My Impulsive Shopping Habit
Two years ago, when I first stepped back to look at the mountain of clothes above, huffing and puffing from pulling every item out of my closet, I was mortified. Not because there were many I didn’t wear- I did wear most of these clothes. But if I asked myself if I truly felt excited about putting them on, my answer would be a resounding no.
So why did I have a mountain of clothes I didn’t feel good in? The answer is a complicated one.
I adopted my cat, Ziggy, during graduate school, when I was basically unemployed and living off my savings. I had envisioned an animal companion to be the perfect addition to my life of study in a new city. My main goal when I signed his adoption paperwork and took him home was to balance giving him the best life I could with continuing to be smart about my finances. …
Being exoticized as a white woman in Japan
I traveled to Japan for the first time in the fall of 2013 for a study abroad. That first trip was the culmination of many years of childhood daydreams and several of my young adult years saving money and studying Japanese.
As the time of my first experience living overseas neared, I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was excited by the prospect of dating a Japanese guy. Probably due to the amount of Japanese dramas I watched — purely for language study purposes — I romanticized the exciting…
What should you really feed your cat?
I received a lot of feedback on my first post here on Medium, How I Learned Dry Food Was Killing My Cat, and while I’m still striving to improve my cat’s diet since his FLUTD diagnosis, I’ve learned a lot in the past few months about what truly matters when you’re choosing food for your cat. For those who, after my last post, are interested in transitioning their cat off dry food onto something better for your cat’s digestion, come along with me on this journey!
If you’ve ever walked the aisles of…
Think before you bust out the sewing machine.
If you’re anything like me, 2020 has made you a bundle of nerves so far. From the Australian brush fires to the coronavirus pandemic, it may seem like we can only expect short stints of relative normalcy. With global chaos such a steady undercurrent in everyday life on Planet Earth these days, it can often feel like very little is in our control.
One common thread I’ve noticed in observing the social media conversation surrounding both world events I’ve noted above is a movement among bystanders to create in the absence of comforting or even lifesaving supplies. During the peak…
All opinions expressed here are my own, and not those of my employer.
If you’re anything like me, this democratic primary season has left you jaded with American politics (if you weren’t already). Especially if you live in a deeply red state like I do, you may feel like your values and priorities are rarely championed by politicians. You may also feel that you’re not represented in the current primary line-up, as a once-diverse field has dwindled down to another small handful of white males.
My day job is engaging in outreach and education about the upcoming 2020 Census at…
I’m coming up on my first year anniversary of dedicating myself to a vegetarian diet. This past year has been one in which I felt like I took a big step towards aligning myself with my values, one of which is distancing myself from factory farming and its associated strains on the environment. I have not willingly purchased meat with my own money in the last year, but I have accidentally purchased it, and this weekend, I will even purposely eat meat.
But I still consider myself a vegetarian.
I know the topic of abstaining from meat and animal products…
How I took a chance and rolled a natural 20 for inspiration.
“The creative adult is the child that has survived” — Ursula K. Le Guin
In my younger years I was always praised for my creativity. In elementary school, my friends and I had a “traveling notebook” that we used to collaborate on elaborate tales of love and adventure. I would often doodle what I imagined my characters to look like, and tape my work on the walls of my room. My own writing was selected for essay contests, and to this day my dad goes on and on…
Everything I’ve learned about Feline Urinary Tract Disease
My cat, Ziggy, is two years old and until recently, was relatively healthy. He passed his annual check-up with flying colors in September. But come November, I rushed him to the emergency vet because of a tragically common and potentially deadly condition: a urinary tract blockage.
After the following three days he spent at the emergency vet stabilizing, hours of poring over articles about feline urinary health, and consulting with my family vet, I have learned a lot about what happened to Ziggy and how I can prevent it happening again.
A variety of urinary issues in cats fall under…
Mary G. Mills
Full-time public servant and cat mom, part-time crafter, reader, and world traveler.
