(All my life, doctors have been saying this:)
Doctor: “IV iron shouldn’t hurt your stomach! It’s just a little supplement. You need to endure whatever /minor/ issues you’re having because you’re so anemic.”
(When I turned 18, I immediately switched doctors. He said this in our first meeting:)
Doctor: “Oh, yeah- IV iron is well known for causing stomach problems. I can’t believe they’d prescribe it for someone with digestive issues, no matter how anemic they were. Blood transfusions are much more preferred. Have you switched your diet to a high iron one?”
Me: “The IV iron- and even the iron tablets- made me too nauseous to eat heavy meals.”
Doctor: *long pause* “…I don’t think you have an anemia problem. I think you have a nausea problem. Stop all the medications and see me in a month.”
(Guess what? My blood count jumped high when I was actually able to eat real food! We still need to do something about my inefficient digestive system, but I feel better than I did throughout my entire childhood.)

(My colleagues are great but unfortunately some discovered that misogynistic remarks are to me like a red rag to a bull. Since I found out they are deliberately baiting me, I try not to give them the satisfaction of reacting most of the time but sometimes… it get’s the better of me. This happens when our business oriented program had hiccups and we were unable to print from it. It was reported to IT and they were looking into it for some time. Note: Our IT department is exclusively male.)

colleague 1 (watching me go to the printer): Wait, what, you can actually print?
me: (I printed from another program) Nope, I’m just faking it.
colleague 2: Yes, that’s women for you. Always faking it.
me: (trying to ignore but unable to) You are right (colleague 2), women are faking it.
colleague 2: See, see, (colleague 1), she admits it.
me: And you know why? (pause for effect) Because men won’t do their job.

(colleague 2 was suddenly very busy…)

Another memory of Freya I wanted to share with you guys:
Some times, when she’s at her happiest, upside down in my arms, having her tummy stroked Freya will purr too big for her face. Her cheeks puff out and rattle and the adopted cat that hid from me for the first weeks she lived in my home will lose herself in the sheer pleasure of being petted.
Today that silly creature is lying on my bed, in a sun beam, and snoring too big for her face. Her sister has moved to another section of the bed in a desperate attempt to get away from the improbably loud snores Freya is making. Her face is rattling as she sleeps and Freya could not give one solitary fuck. She is, right now, a very happy cat.

And that, Dearest Reader, that tiny thing, the pleasure of a sleeping rescue cat gives my life meaning. Seeing that trembling sick kitten I adopted from a shelter lying in the sun, snoring like a drunken bulldog fills me with a simple, uncomplicated pleasure that I hope, one day, you will feel as well.

Today, right now, life is pretty damned sweet

(Me and my coworkers are on break from lifeguarding. During this time we don’t allow anyone in the main pool or the baby pool because there is no lifeguard on duty. I do my rounds and notice a woman on her phone with a baby sitting in the baby pool.)
Me: “Excuse me ma’am, we don’t allow anyone in the pool because we are on break and there is no guard on duty”
Woman: “Are you saying I’m not capable of watching my own kid?”
Me: “No ma’am, we just need her out of the water for liability reasons. It’s our policy.”
Woman: *takes small baby out of the water* “That’s a stupid as f*** policy. You are just lazy. You hear that, lazy f*****?”
Me: “I’m sorry ma’am. I’m just doing my job”
(The woman demands to see my manager, who then tells her the same thing. The woman leaves, furious.)

(Recently we had an election here, and we have some… interesting candidates. And voting is mandatory where we live. One day the week before the election I’m sitting eating my lunch at a fast food place when a group of tradies (builders) come and sit at the table next to me.)

Tradie #1: “You guys voting early this time?”
Tradie #2: “Yeah, we’re all on this weekend so we have to.”
Tradie #3: “F*** yeah! [Extremely controversial candidate famous for getting egged recently] for LIFE!”
*dead silence from the other tradies*
Tradie #4: “Man, this is why none of us like you.”