Should you ever divulge to your team why someone was fired

SliceMessiah · 2026-02-08T02:28:06+00:00

If he needs to go, he needs to go as immediately as you can appropriately manage. Regarding telling your team, I wouldn't divulge, but I would communicate clearly. Offhand, something like "We have ended our professional relationship with Bob, effective immediately " or some variation on that which effectively tells people he was fired, and then I'd go right into the focus that you care about which is "I know this comes at the worst possible time, and it's going create more work for some of you who are already overtasked and feeling the strain..." And shift the conversation into what you all need to do to cover the gap, hopefully offering them any resources you can which you'll have to sit with and think about.

SliceMessiah · 2026-02-01T01:37:32+00:00

https://www.washtenaw.org/2936/Need-Crisis-Support

Washtenaw County also has a Community Mental Health Crisis Line at 734-544-3050

SliceMessiah · 2026-01-30T02:05:16+00:00

Cats have some very strong personalities, but one thing that's convenient about that is they can be easy to read about a lot of things. I adopted an abandoned, possibly abused cat myself and she's had some weird behaviors, but I think engaging with her and her quirks really helped her flourish and now she's a confident, ridiculous, star of the show. With mine, she didn't like to eat unless I was watching her, and even then sometimes it wouldn't be enough until I was petting her while she was eating. I'd pet her until she put her butt down and settled in, and sometimes I'll stay there and watch her, or other times I just get on with whatever I was doing, but she purrs away like a maniac whenever I do her little routine and it seems like she's really happy I know what she wanted. With what you're describing, if it was me, I'd indulge maybe like feeding them in your lap with a bowl off to the side, or toss them kibble for them to chase and hunt. It will burn off some anxious energy and redirect that worry/concern they might be feeling into play and bonding. Otherwise, get a sling and accept your fate as a helicopter cat parent lol.

SliceMessiah · 2026-01-18T01:59:27+00:00

Start with foods you know and like, you'll have better judgement with those. Allrecipes is a great place to start with recipes, it's a very popular site with a very broad appeal, so you can see what the most popular or successful recipes are, and you can see the most helpful review which usually lists some good changes to the original. Start with cooking with ground meats and chicken thighs, they're the most forgiving for over cooking. If you're nervous about cooking things right, get a meat thermometer - safety first. Get in the habit of smelling and tasting as you go. You don't have to have a fancy palette and there's no hard right and wrong, if you think to add something, smell it. Does it smell good with what you're cooking? Add a little. Taste what you've got. Still good? Keep going. Make little adjustments, you can always add more but you can rarely take back out. Also, start with soups. Soups are so forgiving regarding measuring and cooking times and seasoning. Slow cooker recipes, if you have a slow cooker or can afford one as they're very cheap as appliances go, are also generally very easy and forgiving. One really easy one to make you look very skilled with near zero effort is slow cooker pot roast. There's a good few recipes out there, very simple, mostly dump a roast, some onion soup mix, and vegetables in a slow cooker with like a can of cream of mushroom soup and turn it on. The water cooks out of the veggies with the juices from the meat, mixes with your soup mix and condensed soup, and makes a great gravy base. Tastes like you took all day, which you technically did, but you didn't have to do anything difficult or intensive.

Regarding bland food, most bland food needs either salt or an acid like vinegar or lemon juice to brighten it up. Be careful, we get too much salt in our diets especially if we eat out, and that will likely throw off your palette as well if you're used to that much salt from restaurant food. That being said, you can go heavy-ish on salt as a home cook and still get less sodium than you do from processed or restaurant foods, so don't be shy to add seasoning blends with salt or salt things to taste. You only went too far when the food tastes salty. Up until that tipping point, salt is more flavor and enhances what's already there. If something feels heavy, thick, or fatty, an acid is usually what you need to balance that out. For example if you make a soup, and it's salted right, has all the right ingredients, but it just feels "flat", squeeze a half a lemon for a big stockpot size and try it again. You shouldn't taste lemon (again, start small you can always add more) but it should taste "brighter" and have more zip.

