I can’t believe my application for this place was actually accepted. When it came to the point of the form where I had to note down what cats I owned, I had to write…none. I’m allergic! Not incredibly so- I can be around them for a few minutes at a time, hours if I take medication, but I could never actually own a cat. I’d never be able to get away from the hair.

And yet, I love those furry little creatures to bits. Oh, allergies are a cruel mistress indeed! Still, it’s my contacts in the Melbourne corporate video production industry that got me in. Catrina advertised on Visage-Tome that she wanted a promotional video made for the Catamount Club, and I thought I’d be perfect for the job. The job of delegation. During uni I just happened to meet a load of people who were interested in video production. Most of them were Me-Straw stars, although I didn’t know it at the time. I ended up appearing in a bunch of their videos, and we became pretty close friends, the bunch of us. Anyway, most have joined some kind of video company or simply founded their own, so that’s how I become so well-connected.

I sent Catrina a link with my exploits and she was right in touch. And that’s when I breached the subject of living in the Club without owning a cat. Fortunately, they’re an accepting lot and I was encouraged to send in an application explaining myself just like everyone else. And now, here I am!

In fact, I’m getting my own segment in the promo video. Catrina wanted to show that cat ownership isn’t necessarily what gets people in; sometimes it’s character. And also Melbourne video production company connections. But mostly character? It’s probably the character thing. Now I’m here, the allergy pills are at the ready, I’ll have to be careful about leaving my door open and I’m otherwise ready to start my kitty adventure!

-Ai-Wei Mao