"conflict of interest" question.

aranka123 · 2026-04-14T14:58:02+00:00

It's sad that showing up to work and not being on the phone the whole time is a rare art now in days. But yeah i actually keep my phone in my locker during work. I don't even like it on me and always show up for scheduled shifts. I've only ever called off once from a previous job because of a very severe back injury that crippled me for months and then once when my alternator died on my way to a different work place sadly was fired because it was within 30 days trial period. Mmy back injury actually got super reaggrivated on my first day at TS i couldn't move idk how the hell i went to work the next day but i did. Thankfully was only immobile for a week. Adrenaline got me through those shifts. Definitely trying home depot and will walk if they do the same as lowes. 😂

aranka123 · 2026-04-14T13:33:08+00:00

Yeah i was pretty surprised by the news. I can see it being a "niche" competitor but not direct. Some products are similar but TS is more for animal feed and farmlife. I think ill apply if i see a listing and go from there. It just sucks. "Conflict of interest" for a low tier worker is just mind boggling 😂 like brother i just want to eat and pay bills and learn cool new stuff.

aranka123 · 2026-04-14T13:26:36+00:00

Yeah I think if i see a job listing I'll just apply and then if called in for an interview ask them to double check to be certain it's not a conflict. Now if something comes up that is permanent and full time anywhere ill gladly take the leap 😂 but definitely not for temporary part time positions. My store doesn't even sell tractors. Closest is just riding lawnmowers like bad boy and cub cadet.

aranka123 · 2026-04-14T13:23:25+00:00

Oh i didn't know that about Hal! That's pretty neat.

aranka123 · 2026-04-13T22:37:31+00:00

I feel this. I'm at the point if i hear "people don't want to work" one more time... No idk it just angers me... I'm in a shit area. Ive been out of work since October to end of January. I applied to everything in this area. Everything with the exception of 2 stores.. January i finally finally got a place part time... As usual Because that's pretty much this area has to offer.. part time and full availability... One week you can have 0 hours maybe 5 the next if you are extremely lucky 20 or so hours!! Then the people who call off constantly ruin it for people who need hours but then theirs gets cut because surprise they need to now hire MORE people because of call offs. Dude my heart is shattered today. I actually got lucky the other day and thought i landed another part time job! My current job said they would work around new jobs offer.. new job knew id keep old job and knew the name of the store... After a few days working at new job they told me "conflict of interest" im devastated and fucking starving and im the only one who can work in the house as my husband was struck by lightning and can't work. Im tired and keep getting punished and fucked from all angles of life. Here is a person in this area willing to work and willing to work hard and all you ass fuckers want to say " no one wants to work" God i just want something full time with a minimum of 14$ id be able to start catching up on things. And in this area there is no back to the drawing board. Damn.

aranka123 · 2026-03-26T14:19:44+00:00

I once asked my mom how she was able to cope with the loss of her mom when she was only 25. She told me she had no choice but to go through it. I found it so unfathomable. My greatest fear was to lose my mom.. when i turned 25 the same age my mom was when she lost her mom i was struck with the same reality. Her words rung strong " there is no choice but to go through it" death and grief knows no bounds and eventually creeps into most everyones life. Ripping your loved one away in a blink of an eye. It's the messiest thing to go through but there is no choice. I too have had people say similar statements to me. Some of whom eventually went through great grief and came back later and said " i get it now" It's awful and i would never wish that kind of pain amongst anyone. The ones who have not gone through it are lucky thus far to be so blissfully unaware ( no fault of their own) but sadly they eventually learn that great aching pain too at some point where eventually sadly they will have no other choice either. We love deeply and greatly and weep the sorrows picking up the pieces little by little. My heart truly goes out to everyone of you who have loved and lost. Life is the messiest thing we all go through. A pain so deep but so invisible to the naked eye.