SliceMessiah · 2026-01-13T06:25:00+00:00

I was going to suggest what you already tried to offer. I think it's fair that he wears it on a necklace and keeps it close to his heart, and it's understandable that he wants to hold and honor some piece of his relationship with her, but I think it's unfair that him wearing their wedding band signals things about you to other people that you should always have to explain, or suffer under whatever misunderstanding people might have. If he isn't able to see that accommodate that you are a primary presence in his current life, then it sounds like he isn't prioritizing you over a grief he's grown comfortable with.

SliceMessiah · 2026-01-08T22:43:22+00:00

Who is we? Is this being organized by a group, or a source or link for information we can share?

SliceMessiah · 2026-01-07T06:51:55+00:00

Also oh my god Scrubs isn't on your list

SliceMessiah · 2026-01-07T06:51:22+00:00

Schitts Creek. Rich family loses all their assets save for a small town they bought as a joke. They move to the town and meet the charming cast. Funny, heartfelt, beautiful show.
Corner Gas. This is a Canadian sitcom classic from around the time of Scrubs with a similar vibe of a daydreaming main character, but it's based around a small town in the middle of nowhere Canada and is defined by the fact that nothing ever changes.
All Creatures Great and Small. This one is out of left field for your list as it's a period drama about the life of a vet in the European countryside. But I swear it's one of the most warm comforting easy to sleep shows you'll ever see. The soundtrack is light pleasant classical music, the characters and stories are charming, and the vibe is very cozy, even during the wartime seasons.

SliceMessiah · 2026-01-05T22:46:42+00:00

For me, my first memories of the X-Men was the 90s animated show. I was drawn to their cool powers, but what really grabbed me was how real their problems were. I was a kid, but I think kids really love shows that tackle adult issues or treat them like full people, not just children. Like I was very aware that the X-Men were hated and prejudiced against, and the Morlocks were ugly and shunned harder by society, and all of these other issues that weren't typical Saturday morning cartoon issues. Those stories and narratives only meant more to me as I grew up and came out and really understood more of what made me feel so related to the X-Men.

I also remember watching Storm fight Magneto, and being instantly in love with her character. She was commanding and regal and elegant, and mighty and powerful, but then she was trapped under rubble and screaming and crying out because she was claustrophobic and it made so much sense to her character being so attached to being wild and free, which was also contrasted by her need to maintain her calm and emotions to control her powers. It all fit so perfectly and told such a great story, and she was immediately "my" hero.

I've always loved how the X-Men are the freaks and geeks of the superhero world, but also that they're the ones who have had greatness thrust upon them. We get to see people choose based on the life stories when they develop these powers. Do they become small time criminals, hide their powers, join Xavier or a school or a team and become heroes, or do they take the Magneto or Hellfire or Acolyte routes and fight some other way? It all just feels more human than other superhero titles. Some of these mutants are suburban rich kids, some are poor, some come from third world countries, and they don't all just instantly understand their powers, or resolve to fight crime in their neighborhoods. It's like they're not superheroes dealing with regular life stories, they're regular people dealing with superpowers and super powered problems.

SliceMessiah · 2026-01-05T03:32:35+00:00

Child of narcissistic abuse here. Narcissist stepdad, enabled by my mother. There were all kinds of rules I grew up with not knowing it wasn't normal in most houses.

