1. Cats
You guessed it. Cats are number 1 on the list. I love cats. I understand cats, and they understand me. Not many people have this gift; it's a big plus for me. I've always loved spending time with cats, and it's quite awesome to do it for a living.
Of course, not all the time I spend with cats at my job is fun. I poke and prod cats, touch them where they don't want to be touched, force them to eat when they don't want to, stick things in their orifices, and sometimes, inevitably, cause them pain. I give them a hard time, and they give it right back to me. We still try to be friends, though.
2. Cat People
I meet a lot of cat people at my job, and every time, it's like meeting a soul mate. It's an instant connection, almost as effortless as with cats. We may not have the same views on cats, or anything else, but we know cats, and we love cats, so that bond is always there.
And all cat people love talking about cats. We could go on for hours. I love it when cat people talk to me from the heart. Sometimes it gives me goosebumps, they look right in my eyes and it's as if they touch my soul. I've heard some incredible things about cats that have stuck with me, and here are some of them:
"It's heart pain to bring a stray cat to the vet, but more pain to just leave him."
"Rescued cats never forget what you've done for them, even after they die."
"Feeding stray cats is not charity, it's humanity."
"What have I done in my past life that makes me so crazy about you cats? I'll be taking care of you until the day I die!"
The last one was said by a crazy cat lady vet. She's hilarious.
3. Colleagues
I love my colleagues. They're amazingly passionate, caring, comradely, and hilarious. We have our differences, but we have good working relationships, and friendships.
Among my fellow nurses, I've found great role models. They're the reason why I'm good at my job. They taught me how to be a good nurse, and I'll always be grateful, even to those who don't work with me any more.
I've also found great friends at work, though some are more special than others. (You know who you are.) Friendship is not a relationship I take lightly, and it's important to me that I have friends at work. And I'm sure all of them will attest that I'm an amazingly good friend as well.
I'm sorry to say, though, that I don't love all my colleagues. They're not all good people. Which leads me to my next point.
4. Drama
I admit that I have sometimes been the fomenter of workplace drama. When I first joined my clinic, I vowed that I'd never get involved in politics and drama, but it's not easy. It sucked me in like a tornado, and before I knew it, I was in deep.
It's hard not to get involved when you care about your job and your colleagues. Even if certain actions and events don't affect me directly, I can't help but fight against them. Unlike some people, though, I do it overtly. I don't like to go behind people's backs or be passive aggressive, not because I'm such a good person, but because I get quicker, better results when I address issues directly. It's easier to get a positive outcome.
All this leads to some unpleasantness, but that makes work more interesting. Of course, I don't instigate drama just for the fun of it, but when it comes up nonetheless, I make the most of it.
5. Pressure
Some people work well under pressure. I work only under pressure.
I never studied except for major exams. I never cook unless I'm starving. I never even clean my house until it's a health hazard. But when the pressure's on, I can ace my exams, cook delicious food, and clean so spotlessly that I can eat my delicious food right off the floor.
The pressure is definitely on at my job. A high workload, the sheer number of patients, and life-and-death situations make it very intense. Plus, our patients are animals, who don't understand what we do to them, and our clients can be very ignorant and difficult. Both can be very uncooperative.
But I love it. I flourish under pressure. If I worked at a clinic which wasn't so demandingly busy, I wouldn't be as good at my job.
6. Karma
I'm not a Buddhist or a Hindu, but I'm a believer in karma. Don't ask me why, I don't know. I was born this way. Maybe I'm the reincarnation of Buddha. (Yeah, right, I love shopping.)
I don't do my job for the karma, but I've seen the karmic benefits.
I'm not saying I'm selflessly saving animals. To be clear, I'm not saving animals. Most of what I do is just making life a little easier for them until they die.
I'm talking about what I do for people. I'm not so cynical that I don't care about people. I'm not so anti-social that I won't interact with people in my animal-oriented job. I'm not such a crazy cat lady that I don't realise that humans are animals, too.
I'm not going to spell out what my karmic benefits are, but let's just say: Whatever I give to my colleagues and clients, I get back in loads.
7. Grief
No, I don't love grief. It's difficult. It's painful. What I like is that my job has made me better at grieving.
I used to cry for days when an animal died. I cried for stray cats run over by vehicles, dogs who died of cancer, birds caught in rat traps, even lab animals euthanised at the end of experiments.
But I've learned that death isn't always terrible. I've seen animals that suffered horribly from incurable disease. I've seen animals so weak that they'd lost the will to live. I've seen victims of abuse that didn't deserve the pain they went through.
I've also seen survivors. Dogs that wake up from emergency surgery without missing a beat. Cats with huge, infected wounds that tolerate pain like champions. Sick little newborns that thrive and grow up beautifully. It gives me strength. It gives me faith in medicine. I know that death can be put off.
But I know we can't save them all, and that helps too. Grief is easier when you're prepared for it. When you know death is coming, and it's inevitable, and you have to get ready for bereavement. It softens the heart, so it doesn't get broken so badly.
I also get closure. Part of my job is cleaning the bodies and preparing them for cremation. It gives me closure to know that the animal has left its diseased, injured, or infected body. It's gone.
I'm not jaded. I still tremble when I find that an animal has died in its cage. I still get paralysed with sorrow when old men weep for their dead dogs. I still lock myself in the restroom and sob when kittens pass away.
But then there's more life for me to take care of.
8. Caring
It is said that in order to be whole, you have to give to others what you lack. What I've always lacked is care, and I get to give it as part of my job. It's filling me up. I feel bigger, heavier, and better every day.
9. Exhaustion
I don't sleep well. Just like I can't work unless under pressure, I can't rest unless I'm exhausted. When I sleep, I sleep by fits and starts, and the little sleep I get is affected by dreams. Lucky for me, my job is exhausting. Most days when I come home from work, I'm mentally and physically drained.
Insomnia has no chance against this kind of tiredness. Disturbance and depression want me to stay up all night, but the tiredness won't stand for it. It gives me a healthy appetite for food, and sometimes even blissful, dreamless sleep. Paradoxically, the more tired I get, the less tired I am.
10. Happiness
Those who know me well know I'm a grumpy old bitch, and I don't really care about being happy. I'm fine with anger, bitterness, and depression.
But I am happy at my job. Not always, but generally. It makes me happy to make a living doing what I love. It makes me happy to be with cats, and cat people, and my colleagues. It makes me happy to be exhausted. I'm happy because I love my job, and I love my job because it makes me happy.
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