If you're new here, I did a 20 Questions post last year that discusses some basics of who I am, so that's a good place to start if you don't know much about me. Last month I asked you for questions and now I'm here to answer them. I got a lot of questions, so I'm breaking this up into two parts. This is part I.
Elisabeth asked:
1) Have you always had pets?
I definitely grew up in a household with pets. We moved around a lot when I was little, but we settled down in Michigan when I was seven and pretty immediately got a cat to help control the rodent population. She was a mean cat, Penny was, and I still have a scar on my right wrist from her claws. We had a selection of dogs and cats as I grew up and by the time I left for college, we'd settled in that two cats and three dogs were a good number for our family. We had Loudmouth and Heinz for cats and Dusty, Midnight, and Gizmo for dogs when I left for college.
In college and grad school, I pet sat a fair amount and occasionally had roommates with pets, but didn't have furry pets of my own. I did have a succession of fish, frogs, and lizards, though. When I met Dr. BB, I made sure the he knew that having pets was a priority for me. For a few months after we were first married, we did a long-term catsitting gig when we had some friends who were overseas for a bit and Dr. BB fell in love with that cat (oh, Dae) and I knew that I had sold him that pets were important.
Right before we moved out of Minneapolis in 2011, I was visiting some friends in Michigan who had rescued a litter of teeny tiny barn kittens. Zelda was the last kitten available and my friends who had three rambunctious children were making noises about taking her; I scooped her up and said I'd take her home because I was worried for her life in that household (they are all three lovely young adults now, but eleven years ago was a different story). Note that I agreed to take the cat before consulting my husband, but let's not dwell on that. She was little and cute and became Zelda the Cat.
We had Zelda for years and years before we bought a house. Part of me agreeing to buy the house was that we could get a dog. What really happened was that we moved into our house, I went to visit my mom and sister, and my sister's dog bit me. That put off our dog search for a year. We adopted Hannah the Dog in the summer of 2019.
Since Dr. BB grew up in a home without pets, I think he still sort of thinks it's weird that he lives with a cat and a dog now. I, however feel like a house is not a home without a pet. I will make some allowances for people with allergies, but even then I think you should have a fish or a bird or something.
2) Do the people that you send snail mail to every month also respond via the postal service?
Ha. Rarely. I love it when people DO mail me back, but I mostly send mail so my loved ones know I'm thinking about them, even if they are far away. I have no expectation of reciprocation.
Anne asked:
3) Who are the people you write to every month?
The three people I write to are my mom, Aunt Debbie, and Uncle Kevin. I used to write my Grandmother and Aunt Jean, too, before they passed away.
Back to questions from Elizabeth:
4) How/where do you store scarves?
I store them in my downstairs clothes closet. I have two special scarf hanger/organizer things and one regular hanger that I use. They actually don't take up much room at all and they're quick at hand whenever I need them.
5) What's your ideal vacation?
For a variety of reasons having to do with food and control, I'm going to leave my husband at home. I'm renting an Air BnB with my best friend and hiring a caterer to handle all the cooking for our vacation. We mostly sit around around a pool or at a beach with books in our hands. Maybe, just maybe, once a day we'll leave for some sort of activity like a hike, museum visit, or shopping at an adorable downtown area, but let's not get carried away with things we need to plan. And we read books, nap, and eat delicious food we haven't prepared. That's basically the ideal version for me.
6) What's your favorite meal - start to finish?
Interesting and hard question. I am going to follow the format of the Off Menu podcast.
Bread: Seedy white bread with lots of room temp butter
Appetizer: Caesar salad with extra croutons
Main dish: Lasagna
Drink: Diet Coke (this is a dream - I don't have caffeine any more, but this would not be a problem in my dream world)
Dessert: Tiramisu. I wouldn't be mad if it came with a scoop of vanilla or coffee ice cream on the side
After-dinner: A lovely cheese plate and coffee with cream
Interestingly enough, as I read through this, it seems like you could buy me some Perrier and take me the Olive Garden and I will be your girl.
7) What's your dream job (like dream-dream; money is no object and you can snap your fingers and acquire all the necessary skills immediately)?
I always wanted to be a translator at someplace like the United Nations or the International Court of Justice. I like the idea of being involved in international politics and the fight for human rights. Unfortunately, I am just not as good at languages as I'd like to be. I am too literal and don't understand nuances of languages, which would make me a terrible translator in real life.