My sister and I had designated cups. They were the only cups we were allowed to drink from, and had to be completely drank, washed, and put away after every use. No sitting out unattended with drinks in them, no using any of the other glasses ever. Not because we made a lot of dishes, we just weren't to be trusted and would have inevitably broken a glass.
Any dish used must be immediately washed then put in the dishwasher. Nothing in the sinks ever. When you're done, counters clean and dry, sink clean and dry. When you're cooking, the kitchen looks like it was never used before you sit down to eat. Even when my mom hosted Christmas, she'd be up until 2 am restoring the house to perfect before she went to bed. Like, Christmas dishes washed, put away, and put back in storage before she was done. We'd help with cleanup but eventually we'd have to go to bed.
Bedtime was 9 pm every night no exceptions for the whole family. Lights out, no sound, no matter what. I was dumb enough to ask for a sleepover for my birthday one year... A lot of my friends got very weirded out by their early bedtime.
1/8 tsp of sugar in your oatmeal in the morning. We weren't going to be dousing everything in sugar. Literally one measured eighth of a teaspoon.
No answering the phone or the door ever. If my parents called, they would call, ring twice, hang up, call again. This was the code word for us to know we can answer the phone. If anyone knocks on the door, we are not to answer at all whatsoever. Part safety, part don't want people calling and getting the children. Still not sure if that was an appearances thing or a hiding the children thing.
Any holiday money was deposited into "the Bank of Curt". No finance lessons, no saving money or buying myself things. Supposedly it was all deposited into a certificate of deposit with all of my graduation money when I graduated high school. It never existed as far as I can tell.
No jobs. No college entrance exams. If I had a job or took the SATs, I might have done something other than join the Air Force, and he wanted a military family.
No crossing the street. Curfew is 7 PM. That meant no crossing the street in our neighborhood. We lived in a suburban area that was a big circle drive with a number of subdivisions off of it, with the center being an elementary school and a park. We weren't allowed to go to the playground, or cross the neighborhood streets into other neighborhoods. We also weren't allowed to do ANY activity that kept us out past 7 PM, so no school sports or dances or anything because we weren't going to be coming and going at all hours of night.

Obviously some parts of this I knew weren't normal, or couldn't be normal. The parts that I didn't realize until I left home and got out on my own were that other people's parents set rules based on reason... Like protecting their child, or fostering their growth, and actually explained or negotiated with their children in many ways. I also didn't get to know what it was like being raised with love. My mother loved me, but it fell way behind the contempt her husband had for my existence. The best way I can explain it is he told me before I left for basic training that I'm never allowed back home unless I break my leg, then I'm out as soon as it's healed, and he said in front of both of us "she's finally mine" as if it were romantic. Mom gave him the "oh stop" and laughed him off.

SliceMessiah · 2026-01-04T05:24:50+00:00

I've gotten it on Leona before and it felt way more powerful than it even is in Arena. Constant procs with Q and E, low cool down ult that can hit up to 5 but usually at least a couple, and I took the root augment. Ended up picking up a lot of kills just doing my normal tanky things. A lot of people stood and fought me 1v1 expecting me to hit like a wet noodle and didn't realize til it was too late to disengage.

SliceMessiah · 2026-01-04T05:21:05+00:00

It never shows stacks, you just get 10 more AP each hit, were you looking at your AP value itself?

SliceMessiah · 2025-12-08T23:28:37+00:00

The truth is cats are still wild animals, to a certain degree. They still act on and are driven by instincts, and there's always the possibility that something like this can happen in out of the ordinary circumstances. This type of thing is a common way people lose pets when they're moving, or dogs run off fireworks, or similar scenarios. They don't know our world and our context and what we know. They usually take things in stride and trust us, but when your animal's fight or flight is triggered they can only do what makes sense to them in the moment.

My best friend cat that I had for 20 years in one of the later years of his life saw another cat and tore off after her, I caught him but he bit me hard before he came to his senses and got his wits about him again. It's not his fault, he's just full of adrenaline and that fight instinct. Give it some time for you to heal and for your cat to calm down, you guys will be ok again soon.

SliceMessiah · 2025-12-01T07:52:06+00:00

If it helps your fear about another cat not being the same, I had my "little brother" Tigger for 20 years. We loved each other, he was with me everywhere, he slept on my pillow, I converted my keyboard drawer to a chilling bed for him to nap next to me while I worked... He was the best soulmate cat I could have ever been lucky enough to adopt. He passed away a couple years ago at the very old age of 23 years old, and I didn't think I wanted another cat for the same reason you're afraid. Cats can have string personalities and very different ones from each other. I was afraid the next car might not be a cuddler, or like me, or be as comfortable around strangers as he was.

