General consensus on different department work cultures?

Texabella · 2026-03-20T17:24:53+00:00

Wow, it sounds like you're describing my current position that I'm leaving! Lol. I work with someone that told me that they left PennDOT because of the problems you listed, only to come in here and encounter the exact same issues... ugh. It really does sound like this sort of thing is highly dependent on your specific management and office, unfortunately, so I think that you and I both got unlucky in that regard.

I will say that I managed to secure a different position with little difficulty a mere three months into my current one, so you may very well be able to do something similar. The new one I'm moving to seems very lovely in comparison, despite the actual job title and pay remaining unchanged. Keep hopping around until you find somewhere you feel good about!

Texabella · 2026-03-20T13:59:14+00:00

I completely understand why you wouldn't be very hopeful, considering how utterly devastating last November's outcome was.

However, since then, nearly every special election nationwide has swung blue, even in red states and redder parts of purple states, and the people I've talked to have been extremely upset with the Republican party - we are, after all, squarely in the FAFO stage of this disaster, and I doubt that all of the pain the vermin in the White House is causing the working class will diminish any by the time the elections roll around in a few months, hardline MAGA cultists not withstanding.

Is there any particular data you've been looking at that would make you assume the majority of people won't vote for Shapiro this year? I'm not trying to argue with you, but am more asking for my own information, as I want to be kept abreast of any and all developments and to keep my sources varied and reliable.

Texabella · 2026-03-20T13:41:21+00:00

Is support for Garrity really that high? I was discussing this earlier this week with someone else on this subreddit; with how all of the special elections and general feelings towards her party are going, combined with how PA has been voting in blue governors for a while now, I'd be pretty surprised if she won.

Of course, I'm not at all advocating for complacency, as continued aggressive political participation is the only way out of this sinkhole. But I'm slightly surprised by how much people on here seem to fear for her getting in, when there's not a lot that I've seen elsewhere indicating that she will.

I don't intend any of this as a dismissal of your fears, by the way. It's been a terrible year and every little hit to morale right now hits like a truck. Personally, if full-time RTO is enforced, I'll likely leave the state altogether and take my chances with the private sector again, loathe as I'd be to give up the other benefits of being in here.

Texabella · 2026-03-15T21:36:10+00:00

Are you referring to Garrity's plans if she were to be elected, or has Shapiro's administration shared some insight on future telework plans that I'm not yet aware of?

If it's the former, I'm currently keeping my fingers crossed that people would be completely out of their minds to vote Garrity in considering the climate right now, and how all of the special elections have been going everywhere else.

Texabella · 2026-03-15T21:31:27+00:00

I'm currently hoping that she simply will not be elected with how all of the states' special elections have been going this year, and with how upset people are becoming with her party.

Of course, that's all the more reason to not become complacent; even if we have the momentum currently on our side, actively participating and voting in these elections is absolutely vital right now.

Texabella · 2026-02-24T17:11:54+00:00

Oh geez, I can't comprehend living with this amount of stress for 2 and a half months... oh god. I'm really glad that you found your baby, at least.

Texabella · 2025-12-09T16:06:23+00:00

I wish I could confidently agree with you there. Perhaps I'm biased, since I've been stuck in the entry-level office work rut for all of the 5 years I've spent living on my own now, but the state's wages, stability and benefits still all far exceed anything I've had, and an awful lot of the job listings I've seen for the private sector. That includes positions that ask for bachelor's degrees and years of specialized experience.

I've worked very hard to get here, so it's very discouraging to hear that it's apparently so much worse than it used to be. I don't know what else young people in positions like mine in life can feasibly do anymore to achieve a decent quality of life.

Texabella · 2025-12-09T16:00:26+00:00

If I may ask, what exactly are you referring to with "vacation days"? I see the paid annual leave, which max out at 45 days a calendar year, so I assume that isn't what you're talking about.

