First of all, this is almost certainly an attention-grabbing hoax. Remember the Yale student who did the art installation about all her supposed abortions?

The first tip-off is the sheer amount of money involved. Anyone with such a virgin fetish would want a few more bangs for his bucks - he'd prefer to spend, say, $10,000 at a go and occasion 380 deflowerings. Even the wealthy are budget-conscious these days. If she had managed to get the bidding up to something around $100,000, I might believe this, but $3.8 million? No way.

The second tip-off is her woman-studies-speak about empowerment. Her reasons haven't changed, but now they are couched in femibabble. In the first Broadsheet posting, she was quoted as saying "We live in a capitalist society. Why shouldn't I be allowed to capitalize on my virginity?" Compare this with "I decided to flip the equation, and turn my virginity into something that allows me to gain power and opportunity from men." Basically the same thing said two different ways, but now Broadsheet finds her reasoning intriguing and thought-provoking. Even as a stunt, I don't think it's all that original or yielding of insights.

Hi LW, have you tried seeking solace in God? St. Paul prescribed prayer and fasting.

The secular version of this is much like what lots of other people are saying here: throw away your tv, be thankful for your blessings, go on a diet, be prudent in your spending, etc.

I validate your feelings, because I have felt them too. Absent spiritual well-being, even if positive material changes happen in your life (the loans disappear, a lover arrives, you get a big house and a great career), this will not make the restlessness and discontent you feel go away.

Getting connected spiritually is difficult for some of us. Start (as others have suggested) by going outside as much as possible. Get a pedometer; they are great cheap inspiration to walk everywhere. Work on your powers of observation; notice what you see around you. Try to understand people better, which starts by just observing them out in the world. Question all of your preconceptions; maybe you need to be interacting with different kinds of people than you do now.

Other suggestions: limit carbs (good for losing weight and for stabilizing mood), limit exposure to pop culture (it's fun but like junk food for the soul), take up a hobby or become an armchair expert in something, go to bed an hour earlier, get rid of excess clutter in your home, get a pet, volunteer, go to church. If you find yourself wanting to eat or watch tv when you know you shouldn't, make a simple rule: wait 10 minutes, and if you still want to, go ahead. Most cravings disappear in this time. Really examine where your time goes and what activities give you comfort and meaning. Are you on the Internet for hours at a time? Maybe go cold turkey and see what you find to fill that void.

Lastly, find something you do that marks the time you live in some positive way. One thing I've done for the past few years is keep a book journal. I record the books I read month by month and write whatever I want to about them - a line or a page. When I look back at my reading over the years, it triggers many positive memories and really gives perspective on how my life is unfolding. A hobby that results in a finished product, such as woodworking, knitting, or painting, can function in much the same way.

If I read this correctly, the issue here is whether pregnancy leave should be treated the same as disability leave for purposes of computing pensions. Congress passed a law saying that that should be the case, but I don't think that fairness or equity requires it to be so in the absence of (or prior to) such a law. Are you saying pregnancy = disability? That having a baby renders one incapable of working in the same way that a disability does? That treating pregnancy and childbirth as different from involuntary debilitating conditions is discriminatory? I'm not sure that's the image feminists want to project of childbearing. Then again, I'm not a feminist so what do I know.