As I was riding my bike to work this morning, I was thinking about a picture I had seen posted on facebook. It was of many, many dogs thrown into what looked like a dumpster of sorts, and you could see that many of them had leashes or ropes tied around their snouts. I couldn’t tell if they were dead in the photo, but I hoped, that for their sake, that they had already crossed that Rainbow Bridge. The story connected to the photo told of an organized act that had gathered up these animals and then brutally slaughtered them. (Don’t worry, I haven’t included any gruesome photos in this post as I want to open up a dialogue.) Read more
Animal Rights: how to keep going when you feel like you’re getting nowhere
I am lucky enough at my full-time job to be able to go to various talks with amazing speakers. The other day, the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund sponsored a visiting faculty member to give a talk about animal rights –he used to work for the Animal Legal Defense Fund. This being a lunchtime talk, food was offered, of course, but not just pizza. We had falafel and lots of other vegan and vegetarian friendly foods. Yum yum!
His talk centered on the ridiculousness (my characterization) of some of the anti-cruelty laws, in that they would leave out scenarios that would obviously be considered animal cruelty to any reasonable person. He also talked about the court systems and how far behind they are in advancing animal rights. He talked about case in which he was involved, where a goat had killed its owner after years of being tortured, and then the question became whether or not to “put down” the goat. (The abuse was confirmed by the deceased’s widow.) He argued that case and the goat was able to live out its natural life on a farm, thankfully. Now, some people may laugh and say that defending a goat is just not worth it, but to animal lovers everywhere, I think they would disagree.
I you think back, just under 100 years ago, women were not able to vote. Someone had to fight for that right. African-Americans were treated unequally for many years (and many may say, still are today.) The fight for animals to be treated as living beings with feelings has to start somewhere, that’s what I am saying. (As a post-script, I just saw that such a case is being brought in upstate NY with a chimp. It was also reported in the NY Times.)
Below are some of his memorable statements that made enough of an impact on me to write them down.
- “Focus on the wins, not the losses.”
- At the end of the day, think back and be able to say this to yourself “I made a difference, and the difference is a good one.”
- “If you can reduce the suffering in the world by any amount, that is a move in the right direction.”
- “When you hear that little nagging voice telling you something is wrong, don’t do it.”
- “Each day, make it a little better.”
My full time job is as a reference librarian, as some of you may know. After the talk was over, I went up to the student who had put the event together and gave her a little note that had my contact details, what my job was, and the fact that I am the proud mother of five cats and a 12 year old chihuahua. As soon as I did so, she literally hugged me! I’ve never had that kind of reaction from a student before upon meeting me, but I immediately hugged her back. That’s something I might have done! I’m telling you, animal lovers are a different breed! (No pun intended. Ok, maybe just a little one….) It’s just one more way I want to help accomplish one of my dreams, which is to help animals. If I can use the skills that have cost me so much in a monetary sense for the good of animals, so much the better!
What do you think – should animals have the same rights as humans? I know this is a loaded question, on which there are so many views.
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Making Progress Mondays: Under $1,000!!!!!
Finally. It has FINALLY happened. That moment when one of your debts finally dips below the $1,000 mark. My personal loan has dipped to $987.27 with my payment of $177 made on Friday. I now have 29 days from the date of this post to get it paid off, completely. I CAN DO THIS!
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Little Things for Which I am Thankful
Apologies for the lateness in posting this but I was home with my mom in upstate NY. That’s just one of the things I am thankful for this week.
- In addition to seeing my mom, I was able to spend some good quality time with my younger brother. We are on the same page on a lot of things.
- I met my mom’s boyfriend and my brother was right. He makes our mom smile a lot, which was good to see.
- My mom ordered a specially made wreath for me and it’s hanging inside my apartment now, making it smell all Christmasy. 🙂 It’s decorated in a lot of purple which is one of my favorite colors.
- I asked my guardian angels and my grandmother (I always feel like she is with me in spirit) to keep us safe while traveling and they came through for us.
- Compared to the big things in life, this is a small thing, but I am thankful for not having been stick in any traffic on Wednesday and today. It may not sound like much but if you have ever sat in traffic for miles and miles in the past, you know what I am talking about.
- My journal. Yep, I’m happy for it. I realized tonight I have written in at least half of its pages since the beginning of October, and it has definitely made me feel more grateful for the small things in life.
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Getting Rid of my Debt, Part 5: Making Progress Mondays series
Two Christmases ago, I remember thinking to myself, “this sucks. I have less than $500 in savings, over $7000 in credit card debt and can’t even charge anything even if I want to because it will put me over the limit, and I have less than $30 in my checking account. HOW did I get here? I’m 39!”
Yes, I look at this moment as my financial rock bottom.
Today, my savings account is much healthier, and I can afford to rent a car this week to go home for Thanksgiving. (I found out Budget will let you rent without a credit card if you fit certain qualifications.) I have zero credit card debt (and zero personal cards–the only credit card I have is a corporate one.) I have $1169 due on a personal loan and I will have that paid off by Dec. 31st, “come hell or high water” as my mom used to say. The only debt remaining will be my student loans. Read more
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Staying True to My Heart
Since I’ve been single these last few months, I’ve had more time to think, and I mean really think. I sometimes look back to who I was just a few years ago and wonder if I’m the same person. I used to have what was called (to my former father-in-law’s coveting eye) the magical snack-cabinet. You opened it up and every kind of unhealthy snack could be found within it. I used to be content to watch hours of TV every week. I would work out a lot but if it wasn’t an actual running workout, I felt like I was kind of cheating for that day. And, while I loved animals (and still do), I was afraid to go to an animal shelter and volunteer my time because I thought it would break my heart to leave the animals behind every day. It still hurts, but I now know I’m doing something when I volunteer at the Animal Rescue League of Boston rather than just thinking about doing something.
