“And she never reflected upon ‘the five questions to ask when discovering your personal brand.’ Her personal brand was the purple and silver blouse she bought herself after my grandfather died but she didn’t think of it that way because grandmothers don’t have personal brands.”

In which Fifi Mcleod recalls the hilarious story of how her pup, Tinkle, ate the carpet, expelled rope poo out of his pooter, and had to go on doggy Xanax.

Expat Panda is a South African expat blogger living in Kuwait. In a tongue-in-cheek post, her husband (Expat Fox) spills the beans on the challenges and rewards of life as the companion of a serious blogger.

A former museum assistant unearths drawings in an old, tiny sketchpad, kept in the pocket of a blazer during shifts in the galleries.

“I have three different pairs of shoes I hate running in. Every time I run, I pick one pair, and I go out and run in them, and I enjoy it about as much as I enjoy brushing my teeth in the morning, except running lasts way longer.”

Humor blogger Nicole recounts an unfortunate incident with her smartphone: “‘Stay with me,’ I pleaded with my phone. It didn’t respond.”

With humor and insight, Carol J. Pardun writes about the rare swallowing disorder she was diagnosed with — and what she’s learned from the process about herself and what she wants the next year to look like.

“Brian is in the kitchen.” But who is Brian, and why is he always in the kitchen? A funny take on a classic language-learning phrase.

Author Rebecca Schuman had a straightforward family trip planned from Missouri to Oregon. The travel gods decided to make it a little more interesting (by which we mean, “incredibly miserable”).

“‘He’s coming down the chimney soon,’ Father grumbled, his hand caressing the barrel of the Frog Shooter on his lap.” At waltbox, Walt Walker writes a fictional account of a comedically dysfunctional family Christmas.

The language of higher-education procedure and bureaucracy in verse form, with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

Pondering the 2016 US presidential election, Ben Orlin’s signature stick figures wonder about other, mathematically fairer ways to determine who wins.