Dogs In Stores
Since when did non-service dogs start being allowed into retail and big box stores? Like, any and everyone’s dogs? A giant old black and white fluffy thing in the food aisle at a Winners? Teenage couples laughing and being dragged into Canadian Tire by a doberman-looking beast? German shepherds, retrievers…small businesses, donut shops…it seems like nobody says a word. When did this change? Did it happen quietly, or with fanfare that I somehow missed? My teenage dog-owner self would have been thrilled.
I have many stretch marks. Of course you do, you’re thinking. You gave birth. No. I incurred all of my stretch marks before the age of 20; before I was ever pregnant. I kept a close eye on my body before, during, and after pregnancy. Not a single new stretch mark. They all happened when I was a slim-to-average sized teenager. Weird, eh?
I dislike spending time around people who intentionally tell me only what they think I want to hear. I’d rather be around people whose words and outlook are exceedingly pessimistic, because at least they're being honest. Wait - I got this wrong. I think it's the opposite. Or maybe I enjoy spending time with most people, and I love hearing everyone's stories - as long as they are entertaining and they aren't racist, ageist, ableist, homophobic, transphobic, or prejudicial in any way. Yeah, actually…that rules out most people. Including myself. I should stick to one-sided conversations with cats.
The pandemic era has normalized waiting in the car for your partner while they run into a store. Car sitters look at each other with the mutual understanding that we've been doing this all along. Long before 2020. Car sitters are predominantly elderly white folks (or maybe the local population is predominantly old white folks…ah!)
I think the above somehow ties back to question #1.
I'm a bath person, but when I take showers, they are hotter than tarmac on a sunny August afternoon. It is my opinion that those of us who have the propensity to bathe ourselves in water that is hot enough to cook lobster are either super dirty, germophobes, or borderline masochists working through childhood trauma in earnest. I am all of the above.
Pre-scalding hot shower pic for good measure, 2022.
