I’m Not An Otome Game Protagonist!: The Final Chapter of 2023

Today I will be spilling the tea from aboard my GTA Online character’s superyacht. It's anchored off the coast of Vespucci Beach in Los Santos, close enough to her businesses and a good helicopter ride away from her casino penthouse across the state of San Andreas.

Let’s get this started…

WHAT’S UP WITH ME?

This screenshot of Solomun playing EDM inside my character’s nightclub in Del Perro is a strong hint of my current mood.

I’ve been sitting on the raw data since Wednesday afternoon, and after consulting with my doctor I can dance the night away. My blood work was so good that I joked with my doctor they probably thought I paid someone to take my tests for me. In summary, I’m allowed to stop all medications to see how my body functions without them for the next three months. 

I also lost 2.2 pounds on Christmas week, and I had a fast food meal to boot. How the hell did that happen?

My financial health is great, too. My investment growth outpaced my spending, which means I can look forward to another year away from the corporate plantation in 2024.

WHAT I ATE

Two Del Taco crunchy tacos and medium fries. That was my lunch the day I had my blood work. I drizzled Marie Sharp’s instead of DT’s own hot sauce on the tacos, and it changed their flavor profile completely. I missed Mexicanish food, and I’m assuming I can safely have DT once a month.

WHAT I BOUGHT

A megalodon shark card to celebrate my good fortune. For $99.99 my GTA Online character gets an $11.5 million cash infusion in her bank account to buy things for our enjoyment. A very fast cop car will be released soon for The Chop Shop update, and we will have that one fully modified like a race car once we get it.

WHAT I LISTENED TO

That new soundtrack from GTA Online. It’s fun to listen to songs that double as background music for my online character’s shenanigans.

WHAT I READ ON MY PAPERWHITE

Christmas is traditionally a bad week for manga and comics. I have nothing to report this week.

WHAT I WATCHED

Part of another Thursday Night Beatdown game. Cleveland isn’t clowning anymore, y’all. 

While we’re on the topic of football, I should give y’all a rundown of how I view other NFL teams:

These feelings I harbor in my heart are scandalous: Bills, Rams. 

I have a healthy respect for Bills Mafia. They’re like Raider Nation’s crazy and drunk brothers. I also love how Vons/Albertson’s has marketed the Los Angeles Rams to San Diegans since the Chargers fled north, and that the Rams are far more successful than those bastards.

We can be frenemies: Dolphins, Ravens, Bengals, Browns, Jaguars, Colts, Texans, Eagles, Giants, Lions, Vikings, Packers, Bears, Buccaneers, Falcons, Saints, 49ers, Seahawks. 

There’s no annual game between the Raiders and NFC teams, so most of them fall in the frenemy category by default. I have neither love or hate for them.

Fuck yo' team!: Patriots, Steelers, Chiefs, Broncos, Cowboys, Titans. 

The Patriots and Steelers are bitter playoff rivals, and the Chiefs and Broncos have been division rivals since 1960. According to my Texas relatives way back when, you had to pick a side between Dallas and Houston. That explains why the Cowboys are where they are. But why do I also hate the Titans? They fled Texas three decades ago, and my blood boiled when they took the field the other day in Houston Oilers uniforms.

Clown shit: Jets, Chargers, Commanders, Panthers, Cardinals. 

The quality of play would be better if at least two of these franchises were terminated. But as long as NFL franchises continue to resemble mobile money printing presses that's wishful thinking.

WHAT MADE ME SMILE 

Wednesday. My blood work. My Del Taco lunch. My GTA Online character (and I) finishing a very difficult casino mission solo to earn this armored, weaponized luxury car as a reward. I painted it a metallic brown so it looks like root beer in sunlight. It was one of the best days I’ve had in a very long time.