Nicole asked:
8) What is your degree in?
My undergraduate and graduate degrees are in political science. I have a heavy emphasis on math and stats, though, with an undergrad minor in math and an emphasis on research methods in grad school. I'm your all around basic liberal arts bitch.
Birchwood Pie asked:
9) Why did you choose the field you chose to study?
I choose political science because government is the heart of everything we do. There's not a choice you make that the government doesn't have a hand in and I like to think about structures and institutions of power and how they work. I also like that this it focuses on something really complex and challenging like figuring out human behavior (how will voters vote? judges decide? governments act? non-governmental entities interfere?), but also allows me to flex my math chops. It's a field that takes the best from math/stats, psychology, economics, and law and mixes it up into the most delicious stew.
(Also, anyone who thinks people in the STEM field have the hardest jobs? You are wrong. It's just plugging numbers into equations. Gravity is predictable. Drag is predictable. People are not. The social sciences are the most complex because people are unpredictable.)
10) How did you meet Dr. BB?
We met in grad school. He was a cohort ahead of me. He was a better grad student than me and had a crush on my roommate. Some of the early entries on this web log are from early dates with him. (Don't read those. The me of 2005 apparently didn't know what a paragraph break was.) We actually study completely different subfields and we don't really understand what the other does.
I remember Dr. BB getting a new cell phone and refusing to give me or my roommate his number because he only had limited minutes. Do you remember those days? He claims that this is clearly untrue because he would never deny a pretty woman his number. I guess I eventually did get his number.
Anne asked:
11) How did you end up where you live?
We moved to Wisconsin because my husband got a tenure track job at a small state school here. This was quite a coup since political theory jobs are few and far between, so we moved to the town where the school is. We lived there in an apartment until Dr. BB actually got tenure and then we bought a house in the next town over. The advantages to where we live now are that this town has an actual grocery store (two of them, as a matter of fact!) and the houses next door are a million times less likely to be turned into student housing. We also don't literally live next door to my husband's students.
12) What's your favorite childhood memory?
I used to spend summers with my Uncle Lenny and Aunt Debbie. I wrote about it a tiny bit before when Uncle Lenny died, but let me expand on an all-time legendary story. Lenny and Debbie didn't have children of their own, but every summer they'd take some of their tween/teen nieces and nephews for weeks on end. We'd go camping, traveling, and just generally goof off with them. At one point, there was a big group of us and we decided to go floating/canoeing down a river. It was me, my sister, my cousins Rachel, Jessica, Greg, and Melanie, and my Aunt Debbie's nephew on her side, Johnny. We had a blast. We got sunburned, overturned the canoe, and Melanie and Johnny may have done some hanky panky under the cover of the river water.
When we got back to the car, it turned out that Uncle Lenny had somehow LOST THE CAR KEYS in the river. Apparently, this happens with some regularity. Ha! We were able to break into the car, so we could change into somewhat dry clothes, but we didn't really have anyplace to stay and so all nine of us ended up spending the night in someone's random backyard shed (maybe? my memory is fuzzy). We basically relied on the kindness of strangers to get us food. Aunt Debbie's dad drove a spare set of car keys to us the next day. He got a speeding ticket. It was calamity after calamity. It's a great, classic family story.
Stay tuned for more questions tomorrow! In the meantime, please regale me with stories from your childhood.
These are great questions (and answers!) Hilarious story about the vacation with Uncle Lenny- I don't think I can top that (or come anywhere close.)
ReplyDeleteWhen we first got together, my husband was allergic to cats. I grew up with cats, and I didn't want all the work of a dog (especially with small children) so we didn't have any pets for YEARS. Then we started feeding an outdoor cat and eventually adopted him- we cautiously let him in the house for small periods until it became apparent that my husband was no longer allergic! When that cat disappeared (he was still mostly an outdoor cat) we got Charlotte, and then Muffin, and I can't even fathom how we lived all those years without pets. They just add SO MUCH to the home! Oh, and we also have three guinea pigs now- our house it full (although the kids and I are secretly plotting to get a third cat... my husband thinks he doesn't want one, but he'll soon see how wrong he was.)
Can't you get decaf diet coke? I know it's not good for you, but it could be a treat every once in a while!
