“Natalie,
My friend got a dog, but I’m not sure he’ll be a good dog owner. He’s super busy all of the time and he always complains that he doesn’t have a lot of time to do everything he wants to, and then turns around and adopts a dog? Seriously. I know his roommates aren’t going to help him out with it and I don’t want the dog to suffer because my friend’s underprepared for a dog. What do I do? Call him out? I don't know if that would change anything.”
Yeah, I don’t know if calling him out would change anything at this point. He has the dog. Unless he changes his mind and returns the dog to the shelter (side note — yay for adopting!), nothing you’re going to say is going to change anything. Make sure that you keep an eye on the dog and make sure he’s not mistreating it.
I won’t claim to be an animal expert by any sense of the word, but if your friend does start mistreating the dog, please step in. And taking care of it doesn’t just mean dishing out the dog some food everyday. Dogs need exercise and Vancouver has an abundance of dog parks, so he should have no excuse.
Hopefully — best case scenario — now that he has the dog, he’ll make sure to be a responsible dog owner. Sometimes all you need to get your life in line is some added responsibility and if a doggo isn’t a a kick in the pants, I don’t know what is.
Oh, also please send me a photo of said pupper. My heart may be owned by cats, but gosh darn, dogs are undeniably adorable.
“When I drink I get really sad. Wine does this to me the most, but during most nights out, I hit a point where I end up really sad and I tend to just go home because I don’t want to ruin anyone’s night by being sad. I don’t know what’s triggering my change in mood because I’m normally a really happy drunk. I am usually for the first few hours of partying, but I never can keep it going.”
Maybe this is your body’s way of telling you to slow down. How hard do you go when you go out? If you’re going too hard, your body might just be unable to keep up. If you start happy and end up sad, maybe it’s just when you’re ready to go and you’re already sad the night is over. That’s okay, but don’t ever pressure yourself to stay out after you’re no longer comfortable or happy with the night — just make sure you tell your friends and you have a safe way to get home.
But if you’re just drinking casually and still end up getting sad, it might be just how you are when you’re drunk. Are you going through a stressful time? Are you worried about something? I also have the pleasure of being a generally happy drunk, but normally when I’m a sad drunk, it’s because I have something on my mind that I don’t want to deal with when I’m sober.
You could also try to just stay away from wine if that seems to be something that sets you off. Different alcohols affect people differently. Beer makes me dizzy, while tequila makes me weepy. If you don’t want to curb your alcohol intake, try a different kind and see if that helps keeping you happy.
If you’re not comfortable with being sad when you’re out, try going out sober. I know it might not seem as fun, but if you’re able to enjoy the full night, then it might be worth it. You never need a reason to not drink and drinking is never a requirement for having a good time.
“Natalie, what do I do now that I’m graduating?”
Like, get a real job? Pay real taxes? I don’t know man — the jury’s still out if I’m a real adult yet.
Need advice? Contact Natalie anonymously at asknatalie@ubyssey.ca or at ubyssey.ca/advice and have your questions answered!
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