My best friend off the blog christened me Johnny Darkness at about the same this week after I told him about my recent GTA Online exploits. Not only did I get a good chuckle from that, I responded by telling him it’s only fitting if I call Darkness from the anime Konosuba my waifu. She’s quite an interesting character, and I tend to be a blonde magnet for some odd reason...

WHO DESERVES A SLAP

The Grim Reaper. Why did he have to take Reggie Savage and Gil De Ferran at the end of the year? It’s a little unnerving that I’m outliving famous athletes that are around my age.

WHO DESERVES A FIST BUMP

Las Vegas Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce. Mark Davis needs to do the right thing and remove the interim tag. The Raiders have had the NFL’s best defense since Pierce took the reins, and if they somehow sneak into the playoffs and get at least marginal quarterbacking they could be dangerous.

WHAT’S UP WITH MY WRITING

I lied. I said I’d wait until the New Year to edit my manuscript, and guess what happened Thursday morning? I've had a mental picture of the revised opening scene in my head for quite some time and I didn’t want to forget it before the New Year rolled around. 

I have the first chapter edited and I’ll probably start working on the next chapter later today.

On a final note, my GTA Online character and I want to wish y'all a Happy New Year! I also gave her graying hair this week since mine is also slowly turning that color. We're getting older, and we're also getting better at the same time.

That One Time I...

 ... Went Off My Meds

By the time you read this, I will likely be doing one of the following:

• I'll be driving Akeno to the clinic to get my blood work done, while simultaneously wishing I could sip Seattle's Best Henry's Blend coffee from the fancy Zojirushi tumbler in her center console drink holder.
• I'll be eating a very late breakfast in the parking lot before I drive home. It will consist of a banana and a ThinkThin protein bar, the first things I've eaten in over twelve hours.
• I'll be back home wishing I could take a nap. I had less than four hours of sleep last night.
• I'll treat myself to Del Taco for lunch. I promised myself I can have a fast food Mexicanish meal as a reward for what I've accomplished since my diagnosis.
• I'll attempt one final casino mission in GTA Online. My character can earn an armored sedan that resembles a Bentley as a reward for completing the six mission series.

Today is a huge day that could mark the beginning of the next chapter of my life. I took the last of my medications last night, and after I get my bloodwork done the waiting game begins. I have no idea if my doctor is in the office this week due to the holidays, but I believe the results will be ready for review Friday morning. 

Once my doctor reviews my results, I'll learn my pill popping fate. My fasting reading this morning was an encouraging sign, the lowest one I've recorded since I started testing myself. I hope that is reflected in my bloodwork numbers, and I'm crossing my fingers I will be done with medications.

Of course, like that Shiny Wasabi Kitty plushie I've been trying to claw out of that arcade machine for the past week to complete my GTA Online character's Princess Robot Bubblegum collection that might be wishful thinking. Only time will tell. 

A Surprise Christmas Present

 

With a rowdy fan base that booed diversity (look it up, y'all!) plus cold, rainy weather in the forecast, I did not expect the Las Vegas Raiders to beat the Kansas City Chiefs today. I thought it was a pipe dream to believe the near impossible could happen, but it did.

The Raiders defense came up big, scoring two touchdowns in a seven second span. That's right. If you theoretically took a bathroom break you would have missed two touchdowns, including Jack Jones's second "pick six" TD in consecutive games.

So tonight, I get to baste a garlic and herb seasoned salmon not in extra virgin olive oil but Taylor Swift's tears. I also get to submit this new favorite bundling option for State Farm customers. Mahomes and Maauto? How about Mahomes and...

The Raiders sacked Patrick Mahomes four times today, thrice by Malcolm Koonce. Why not?

On This Day, I'm Thankful...

I tried to come up with a fancy Christmas wallpaper, but I couldn't find the right one. Then I did a search for a certain reindeer that shares my name, and viola! I have the perfect image to celebrate today.

This year provided enough severe ups and downs that I'd equate it to being bipolar, but I'm still thankful...

For everyone that leaves a comment or lurks in the background. I appreciate every one of you.

