Millie Kerr

There are countless advantages to working from home: pajamas all day, 30 second commute to living room sofa and nominal office drama. Despite her outright bitchiness, my cat is remarkably adept at avoiding professional conflict, though she does occasionally clash with the printer. TV shows provide entertainment and opportunities for...

According to my calendar and an upcoming reunion, I graduated from law school five years ago. This means that half a decade has passed since I patted myself on the back for completing what was said to be one of life's biggest challenges. And it was... just not for any...

Babies are screaming at every pitch. A high school music troupe is attempting to harmonize from somewhere behind me, and I'm beginning to think that my gangly legs will have to be checked to my final destination. When, precisely, did I begin suffering from claustrophobia?

For approximately four minutes, my...

There was a time when I allowed myself to believe in the sincerity of shows like The Bachelor. Though exaggerated, the process occasionally worked, and the series satisfied my voyeuristic curiosity. I may not have liked the contestants, understood why they adhered to such unconventional romantic arrangements, or kept a...

A weekly tradition was born when Top Chef first aired six years ago. Desperate for time away from the library, a small group of law students, all foodies, convened for dinner and debate in my tiny Austin apartment. We never anticipated that our ritual would continue years later in New...

Strange things happen when I attempt to befriend children, as you'll see in the following video:

I've known little Mary since she was born, and we've spent quality time together, but she still refuses my friendship. In this video I continuously ask her for a hug, which she rebuffs... first by inching away from me, then by burying her head in her arms, and finally by crying.

Unfortunately, this was not the first time my friendliness led to chaos, judgment, or embarrassment. When I approach children, tears are shed. Cries, sometimes piercing, are heard. Feelings are hurt, and not just mine.

The worst incident occurred in Stockholm several summers ago. I was enjoying a caffeine boost in an urban McDonald's when a young woman sat at the table beside mine with her toddler. The toddler looked at me between licks of ice cream, and I smiled back at him, then waved.

All of a sudden, the towheaded toddler hurled his ice cream toward the ground and began screaming at the top of his lungs. In his panic, he inadvertently caused his mother's tray of food to tumble to the ground. I, fixing my eyes on my cup of coffee, hoped the child's and my distress would soon cease, but out of nowhere appeared a tall, angry man, the child's father. He reprimanded me in Swedish, not that I understood a word, as perplexed as I was by his child's fit.

I'd like to say that my adult size, voice and stature are to blame for these incidents, but I am a relatively normal adult. Besides, I've been scaring children since I was one.
...

We crave travel or at least vacation. We devote excruciating hours at work to earn it, and when it comes, we anticipate our trip as it gently hovers on the horizon. We don't yet know about the mix-up with the first hotel; the cathedral we make a special trip to...

Ever wonder what happens when the toddlers of Toddlers and Tiaras grow up? Check out this new video by the Katydids, a comedy troupe based in Chicago, for unique insights into the future of our country's bedazzled babies.

The Katydids are a six-member ensemble of some of Chicago's best up-and-coming...

It should have been a joyous day, one filled with pumpkins, trick-or-treating, candy-induced food comas and epic costumes, but I was busy grumbling about the most unlikely source.

Kim Kardashian.

The big-bottomed, buxom faux-celebrity who insists on inserting her giant assets into seemingly every realm of media. Most recently,...

After exorcising my bowl cut demons, I set out to unearth my storytelling roots.

One day in the very distant future, having published countless obscure and arguably entertaining stories, people will want to know how it all began. At the very least, my friends and family will, as evidenced by...

Over the past 48 hours, nearly fifty wild animals have been killed in Ohio after being released by their owner, Terry Thompson, who subsequently took his own life.

Through harrowing tales by Ohio residents and police officers, the online community has been seized with terror, imagining panic at encountering...

Travel and nature programs transport us to the places we long to visit. The best capture sights and sounds that elude even the best traveled: a young leopard exiting its den for the first time; hunts that fatigue the cheetah's lanky limbs; and lion roars sounding at dusk, sending terror...

The lives of children have dramatically improved since my birth 30 years ago. Creative, outdoor play has been replaced by safer forms of entertainment: video games, laptops, and a never-ending stream of Apple products. I dreamed of one day having my own phone line. Landlines are now obsolete, and children...

It began with fried moss and nearly ended at the sight of two prawns visibly wriggling within a tightly sealed glass jar, carefully positioned atop robust cubes of ice. Eyes widened, Tim and I exchanged nervous glances, stupefied by what would be the least conventional of our 28 courses at...

This isn't the first time I've written about the profound effects near-death experiences can have on a person. In the last year alone, I've been knocked to the curb by a cyclist, aggressively attacked by vervet monkeys, and struck in the face with a stick by an emasculated chimpanzee.

But...

As the youngest of four children and the only girl, you might assume that I safely occupy the role of somebody's favorite. My father, for instance, whose little girl devotedly follows in his professional footsteps, might have bestowed upon me some degree of favoritism.

Emotional complexes and intense family feuds...

In two days I will be thirty.

Until then, and probably for some time after, I will spend an inordinate amount of time pondering what this new decade signifies while relishing (and occasionally scorning) the many memories that preceded it. While writing and drinking one too many cups of...

An estimated 250,000 tourists annually descend upon Lockhart, Texas, a quiet residential town of 12,000 residents. Tourists from Texas and further afield bypass Austin, San Antonio and the San Marcos outlets for time better spent: sampling smoked meats in the "Barbecue Capital of Texas."

They drive with purpose, alongside flat,...

For the second year in a row, I have masterminded a number of successful over-the-top April Fool's Pranks without a single friend (or, more importantly, Facebook "friend") calling my work into question.

Have people forgotten about April Fools' Day or are we a prank-free society?

As a young person, probably...