two things.

[one]

I cannot get my cat to understand that it is NOT APPROPRIATE to drink out of other people's glasses/cups. most of the time it's water, but sometimes it's not. sometimes I feel bad when I push her off the coffee table or cover the glass with a book (looking at this moment, there are 2 cups within sight with reading material on top of them), because I think, "well, she's THIRSTY, obviously, and I don't want to deprive her"...but then I realize that she doesn't drink out of her OWN water supply (I actually put her water in a glass instead of a bowl, thinking that she'd be more likely to drink it).

this is frustrating. and a fairly new development. any advice, fellow pet-parents?


[two]

I'm feeling conflicted about american apparel. I try very, very hard to consume responsibly: organic food, fair-trade coffee, local art, sweatshop-free clothes. (putting it in writing is a little intimidating b/c I obviously don't have a totally clean track record...but I DO think about these things to the point where I might have a neurotic guilt-complex going on.)

clothing is particularly hard, especially if you're trying to scrape by on a nonprofit salary. Sure, if I had the money I would probably shop exclusively at little boutiques, etc, but I don't, so I am pretty much limited to thrift stores and my friends' closets (which is the best place to find clothes anyway...but I digress). so companies like american apparel are nice because, even if their stuff is a little pricey, you KNOW without having to do a lot of research that they treat their employees well.

and their stuff used to be kind of hard to find in KC (thought I've found it in some places), so when a store opened recently, it was exciting! "oh boy! a store where I KNOW that everything is socially responsible!"

....well.

I am still excited about it. except.

...their advertising is so. not. appropriate.

I mean, I'm no prude (and so what if I WAS?), but seriously. girls' Ts & As are hanging out all over the place, literally. and I of course am all about pushing the envelope and appreciating the beauty of the human body, etc etc, but I am also NOT for the exploitation of the human body OR using sex to sell. to me that's just trashy and a little bit offensive. (plus, I feel like they've gone from the company that used to sell sweatshop-free tshirts to the company that sells shiny leggings and bodysuits to hipsters. but that's another rant.)

so, I guess I am frustrated that I have to choose which is more important to me: socially-responsible clothes or not-trashy advertising. I guess I just hate that I feel like I have to compromise on EITHER of those things.

...socially-responsible will probably win (plus, they have underwear in so many COLORS!). but still.

thoughts?