That every morning is viewed as another opportunity to learn something new. Not long ago, I wondered if I even had a purpose in life anymore.

That I'm no longer a slave to money. Provided I continue to keep myself on a budget and live vicariously through your vacation tales and photos, of course. 

That I had the courage to flee the worst employer I ever had. COVID is ripping through the office, and the lowest performers were laid off on Thursday rather than after the holidays. 

That I had Terri and Torrie in my life. I still miss them dearly, but it no longer hurts when I think about them. I hope they're together wherever they are.

That I relented and had my blood work done three months ago. It was a shock to my system when I received my diagnosis. I've taken better care of myself since then and the results speak for themselves.

That I'm working on the next chapter of my life, no pun intended. I've wanted to be a writer since I read The Grapes of Wrath and a few other books around the turn of the century, and I'm thankful I still hung onto that dream when I retired.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

I’m Not An Otome Game Protagonist!: The Festivus Edition

 

NOTE: This week’s post is in two parts. Keep reading past the Festivus stuff. — Robzilla.

THE FESTIVUS POLE

I’d love to buy a fancy Festivus pole with LED lights on its base, but I hear they also call those "fitness poles". The only people I've seen use them teeter on five-inch stilettos, so that's not happening.

I'll settle for the flag pole on my front porch that flies my Raiders flags on game day. It's less hassle, and I don't have to worry about carrying dollar bills folded lengthwise.

THE FESTIVUS HOLIDAY MEAL

With my dietary changes, it’s pointless to make a meat loaf. I’ll cook a boneless rib eye for dinner, as usual.

THE AIRING OF GRIEVANCES

Even though I’ve been through a lot this year, I don’t have any grievances outside of Tang Hitler. More on him later.

Let’s not let this tradition go to waste. If you have any grievances, please feel free to use the comments to let us all know what’s on your mind!

THE FESTIVUS MIRACLE

I didn’t do any retail therapy this week. I bought the GTA Online soundtrack celebrating West Coast Classics's ten-year anniversary, but that was only $8.99 so it shouldn't count.

THE FEAT OF STRENGTH

Sadly, Terri isn’t around anymore to sit on my chest and pin me down with her huge paws while I’m lying on my bed or sofa. I guess this year’s holiday ends when I pass out, right?

***

WHAT’S UP WITH MY HEALTH

My numbers are fine, and I lost one pound. I can’t help but wonder if I’m plateauing or if the stress of the holiday season is the reason why I’m no longer losing two pounds a week. Time will tell once the holidays end.

This week is an important one. After Christmas, I’ll have blood work done. I’ll also treat myself to a very sinful lunch that same day to celebrate the hard work I’ve done during the past three months. I deserve it.

WHAT I LISTENED TO

Anything but Christmas songs. I’m not in the holiday spirit this year. For that matter, no one I know outside the blog is feeling jolly either. 

WHAT I WATCHED

Zom 100: Bucket List Of The Dead. After a long delay, the final three episodes of its first season will air on Christmas Day. I’m in the middle of rewatching the first nine episodes to refresh my memory before the zombies eat my brain.

WHAT MADE ME SMILE 

My personal growth as a writer. I’ll explain at the end of this post.

WHO DESERVES A PRISON SENTENCE

Tang Hitler for his rhetoric. I have no interaction with that orange fat fuck, so let’s leave him out of this.

The real problem is his crazy acolytes. They have been fed the belief that brown people, regardless of immigration status, should be in internment camps. Some of those people live within a few houses of my place, and my street is practically sprinkled in Tajin if you feel me.

Do I need to exercise a certain Constitutional right and own a pistol and a shotgun “for protection” purposes? I’d rather leave that stuff to my GTA Online character, but I fear for my family’s safety.

WHO DESERVES A FIST BUMP AND A “ME TOO”

Anyone that's struggled during this holiday season. If you’re one of those people, you’re not alone.