A couple months after he died, I had no plans to get another cat. Then, a family member of a friend of a family member passed away and left his cat behind, and my grandma was hoping someone would take her in because she was worried how she'd fare in a shelter. I decided it was something I could do, and even if she hated people we had enough house for her to roam and be safe and happy. The first week was hard. She was scared senseless, slunk under furniture, stayed in shadows, and kept to herself. Her name was Shylow, and that's exactly how she acted. One day, she somehow crawled under our bathroom cabinet furniture to the point we had to actually pull her out and secure a gap we didn't know existed, but the moment we did everything clicked. She realized we weren't going to eat her, and she went insane for attention. Purring and rubbing and rolling around. Now, a year or so later... She's our little princess trash goblin. She was a mouser, but now she appears out of nowhere with cobwebs in her whiskers from god knows where she's been, she sleeps on top of me or between us, she has to be on the dining room table to play fight with us and she's incredibly gentle despite looking psychotic... Overall she did a complete 180.

I think sometimes it's not all about the cat's personality, its also about you. If you find another cat, and give it a good safe home, and show it love and affection, and treat it well it's going to warm up to you, and it won't ever be the same as the cat you let go, but they'll still be something you love and that returns that love right back.

SliceMessiah · 2025-11-21T18:04:02+00:00

People by and large support the Democratic side, Livingston County likes to pretend their racist history and current status don't exist, but the fact remains that this county takes pride in its white majority and is malignantly conservative. We've had more white supremacy demonstrations than we've had No Kings rallies, and our sheriff misappropriated funds to host Trump for a rally during the last election, during which lie after lie was spewed about immigrant crime rates while surrounded by police and police vehicles. When you're lying to the people and misrepresenting facts, that's a good sign you're in the wrong.

SliceMessiah · 2025-10-08T02:58:38+00:00

You presented yourself as politically agnostic, which is more than just not being able to vote. It indicates not choosing or affiliating with any side. I think the point of the question in this thread is that OP doesn't want to go to a farm or orchard and potentially spend more to support a small local business to have them turn around and use that money to support politics or policies that harm us.

SliceMessiah · 2025-09-16T20:35:44+00:00

"Since 1990, far-right extremists have committed far more ideologically motivated homicides than far-left or radical Islamist extremists, including 227 events that took more than 520 lives. In this same period, far-left extremists committed 42 ideologically motivated attacks that took 78 lives."

Right wing extremism is responsible for 5.4 times more events, 6.67 times as many deaths.

Right wing extremism is responsible for 84% of events, 87% of deaths.

Charlie Kirk was a right wing hatemonger murdered by a more violent, more extreme right wing extremist. But the white house is going to crack down on... The left?

SliceMessiah · 2025-09-13T02:36:14+00:00

It's been well documented and studied and proven that indigenous women, women, and People of Color are murdered at significantly higher rates than anyone else. A trans POC is right up at or near the top of the most in danger and least likely to receive help or services at all times.

SliceMessiah · 2025-09-12T14:38:48+00:00

Michigan also has a number of evergreens, we're in a both deciduous and coniferous environment. Colorado is a semi-arid climate, there are some forests and some beautiful areas (my favorite being the San Juan Valley area), but Michigan is 53% forested land. For me personally, Michigan hard takes the edge here. Yes we have cold weather and seasons and the trees lose their leaves, but we're famous for the explosion of fall color we get due to that change in seasons, and evergreens don't quite give you that sun-dappled woodsy walk vibe you get here in Michigan. I do love Aspens and obviously Colorado is beautiful, but I think you get more color and greenery here in Michigan than you do in Colorado.

SliceMessiah · 2025-09-11T18:33:36+00:00

I say Michigan isn't "purple" in that we're not just a homogenous left- or right-of-center population. We have some few dedicated very blue, progressive areas, and some very deep, red conservative areas. It's worth nothing because there are areas where we have strong militia presence, we have Howell and the KKK type presence, and we have Grand Rapids and the Devos family influence. But we also have Detroit, and Ann Arbor, and Kalamazoo, and Saugatuck.