1. Cats really do run households. I can't imagine not having my kitty cozy up with me while I'm reading. She's my best buddy. Also, it's always the dudes who say they don't want pets who end up loving them the most!
Delete2. I have had Caffeine-Free Diet Coke and it has a weird taste and I can't quite put my finger on it, so I've just cut myself off altogether. That being said, I miss it desperately and it has been YEARS. I'm not a natural abstainer and it's really hard for me.
I love posts like this! And I went down some rabbit trails with old links - yikes that bite/bruise from your sister's dog was epic and the story about gluing back together a dresser drawer (with stolen glue!) - what a traumatic experience!!!
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh when you mention Dr. BB will be staying home from your dream vacation. Haha. I always have to answer questions like this delicately around the kids, for example. Abby will ask: If you could go anywhere in the world right now and you can only take ONE person...where/who would it be. How am I supposed to answer that honestly? Because, as lovely as my 11-year-old is...she would definitely not be my first pick for my "ideal" vacation.
I am allergic to cats and dogs. My husband LOVES cats and would love to own one, but if we get anything it will be a hypoallergenic dog. One of our kids had a scary incident as a child which has really impacted how they feel about pets, so I'm sensitive to that. And now we have Meatball which is about the perfect amount of pet responsibility for our pets right now.
1. The stupid dog. She died recently and I will admit that I sort of gritted my teeth as I sent the condolence card. I actually blame the dog who bit the other dog rather than the dog who bit me for that fiasco. I still feel really guilty over that stupid stolen glue.
Delete2. Yeah, Dr. BB knows that he's not fun to travel with and I've made it clear to him that I prefer traveling with my mom or friends rather than him! That being said, I'd rather LIVE with him than anyone else.
3. I think Meatball is a lovely pet and he's so cute! At least you're not one of those "only humans live in houses" people - I'm so confused by that statement!
Political science! I would not have guessed that in a million years! I am not surprised about the math and stats though. I love that you would get a caterer. Imagine having a personal chef! I think that would be divine.
ReplyDelete"Take me to the Olive Garden" - this cracked me up.
My husband has a high school acquaintance who is a chef who owns a boat that does Alaskan cruises. I have often thought about just hiring her for a week to handle cooking. We'll even go stay on the boat if it never leaves dock. LOL. I would just LOVE to not have to worry about any of the food issues for a week - no meal planning, shopping, or preparing. Divine is EXACTLY the right word for it.
DeleteI love "take me to the Olive Garden and I will be your girl" and the family outing - I remember once in the middle of a weird summer weekend ending up at my high school guidance counsellor's cottage with my boyfriend and bunking in with their daughters, but I don't remember why we needed a place to sleep. Man, I used to be so much better at rolling with things.
ReplyDeleteWe only had one cat when I was little and then I got allergic and asthmatic and we had to rehome her. My husband had dogs as a boy but I never did until we got Lucy on my daughter's 12th birthday. It still does seem weird to me that I live with a dog, but mostly in a good way.
I want to know a lot more about the details of ending up at the guidance counselor's cottage, but I guess I'll have to just fill in the gaps on my own!
DeleteAlso, I love your scarf storage!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I love it, too!
DeleteFun questions! I'll answer the pet question... When I was 11 or so, a woman opened a pet shop within biking distance of my house. I loved animals (and we had 1 family dog, that was it) at the time. I would go into the pet shop all the time "just to look" and got to know the owner. She ended up asking if I wanted to "volunteer" at the pet shop. (Looking back, I guess she kind of just took advantage of me for free labor. lol!! But I felt pretty cool having a "volunteer job" ;) Anyway, I worked there for free 2-3 mornings a week all summer, cleaning hamster cages and filling water bottles, playing with kitties, etc. I loved it. I ended up buying out half the store. hahaha! Not joking, over a span of a couple years, I had: multiple hamsters, a gerbil, 2 rabbits (who we thought were brothers, but weren't- so we ended up with baby bunnies... my parents loved that one!), 2 parakeets, some goldfish.... and we somehow ended up adopting 2 guinea pigs from my sister's biology classroom, and a rat named Captain! Oh, and we also ended up buying a long haired chihuahua that was surrendered to the pet shop, too (making him our second dog). We had a guest room with a big closet that my dad built shelves into and we literally had various cages lining the closet. I think at one point my sister and I had 7-8 pets simultaneously! Crazy to look back on! It was just for a few years, and then I guess I outgrew that pet obsession phase and we just had the parakeets and the dogs.