I’ve had my own issues during the past month, and those negative feelings are artificially enhanced as a side effect of Metformin. It’s another reason why I want my hidden disability to go into remission. I want off this (sometimes) crazy train of emotions.

WHAT’S UP WITH MY WRITING

I’m in awe of how a new outline has transformed my story, and I haven’t even started the edits yet.

A handful of “one scene” characters will have larger roles in the story. It shouldn’t be too much work to graft them into the existing scenes as needed.

A few chapters I wrote will be eliminated. I deemed them unnecessary. In their place, a handful of new scenes will be written to enhance what remains of the first draft.

I'll continue working on the outline here and there for the next week, and then the edits begin on New Year's Day. How long that will take is anyone's guess.

That One Time I...

... Clawed A Poopy.

You knew sooner or later I'd sink to potty humor to get your attention, but fear not. This post has nothing to do with actual poop or the use of my hands for other than pressing buttons and joysticks. 

Above you'll notice the interior of the arcade I own in GTA Online. It's filled with various, playable games that harken back to our youth. It's a fun place to have your character hang out and pass the time while their businesses are generating income.

One of these arcade games is a claw game called Shiny Wasabi Kitty Claw, named for the cat girl villain turned bestie in the satirical anime show Princess Robot Bubblegum that you can watch on TV in your GTA Online apartments.

Inside the machine you'll find plushies for Princess Robot Bubblegum, Shiny Wasabi Kitty, Master Hentai, and PRB's mascots Saki, Humpy, Muffy, Grindy, Smokey and Poopy. The idea is to maneuver the claw backward and then to the right before you lower it. 

While positioning the claw is easy, the machine also uses an element of luck as to whether or not you win a prize. For example, if the odds are 1 in 30 you'll win a plushie, it's like buying 30 lottery tickets. Each ticket has 1 for 30 odds, so there's no guarantee any of them will be a winner. 

Yes, that's quite the joystick your GTA Online character gets to play with. Anyway...

After spending a combined three hours over three afternoons and evenings, I finally lucked out and clawed a Poopy plushy from the machine.

Why do I try to collect all nine of these plushies? They make great decorations for your arcade office as well as your penthouse at the Diamond Casino & Resort. At this time, all I need are Saki, Master Hentai and Shiny Wasabi Kitty to complete my collection and I look forward to the challenge of obtaining them.

I’m Not An Otome Game Protagonist!: Volume 1, Chapter 10

NOTE: I updated the template in preparation for 2024, when I’ll give this weekly post another name and a new image to reflect that. I’m posting this on Saturday night because I don’t want anything on my “To Do” list in the morning. — Robzilla.

WHAT’S UP WITH MY HEALTH

I’m doing well overall. I have a touch of a head cold, but my immune system is doing a fine job fighting it off without the aid of OTC medications. I also spent an hour working in the yard on Friday morning in lieu of weight training exercises. That was a good workout for my entire body.

I “only” lost 0.8 pounds this week, but I’m not disappointed. I allowed myself a second “sin” meal during the week. It’s the holidays, and like everybody else I deserve to live a little. My BG numbers remain well within range, too. No concerns there.

WHAT SINFUL THING I SHAMELESSLY ATE THURSDAY NIGHT

A thin crust margherita pizza from Vons/Albertson’s. No, not a slice or two. I ate the whole damned thing during Thursday Night Beatdown. The pie is “only” 72 grams of carbs, which is almost a perfect 1 to 1 ratio with the number of points the Las Vegas Raiders scored. Ha!

I likely won’t do that again anytime soon, but all bets are off if the Raiders miraculously make the playoffs.

WHAT I BOUGHT THAT FELT LIKE RETAIL THERAPY, BUT WASN’T

A citric acid cleaner for my Zojirushi coffee maker. Even though I’ve always used filtered water since day one, it was time to descale the Zutto. It’s funny how I didn’t notice the gradual change in the quality of my coffee until after I used this product. 