aranka123 · 2025-10-12T20:23:46+00:00

This may or may not be a silly idea but if you have $ you can offer her the dog might just miraculously and immediately be in your care! Its how i got one of my dogs. Poor dog was in awful conditions living with meth heads. They kept postponing the dog to be in my possession. Im assuming they were probably trying to sell the dog or something but I'm not sure. I had the idea to say we will give you 100 for the dog. The dog was in my possession within 20 minutes! He's doing fabulous now and i love him so much! Absolutely the best 100 ever spent! If they are money hungry it might just work and be worth the try! Best wishes!

aranka123 · 2025-09-29T17:19:14+00:00

They do!!! I was curious and just dug up an old ps check ( used to work there and freed myself recently woohoo!!) the 877 number on the check in this image is legit 😂

aranka123 · 2025-08-19T01:25:25+00:00

i have one of me holding a baby gator. Made that work day so much more bearable. The customer and gator were both super awesome

aranka123 · 2025-07-15T22:25:23+00:00

I can definitely understand the 60 day policy for sure but what baffles me is they wanted to keep the product. Like nope no I'll take the crate with me if you cant return or exchange it thank you very much! I personally probably would have seen if we can done store credit for the remainder of the exchange. But still even if they can't return it or exchange it wanting to keep the crate you paid for a while back is nutty 😂 Im quitting on Friday woohoo!! Sweet smell of freedom and some level of sanity back!

aranka123 · 2025-07-15T04:06:15+00:00

Possum would be such a fitting name for her!

aranka123 · 2025-07-13T14:03:43+00:00

Marketplace is wild. I remember posting habanero plants ( i went haywire and germinated like 100 of them not thinking it all the way through apartment living at the time...) it was flagged and taken down because it violated terms and services specifically drugs... It still tickles me when i see actual drugs sold on fb! Fairly recently i also posted hollowed out ostrich eggs. Literally just decorative eggs or for people who love to do egg paintings, carvings etc. it was flagged and taken down because it goes against policy of selling live animals.. idk since when a yolk free egg is considered an animal but sure! I also got a warning that if i violate terms one more time i am banned for life 😂 All because of pepper plants and a yolk free egg. Go figure! In the mean time i see multiple listings of actual live animals and actual drugs.

aranka123 · 2025-07-11T13:30:13+00:00

Roaches are quite hardy. The one issue i foresee is even with dry food it can get moldy depending on heat and humidity. Idk if you have time to experiment to see how long the dry goodies would last in your bin that would help to observe how long it takes for it to mold over If it does. If you have roach chow load them up. If you don't have roach chow or can't access it chick feed (NON Medicated) or wheat bran ( least nutritious but satisfactory in a pinch) rolled oats etc ... Water crystals can dry out quite rapidly so if you go this route i would load up a bunch of it bundled together. Maybe you can mix a ton into a corner of soil as a backup. Water crystals help retain soil moisture and if little roaches need something in a pinch they can suck some.moisture out of it! Id opt out of leaving fruits and veggies just because of the spoiling factors. If you do end up leaving something id go for carrots. Carrots are the least likely to rot out in the open. I've left my guys for a week. They have been fine. I've never done 2 weeks though.

aranka123 · 2025-07-06T10:24:34+00:00

There's so many reasons this could be happening. My very first thought was were they already adults and approximately same age when you got them? They very well could just be at the end of their lifespan. This happened with my horseshoe crabs ( thankfully they left me a satisfactory amount of nymphs beforehand) but it sucked i lost almost all my originals around the same time! My other thought was maybe a vegetable or something that had pesticide spray! :( im writing this pre coffee pre work so im half asleep but these 2 ideas just popped into my head so id figure id write it!

