S. citizen, then you can find jobs and requirements on the U.S. Department of State’s website at https://careers.state.gov/learn/who-we-are/culture-of-leadership/. to travel the world and provide humanitarian aid. There are many non-governmental organizations and international non-profits that you can work at to travel and help out with issues like human rights and disaster relief. Different organizations hire people with different career backgrounds, so do your research to find an organization that is a good fit for you.  Examples of NGOs include Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross, and USAID. It’s helpful if you have a background in health or social services to get a job with a NGO. For example, Doctors Without Borders hires medical professionals or med students to provide medical treatment to remote communities or people in disaster-stricken areas.
Summary: Join the Peace Corp Become a foreign service worker Work at a NGO