WHAT I LISTENED TO

Other than the latest Smartless podcasts, nothing in particular this week. 

ONE THING I READ ON MY PAPERWHITE

The latest volume of Call Of The Night. Ko’s nocturnal but PG-rated activities with vampires, adults and childhood friends ends in Chapter 200, but we’re at least a year out from that happening on this side of the Pacific Ocean. 

I’ll dearly miss this title once it ends. I highly recommend the anime if you have a HIDIVE account or decide to splurge on the Blu-Ray.

WHAT I WATCHED THAT PROVIDES ME ENDLESS ENJOYMENT

The perpetual ineptitude of the Los Angeles Chargers, which was on full display Thursday night. Ever since the Spanos family used The City of Angels to leverage a new stadium deal out of San Diego while simultaneously fleecing us taxpayers for a “ticket guarantee” two decades ago, the NFL’s worst ownership group has been past due for this schadenfreude.

The “Dolts” fired yet another general manager and head coach Friday morning. For most teams, a fresh start usually results in a positive outcome a few years down the road, but the Dolts do things differently. They never spend the money to bring in a head coach with a proven track record, which means an endless cycle of hiring and firing people unsuitable to lead an NFL team. They’re like the Chicago Bears. They have great uniforms, but that’s where the comparisons end. They have one less Super Bowl win than their Windy City counterparts, and almost nobody loves them. 

While the Spanos family is now LA’s problem, I’ll just be sitting here gloating like Ivanka Trump after she got divorced.

WHAT MADE ME SMILE LIKE A GTA ONLINE CHARACTER

My investments, specifically the stock trading account I play with that’s gained more than 10% in value month to date. If you shop at Costco, recently bought a Ford, drink Coca-Cola, or pump gas at a Texaco or Chevron, you have my eternal gratitude.

Two recent stock trades panned out. I doubled down on Ford (F) when its price fell below $10 a share, believing it would eventually rebound. That’s already happened, and I look forward to farming even more of those quarterly dividends.

I also snapped up Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) and the stock price has increased 5% since. That’s nice, but I have an eye toward late 2025 or early 2026. 

I call the stock market The Casino of Emotions for a very good reason. You can almost rely on day traders influencing a stock’s price when something big is supposed to happen, and the run up to the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 could be one of those things. 

Even if I’m proven wrong on this gut feeling, I still like the idea of owning TTWO in my portfolio for the long haul. It’s my way of thanking the company for keeping me sane during the past 2.5 years.

WHO DESERVES A SLAP

Sadly, Rockstar Games (a subsidiary of the above mentioned Take-Two Interactive) deserves this one. 

Someone there made a $4.8 million mistake that affected GTA Online players that completed the requirements to buy a Police Riot. The armored police van was labeled as a vehicle players could purchase and modify, and just like other gamers excited over the recent Chop Shop update I splurged for one Thursday night at a discounted $3.6 million price tag. I’m sadly disappointed I cannot give it various modifications or store it in an owned garage, so I feel like I wasted my character’s hard earned in game cash for nothing.

For now I’ll only give Rockstar a finger flick to the forehead since I love driving this modified cop car that’s also new via the Chop Shop update. It’s moderately fast, stable at high speeds, and the sirens and lights work. I can store it in the garage of any property I own, and the novelty of driving it around Los Santos may never wear off. 

I only wish one of the liveries was for pizza delivery because... 

FUN FACT: A local pizzeria called New York Pizza Department once had a delivery vehicle that was an old cop car with a light bar on its roof and NYPD plastered on its sides. Unfortunately, the State Assembly put an end to that gimmick four decades ago. That’s why it’s against California state law to equip non-police vehicles with a light bar.

WHO DESERVES A FIST BUMP

The company my sister hired to work on the property. I like what they’re doing so far with the new retaining wall out front, and I can’t wait to see the end results when they take care of everything else in the coming weeks.

