Ara Ara, Robzilla!

I finished watching Fate/stay night toward the end of the week, and just like my brother's ongoing issues I can't get this opening theme song out of my head. I loved this anime series about The Holy Grail War so much that I started watching its precursor Fate Zero the other night. That one is set ten years prior but also has Saber, the lady English King (Yes!) who swings a mighty sword in her quest to do good.

Even though I've made it crystal clear to a psychologist that I’m exercising my right to not help my brother any further, I’m filled with dread that he’s returning as soon as next weekend. I want nothing to do with That Manipulative Motherfucker, which is why I’ll refer to him as TMM on this blog going forward. I will treat TMM like I do my investments. I separate my emotions from them and not give a shit how they fluctuate on a day to day basis. The other toxic person draining my life force is my older sister, the one that’s not dying within the next few months. She’s unlike me in many ways, and one of them is how we’ve handled our hidden disability. I went into remission while she takes a cocktail of pills throughout the day that don’t do anything to control her numbers or emotions. I'll refer to her as DR, inspired by the fictional liberal superhero Impotent Rage from the Grand Theft Auto Online video game. The first letter refers to our hidden disability, and the second one

  WHAT’S ON MY MIND… Banishment, Part I: I spoke to one of my brother’s “handlers” for lack of a better term, and firmly told them that after traumatizing me twice within three months I want nothing to do with him. Period. Banishment, Part II?: I enjoy my long phone chats with Sensei, aka the older woman, but I’m getting mixed signals. She genuinely cares for me and tells me my looks check off her boxes, especially my new salt and pepper goatee. However, the best way to describe our situation is that I’m friend zoned but I’m not.  I have reason to believe the age gap and/or the fact we’ve known each other since forever may be the real issue. My cute, charming personality should induce her to open up and be honest about her feelings and fears. No matter the outcome, I’m 100% certain being Friend Zoned wouldn’t be the worst thing that’s happened to me lately. WHAT I ATE A few things I shouldn’t have, which manifested themselves on my Fitbit Aria’s display. Ara ara! WHAT I BOUGHT The Porc

  We're not even halfway through summer, and this is for sale?!? I imagine Christmas decorations won't be too far behind.

Hello. My name is Robzilla, and I’m bisexual. I never wanted to disclose that fact about myself until I was comfortable enough to do so. Unfortunately, I was robbed of that chance. My brother has been in a downward spiral since he survived his last hospitalization. He hangs an American flag on the front porch every day, supports Tang Satan, and screamed when he couldn’t hang various flags in his living room. I can only shake my head at this behavioral change. Considering his physical conditions and ethnicity, it’s like a lab rat supporting animal testing. He’s frequently agitated like an Alzheimer’s patient, more often at my sister than I, and at his worst he loses complete control of his thoughts and emotions. Things have devolved to the point that my sister refuses to visit my place out of fear for her own safety when he’s around, and after what I experienced during the past thirty-six hours I don’t blame her for staying away. Two nights ago, my brother disturbed me at eleven o’clock

For the past couple of days, I've debated whether or not to discuss something that’s weighing heavily on my mind. I prefer not to post negative thoughts online, but the reality is it’s detrimental to my mental and physical health if I suppress those emotions. That’s why I’m prepared to discuss them now. For awhile, I envisioned a happily ever after where I could go on with my life unencumbered by the restrictions both obesity and society placed on me for the past thirty years. I wanted to get back to work, even if only part time, so I could reintegrate with people and have somewhat of a set routine. I wanted to start dating again. I’ve worked hard to create the best version of myself, and even though that’s still a work in progress I’m confident I’d make a great life partner or husband. I also want to continue trying things that I never could do before. Owning and driving a MINI Cooper is a great example of that, but let’s pump the brakes on bungee jumping off a bridge, okay? All k

"As many of you know, before I was elected as vice president, before I was elected as United States senator, I was the elected attorney general of California, I mentioned that before that I was a courtroom prosecutor. In those roles I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump's type." -- Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris, July 22, 2024 I voted for Kamala Harris to become California's Attorney General. I voted for her as the Democratic nominee in the 2020 California Primary. Will I vote for her in November? I look forward to Kamala ripping Donald Trump's balls off and stuffing them down Vladimir Putin's throat.

