I rent a small house with my family. There is a stray cat in the neighborhood.

My landlord recently took pictures of the stray cat sitting in our yard and started using it as an excuse to charge us a $350 pet fee and to up our rent by $35 a month as a “pet monthly rental charge”.

Despite our efforts to prove that the feline was not ours, including affidavits from our neighbors who were actually feeding the stray, the landlord continued to insist that we pay this additional fee.

We took it to court, and we won… only for the landlord to send us a letter saying he was forced to increase rent across all of his properties due to an increase in expenses related to unexpected court costs.

We’ve had it. We’re moving out.

One weekend, my partner and I visit our local zoo. It is a lovely day, so it is quite crowded with lots of people all around everywhere we go. A little boy — maybe six or seven years old — is proudly telling his mother what he’s learned about how humans have evolved. You can imagine what comes next.

Mother: “No, no… I’m pretty sure that’s not true.”

Boy: “Yes, it is! We evolved from apes and—”

Mother: “No, none of that is true. I mean, think about it. If people came from monkeys, then why are there still monkeys, huh?”

Boy: “Uh… but—”

Mother: “You see? It just doesn’t make sense.”

And off they went, the matter settled. I know these people are everywhere, especially in the US, but it was so hard to just keep on walking and not say something snarky.

I am working near our “touch” tide pool. A mother is there with her children.

Mother: *To me* “Would it be okay for my kid to pop one of the hermit crabs out of its shell so he can take the shell home?”

Me: “Uh… no, ma’am.”

Mother: “How disappointing.”

Me: “It would be even more disappointing for the crab!”

Me: “I don’t think I’ll be able to work on the site today; my dog just died.”

Client: “What’s that?”

Me: “My dog?”

Client: “You can just use my computer if you’d like.”

Me: “What? No, I need to go run an errand at the vet. My dog died.”

Client: “Oh! Hahahaha.”

Me: “…”

Client: “Sorry, I thought ‘DOG’ was just one of those techie acronyms you guys like to throw around. See you tomorrow.”

I work in a national park at the front desk for some hot springs. A lady comes in.

Guest: “I feel I need to complain about the animals. It’s clear you do not groom the park animals adequately, and I expect better of a national park.”

She turns and struts off. When I regain my composure, I tell my manager about it.

Manager: “If she shows up again, give her a brush and point her in the direction of the grizzlies.”