ReplyDeleteI NEVER would have guessed this about you, Kae! This is so interesting that you "outgrew" the phase - it seems to me that a lot of people who are this invested as young people end up doing something with animals in their adult lives. Thanks for sharing this!
DeleteYou answered a lot of things that my Enquiring Mind wanted to know!
ReplyDeleteI grew up with cats and when "my" cat that I had from the age of 8 to 26 died I never wanted to go through that pain again so I decided that I would never have another pet. My husband never had any pets and kind of wanted a dog but was afraid that he wouldn't have time to take care of one. His reaction to my story was "yes you don't have the pain but you miss out on all of the love".
And then the boys mom got a dog and one year at Christmas my husband offered to take the dog with the boys because the mom was traveling...and from then on the dog went from being "hers" to fully living in both houses (mostly ours since the boys are here most of the time) and I can't imagine life without her.
10000% agree that anything where you try to predict people is HARD work.
Oh, I am already worried that once our girls die, I'll never want another pet because no one will ever be able to be as amazing as they are. But my life WOULD be less without them. *sigh* It is sad that they don't live as long as humans!
DeleteLove these posts and learning more about you :) "A house is not a home without a pet". Sigh. I don't have the excuse of allergies and I would really a pet (I never had one), but our landlords don't allow it.
ReplyDeleteSo interesting that your dream job would have been translator at the United Nations. Wow. But yeah, translation is hard. I dabbled a bit in literature translation in college and sometimes we would spent weeks (!) translating (and dissecting!) one paragraph of a book and discussing how the author might have meant something.... because as you say, the nuances! It's all about the nuances.
I never let a landlord not allowing pets prevent me from having a fish or a lizard, but I do understand that not everyone is me. LOL. Pets are a lot of work and if you travel or are out of the house all day, it can be challenging to care for them, so I do understand why some people make the decision to not have them.
DeleteI love this! I love your detailed, thoughtful answers. I recently went on vacation with my cousin, not my husband, and it was great for the reasons you mention. Not that our vacation was reading and lazing, it was busy. But we were busy doing things that my husband may not have wanted to do, and we ate a lot of things that he can no longer eat for health reasons. Excellent.
ReplyDeleteI regularly travel without my husband. It's just easier and he knows it and I know it and we don't even try to hide why I'm doing it anymore. That being said, I'd rather LIVE with him than anyone else, so he wins that.
DeleteIt's so fun learning a little more about you! I love that you still write actual letters. I think getting a real live letter or postcard in the mail is the best. I think that is one reason why I am a friend of the yearly holiday cards ;)
ReplyDeleteAfter your exciting childhood memory I totally blanked on any of mine. I still remember when my grandma's dachshund swiped my dads pipe and was chased around the house looking like he was smoking it? It was pretty funny at the time - not that exciting though.
Oh, what a funny image of a dog running around with a smoking pipe! That's a GREAT childhood story!
DeleteThis was fun to read! I love learning new things about people, and I ALSO laughed at leaving Dr. BB at home for your dream vacation. Makes sense, from what I know about his food sensitivities!
ReplyDeleteHe's really not fun to travel with and he drags me down with him into his glumness. If it's truly going to be a vacation for me, he can't be there!
DeleteThat is a colorful selection of scarfs.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I didnt know you were into political sciene. I alsmost stiudied that myself but then took another route. Fate? Who knows but I think it was for the better.
I love that family story with the car keys. i bet even after decades you still about it until tears come.
The car keys in the river are definitely a family legend at this point!
DeleteThis is fantastic. I love your response to the dream vacation question. Even before my ex and I split up, my dream vacation would likely have been solo. I also really appreciate your love of and dedication to political science. One of my brother's kids is very interested in policy and law, but on the math/accounting/budgetary side. She's hoping to get an internship at the Federal Reserve this summer (file this under: "things Anne would never do, not in a million years", right below "run for office/be an administrator". :>).
ReplyDeleteOh, working for the Fed is a smart idea for someone with those strengths. Have you ever listened to the podcast Planet Money's series called the Beigie Awards? It's based on a quarterly report that the Fed does and it has really made me respect the work that the Fed does!
Delete