I'm ready to take either Miku or Yukino out for a long drive. The destination? An apartment complex one county away that I was all set to move into back in 2018. I'm certain the one bedroom unit plus a detached one car garage I originally wanted costs at least 40% more than it did six years ago, but that's the least of my struggles. I've reached my breaking point with my siblings, all of whom are at least two cans shy of a six pack.  The only thing stopping me from throwing my stuff into the back of a one-way rental U-Haul and taking off is my moral compass. The only thing stopping me from abandoning my healthy habits is how thrilled my friend was when I told her about my weight loss. If she's happy now, I can't wait to see the look on her face when I look something like I did when I wasn't quite old enough to legally drink. The only thing stopping me from going crazy is that I want to be that someone she can lean on. I may be younger and have fewer life exp

  The Porch Gods delivered The Ice Cold Princess's likeness today. Unlike Miku's fan art keychain, Yukino's is official Sentai Filmworks merch from the anime's third and final season. I'll likely never find a replacement keychain on Etsy or elsewhere, so I need to protect this one for as long as I can. I'm assuming the prisoners at Atascadero and/or San Quentin are working double shifts since The Porch Gods shockingly delivered Miku's new plates today. I think it was an eight-week wait before I received Akeno's plates two years ago. Now both ladies sport Raider Nation license plate frames, and all seems right with the world. 

  WHAT’S ON MY MIND An older woman I’ve known since I was eighteen. We reconnected on the phone this week, and discovered we’ve led similar lives for the past two years. We’ll see each other in person soon, but it might take awhile. She’s still working, and I’m dealing with family issues that absorb a decent amount of my personal time. I love that she’s assertive, speaks her mind, and has a potty mouth. She graduated from one of those colleges with exorbitant tuition fees, unlike me who matriculated in the local state university. I find her conversations both emotionally and intellectually stimulating, and I love it when she puts me on my heels.  She doesn’t act superior. She just is, and I bet that intimidates a lot of men. If I pursue these feelings and end up performing a faithful reenactment of The Flight of Icarus, I don’t care. I’m feeling bold, and in two months I can use our age gap as a selling point.  Aren’t women supposed to outlive men by seven years anyway?  WHAT I CAN’T S

I'm known for cheeky comments, but I have some super serious questions about your neck of the woods or state in the event I need to pull up stakes in the near future: What kind of housing can I buy with a $350,000 budget? It's not that I can't afford higher. I feel it's unreasonable to pay more than that for a house or condo I won't feature in the pages of House Beautiful. What is the property tax situation like? A percentage will do. Do you pay state income taxes? Yes or no will suffice as an answer. Will I need to fund an HOA gestapo? Is the 'hood blue, red or purple? Is it a safe place to live? Or will I need to purchase a security system from ADT, Brinks, or Ruger? Thanks in advance for your participation. I really appreciate it.

  I could make a killing if I sold all of my Ford shares today, but they're not for sale. Therefore I'll just sit here on the sidelines and cheer on analysts as they raise their price targets to $16 to $17 per share. Then I'll collect higher quarterly dividends afterward.

There's a few things on my mind tonight, and writing about them might just allow me to get something resembling a full night's rest... My brother's been home for just over forty-eight hours, and I'm already fed up with his bullshit. Life is so stressful that I started looking at Southern California home prices on Redfin tonight. I even not so joked with my best friend we need to go halfsies on a four-bedroom home in Riverside County.  On a happier note, I finally got my Carmax refund tonight! Last night I reviewed Miku's multipoint vehicle inspection performed by the MINI dealership two weeks ago. Other than the new motor mounts the only other things she needs down the road are new front brake pads. I'm inclined to have all that work done sooner rather than later now that I have my money back, so don't be shocked if I drop her off at the dealership once my personal schedule permits. A rock struck Yukino's windshield late last week, but I'm confident

  I've never shopped on Etsy before, so I was pleasantly surprised to find this cute acrylic keychain of Hatsune Miku for sale. This is what I was waiting for, and you can see by the colors why I named the convertible after her. My gut feeling is this will get easily scratched up and/or may not last long, but hey I tried my best to do something nice for her. I didn't know until last night that the S emblems in Miku's side scuttles, aka turn signals, are supposed to be red. Through the passage of time and I'm also assuming numerous car washes, the color had faded completely from them.  This morning, I sprung for new ones at the MINI dealership. It only took me a few minutes to replace them, and now I can officially say I've completed Miku's restoration. She now looks and drives like I'm her original owner, and I couldn't be happier with her. What about me? What about Robzilla? My brother has been home five hours and my life has already  become a living he

WHAT’S ON MY MIND Finances. I've had my fun, so it’s time to pitch nickels like they’re manhole covers. I canceled NFL Sunday Ticket so I’m free on Sundays, and I’m not buying a sim racing setup to eat up space in my living room. I’ve decided that Miku and Yukino are the perfect early birthday presents to myself. It’s a nice first world problem to have when I look outside my living room window and I can’t decide which one to drive for an errand. Oh, who am I kidding? If it’s before 10 am or after 2 pm and the weather’s nice you know whose keys I’m grabbing. WHAT I ATE Mochi. It’s an ice cream bite wrapped in rice flour, only 80 calories, and the perfect after dinner treat. I’m surprisingly quite fond of the matcha tea flavor. WHAT I BOUGHT AND LISTENED TO MEGAN by Megan Thee Stallion. Now Yukino’s and Miku’s stereo systems bob and bounce to explicit versions of “Otaku Hot Girl” and other songs almost as much as I do in their driver’s seats.  Arigato, Tina Snow! WHAT I ALSO BOUGHT T