WHAT’S UP WITH MY WRITING

Not much is planned this week. I’m letting those 26 character sketches I created slow cook like a pork tenderloin inside a Crock Pot while I think of ideas for new scenes or how to change the ones I’ve already written.

Thursday Night Beatdown

 

Random Thoughts On A Thursday Morning

It’s likely Friday Eve where you’re at, that magical day when you have only one more work day to endure before you enjoy the weekend. For others, it’s just Thursday. For me? My body says it’s a day of rest so I’m unlikely to exercise today. I’ve had to wake up at sunrise every morning since Tuesday, and for a good reason.

There’s been a lot going on at the house since Tuesday. My sister finally relented and hired workers to transform our yard. A retaining wall that borders the public sidewalk is under construction, replacing the eyesore called Iceplant Hill. This has been sorely needed for a long time since soil erosion meant those of us who live here had to do manual labor to scrape the sidewalk clear of mounds of dirt that washed away. 

The property doesn’t have grass, understandable considering we have the highest water rates in the nation to match our utilities. In the coming weeks, as Buzz Lightyear would probably say, there will be mulch, mulch everywhere. Hopefully this will mean the end of the mass weed killing every week in Winter and Spring. That was a major hassle.

In the end, I look forward to the next time Google Maps photographs my property. Then the world can see with its own eyes we no longer have the shittiest looking house on the block.

***

Even though I finished writing my novel on Saturday night, the work endures. 

I've spent a few hours every day since then working on brand new character sketches. Now that I have their voices and stories fresh in my mind it’s like they’re coming to life. I’m also discovering new things about them as I go. 

For example, there’s the goth woman that has a moral compass. The divorcee still bitter at her ex and praying to God her teenage son doesn’t grow up to be like him. The young woman that graduated high school early that’s clinging to her gyaru looks before she begins college. The Trump supporter that harbors a big secret about his ethnicity. The list goes on and on. I’m finding that as I think about these characters, even the most despicable of them could be redeemable in some way. Well, maybe a hard no on a few that are only there to move the main character’s story along.

Now’s the fun part of this post. I get to tell you random things about my work in progress (WIP) by using numbers…

1 - Main character (MC). She’s a 35 year old woman that’s never been married and is a closet otaku.

2 - Possible love interests (LI). There’s a person behind the online character that the MC will fall for, and she spends a good portion of the second half of the book guessing who in her past life this person is. I hope readers will also have fun putting together the clues as they read along.

5 - You know what the letters LGBTQ stand for. Guess what some of my characters are? There will be some straight people, too.

26 - Character sketches. I found it important to create a character sketch for every person that has a pivotal role to play. That includes a handful of NPCs (Non-Playable Characters) that are part of the fictional action adventure game the MC plays with the LI throughout the story. I want to give some of these support characters a chance to steal a scene, as well as a possible role in any follow up books I write.

55 - That’s how many chapters the first draft contains. This will be subject to change when I edit the manuscript. Some chapters will likely be combined, while new ones may be written to enhance the main character’s story.

300 - When my first draft was formatted in Scrivener as if it were published as a 6” x 9” paperback novel, that’s how many pages 70k+ words is. This is the most popular question I get when I tell people I wrote a book, so now we all know the answer.

Now you know why I truly don’t get burned out by the writing process. This project is way too interesting for me to shelve it.

Wordless Wednesday: Don't Judge Me For How I Spend My Free Time Now That I'm Retired

 

Tuesday Night Music Club: Gary Hoey

 

Gary Hoey is probably best known for his guitar work for the soundtrack to the 90s surfing movie The Endless Summer II. Here he is playing a little tune that should be familiar to Dr. Seuss fans out there.

I’m Not An Otome Game Protagonist!: Volume 1, Chapter 9

HOW I’M FEELING PHYSICALLY

It’s Saturday night, so I’m three days out from getting the second Shingrix shot. I’ve suffered bouts of lethargy since then and I had quite an adverse reaction on Friday afternoon that alarmed my siblings enough for them to plead for me to consult an online nurse. 

