If this is what gets someone into planting trees, I’m all for it. Native trees and shrubs, please!

Woof. It sounds like you face your share of stressors still, and your old place is also eerily familiar to what I’m seeing in different sectors we’re interacting with lately. That ‘collateral damage’ thing is real, and I’m seeing colleagues getting caught in things that were above their pay grade (with lasting damage to their will to stay in the role). Sending my best to you for the strength to hold the line another day!

Being scared feels like an appropriate response, and I’m sure you’re not alone. It’s big of you to be able to type this out and I bet a lot of us are rooting for you. I’ve dealt with chronic pain and an anxiety diagnosis for decades, so I know this is hard. One breath at a time, friend.

Best to you for the days ahead and good luck with the procedure!

Telework changed my life. I’m very lucky to have the hybrid 50/50 option for office/home work, and wish it was afforded to everyone that could. I recognize those that have jobs requiring their physical presence are so strong for showing up daily in their professions. I’m in a similar field as you, but not for the Fed – hang in there!

Thank you and likewise!

Just found my password for this account again and I’m stoked. Not so stoked for the week ahead, although it’s just my own anxiety getting in the way. Big work project that needs to start Wednesday, and my partner has to drive 5 hours away with his colleagues to a work thing. I’m usually the one that drives us everywhere and, precious cargo, ya know? Hard to trust someone else driving him. Otherwise I’m trying to start biking again, did over 100 miles in the past week and I’m actually feeling like that could be what gets me back into exercising after all these years after several car accidents kept getting in the way of my recovery. Sending well wishes to everyone here, I know this timeline keeps giving all of us wtf moments every second of the day lately, but I’m practicing radical hope and kindness to myself and others as much as I can, and I think it’s helping. My wish is for you (reading this) to give yourself grace, and best of luck to you for the week ahead. You got this - one breath at a time.

Edit: following up after yesterday’s anxiety attack, I’m feeling much better and very positive, which is unnerving to juxtapose what I was going through just hours ago, but travel anxiety is real. I have a smile on my face after today! Hope is real. 🙏🏽

Hear hear. They’re fallible, make trash decisions, and bleed like the rest of us. It’s time we recognize them only as the scourge they are.

I’m very meh on the AWD as someone in the north. Not needed, but a/c is definitely helpful!

My colleague introduced me to the term Traditional Ecological Knowledge today, which is very reminiscent of what you’re describing. This should be standard practice to learn everywhere!

If I can give you any small kernel of hope, there are a lot of people in the world, including non profits, government workers, community champions, and people that talk to their friend networks about living for and facilitating a more sustainable and respectful life on this planet - that care about people and the environment, and are fighting every day of their lives, dedicated to mitigation and adaptation regarding climate change. They may not have very much power, but they are surely standing up right now against this brain drain, and I feel confident that the tide will eventually turn. Will it be in the time we need it to? Absolutely not, but all is not lost.

It’s happening - people are tired of the bullshit and are putting differences aside to tackle the world’s foremost problem that we know how to solve. I’m so grateful, and despite the dumpster fire that is the US government right now, there’s so much hope to be found here!

I really enjoyed this article and had no idea that the Tamaulipan forest was even a thing. It’s encouraging to see that there are efforts to reforest the area; I hope that the areas not yet seeded aren’t repurposed for development. It seems like building our urban centers in the RGV more densely, perhaps rezoning single family for mixed use, could be helpful to prevent urban sprawl there, as Texas is notorious for that. I’m encouraged to support the efforts there, and hope this chaos of current disinvestment in our climate mitigation/adaptation is only a tiny blip in our future of stewarding the lands.

We really should be doing more to get kids outdoors to see what it could be - get them to nature preserves, into environmental education programs, and internships that get them into tree planting, soil and water testing, and get them excited to learn about the natural world before we lose more of it. I’ve seen with my own eyes how impactful those can be on the trajectory of their careers, and it makes for an incredible, well-rounded experience for them that can build lasting friendships with humans and the ecosystem alike.

Cyclists have known this and promoted this idea for years. There’s just so few protections for them in the legal system in practice, and on the flip side, so few consequences for drivers that harm cyclists and pedestrians. That’s one of the things that keeps people away that are even remotely interested in cycling as transportation. That’s not to mention the lack of interest/funding in cycling infrastructure.

We might not have them as you see them today, but there is building science that is centuries old that works with the environment to have architectural solutions that don’t even rely on electricity to retain heat or cool a space. There’s also the more modern passive house design. As someone born and raised in a hot climate like you mentioned, had we created a built environment like this instead of crippling ourselves to use fossil fuels and refrigerants with high global warming potential, we wouldn’t be where we are today. I agree that a/c changed the world. That change could have been a much more positive one had we taken a more practical approach!

Same. I stopped using non-Beehaw social media at the end of last year and haven’t looked back. I barely respond to texts as well. My social battery is pretty weak these days and I can only take so much irl interaction.

It’s all so confusing when you put what you interpret to be “good” out into the world, only to be shit on, chastised, or ignored after the fact. Reading what Kwakigra responded to you with, and remembering the examples of Pals coming together and celebrating community despite the horrors they face, I’m reminded of a cliché - those who mind don’t matter, and those that matter don’t mind. In your struggles, despite them or because of them, you can still find community. I count myself as grateful to see your continued contributions here, and it sounds like others feel similarly. You’ve probably opened my eyes to a number of things that enrich my life in these two short years here. I just hope that this random Internet person (me) can somehow show thanks for your existence. Does this count for much? Maybe not, but maybe. All I know is that you seem to be a positive influence here, and I appreciate you.

I’m not going to try and find the “right” thing to say because I’ll surely fail. What I can say is that I’ve lost two people to suic*de, one a family member that I was just getting to know in my adult years and we were getting along so well, discovering we had lots in common. My heart hurts to see you in this position, and it hurts to be reminded that I didn’t pay attention to the signs that my family member would be taking their life upon reflecting on events that led to that day. What I hope to convey in this is that I see you, and I recognize that you’re reaching out. I don’t know if any of us have the answer, but I’ll be damned if I make the mistake of not recognizing when I could bring even a modicum of grace and kindness to my fellow human. I’m sorry this shit show of a timeline is so damn shitty. You surely deserve better.

I can’t help but point out - during the previous Trump term, he appointed family to positions and they were everywhere in the public eye. Now it’s very rare to see any of them. I wonder if they’re just as tired of his bs as everyone else now as he goes deeper into the rabbit hole.

I also wonder how Vance’s wife is in all of this. I only saw her once during inauguration at the church service, but largely didn’t pay attention to any of the transition or the people involved. If she’s an actual caring human, I wonder how much abuse she encounters. Or maybe she’s as messed up as the rest of em…

It’s a mob shakedown by an incompetent, myopic, known to be liar and his minion. Repeating yourself, raising your voice, and latching onto half-ideas to push your brand – “intimidating” and bluffing to force the deal only works if you had any respect in the first place.

Also, it feels like Vance’s PR team told him he’s being overshadowed by Trump in the media so he should make a big show to boost his ratings. Absolute clowns.