I approached Sunday’s arrival with nerves but excitement. Why? Because I told my friends at PS9 Pets that I would take Serge home with me on a foster-to-adopt basis.
After a few days, I would then see how my allergies did and how I felt about the responsibility of having a pet. Growing up, I never had a pet–unless you count tropical fish where were mostly cared for by Dad. Continue reading
After my terrible summer, I have been hoping for an easier fall. So far, that hasn’t happened.
On Saturday after a workout, I went to visit my favorite kittens. PS9 was hopping. A nice couple was in the process of adopting this little furball.
I was holding my favorite kitten. Officially she is nameless, but I call her Kerry Washington because she’s black, beautiful and made me work for her affection. I have not met actress Kerry Washington, but I’m guessing her affection needs to be earned too. I dream of keeping Kerry – the kitten, not the actress. Continue reading
I stepped out of the elevator and was immediately accosted by a lumbering black lab.
“Oh. I guess I’m here on Bring Your Dog to Work Day.” When I sat down to wait for my meeting to begin, the lab took the opportunity to push his snout up my skirt. Continue reading
When I was a kid, I desperately wanted a dog. My mother’s mother Nana lived with us though. Well, technically we lived with her but that’s another story.
Dad loved dogs, still does, and supported my interest in having one, but Nana either hated dogs or was afraid of them. Mom told me the latter.
“One day when Nana no longer lives with us, Daddy and I will get you a puppy.”
She didn’t wink or elbow me in the ribs while saying it, but the message was clear: when Nana died, I’d get my dog. Even though I was only five or six at the time, wanting a puppy became inextricably linked with a guilty feeling: “you want Nana to DIE!” I tried hard not to think about puppies. Continue reading
“People in New York City suffer from allergies? REALLY?”
Yes, I’m here to tell you that we do. And this op-ed tells you why we may actually suffer more than in other cities.
Although non-New Yorkers might think of NYC as the Concrete Jungle, plenty of trees, grasses and other pollen producers do grow here – and well!
One source estimates that New York City has more than 5 million trees. We’re lucky to have such a green city, but yes, we sneeze a lot in season.
I’ll deal with the pollen just fine once my favorite Linden trees bloom.
For more city greenery, check out Erin Boyle’s Instagrams
But I totally could be, if not for my allergies.
It doesn’t help that my college friend Erin does amazing work helping animals and posts pictures of her foundlings on Facebook. They all make me want to foster, if only I could.
Recently I went to YouTube and before my intended video, this ran. And I didn’t click to skip it when I could have.
Confession: I watched “Catalogue” again while drafting this post.
Alas, in spite of a good two years of allergy shots for this, that and the other thing, and taking Allegra 180 every single day, I’m still super allergic to animals. Recently I spent less than five minutes chatting with my neighbor at the threshold to her apartment, which houses a ragdoll cat, and by the time I returned to my own apartment, one of my eyes was swelling shut and the other wasn’t far behind.
Any notion of owning an awesome cat like Wendy Brandes’ Fitzroy quickly went out the window. I’m left to admire him from afar and watch cat videos on YouTube.
Yes, Mike Kelton, I know you hate this post.
I used to get keratin treatments. First Coppola. Then Cadiveu. Then the big Kahuna, Brazilian Blowout. I don’t hate my curls; I just want to be the boss of them.
All of the treatments made my hair behave so much better. It wasn’t stick straight except immediately post-treatment, but that wasn’t what I was going for anyway. I wanted manageability. Continue reading
The time: Sunday at noon. The place: Greenwich Village. The medium: a cell phone call.
[mid-conversation, completely out of nowhere]
Mom: You should get a dog.
Me: I’m allergic, Mom.*
Mom: Well, yeah.
Me: There’s that. And the fact that I travel a lot.
Mom: Hm.
*I have been aware of my allergy to cats since I was 11 and dogs since I was 12. I still lived at home then so she witnessed the results. There’s no denying she knows I’m severely allergic. She often suggests to Dad that they get a puppy, usually right after complaining that I don’t visit.
[don’t tell her that I totally stand outside NYC’s pet stores with cute puppies in their windows. It would undermine my bitchfacing her through the phone each time she annoys me.]
OneChicklette 