Reborn As An Early Retiree, I Now Wander America’s Costliest City: Volume 1, Chapter 2

 

WHAT’S ON MY MIND

Super GT is back! If you know me, then you also know I love Japan’s Super GT racing series the same way Date A Live’s Tohka Yatogami loves kinako bread. The livestreams keep me up past midnight, so I must adjust my internal clock accordingly.

WHAT I ATE

I reintroduced bacon bits into my veggie omelet recipe, and they will stay there as long as my lab work is acceptable. 

WHAT SACRED TEXTS I READ

• Fairy Tale Team-Up: Robyn Hood and Gretel (American comics are also sacred texts!)
• The Dangers In My Heart, Volume 3
• Shikimori Is Not Just A Cutie, Volume 16
• I Married My Female Friend, Volume 2
• Life With An Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated As A Fantasy Knockout, Volume 3
• Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade, Volume 1

That last title was an intriguing read. The main character is an orphan raised by Death, looks like Rose Wilson, and has Deadpool’s carefree innocence about everything from baked bread to slaughtering baddies. Enough said.

WHAT I BOUGHT

If watches reflect a person’s character, then my new green and brown Timex Expedition analog/digital watch should scream that I’m physically active, a little rough around the edges, and economically sensible. 

I also instructed a bank to roll over a maturing CD into a new one-year term with an interest rate that’s half a point higher than its expiring rate. That’s what I call perfectly timing the market.

WHAT I WATCHED

I absolutely loved Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again. It’s a heart warming rom-com about Shozo and Ine Saito, an elderly couple that become young again overnight. It’s quite humorous how everyone reacts to the “new” them, despite the fact they never changed internally.

WHAT I LISTENED TO

Bawdy Storytelling. The latest episode regaled a spicy, vintage and hysterical LGBTQ+ tale of tassels that at one point involved the West Hollywood police. Ara ara!

WHAT MADE ME (GOOD)SMILE

2024 is the Season of the Witch. A similar image of Hatsune Miku will appear on the hood and doors of the #4 Goodsmile Racing Mercedes AMG race car this season.

WHAT BAFFLED ME

I live on a street that’s often serenaded with rap or mariachi music, but the other day I heard Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” on full blast as a Ford pickup slowly rolled by my home. I didn’t know what to think of it since that never happened in my fire engine red former ‘hood. 

I think the last time I heard Lynyrd Skynyrd on a stereo system was… Akeno’s?

WHO’S IN SLAP COURT THIS WEEK

Court is adjourned for this week. Moving on…

WHO DESERVES A FIST BUMP

Wonder Woman, aka Katherine Legge, will compete in this year’s Indy 500 and e.l.f. Cosmetics will sponsor an eye appealing pink and black 51 car. 

FYI, Katherine is a noted WW fan and she miraculously walked away from a horrific crash at Road America nearly two decades ago with only a bruised knee. As far as I'm concerned, she's Wondy in real life.

WHAT I ACCOMPLISHED IN GAMING

New ways to play GTA Online that don’t require weapons. This week, I decided to indulge in two minigames that are quite enjoyable. 

Junk Energy Skydives offer a pittance in rewards, but I love the challenge of cheating death — I mean, guiding my character through up to ten checkpoints and then sticking the perfect landing. It’s like playing one of those rhythm games the younguns play, except your success is dependent on critical thinking and perfect timing.

Something not as terrifying as jumping off a platform atop San Andreas’s Mount Chiliad is the daily time trial with the RC Bandito, a remote control vehicle that after I customized mine looks like the legendary monster truck Bigfoot. If you beat the par time on your first try you earn $100k, but the prize drops to $50k if you need multiple attempts. 

If only real life worked that way…

WHAT’S UP WITH MY HEALTH

I “only” lost one pound this week. I started weight training again after several weeks off, so I’m assuming I replaced some of that lost fat with muscle.

WHAT’S UP WITH MY WRITING

I reviewed my first two chapters, and sure enough I found even more “fluff” to edit out. If I want to be an “S Class” writer/editor, then I have to be as ruthless as Rose Wilson if I’m going to get there.