I’m Not An Otome Game Protagonist!: Volume 1, Chapter 5

HOW I’M FEELING PHYSICALLY

The drama is over. The latest cycle of antibiotics is done. The infections have subsided. The nasty cut I got Monday night from mishandling a chef’s knife that was sharpened by Rose Wilson is also healing nicely. My dumb ass got nicked while I was hand washing the blade in the sink.

HOW I’M FEELING MENTALLY

I’m doing a lot better now that I don’t have to worry about discovering a new and very painful bug bite somewhere on my body every morning. The Mighty Mint I sprayed last Sunday did the job. It either killed that bug, or drove it outside the house. Nothing has happened since.

THE BLOOD GLUCOSE METER SAYS…

Fasting (average): 92 mg/dL

2 hours after a meal (average): 114 mg/dL

My glucose levels after a meal have decreased a couple of points since last week, which is great news. Even better news is that average includes the 117 I tested at two hours after my latest cheat meal.

THE FITBIT ARIA SAYS… 

This week: -2.2 lbs.

Cumulative: -20 lbs.

This was a pleasant surprise considering I couldn’t exercise all week on doctor’s orders.

THE SATURDAY NIGHT SIN MEAL

A boneless rib eye steak and steak fries. I wanted to buy a New York strip on Friday, but Vons jacked up the prices on them so much it made more economical sense to buy a marbled masterpiece.

WHAT I LISTENED TO

Marshawn Lynch was this week’s guest on the Smartless podcast, and I officially forgive him for his DUI arrest in Vegas awhile back. Us Americans love our flawed heroes, don’t we?

WHAT I READ

Cult of GT-R: A True Story of Crime, Obsession, and The World’s Most Coveted Car by Ryan K. ZumMallen. 

This love letter to people like me would only interest gearheads, and I loved how it filled in the blanks on the supercar killer’s sordid history on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. It also bothers me that prices for Skyline GT-Rs have doubled since 2020, thanks to people that don’t drive them. That car was never meant to be a museum piece, and I’ll gladly die on that hill. 

FYI, the above screenshot is from GTA Online. My character has the game’s version of 1970, 1989 and 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-Rs in her garage. The rear vanity plates on those cars say GODZILLA.

Hey, now. What do you mean I belong to a cult?

WHAT I WATCHED

Bits and pieces of Death Race 2023, also known as the first weekend of the Macau Grand Prix. 

It’s one of two grand prix events that are not on the Formula 1 calendar and rightfully so. The steel guardrails and chain link fences that separate the racers from the casinos lining the fast straightaways are designed for mayhem. When a car hits them at full speed, they are often catapulted back onto the track and in harm’s way of the cars following them. It’s a wonder there’s only been three deaths in the past eleven years, and all of them were motorcycle racers.

While twelve-year-old me was amused that some of the surnames of the Chinese drivers doubled as English slang terms for genitalia and skimpy underwear, the humor they generated pales in comparison to a French Guianan basketball player named Steeve.

WHO DESERVED THE SLAP THEY RECEIVED

We had a special election on Tuesday. I won’t say their name, but it was satisfying to see the latest local Trump sycophant denied their opportunity to become an elected politician with no prior or relevant experience. This person was a co-founder of a group that opposed COVID-19 restrictions when it made all the sense in the world to self quarantine, which means as someone with a hidden disability they’re my mortal enemy. 

The only thing to say about them is if they don’t care if I live or die, then I feel the same about their political “career”.

WHO DESERVES A FIST BUMP

Is it okay if I get one for losing weight without exercising?

WHAT MADE ME SMILE

This trailer for the upcoming yuri anime Whisper Me A Love Song. I was thrilled to see Himari and Yori come to life in animated form. Both of them fall in love with each other but have different definitions for it, hence a host of misunderstandings occur as their story progresses.

WHAT MADE ME CHUCKLE

Baseball cards were inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame this past week. Those beloved pictures of sports heroes (and some villains) stopped being toys the moment they became a cardboard version of the stock market during my adolescence. 

I sold most of my collection a long time ago, but hung onto a small horde or cards believing they would become just as valuable down the road. Just like the stock market, sometimes unforeseen events outside of our control can make their values fluctuate, or even crater in the most extreme cases.

Take for example these graded Sammy Sosa rookie cards, back when he didn’t bleach his skin or have biceps that came with a warning label that said “Inflate to 40 PSI”. If you applied a thin layer of cork or felt on the back of their Lucite cases, maybe they would have some resale value as a drink coaster on Etsy?

WHAT’S THE LATEST ON MY WRITING?

By the time you write this, I will have surpassed 30,000 words written. I already have 24 of 55 chapters written, and once I write four more I plan on taking my first day off from writing. The best part about the experience is that I found my narrative voice. To me, it’s similar to Carrie Bradshaw from Sex In The City but in third person.