Thankfully the situation passed on its own a few hours later, no pun intended. I have no idea if it was something I ate that morning or the fact I rode the recumbent bike hours earlier, but I’ve made the decision to take it easy until at least Monday morning.

I should have been warned not to exercise after getting that second shot, but oh well.

THE BLOOD GLUCOSE METER SAYS…

Fasting (average): 95 mg/dL

2 hours after a meal (average): 116 mg/dL

My numbers are slightly higher due to I’ve allowed myself to have a few things that I denied myself since September, but they’re still well within my target range. My medications will run out in over a week, which was part of the plan all along, and that will begin the true test for my diet and exercise changes.

THE FITBIT ARIA SAYS…

This week: -3.2 lbs.

Cumulative: -27.4 lbs.

I have no explanation for how this happened, but I’m thrilled with the end result. Moving on...

THE WEEKLY RETAIL THERAPY REPORT

I cleared out my diminutive chest of drawers the other day and found a box for a Ridge wallet I hadn’t used in years. When I opened it, I discovered why. It did not survive the move from my old apartment. I assume I threw it away, and unfortunately stupidity is not covered under its lifetime warranty. 

I rectified that mistake and bought an olive tinted titanium model that was delivered to my porch the following day. I love Ridge wallets for their simplicity, and how they train me to only carry what is necessary when I leave the house.

WHAT MADE ME EXCLAIM “ARA, ARA!”

Believe it or not We Started A Threesome, which is the story of childhood friends becoming a throuple, wasn’t the most controversial thing I read this week. 

Two weeks ago, I overlooked The Children Of The Shiunji Family but then I discovered via an online review it was written by Reiji Miyajima, the manga artist that created Rent-A-Girlfriend. I picked up the first volume and ara, ara! The seven children discovered that only two of them are blood related. 

The one thing I loved about RAG was the fact Miyajima was not afraid to stand in front of a dumpster fire with a bottle of Kingsford charcoal lighter fluid and give it a firm squeeze. I’m sure he’ll do more of the same with this new title and I’m on board with it.

WHO DESERVES TO HAVE THEIR HOOPTIE JUNKED, BUT ECOLOGY AUTO WRECKING WILL MAKE HIM PAY FOR THE TOW

There’s a guy who lives a few houses away. I’ll call him Richard to protect his identity, and also because he is one.

Richard lives with his elderly mother, owns several vehicles in various degrees of dilapidation and doesn’t have a driveway or a garage to park them. He has a nasty habit of abandoning a few of them in front of my place for weeks at a time. One of them in particular is the best argument in favor of establishing an HOA, a flatbed pickup that probably was metallic silver with multicolored stripes when it was brand new. The stripes have faded to a singular cream color, and its current paint job is best described as patina battle gray. It requires a wood chock to prevent it from rolling away, and the rust is so prevalent on its body and chrome that when you go near it, you ask yourself whether or not you’re up to date on your tetanus shot.

I reported Richard to Parking Enforcement once again for leaving his hooptie truck in front of my place for the past week. I’m assuming they gave him yet another warning on Friday that he’ll eventually ignore. After four attempts to start the motor, he managed to drive it fifty feet or so to park it in front of his own place where it belongs.

I’m sure it will be back to annoy the fuck out of me by February, but for now let’s celebrate this turn of events by playing this little NSFW reggae song Adam Sandler performed during his concerts roughly three decades ago.

WHO DESERVES A FIST BUMP

I think I deserve this one. See below for the big writing update.

WHAT MADE ME SMILE

The Las Vegas Raiders host the Los Angeles “AirBnB” Chargers on Thursday Night Football. For once in a full moon, anyone that has access to Amazon Prime Video can watch something other than the NFL’s Shittiest Game Of The Week.