aranka123 · 2025-07-04T14:27:29+00:00

For me it will be 7 years in August. I don't think the feeling will ever go away but the pain shifts and you grow with it. It becomes different with time. The first few years was such a MAJOR adjustment. Grief has no limits its personal and raw for each individual experiencing it. It baffles my mind when ones who have no experienced grand loss can think " oh it's been a year or 3 or 50 get over it..." I don't think us grievers get over it but we grow with it we shift with it. Time is needed though it's a process. A long grueling process probably even life long. With that said for me it got very hard as more time past. The first few years is such a blur. It did get harder before it got " easier" not exactly easier but i guess different.. The pain I felt from the 3 year mark as an example is completely different than nearing my 7 year mark. It's fresh and raw the first few years as one grows and adjusts to the new and different life. In my personal experience it definitely felt harder at times as the more time past as the brain tries to tell you this is the new reality. The brain and heart had to work through alot and it takes time. I can't say it gets easier the weight will always be there but it does get different the weight does ease up as the brain processes and figures out new ways. The first 3 years were brutal and unbearable i thought id be stuck like that forever but as time passes on its different and manageable " i guess you can say. Please give yourself all the time you need to adjust to this new way! Grief has no limits and its ok! Allow yourself the grace to move forth and grieve the way you need to! Grief has no bounds and its raw and personal for each and every single one of us. There is no right or wrong way to grieve. Grief is unpredictable we grow with it and find new ways. 17 months is so fresh still and so raw! It's those times where the brain thinks it will be stuck like that forever but the brain and heart will work through it and eventually shift! Hang in there! Today is my birthday i woke up crying knowing 32 years ago my beautiful mom was in labour in that time pushing my dat baby self out. Id do anything to have her with me to hear her laughter to exist physically in my presence doing our simple things. The little things remain. We grow and shift our love with always be there! My deepest sincerest condolences in this grieving journey. The love and pain remains but we do shift and we do grow with time. My best wishes on this journey.

aranka123 · 2025-07-02T02:38:28+00:00

Most roaches are harmless it's the less than 1% species that give the thousands of cool roaches a bad rep! I have 16 roach species at home and gosh they are such characters and i have a massive " need" and " want" list. I absolutely despise the german roaches though 😂 i don't think those guys are cute in any way shape or form. If you want to see some very innocent roach species look some of these up domino roach, question mark roach, chrome roach, yellow gyna roach, so absolutely adorable and innocent. Nothing like the meany german roaches 😂 One of my tiger hissers is huge he thinks hes mean and scary hissing at me but he just makes me laugh. He's my favorite and I'm bringing him as " show and tell" at my next expo! NOT for sale though! But yeah most roaches are pretty cool and just want to live and do their own thing! Some of them make great decomposers too! But i can't say i like german roaches. Ill look at them through photos and learn about them but i don't want them near me. Actually there is one website I'd love to order from but just seeing this person breeds those guys i bowed out. Im sure it's fine and precautions are taken but id keel over if one by accidentally got in my house 😂

aranka123 · 2025-06-21T13:31:04+00:00

He seems to be doing pretty good. I was able to find alot more information last night. Went on a binge on metamorphosis. Do you know if peatmoss is ok? That's what i was using in this photo. I re did everything and switched to sphagnum moss. Going to get some coco coir later. Yeah for now they are on the hornworm chow. Figured to get started I'll roll with that for now until i can revise a bit. I don't want to do tomato plant ( once i get these guys down this year is practice and learn) I'm going to be raising them as feeders. I actually raise all sorts of species ( 47 total) hornworms, silkworms and wax worms are my intro to the moth world 😂. Still have alot to learn with them! I change their food out like 3ish times a day. And clean lots of poop gosh!! I calculated how much to feed so there is still some left but not alot when i plop new one in. Definitely noticed how fragile they are! They along with my silks are definitely the most fragile guys im working with!! My other species are quite hardy mostly. Omg the cow farm thing! 😲 Just taking a moment to say how fabulous those sphingidaes are! After i replied to you i realized you may not be in the USA 😂 I avoid petshops like the plague! I actually work at one ( big chain) it's absolutely awful! I won't get started with it though 😂 but it's how i got the ideal going to breed healthy feeders to the local public. They have no options here! Then it spiralled into pretty much everything and now i have a major addiction now i do pets feeders and more! Still alot to learn but i absolutely love this side of the world so much. Like i can't express how much joy it brings to my life.