My Saturday update will be published a little late, perhaps in the afternoon or evening hours. My brother is supposed to return home tomorrow morning, and that is when my life will officially be upended for a few months. I may have to help him get settled in, and maybe run an errand or two in the process. I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of something cute and inexpensive that falls under the category, "What I Bought." I can't wait to show it off. I'm still dealing with the Carmax situation. If the forty-eight hour waiting period lapses this morning without contact from them, I'll have to visit the store this afternoon to make another attempt to collect my money. I'd be thrilled if they could agree to mail me a check that arrives within 7 to 10 business days. In case things go sideways, I spent an hour last night writing the rough draft of a Demand Letter. If you know what those are used for, then you know I'm fully prepared to travel down that road if

Today was one of those days that featured extreme highs and lows that I haven't experienced since I was poppin' Metformin. This morning proved two things: pink ambient interior lighting doesn't always soothe my soul, and with San Diego's hills I have no prayer in ever achieving 24 mpg on city streets with Yukino.  Carmax failed to refund my extended warranty fee as promised, which explains this morning's music selection. I don't listen to Slayer unless two conditions are met. I need my blood pumping like I'm working out, and I'm preparing for war. Both conditions were met before I drove to Carmax. Depending on what happens within the next forty-eight hours, it's possible I'll pursue legal remedies to resolve this matter.  Now for something that almost made me forget about this ordeal... Guess who was ready to go home this afternoon?  The dealership did a fantastic job on the repairs, and they cut me a serious break on the cost of parts. I also sp

... Met Yukino's Former Owner How rare is it to meet the prior owner of a vehicle sold at a dealership? I imagine the odds are slim to none, and for Miku's prior owner's sake that's for the best.  It turns out Miku's issues stem from not being properly repaired after an accident. Rather than bore you with a breathtaking list of replacement parts I'm buying, let's do something different to describe her necessary repairs. The next time you go out for a drive, take a peek beneath your car's front bumper. Do you see that long, vertical bar that connects the front wheels? It's called a sway bar, and that might be the only front suspension part or component that's NOT getting replaced at the dealership right now. Anyway, I visited the dealership yesterday to discuss Miku's "after care". She's at that age and mileage when it's worth it to prepay her synthetic oil changes for the next three years. While I was tacking on a few hundre

 

Due to my weight loss, I needed three links removed from the band before I could wear it. This thing pops in sunlight.

The weather in "America's Costliest City" has been stealthily unpleasant lately. It's always sunny and about 80 degrees midday where I'm at, but in the morning and evening hours the humidity is higher than Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson sharing a Bic EZ Reach lighter. I've shortened my indoor bike rides out of fear I'll choke on the heavy air if I pedal beyond the 20 minute mark, and I can't wait for the humidity to drop. *** I drove Yukino to my best friend's house yesterday and experienced all three MINI driving modes. I usually drive in the default Mid Mode, but in Green Mode I'm certain Yukino eclipsed the 30 mpg mark on the freeway. She's feisty in Sport Mode, which brought a smile to my lips and made me forget that the price of premium gas currently hovers at around $5.50 a gallon. Perhaps this Yukino is also The Ice Cold Princess? *** This week will bring changes to my life. Some are good while others are... to be determined. My sister

NOTE: I have a full agenda on Saturday so I wrote and uploaded this entry as a future post on Friday night. — Robzilla WHAT’S ON MY MIND MINI Madness. If you told me two weeks ago I’d buy two MINIs I’m pretty sure my reaction would’ve been either, “Put down the crack pipe and no one gets hurt!” or “Get the fuck outta here!” It’s surreal that this really happened, and once Miku is back from the dealership it’s really going to sink in that I now own a cabrio and a compact SUV in highly desirable colors. WHAT I BOUGHT A second Victorinox FieldForce watch. Ever since I bought Miku I’ve worn the limited edition FieldForce just about every time I went out for a drive. This “everyday” FieldForce has a head turning blue chronograph face, and was a fraction of the cost of a Rolex or an Omega. WHAT SACRED TEXTS I READ Tamon’s B-Side, Volume 4 Rent-A-Girlfriend, Volume 25 Also in progress from J-Novel Club The Royal Hostage Has Vanished: The Black Wolf Yearns For The Persecuted Princess, Volume 1