Here’s the thing – I don’t feel like I am doing enough to help animals. Sure, I’ve adopted a few more over the past few years and while that helps those lucky few, it doesn’t help the hundreds of thousands or millions of other ones out there. While I was taking an online writing course, some class members thought that I was a strong writer and so that I should combine that strength/skill with my love of animals and try to give them a voice. So, that’s what I plan on doing. I’d like to write more regularly on this blog, and I think it would be a good place to highlight some animal issues every week, whether it be highlighting an animal that is up for adoption, or some of the more touchy issues relating to animals. I may also touch on my life as a new vegan from time to time, because the main reason I chose to go vegan was to reduce my impact on their suffering. I know that, alone, it isn’t much. But multiply my situation by many and it starts to add up. I just don’t feel like I have the right to consume animal products. Not anymore.
So, I won’t lie and say I won’t post pictures that might be hard for you to look at sometimes. There are many times that I see something on Facebook and it makes me want to cry (and sometimes I do) but it’s because it has such a huge effect on me that I feel the need to do something MORE. This blog is about chasing my dreams, and one of my dreams is to help a lot of animals, including my own but not being limited to them. Writing is a skill that I have so I need to use it for some good in this world. This blog will just be the start of something that allows me to give a voice to those who don’t have one.
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Little Things for Which I am Thankful
Every week, in some way or another, I am reminded how fortunate I am. That’s a good thing.
- I met with a former student yesterday who is from a country that is pretty much run by a dictator. It made me realize how much we take technology for granted here, as well as our individual freedoms. I’m able to see my family whenever I want. He cannot.
- I met with my financial advisor yesterday and she told me my goals are definitely doable. That makes me feel so empowered. Just need to keep on staying the course.
- The other night, my cat Bonkers was making some strange noises and making these weird squatting stances. It seems to have cleared up, though, thank God. I really didn’t want to have to make an emergency trip to the vet where walking through the door costs you $150 and that’s before he even sees the vet. If it’s an emergency though, have no doubt about it, though. I will do it without question for my animals because they are everything to me.
- I have gone VEGAN this week, diet-wise. Threw out my dairy products or took them to work for others to enjoy if I knew the time lag between my place and work wouldn’t make them go bad. Now working on replacing my personal care products to be vegan friendly. (Oh, I also went through my clothes and filled up another trash bag with clothes that contain wool. I’m a tiny bit allergic to them anyway, so it’s the right choice in my mind.)
- My brother just ran his best marathon time EVER in Philly this past weekend. He smashed his PR by ten minutes. Oh, did I mention his old PR was already UnDER three hours?? That’s right. He is 39, and came in 9th in his division of men aged 35-39, as well as 90th OVERALL and 89th in his gender. (Yep, there was a female in that top 90. Wahoo!) His new PR is ….. Wait for it….. 2:45:31!!!! That is an average mile pace of 6:18. I’m so super proud of him! (And he has agreed to let me interview him for the blog….yay!)
I feel like every week, I am getting closer and closer to knowing my true purpose in this life. It energizes me to get up every day and to continue enriching my mind and learning from others.
What things are you most thankful for this week?
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Tiny House of Animals
During my online writing class was asked to write about our obsessions and how they affect our writing. Do they get in the way? In a word, no. Unless their walking across my tablet counts as getting in the way. 🙂
(My other obsession is checking out tiny houses, RVs, simple living blogs and videos, but more on that in another post…)
The above photo says it all. I might pay the rent for my apartment but my place really belongs to the animals. At least three of them sleep with me regularly at night, and sometimes a fourth one joins us. They all have their usual “spots” on the bed too. When I wake in the morning, the first thing I usually do is put the dog down on the floor (she’s blind and teeny tiny so she can’t really jump down on her own), and then my white cat, Max, turns to me for his morning snuggles. It can make it hard to get up some mornings but I do it!
Does this mean I will never make space for another human in my bed? No, of course not. They will just need to understand how important my animals are to me and accept that they are staying. If they don’t, we’ll, then they (meaning a guy) won’t understand me, and just won’t be right for me. It’s as simple as that.
Do you have any obsessions you would be willing to share? If so, please leave a comment below. (Or, you can just let me know how cute my animals are.)
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Little Things for Which I am Thankful
- Every day and every week, I am reminded of how lucky I am to have a roof over my head and a job to pay for it. When I go to the animal shelter on the weekend, I get off of the T at the Copley station. Most people probably now think of the Copley area as the site of the Boston Marathon bombings but before that, it might have been known for the Boston Public Library. Apartments and condos in that area are SO expensive. Parking spaces alone can cost more than $100k. Yet, on a Sunday morning, you will always see homeless people wrapped in blankets, sleeping on the library’s steps. When I go to work, at an extremely rich university, I pass by a church that usually has teenagers or young adults sleeping on its steps. I find it ironic that these kids are sleeping just steps away from a school who projects students’ annual living expenses of upwards of $65k. A school that trains the elite of the elite. It blows my mind, quite honestly.
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Seriously, where in the crap does it all come from?
I ask myself this every time I have moved and can’t figure out where all the stuff came from. You know how it is. In the beginning stages of packing, you’re all about being neat and orderly. You label boxes with the contents and room where they should be placed in your new home. And then, as the move date nears, your decision-making skills go on vacation and you end up with a few boxes labeled “random crap/stuff.” If you say this has never happened to you, well, I don’t want to call anyone a liar, but…..
Chasing Simple Dreams 