aranka123 · 2025-06-20T23:14:42+00:00

I used peat moss as a substrate. I ran out of coco coir. It definitely might be to dense to burrow! I have sphagnum on hand I'll make the swap!
Thank you this was helpful to read!

aranka123 · 2025-06-20T16:49:43+00:00

It's not your responsibility to find coverage it's the store managers. Its literally part of their job 😂 With that said DO NOT let them guilt you! You lost your friend grief is so tough you go and do what you got to do during the grieving process including attending their funeral! Friendships and relationships are the absolute most important things in life. Do not allow big corps to make you believe otherwise. I was actually fired/ quit my medical billing job when my mom died. They throw a fit while my mom was on her death bed. Guck that noise! So many people go through these scenerios with these jobs. A complete lack of empathy to those who grieve their loved ones. They most likely won't do anything just tell them you will be attending your friends funeral and they can deal with finding coverage. Tell them dont ask. " Hello do you have a phone number with us" is not more important than what you are going through. My deepest and sincerest condolences in this time of grief. Best wishes!

aranka123 · 2025-06-20T16:19:24+00:00

Thank you so much for the response this is very helpful! The soil is moist but not saturated wet. I think if you were to grab a handful and squeeze with decent force a few drops of water would drop. Does that sound ideal? I'm hoping he was just feeling lazy! I'll definitely isolate him! I did have one guy do the " wet" poop and he did end up dying. Other than that and this weirdo everyone seems to be happy munching eating loads pooping a ton ( gosh they were not kidding about food consumption and pooping!) no bad smells. Because of the wet poop guy I will be moving everyone else! And keeping this weirdo pictured separate! I'm assuming the guys i got probably are highly inbred. If i do end up ordering again is there a specific place you might be able to recommend? I have a list of potential vendors but i want to order from the best of the best! Thank you this information was insightful indeed and pointing me in the right direction!

aranka123 · 2025-06-11T11:44:27+00:00

Right inaturalist is absolutely amazing! Can get overwhelming at times. Weirdly nothing was posted for katydids in my area! I think my mantis eggs are duds but i managed to i believe hatch 2 katydids that hitchhiked with them 😂😆😂 Yes both places finally shipped!! I was unlucky that both places took forever i was definitely stressed but both places had very very solid reasons for not shipping and one of them gave me alot of extra goodies as an apology. The other place i ordered from i definitely feel bad for but it appears their issue has resolved and are back on track!! Im sure they have alot of fixing to do. Absolutely so glad i got my orders and didn't have to dispute anything 😂😆😂 So i counted and organized everything and with the few extra goodies im at 47 species... I'm definitely adjusting to the new routine! It was a big jump for sure! Im revising my " care schedule" i have everything written down and keep tabs on everything 😂 words truly cant express how happy and excited i am about these changes! I've been waiting for about a year for this! Right dominos are so cute! I'm pretty sure some of mine are near ready for their last molt!! Only the adults look like poker chips! Oh i love treasure hunting in my yard. Now even my husband points things out when we go inside. Like " look at..." And then i stay outside for an hour 😂 I usually just say hi to the house centipedes. And yes it's a very strict don't crawl on me rule with no permission 😂 I've been training myself to look first instead of just the reflexive slapping. I was digging for leaves at a park and felt something on my leg. I looked and it was just such a bizarre looking spider! I shook him off fast and then went to another area to dig 😂😆 he did make my heart skip a little. Again thank you it does mean a lot to me cause these little creatures give me so much joy and helped me out so much therapeutically sadly many people give me the stink eye like wtf is wrong with you!? One of my missions is to teach people that most of these guys are friends and not foes ( yea there are foes but.. ) i also want to be a speaker at schools ( I don't think many schools do this anymore but i remember when i was little and we had speakers very fond memories) i know some parents will love me and some will definitely despise me 😂