This is Yukino Yukinoshita, the main female protagonist in the light novel/anime My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU . Like me, Yukino is often misunderstood. She's been given nicknames like Demon Superwoman and Ice Cold Princess during the course of the story, but in reality she's a kind person but socially awkward. I immediately thought of Yukino once I saw this gently used 2022 MINI Countryman S in person this morning. After a brief test drive and a shopping spree at the parts department that included "Night Jack" mirror caps and all season floor mats, I took advantage of a holiday sale and bought her. While Miku remains my fun car, Yukino is the sensible car that's still sporty enough to have fun in. She has a 7-speed automatic transmission and like Miku is turbocharged.  The best part of buying two MINIs? The cost to insure Miku and Yukino for six months is only $160 more than the cost to insure Akeno alone. Ara ara! CORRECTION: The six month premium difference is

For those that celebrate, Happy 4th of July from Deadpool and myself! My stomach celebrated the holiday yesterday so it doesn't show up on the scale when I weigh myself on Saturday morning. I air fried three Johnsonville brat dogs until they had that ungodly crispy and juicy texture combination that's to die for. Then I sliced them into small pieces and mixed them into an Amy's broccoli and cheddar bake bowl. It was unexpectedly delicious, and unlike Joey Chestnut I took more than 10 minutes to eat that. I'll spend part of the holiday looking at used cars online. My goal has always been to own two vehicles for different uses, and now that Miku fills that "fun car" void in my life I need something that's practical and can also make me forget that premium gas is about $5.50 a gallon.  Perhaps another MINI? I can always joke that between the two I'm guaranteed to have at least one that's operational at all times.

Hillcrest, our gay neighborhood, is a pretty chill place. Not much happens there other than people trying to live their best lives, so it warmed my heart to see this stop sign this afternoon. I'm trying to design a Hatsune Miku driving helmet for my character in Gran Turismo 7, and another gamer modified the MINI logo and uploaded it.

The marine layer that hugs the coastline every morning usually burns off by ten o'clock, and the temperature usually hovers in the high 70s. The humidity has also dropped enough to fall outside the unpleasant range. It's the perfect weather to drop the top and go for a nice cruise, but that's not happening for another week. Not even this  1966 Shelby Cobra 427 I'm currently driving in Gran Turismo 7 is sating my appetite for motoring adventure. Yeah. I'm going through some serious Miku withdrawals right now. *** I don't know if it's due to my weight loss or the fact I now own a convertible, but I care more about my personal appearance. If it weren't for the fact I'm still losing at least a pound a week on average I'd love to buy some nice clothes. I hate the idea of buying an everyday clothing item that will only be used once or twice before it is donated to Goodwill once it no longer fits. That should only be done for weddings and funerals. For

While reviewing Miku's inspection results yesterday, I learned two alarming things. One, it's very possible that what the prior owner did to Miku's suspension and the resulting damage from it voided her warranty. The second thing I learned is even more distressing: Carmax's multipoint vehicle inspection is bullshit. I know some of y'all probably think I should lawyer up, but when something like this happens it's a gray area where a warranty's exclusion language is concerned. As a former insurance underwriter, I already know how "playing in the gray" usually works out for the consumer. Therefore, I harbor zero expectations that the third party insurance company's underwriting department would suddenly become my advocate in this matter. Rather than enduring any possible drama about warranty coverage, not to mention likely delays in securing replacement parts and the possibility that some of those parts would be less than OEM quality, I've dec

Y'all know I had a terrible day when I learned that my sister has less than three months to live it was the second worst thing that happened. Considering the complications she's endured I had already assumed this was a foregone conclusion. What was troubling were the results of Miku's inspection at the dealership.  I've often said that when someone buys a used car they will eventually pay for the sins of the prior owner, and Miku's suspension needs a lot of TLC -- and money. The only question is who will foot the bill? Will Carmax's warranty cover the cost of the prior owner's stupidity? Or will I need to whip out my debit card and have the dealership fix her? We're legally past the point of no return, so Miku needs to be repaired one way or another.  If there's a great thing I learned from this experience it's that the dealership genuinely cares about providing excellent service to their customers. They made a video detailing what's wrong w

If you're a baseball fan, you can't help but giggle when it's July 1st. That's the day when several major league baseball teams make annual deferred payments on large contracts that ended prematurely. The most notorious of those terminated contracts was the one Bobby Bonilla signed as a free agent with the New York Mets. Not long after signing his deal the superstar began showing his age, and the Mets bought out his contract in January 2000. Normally a team will agree to pay a portion of the remaining contract as a lump sum to settle matters, but this is the Mess -- I mean, Mets -- we're talking about here. They handled things quite differently twenty-four years ago. The team invested the remaining $5.9 million owed to Bonilla into an annuity that promised double digit returns. Based on the assumption they would make a lot of money off this investment, the Mets reached an agreement with Bonilla to defer the rest of his salary until 2011. On July 1st of that year, th