WeAreArity Wednesday: Catherine Little

What bucket list item do you want to check off in the next six months?

Last Christmas, I found out that there’s a place that allows you to pet alpacas down near where my fiancé’s parents live. I joke I have always wanted to pet an alpaca because they’re very soft, and I love them.

I joked about it, but then for Christmas my mom and dad got me a ticket to go pet alpacas. We were so busy this year – we had a whole bunch of stuff happening that we literally didn’t have time, but on October 1^st we’re booked to go down and walk an alpaca and pet an alpaca – which doesn’t sound very exciting, but I’m very excited.

Have you always liked alpacas?

I don’t know why – I’m not a farm person. They’re just the cutest things, and they’re so fluffy. I know farmers use them to protect the sheep. They’re like these bodyguards, but they’re really cute. I just love them!

What is your favorite movie genre to watch?

Horror and thrillers, absolutely. 100 percent. I don’t even watch that many movies, but when I do, I choose horror movies and thrillers.

What would you recommend to someone wanting to watch a horror or thriller movie?

It depends on what you’re looking for. My all-time favorite is probably “The Thing” – the original. It’s about this monster that can transform into people and impersonate people.

There are all these guys trapped in the Arctic – I can’t remember if it’s the Arctic or the Antarctic. But they’re all trapped, and they can’t leave because it’s too cold outside. There are twelve of them, and one of them is the alien – but they don’t know which.

It’s like a murder mystery slash horror-monster movie, and it’s just so well done. If you’re interested in horror at all, you’ve probably already heard of it. But if you haven’t watched it yet, you should. So good!

What is your favorite season? Why?

Definitely winter, which is good because we’re just coming up to winter now. I love the clothes. At the moment, I’m sitting in a big fleece because this is the first day of the year that it’s actually cold enough here to sit around the house in a fleece, and I’m so happy because I love big jumpers and hats and scarves. I love hot drinks – like all those hot chocolates and stuff you get. All my favorite stuff comes in winter.

Do you have a favorite winter activity?

In Belfast, we have a Christmas Market, but it’s really an international market. And it comes to the town hall. Outside the town hall there’s this big open area, and it’s basically a lot of food and little knick knacks and stuff from vendors around the world. They come and set up shop, and it’s so pretty. It’s all Christmas lights and all that jazz. You can get mulled wine and just sit around. It’s just great! Every single year I drag my fiancé there.

What was your first job?

My first job was at was at a dog shelter. It was like a place that you could leave your dog at while you were on holiday.

I was just an extra pair of hands. I cleaned out kennels, played with the dogs, took them on walks, grooming them. Things like that.

When you are alone in your car, what volume is the music at?

Pretty low most of the time. I think it’s because my fiancé – he likes heavy rock and things like that. And he always turns the music up loud. So, whenever I’m in the car by myself, it’s like David Bowie – turn the volume down. Zen, just chill. Just get some peace and quiet.

What artist or artists are you normally listening to?

At the moment, I’ve really been enjoying Caravan Palace. The best way to describe them would be techno-jazz, or techno-swing. It’s like the style from jazz and swing but it uses instruments in more modern music. They’re so good.

What is a good way to give back to the community?

At Arity, we have our volunteer time that we can take, and the way I find as being really good to use it is clean-ups. Like just go out there with a picker stick and pick up rubbish.

I feel like it makes everything feel a bit nicer. It means if someone brings their kids to the park, it’s not a mess. It might be a small thing, but I think it makes everyone feel better about where they live.

What do you do in your free time to help you relax?

I play a lot of video games, but I find that they can be kind of stressful as well because it’s competitive and, you know, you’re trying to win. So, whenever I really want to chill out, I turn off all my screens, I put on an audiobook, and I go downstairs. If I really need to disconnect for a bit, that’s my go-to.

Are there any video games or books you recommend?

I don’t recommend the video games I play – they’re stressful! Stay away from them.

There’s one audio book I really enjoyed that I finished recently, which actually our senior developer recommended to me. It’s called “Dogs of War.”  They developed this AI weapon, but it’s a robot dog. It’s super dangerous, and if it got out of control, it’d be a mess. But it’s got the mind of a dog, so it’s just really happy. The story’s told from the dog’s perspective.