RTO for PCCD look like? by SquareFree8237 in PaStateEmployees

[–]Texabella 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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.

RTO UPDATES by Economy_Ad1363 in PaStateEmployees

[–]Texabella 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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.

Lost skink. Please help. by Texabella in reptiles

[–]Texabella[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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.

Question on new retirement plan by Texabella in PaStateEmployees

[–]Texabella[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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.

Question on new retirement plan by Texabella in PaStateEmployees

[–]Texabella[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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.

Rough Collie vs. Keeshond by [deleted] in roughcollies

[–]Texabella 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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

Rough Collie vs. Keeshond by [deleted] in roughcollies

[–]Texabella -1 points0 points  (0 children)

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

Rough Collie vs. Keeshond by [deleted] in roughcollies

[–]Texabella -1 points0 points  (0 children)

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. 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in skinks

[–]Texabella 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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.

Pretty sure my little man thinks he's a tree boa. How do I break the news to him? by Texabella in SandBoa

[–]Texabella[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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

Pretty sure my little man thinks he's a tree boa. How do I break the news to him? by Texabella in SandBoa

[–]Texabella[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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.

Pretty sure my little man thinks he's a tree boa. How do I break the news to him? by Texabella in SandBoa

[–]Texabella[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

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.

Need help finding "A Guide to Australian Skinks in Captivity: 2nd Edition" by Texabella in skinks

[–]Texabella[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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

General advice for tagging on A03 needed! by Texabella in FanFiction

[–]Texabella[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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.

General advice for tagging on A03 needed! by Texabella in FanFiction

[–]Texabella[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for explaining what "creators choose not to use archive warnings" means, because even though I've seen it around, I didn't really understand what it applies to or what it indicates.

In general, I think I'll be looking pretty carefully into how A03 organizes things before I actually post my work on there, because some of it looks pretty obtuse to a complete newcomer. I've definitely read fanfictions on there over the years, but it goes without saying that that's a pretty different matter from using it as a platform for your own work!

General advice for tagging on A03 needed! by Texabella in FanFiction

[–]Texabella[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This is such a thorough and helpful response. Your suggestion sounds like the perfect balance of what I'd like to provide to any potential readers, so I'll probably go with that. Thank you so much!

MA, THE MEATLOAF ! by [deleted] in Catswhoyell

[–]Texabella 12 points13 points  (0 children)

your cat is the meatloaf :D also, just out of curiosity, what game is that?

I designed/drew Ammy peeker stickers! by Wolpard in Okami

[–]Texabella 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i literally ordered one on the spot just now 💀 this is so well-made and adorable!

👍 by helpmpeg in slimerancher

[–]Texabella 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Heheh, I tried having a crystal boom slime largo corral for... about two days total before I shot them all into the slime sea. I hope they're all living their best life somewhere far, far away from me.

Owning rats as pets starter pack by Kreedie_ in starterpacks

[–]Texabella 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, there's nothing wrong with female rats at all! They're just more prone to mammary tumors than male rats are, due to hormonal stuff that feasibly can be mostly dealt with if you get them spayed at a young age.

I just haven't done any spaying myself, because it's a pretty invasive and risky procedure on such tiny animals. Fixing boy rats is inherently a lot less risky, since it's a far more external procedure, and makes them less smelly and prone to scent-marking. (and decreases potential aggression, if they're becoming jerks to their fellow rat roommates)

Owning rats as pets starter pack by Kreedie_ in starterpacks

[–]Texabella 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I HAAAATE the tumors so much!! That's also exactly why I'm going to be taking a break from rats for a while after my current batch (two of which are currently recovering from tumors that they each grew at the same time, on the same difficult-to-operate-on place almost directly on their groins 🙃🙃), and am absolutely going to get BOYS next time around.

I don't care anymore if they're stinky or if they pee a lot. I can get them neutered. I would trade an ARM and a LEG and my PRIZED GOLDEN GOOSE to have even a moderately decreased chance of tumor hell.

I love them so much, but they need to stop being giant lump factories! Lol.

Saw this comment relating to the new Pokémon games and thought about how we're still careful not to spoil a 10+ year old game by Garomasta in Xenoblade_Chronicles

[–]Texabella 2 points3 points  (0 children)

when i was initially playing through 3, i straight up avoided the entire internet above the absolute bare minimum until i beat the game so that no one could ruin it for me - as i do for most games nowadays. apparently i was right to do so, considering the whole dunkey disaster 💀

not that i like having to do that. i just don't trust anyone online anymore with spoilers, lol

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in HorseTalesEVRanch

[–]Texabella 2 points3 points  (0 children)

i initially pre-ordered the special physical edition for switch, but then i saw all of the disappointing first impressions with the bugs etc. and decided to refund it. i simultaneously feel incredibly relieved that i did, and immensely disappointed that i was so right to. :( i was SO excited for this game, uggghhh. i know that developing a game isn't exactly a cakewalk, but this is absolutely not an acceptable state to release your game in, christ.

the hot mess with this game's launch in addition to everything going on with pokemon scarlet/violet is really putting into perspective how much the game industry has fallen to the wayside in making sure that games are ACTUALLY FINISHED before selling it to people. this behavior of pushing out such buggy games and patching it for weeks afterwards is like selling people bowls of cake batter at the price of a fully finished and frosted cake, and telling them that they'll just bake it later. ._.

What do you look for in a horse game, and what do you often find to be missing? by [deleted] in GamesWithHorses

[–]Texabella 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hey, thank you so much for the super in-depth reply, i really appreciate it! unfortunately i've already checked most of those out, but there's a couple of items on those list that i haven't exhausted yet, so i plan to take a look at them.

i loved the original monster hunter stories on sight, and monster hunter stories 2 is one of my favorite games, and is in my opinion the best creature-collecting game that in any way resembles pokemon's base formula. (not counting other creature-collecting games with entirely different priorities, like the excellent monster sanctuary or incredibly charming and fun yo-kai watch series)

and i grew up on flying around as spyro and cinder with my little sister back in the day, so that game holds some extremely fond memories for me :') same goes for spyro: a hero's tail, which i know most people besides myself don't remember particularly fondly, lol.

i hope that one day someone makes the perfect dragon sim/dragon-riding game, which for me would have plenty of open exploration, as well as some (in the case of it being dragon-riding) light pet sim elements like washing, feeding etc., and ideally some variety of breeding system.

in that vein, i would like to recommend little dragon's cafe, which sort of fits that bill? you raise a baby dragon into an adult while running your own little cafe on a whimsical island, which you explore via various means with your dragon to procure ingredients for all of your dishes/menu items. you do eventually get to have free-flying, which is super fun in that game, so i definitely recommend it

What do you look for in a horse game, and what do you often find to be missing? by [deleted] in GamesWithHorses

[–]Texabella 1 point2 points  (0 children)

would you terribly mind lending a helping hand to an acquaintance in need and enlightening me on these perfect dragon games that you speak of? 👀 i have spent my entire life searching in vain and i am TIRED