Katie Dirnbauer of Urban Bar

Ms. Dirnbauer was perhaps our most enthusiastic guest columnist thus far, jumping at the chance to offer advice to our conflicted readers. She's heard it all (or at least most of it) at her previous job behind the bar at Barley's, and, more recently, Urban Bar, and was eager to pass on her hard-earned wisdom.

Questions? Send them to dawson@knoxvoice.com.

Do you think it's a good idea to ask out your mailman? He doesn't have a ring and is awful flirty with me — not to mention he's really cute! What's the worst case scenario?

1) He knows where you live before you even exchange numbers.

2) There's a reason the phrase “going postal” exists.

3) They tend to have a high suicide rate.

I have a friend who gets tanked at bars and hooks up with guys she'd never go near when sober. This isn't a one or two time thing, and she expresses regret and self-disgust the morning after. But then she repeats the scenario all over again. How serious of an intervention is needed, or should her friends just let her get this out of her system?

Honestly, if she didn't want to do it, she'd quit. It's not a heroin addiction. She's an adult, and as much experience I have of getting wasted, I don't buy the “I didn't mean to, but I was drunk” excuse. There's probably some part of her that craves guys' attention no matter what the circumstances. Just tell her the Southeast has the highest VD rate in America.

My sister brought her new boyfriend home for Thanksgiving. We were all drinking wine and got a little tipsy, and he came onto me. When he found out I wasn't interested, he played it off, but I don't think it was a joke. They haven't been dating long, so I don't know much about this guy. I don't want to potentially ruin her relationship, and I'm afraid she'll get angry with me if I tell her. What should I do?

1) She doesn't have any reason to be mad at you.

2) If she does get mad at you, she deserves the douche bag.

3) Usually if you start a conversation with “I want to tell you something, but I don't want you to get mad,” people usually respond better.

And remember the immortal words of Tupac: “Hostile hoes catch elbows.”