I’m Not An Otome Game Protagonist!: Volume 1, Chapter 2

NOTE: The Las Vegas Raiders have a road game against the Chicago Bears at 10 am my local time on Sunday. I also have to do domestic duties around the house before kickoff, so I’m posting this on Saturday afternoon before I watch parts of two Super Taikyu races streamed from Okayama. — Robzilla

HOW I’M FEELING MENTALLY

I'm on pins and needles after playing with my poop. For real.

I mailed a colon cancer stool sample on Wednesday morning, which thankfully does not require sending a poop in a box. If I’m not contacted by the clinic during the next couple of business days, I’m assuming I’m clear for the year.

HOW I’M FEELING PHYSICALLY

Last weekend, it was my turn to get cellulitis thanks to a bug bite. Or it was possibly my body having an adverse reaction to putting Neosporin on it. 

To be safe, I was prescribed antibiotics and creams to use as directed. Other than one of my legs looked like Mikhail Gorbachev’s port wine stain for most of the week, I’m fine.

THE BLOOD GLUCOSE METER SAYS…

Fasting (average): 91 mg/dl

2 hours after lunch or dinner (average): 115 mg/dl

My specialist told me to keep it under 130 for fasting tests and under 180 two hours after the lunch or dinner I test. With the way I’m going, I no longer dread what my blood work results will be next time. I’m actually looking forward to them.

THE BATHROOM SCALE SAYS…

This week: I lost 14 pounds?!?

Cumulative: I’ve lost 23.8 lbs.

Either my scale is inaccurate or I’ve become a fat burning furnace with the dietary changes and physical activity. It’s entirely possible that when combined with my stabilizing blood glucose levels, my body is finally functioning the way it’s designed to for the first time in as long as I can remember.

I feel fine physically, but as a precaution I’ll weigh myself at the clinic midweek when I get my Covid booster. If necessary, I’ll reach out to my specialist afterward and tell them about this.

THE WEEKLY WORKOUT REVIEW

Recumbent bike: Monday, Wednesday & Friday

Weight training: Tuesday & Saturday

Rest days: Thursday & Sunday

I exercise for a minimum of 20 minutes, plus an appropriate amount of time to warm up and cool down to prevent injuries. Unless I change things up, this is my new morning routine 60 to 90 minutes after breakfast.

THE SATURDAY NIGHT SIN MEAL

A New York Strip Steak brushed with A1 steak sauce, and air fried steak fries that are cooked with a salt free onion and herb seasoning. I’ll add parsley to them after cooking as well as ketchup. It’s my one sin meal, so I will not hold back on that Heinz bottle.

I’ll likely eat something different next weekend. I’d kill for a half order of carne asada nachos, even if I’m unlikely to eat all of the chips.

THE WEEKLY RETAIL THERAPY REPORT

A GTA+ subscription. I love the GTA Online car culture, and this allows me to buy desirable and/or hard to find vehicles at a discount among other benefits. I canceled a Peacock subscription that I hadn’t used in half a year, so this is a better use of that $5.99 monthly fee.

A YouTube Music subscription. I wasn’t getting the bang for my buck with SXM, so I canceled that on Wednesday. I’ll save over $200 annually. 

WHAT I LISTENED TO

Smartless. The first thing I listened to on YouTube Music was this popular podcast. It was one of my favorites when I used to listen to them regularly a couple of summers ago. I also like how I can control things from my Fitbit Charge 6 while exercising. That’s very convenient.

WHAT I READ

The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda. This ex-wife vs next wife tale had quite the ending. Was it perfect? No. Was it enjoyable? Hell yes, and that’s the point of reading books.

WHO DESERVES TO BE SLAPPED WITH… A TICKET AND FEES?

People who park their excess vehicles in front of other people’s houses. 

The city council was so fed up with this issue, it updated the city ordinance for street parking and they’re going to enforce it for once. While that’s good news for me reporting a neighbor “abandoning” their hoopdies in front of my house, I must continue grocery shopping at least three times a week to remain in compliance with the updated ordinance myself. Most homes on my street do not have driveways, so excess vehicles is quite a nuisance.

Give the perps their $55 parking ticket plus towing and impound fees for their “car collecting” hobby.

WHO DESERVES A FIST BUMP

The clinic, aka my one stop shop for health matters. I spend a lot of money on monthly premiums, but they’re offset by very reasonable copays for visits, generic medications, and even the glucose testing kit and supplies I needed to purchase. The service is top notch, too.

WHAT MADE ME SMILE

Derek Carr doing Derek Carr things on Thursday Night Football. The check downs. The inaccurate middle and deep throws. The fumbles. The stats padding once the game is already decided. All of his flaws were exposed once again on national TV, and his new team’s fans booed him mercilessly. 

Carr has always been an overhyped, coddled mid quarterback at best, and now The Derek Carr Experiment is someone else’s problem until at least 2024 for salary cap reasons. Moving on from that Sunday afternoon headache made me smile.

WHAT’S THE LATEST ON MY WRITING?

Not much is going on right now. As I come up with better ideas for chapters or scenes, I’ll update the Super Outline accordingly. Otherwise, I’m all set for November 1st.