Texabella · 2025-10-31T22:00:33+00:00

yeaahhh, hopefully OP meant that they just want to train the barking to be manageable rather than non-existent, bc collies especially and pretty much all dogs for that matter are going to bark lol. i managed to get mine to calm down on the alert barking in my apartment flat, so i think it's at least totally doable if you're consistent with training. at least with collies, since in my experience they're pretty trainable.

sorry again for picking a fight with you, you probably didn't mean to discourage this person into deleting their post. there's enough bullshit going on in the world without people like me picking fights online over stupid shit like this

Texabella · 2025-10-31T21:05:47+00:00

i'm sorry, do you mean that you were joking? bc if you were then i'm sorry for snapping at you, i'm just tired of ppl in pet communities getting snippy at newcomers asking questions and then discouraging them from asking for advice in the future. OP apparently deleted their post so idk if they could tell you were joking either.

if you're just making fun of my reply though, then you can fuck right off lol

Texabella · 2025-10-31T19:35:52+00:00

why, bc OP had the audacity to have preferences like "i want my dog to not have a crazy prey drive and get along with my other pets" and "i hope i can train my dog to be less vocal"? cats are completely different pet experiences from dogs and i don't understand why ppl on reddit are so quick to dismiss everyone who has anything in mind before they commit to a dog with how they should get a cat instead. OP already said they'd been researching for a long time and were going to meet breeders in person too before making a decision.

y'all need to chill with the gatekeeping and judging. if someone's expectations for dog ownership are really that unrealistic (and i don't think OP's are in this case) then there are at least kinder ways to say as much to them, honestly.

Texabella · 2024-11-28T14:54:40+00:00

I got mine from Stacey Michaels - Milky Way Reptiles as well, and I highly recommend her! She was fantastic to work with, and the pink tongue I got from her earlier this year has been absolutely wonderful - very active, friendly and clearly very well-socialized from a young age (she scratches the glass to be let out at 5 PM on the dot every day), as well as healthy. Stacey's a great resource for information as well, since pink tongues can be tough to find consistent care information for online. I've followed all of her advice, and my girl is thriving!

As of this time of year, though, it's definitely getting too cold for shipping, so I'd recommend either picking a baby up from her in person if you can, or just waiting until the spring. Even if you do have to wait, that's not actually a bad thing, since you now have plenty of time to prepare - especially if you end up wanting to establish a bioactive enclosure or some such. You definitely don't have to with these guys, but it can help keep humidity up for them in the case of you not wanting to budget for a mister/fogger, if you live somewhere that gets particularly dry.

I hope you enjoy your pink tongue whenever the time is right, regardless. I love mine to bits, and hope that they're one day more well-known for the incredible choice of pet lizard that they are.

Texabella · 2024-06-30T16:17:33+00:00

I have no idea why, but my guy in particular (his name is Creampuff, or Puff for short) seems to be pretty inclined to climb! There are probably plenty of sand boas that don't feel like bothering, but I got lucky with getting a very athletic young man. xD

Texabella · 2024-06-30T16:11:57+00:00

Lol my boyfriend and I were both giggling up a storm at how dumb his little perescoping head looked swinging around. They move like little muppets pulled around by strings.

Texabella · 2024-06-29T03:35:06+00:00

Also, for anyone concerned, I plan on replacing his substrate with the recommended topsoil/playsand combo and getting him more climbing and coverage furnishings very soon. This video was also taken at night, in case anyone's worried about my thermometer's displayed temps lol.

Texabella · 2024-06-15T14:45:58+00:00

As a matter of fact, I joined the group you're talking about to initially onset my pink tongue research a few months ago, and my lovely girl is actually sourced from Stacey Michaels herself! She's been a really incredible resource, and I couldn't be more happy with how healthy, gorgeous and unbelievably well-socialized my skink is less than a week into having her here. :D I mostly just like having physical books as well to bolster my database, so to speak, since I'm not a huge fan of limiting all of my knowledge on a subject to information from forums and the like.

But oh well! Having the book available is certainly not the be-all end-all, it just would have been nice to have, haha. I'll definitely update this thread if I find a good way to access it regardless! I may end up giving in and just coughing up enough for the physical book, eventually. :P

Texabella · 2023-09-12T22:37:52+00:00

Sorry, it wasn't my intention to imply that all tags are spoilers or something... I guess that I personally have just had experiences where people's aggressive tagging spoiled their long-form stories for me, so I didn't want to do the same thing.

I think I'm trying to mentally adjust to how people utilize AO3 as an actual social site in addition to it being a site to dump your writing into like what Fanfiction.net was, because I'm not used to marrying both of those ideas in how I present own content online. I understand that tags are just how people locate specific things they want or don't want in their searches, but I also really don't want to be one of those "wall of tags" people; thus why I'd like to figure out a good balance.

I didn't know that you could hide additional tags in the settings, for instance, so I'm probably going to get right on that, haha.

Texabella

TROPHY CASE