Alexandra Vaillancourt

Dateline Boston — I was in a technician’s office today; her job was to do ultrasounds. I noticed that the office had soft lighting. I asked if that was for a relaxing atmosphere or so she could see better.

Dateline Boston — My apartment is on the market. The owners, who are good friends of mine, have been great about communication. They email or text about when there will be an open house or a showing.

Dateline Boston — Do you take care of yourself when you get sick? No, really. Do you take the day off, rest, eat chicken soup, and do nothing all day? I don’t know many people who do. True, most people I know have small children, and simply can’t rest. Hats off to them. I don’t know how they do it. When I get sick, I wallow in my misery.

Dateline Boston — Three times a year I go to this place in Western Massachusetts called Stump Sprouts. It’s a rustic sort of place; basically, a cabin of three floors, with bedrooms on the top two floors. The rooms all have a double bed and bunk beds in them, all handmade from wood. There’s a common living room, a dining area with family-style seating next to the kitchen, and four shared bathrooms.

Dateline Boston — I’m big into recycling. Every week I sort my trash into bags — one for newspapers, another for glass and plastic. I recycle as I go, too — when the toilet paper is done, the cardboard roll goes into the paper bag. Jelly jars, store-bought plastic bottles, the container for my contact lenses; they all go in. Scrap paper and junk mail go into the shredder and then into the paper bag.

Dateline Boston — Last year I went in to school to meet a new family and show them around. There was no one else at school because we were still cleaning up and getting ready for the beginning of the school year.

Dateline Boston — When my S.O. and I were in San Diego a few weeks ago, we went to the San Diego Zoo. This zoo is so big, we spent seven hours there and didn’t even cover Australia!

Dateline Boston — This summer I went to California. Here is some of what I did:

By Shelby Campbell, age 14, domestic longhair cat, descendant of Maine Coons.

Dateline: Between Boston and Santa Monica — I'm on the plane going to California with my significant other. Since I'm not traveling by myself, which is extremely rare, I am less observant than usual. I do, however, hear a startling announcement from the cockpit: "Hey, folks, this is your Captain speaking. As you can see, we're just checking the engine before we take off. Hopefully it's just a faulty light."