WHAT’S THE LATEST ON MY WRITING?

55 chapters and 72,191 words later, I finished my first draft about an hour ago! 

I know y’all want to know how many pages that is, and the answer is I really don’t know. What I can share with you is I made a PDF of the manuscript so I can read it at some point in the near future. That document is 238 pages filled with 1.5x spaced text, so that should give you a general idea of how much work went into that story. 

Now I get to relax and find something else to do with my free time for the rest of the month before I begin the first round of edits on New Year’s Day. If that were a Jeopardy question, I’d say “I’ll take Union Depository Robberies for $300,000, Alex!” before grabbing my PS5 controller to enrich my GTA Online character.

Thursday Night Music Club: Adam Sandler

Although I'm not a practitioner, I'm 1/8th Jewish on my mother's side. It makes all the sense in the world to post this cherry little tune today.

Wordless Wednesday: When The Anime Identifies The Villain For You...

 

This Might Only Appeal To Me...

 

It's the Grand Theft Auto IV trailer, y'all!

Question For Y'all...

 
Who do you want to see abducted by Krampus this year? Let me know in the comments.

My candidate is George Santos, and I'll assume there will be a little "extra mustard" in that switch he'll beat him with. I wouldn't be shocked if Krampy was also one his fraud victims.

I’m Not An Otome Game Protagonist!: Volume 1, Chapter 8

HOW I’M FEELING 

My body is fatigued, but it’s only because I exerted myself while exercising on Friday and Saturday. I’m sure I’ll be fine with a little extra rest in the coming days.

THE BLOOD GLUCOSE METER SAYS…

Fasting (average): 94 mg/dL

2 hours after a meal (average): 115 mg/dL

Same rolling averages as last week, so that made me happy.

THE FITBIT ARIA SAYS…

This week: -2.2 lbs.

Cumulative: -24.2 lbs.

More good news on the weight front.

WHERE I WENT

I visited my long time friend and and got him hooked on Akiba Maid War. He enjoyed it so much that when I left after the fourth episode he kept watching it.

The trip also reminded me why I bought Akeno in the first place. She’s a very nice car to take a long cruise in, and her comfortable seats are even more so now that I’m a smaller size.

THE SATURDAY SIN SNACK

When I visited my friend, I had a Twinkie as a midday snack. It was a real test to see how I’m doing health wise, and believe it or not it didn’t affect my blood glucose readings when I tested myself about five hours later. 

I probably won’t do that again anytime soon, though. Sugar blocks your body from burning fat.

WHAT I WATCHED THAT MADE ME SMILE

I finally watched Bye Bye Barry on Amazon Prime Video a few nights ago. Do I think Barry Sanders is the best running back of all time? He’s definitely up there with Jim Brown, that’s for sure. 

What’s not up for debate is how his running style influenced my driving in video games like Need For Speed or GTA Online. When I evade cops, mercenaries or criminals, my car will do the automotive equivalent of breaking people’s ankles with how I abruptly move laterally or change directions. That’s why I tell myself, “Drive like Barry runs” so I can be elusive just like him.

WHAT I READ

Life With An Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated As A Total Fantasy Knockout, Volume 2. Even though I’ve already seen the anime based on the first few volumes of this manga series, I’ve latched onto it because I’m dying to know if Jinguji likes his childhood friend Hinata as more than a drinking buddy, and if so if gender really matters between them.

WHO DESERVES TO BE INVESTIGATED

The 114 Republicans that voted not to expel George Santos. When people vote against overwhelming evidence of wrongdoing, they must be doing questionable things behind the scenes themselves.

WHAT’S THE LATEST ON MY WRITING?

I only wrote 1,109 words on Friday, but it was an important chapter. It begins Cassie’s transition from her Act II self. Or as I like to call it, the “crash and burn” phase of her life. This process will cover a handful of chapters, and I hope I can do her justice by the time she puts her life on the right track during Act III.