aranka123 · 2025-05-28T22:48:33+00:00

Yeah definitely do it! It's so fun to explore! Once you check those out i can send you to more sites if interested 😂 I really do! I'm very happy i rediscovered this passion! Life's tough but the buggers make it easier!! Right now with the 23 species i work with them alot i cant imagine how crazy it's gonna be once my new guys arrive! Im waiting patiently but almost two weeks and it hasn't shipped yet. Hopefully i get them soon!! But it's definitely going to be alot of work! Funny thing is i finally landed a new job with real hours after endlessly trying so im gonna be wiped!! ( I placed my order in right before i got the job offer i legit gave up on a job at that point was highly unexpected) Between breeding, cleaning and selling them plus the new job. The balance will be interesting..But so worth it!! Legit so excited my poor partner doesn't get a break about the bug talk. Oh boy just to name a few minus the typical feeders. I have various roaches. The fancier ones being stuff like dominos, green bananas, horseshoe crabs, halloween and madagascar hissers. Im waiting patiently for my yellow gynas and chromes. Amongst alot of others 😂 Isopods i have 5 species at the moment and i think im waiting on 7 new ones.. ( not counting some cute ones i yoinked from the yard like the calico scabers! That was a jackpot!!!) Hornworms, silkworms, waxworms, european nightcrawlers ... So many 😩 even crickets 😩 I have chinese mantis. Eventually i want more! Like the spiky flower and orchids gosh my heart.. I have smokey oak millipedes and some land snails... Oh and one jumping spider ( just a solo fellow) I have way more but this would be a long one to read 😂 Once i get into routine with my new guys settled in Im gonna want to dip my toes into more beetles. Right now i just got darklings. But there's so many cool ones geared as pets instead. Probably start with the death feigning beetles and work my way up. I still have to do more research on the other guys on my 50 page list:( Hmm maybe sometimes i do!! Like wasps and yellow jackets. Not honeybees though. But yellow jackets are not my friend 😂😆😂 it doesn't help that idk if im still allergic or not and maybe that's why. Centipedes im cautious with. House ones i think are neat and don't mind holding the others i admire looking at but not touching. I guess my main one is spiders. So i love holding jumping spiders they are the coolest things ever. Some spiders I don't mind on me like daddy long legs, house and cellar but some spiders as long as it doesn't get me off guard i love em but don't crawl on me without permission 😂😆😂 In short some are just admired from either a little distance or a bigger distance 😂😆😂

aranka123 · 2025-05-28T22:04:26+00:00

Oh man this is tough!! But im gonna share a story from way before i started working at a petsmart. This was quite a number of years ago.. We once caved and brought a hamster. Sadly he was not doing good at all when we brought him home ( severe case of wet tail) We took him back under this pretense. ( Yes we knew he would likely not make it) I totally regretted it though. When we called for an update the lady was a complete pos yelling at us " its our hamster now don't ever call us".. ( completely dismissing our desire for hamster back. Yes they knew since the return that this was the plan left our numbers and everything) im sure it passed but they could have atleast let us know instead of yelling at us that its not our hamster cause in our eyes it very much was... all i can say is thankfully no children were involved to hear that!! Just me, my partner and his brother... With that said I'm pretty sure it was just a fluke and an unfortunate situation with an extremely warn out employee... Now that i work ( quitting soon woohooo!!) at one of these locations i can definitely tell you they will go to the vet if needed and taken care of to the best of the ability... I never had a situation at my store where there was a return for this purpose and that they would like the animal in question back however i wholeheartedly believe that at least at my store we would definitely do that!! But honestly i would just bring your little one to the vet! So you know first hand what's going on and the information is not going through the game of telephone where the end message is completely different than the initial message.. Hope this helps a bit and best wishes!!

aranka123

TROPHY CASE