For me, the distinction is the entertainment aspect. At a zoo, I pay the zoo to let me see an animal act in some approximation as it would in the wild. At SeaWorld, animals are trained to do things contrary to their nature (whales beaching themselves to delight spectators is not exactly common) for the paying public.…

My company is a huge supporter of SeaWorld (including renting out the SD park for a company-wide celebration) and, quite frankly, it makes me sick. There's been a huge internal movement to end our sponsorship, and I'm hoping that something will come of it. I can't even really think about it much without wanting to…

I attended a very conservative religious college (at one point we were the second most conservative university in the country), and every year we got an email from the head of student life telling us exactly where and when we could watch the Victoria's Secret fashion show and asking us to please refrain from doing so.…

I'm still upset that Sci-Fi (or SyFy, if you must) is not airing a Ghosthunters marathon tonight. That has always been my favorite way to spend a Halloween evening - jumping at noises and seeing things out of the corner of my eye while repeating to myself that I do not believe in ghosts.

Can I just say thanks for this? I love the look of shalwar kameez, but as (possibly) the whitest American woman living on this planet, I'm always concerned that someone will take my wearing one the wrong way. I just think they're beautiful! And look so comfy! I may never wear one in my life, but for someone to say…

I live my life being called out of the lounge to work flights, that's really very, very normal, we just don't tell people most of the time. I'd be more concerned that they boarded the flight with no flight attendants, seeing as how that's illegal.

I am. I think (this happened awhile ago) the other flight attendant mentioned writing it up as well, and I did consider it. I honestly probably should have; the problem in doing so is that the lines between what is professional and personal blur very easily on the airplane, and not just because of physical space…

Ugh. Look, I am well aware of the misinformed cliches and stereotypes of the aviation industry, and most pilots I know are committed family men and wonderful co-workers, but UGH. Every now and then I run into guys like this. Once, while watching out the little window for the okay to open the front door of the plane,…

(I couldn't get my other adorable gif to post, and I can't really top ACTUAL CAT HUGS so here have this, which never fails to make me laugh.)

It's not me, but I would pay real dollars if someone could make my cat do this.

As a single woman who is (not very actively) looking for someone, I'd say kindness. Not just being nice, but being kind, in all aspects of life. I enjoy people-watching, and seeing people being kind to one another puts a smile on my face like almost nothing else will.

I do understand, because I want the same things. I really, really do. I want someone to come home to after a long trip (not that I don't love my cat, but she's really just in it for the food). I want a home filled with love and laughter. But I know that if I let myself get lost in wanting all of those things I'll…

I should have clarified a little, I suppose; I love my job but it is very, very lonely at times. I spend my days serving others and interacting with strangers (including my co-workers) and my nights in hotel rooms, often in the middle of nowhere. And when I'm off, it's usually on weekdays when people aren't wanting to…

It makes me really sad when I hear people say things like that about being lonely because they don't have a partner. And not as in boo-hoo that is just awful, but in why don't you enjoy life now and trust that it'll happen when the time is right? I've never had a relationship and I'm 28, and yes, sometimes I wonder…

NO WE DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT MESS. Everyone hates Cincinnati.

You're right, that is really weird now that you've pointed that out.

In his defense, Swiss Italian is mainly spoken in the regions clustered around the border, and I don't think it's taught across the country like they teach Swiss French and Swiss German in schools. (I may be wrong about that, it was over 10 years ago that I was there.)