Everyone I worked closely with at the small private university I worked at donated a portion of their paycheck back to the school. There was a huge push for 100% participation. I did not - mostly because when I started, I was being paid $8 an hour and even after I became salaried, I didn't make enough to be able to…

I didn't realize it until I saw some anti-Jewish propaganda stuff from WWII, but the Ferengi from Star Trek are pretty much Jewish stereotypes. I thought I was nuts at first, but a little research revealed I'm not the first person to see the connection. It crushed me, because up until that point Deep Space Nine was…

I'm sorry she had to go through that. I'm sorry anyone has to go through that. But can I say that she's more beautiful in the above photo than she was ten years ago? I don't know what it is. But she looks amazing there. Real. Or something.

In Jr. High in the early nineties, the self-styled "preppy" (wealthy) kids, boys and girls, started wearing black Birkenstocks with heavy white socks. I could not believe how stupid this looked. They'd have expensive designer jeans, a nice tailored shirt...and then that.

I won't be wearing shorts to work. Even if it is the norm....I only have so much conformity in me, you know. Given that work (and will always work) in slightly conservative areas (law, finance, higher ed) I've accepted that suits and pencil skirts are my "uniform" and I can handle that. Just please don't ask me to…

My mindset is that if you don't know how to dress professionally for the job...you shouldn't have the job. I realize that kids may not have the best judgement - we had a dress code for the University's awards dinner that boiled down to "no butts, boobs, or bellies" for that reason. But if you're thirty five and…

My company is aware of this, which is why no one says much about folks getting in a bit late. A lot of our people live in DC and take Metro or bus - you can always tell when there is a problem, because the place will be dead. Even many of the people who drive are sometimes coming from McLean or Bethesda and traffic…

The law firm I worked for had "Casual Friday" before I started there, and the support personnel (secretaries, book keeper, investigator) were even allowed to wear shorts and culottes in the summer. Until one idiot came in wearing shorty shorty short shorts that her cheeks hung out of. So shorts were banned, but…

Especially in fast food service jobs, a lot of the workers are kids and not all of them are responsible or considerate - they kind of have to be nitpicked.

This is good to know. I'm not buying Coach at all now (not that they'd even notice) but I certainly didn't get rid of the beloveds I already have.

it takes a certain kind of person to properly care for them. I love Baby, and I adored Mr. Chewie Biteums, but if something happened to my husband I wouldn't adopt another.

Rex is a breed of bunny. They're usually show rabbits. Mr. Chewie Biteums, who passed away last year after a very long illness, was a Rex. I was not happy to see Rex fur Jackets in the sale.

I was a Coach Factory devotee for years (until they started all this rabbit fur crap - I had a Rex, Coach, I will NEVER IN HELL buy a Rex jacket) but I knew it was just the same styles made with slightly less quality materials. I didn't care.

As far as I know, he never retaliated. He's more the type to get rid of pets when they piss him off (he does that...treats them like they're disposable). I know he demanded more than once that Tiger be taken to the shelter. It didn't happen.

Cats are awesome. I have an older brother who was always a jerk to me. He was seventeen when I was born, so by the time I got Tiger at the age of six, he was a grown ass man with a job and a car and several girlfriends. But he treated me like absolute crap. So Tiger did stuff to him. He clawed up his expensive…

Other monikers include Chunkabutt and Baby the Hutt (or Jabba the Bunn, depending). She's not that overweight, really. I just like calling her cutesy things. I have about a dozen stupid nicknames for all the pets.

I don't remember that! I'll see if it's in my husband's DVD collection.

I call the rabbit a "fatty boombah latty" sometimes - it was part of a standup comedian's bit that I saw when I was young and found it hilarious and cute. To call the pets. Not another person.

Maybe a bit of both. The cat could very well view the child as belonging to her.

If I didn't have pets, I'd not be phased at all. I've spent quite a bit of time around pythons. Enough not to freak out and just call animal control, anyway. As it is, I have two cats and a bunny rabbit to protect...I'd probably be running around stuffing small animals in carriers and getting them the hell out…