Laura Catania
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120 upvotes
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Laura Catania • commented on 2 posts 4 months ago
Laura Catania • upvoted an item 4 months ago
Laura Catania • commented on 21 posts 1 year ago
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Laura Catania • upvoted 16 items 1 year ago
We Ran Out Of Toilet Paper And Asked Our Downstairs Neighbor If We Could Borrow Some. This Is How It Arrived, Delivered To Our Door
Worst-Tinder-Dates
My first ever online date showed up in a white suit and a white fedora. Later asked me if my menstrual cycle lined up with the moon. He ended up talking the entire date and, me being too polite to do anything about it, let this go on for 2-3 hours. Told me at the end of the date that he'd never had that kind of connection with anyone before. Good times.
Zookeepers-Share-Dark-Zoo-Secrets
Ok, as is tradition, not a full zookeeper buuut... When I was a teenager in the 90s, I did volunteer work at the Oakland zoo. There weren't many of us, so we got to choose where we helped out, so I chose to work with Bhakti, the 32ish year old Bengal Tiger. Nearly oldest living in captivity when he finally passed. I chose him because he was beautiful, and he always seemed lonely. He had pacing syndrome hardcore, so his entire paddock was green and lush except for the paths along the outer fence line and one or two diagonals he used to get into and out of his night cage. The keepers did their best with him, but had clearly written him off. He was grumpy, unsocial, hid from the public, swiped and hissed at keepers, and ignored all of the enrichment toys and food put out to keep him mobile. They had a few young Siberians in quarantine already waiting to be put on display, they just had to wait for him to pass and the stubborn old cat lived to spite them. He always started the morning by pacing his fence line, so I started pacing with him. No eye contact, no sounds, just walking back and forth for an hour or two. After a couple weeks, he started chuffing at me when I arrived, so I learned how to mimic it to say hi back. Another month, and he would actually break his pacing circuit to walk with me, jogging his ancient arthritic ass from wherever he was across the green sections to match me. Poor guy just needed a friend. I still get a bit misty eyed thinking about him. Just a lonely old cat who had to spend the last years of his life basically alone. Don't get me wrong though, the keepers really did do their best, but they couldn't spend all day with him like I could. They had many duties and creatures to care for and he had a really steep barrier to entry as a friend. As grumpy as he was, I still think he was good people.
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Laura Catania • commented on 2 posts 4 months ago
Laura Catania • commented on 18 posts 1 year ago
Laura Catania • upvoted an item 4 months ago
Laura Catania • upvoted 18 items 1 year ago
We Ran Out Of Toilet Paper And Asked Our Downstairs Neighbor If We Could Borrow Some. This Is How It Arrived, Delivered To Our Door
Worst-Tinder-Dates
My first ever online date showed up in a white suit and a white fedora. Later asked me if my menstrual cycle lined up with the moon. He ended up talking the entire date and, me being too polite to do anything about it, let this go on for 2-3 hours. Told me at the end of the date that he'd never had that kind of connection with anyone before. Good times.Zookeepers-Share-Dark-Zoo-Secrets
Ok, as is tradition, not a full zookeeper buuut... When I was a teenager in the 90s, I did volunteer work at the Oakland zoo. There weren't many of us, so we got to choose where we helped out, so I chose to work with Bhakti, the 32ish year old Bengal Tiger. Nearly oldest living in captivity when he finally passed. I chose him because he was beautiful, and he always seemed lonely. He had pacing syndrome hardcore, so his entire paddock was green and lush except for the paths along the outer fence line and one or two diagonals he used to get into and out of his night cage. The keepers did their best with him, but had clearly written him off. He was grumpy, unsocial, hid from the public, swiped and hissed at keepers, and ignored all of the enrichment toys and food put out to keep him mobile. They had a few young Siberians in quarantine already waiting to be put on display, they just had to wait for him to pass and the stubborn old cat lived to spite them. He always started the morning by pacing his fence line, so I started pacing with him. No eye contact, no sounds, just walking back and forth for an hour or two. After a couple weeks, he started chuffing at me when I arrived, so I learned how to mimic it to say hi back. Another month, and he would actually break his pacing circuit to walk with me, jogging his ancient arthritic ass from wherever he was across the green sections to match me. Poor guy just needed a friend. I still get a bit misty eyed thinking about him. Just a lonely old cat who had to spend the last years of his life basically alone. Don't get me wrong though, the keepers really did do their best, but they couldn't spend all day with him like I could. They had many duties and creatures to care for and he had a really steep barrier to entry as a friend. As grumpy as he was, I still think he was good people.
Parental-Leave-Experience
I had to go without a vacation or any time off for more than two years in order to accrue the measly seven weeks I had. I couldn't afford to be without a pay check, so I went back the day after my PTO (paid time off) ran out. It was awful. My milk supply was still regulating, no one was sleeping through the night, and within a couple weeks, I was hit with serious postpartum depression. This country can afford the paid leave. We are literally the effing worst for not providing it Laura Catania • upvoted an item 2 years ago
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