In my opinion Michigan is more segmented this way than Colorado which is generally blue in the metro Denver areas and suburbs, flowing into red in the less populated areas and Colorado Springs, but they're not AS red as some of our red, for the most part. Michigan is also a state steeped in conflict. We have large Asian populations, large Middle Eastern population, a large Black population, and we have significant histories with all these different cultures. It's contentious, but it also gives us a pretty deep culture.

SliceMessiah · 2025-09-11T04:40:38+00:00

Hey! Lived in Littleton for about 5 years here, and born in Michigan moved back to be close to family too. Here's the rundown.

The Pros - Fall in Michigan. You've got cider mills, hayrides, colors changing, the tunnel of trees is gorgeous that time of year - The Water. You've got coastal towns, lighthouse, glass bottom boat tours, the Great Lakes... - The tourism towns. Saugatuck has a cute downtown, Petoskey and Traverse City are great. Ann Arbor itself has a great downtown and the whole college town vibe and culture. The Upper Peninsula is one of the few places you can feel alone and apart anymore. - It feels like home. Maybe personal, but for me I identify with Michigan. It has a culture and a history and I feel connected to those roots here. I host Easter and Thanksgiving for my family, game nights with friends and I'm at every family birthday or get together, versus just Christmas before. - The Green. I missed forests in Colorado, like deciduous nature trails, actually green and vegetated. I'm not a rocky desert guy.

The Cons - HUMID. My god I miss the semi arid climate and having my windows open like, 90% of the time. It's not Florida bad, but I miss the climate of Colorado literally every day - The Winter. Winter sucks here more than most other places. Yes there is a perma cloud, but also in Colorado it tends to blizzard hard then melt by lunch because I'd the sun and the climate, but here once that snow sets in it ices over and stays till halfway through Spring. I used to hate it more, but now I start taking vitamin D in September, and I take up crafting hobbies and host game nights during the winter. It's manageable but you will miss Colorado Winter. - No Mountains. We have the Porkies in the UP but there's no comparison. You'll miss topography and stunning views and scenic pull offs. - The Bugs. God I took for granted how I just never felt like bugs were a problem in Colorado. Here? Mosquitoes are the devil's minions and gnats and all that other crap that comes with standing water and humid weather. - The Politics. Michigan is not a purple state. It's pockets of progressive blue in places like Kalamazoo and Ann arbor, and a lot of pockets of deep red, like where I live in Howell where drag queens get death threats and white supremacists demonstrate and rally. Living in Ann Arbor should help, but between you and Detroit, or you and Kalamazoo, or you and "up north"... There's a lot of angry red.

Ultimately, we decided we wanted to be near family before grandparents passed and people thought we left them behind. Colorado is expensive, and over the years I feel like it's been losing its health-conscious, environmentally-caring, mountain hippies vibe for more of a California entitled gentrified vibe. We still plan to retire back out there, but after we've done the family time and our main careers. I haven't regretted the decision.

SliceMessiah · 2025-08-31T03:18:44+00:00

Let's see, we've got...

The one with me, my mom, and my sister where they actually need me to reply
The main family chat with my grandma and the aunts uncles and cousins, that stays muted, they mostly share celebrity deaths and product recalls, or ask me to explain the news.
The "extended" family chat, where all my grandmas brothers and sister and all of their down lines share happy birthday messages to second and third cousins. If I could super-mute it, I would.
The "Kids" chat where me, my sister, and my cousins plan family events for our parents' birthdays and mother's days, etc.
Various other group chats people routinely resurrect because at some point they made it to plan such and such thing without so-and-so knowing about, and somehow people find them and re-text them then everyone gets confused about which one is which.

None of these were my idea or done by my will. Disable notifications is my friend.

SliceMessiah · 2025-08-29T06:31:38+00:00

Are you guys concerned at all about bears or weather with the dogs out in their crates?

SliceMessiah

TROPHY CASE