Reborn As An Early Retiree, I Now Wander America’s Costliest City: Volume 3, Bonus Chapter

WHAT’S ON MY MIND

If I blink, the best year I’ve had since 1999 will be over. Part of me is sad to see it end, and yet I know even greater things are coming in 2025. I’ll elaborate further on or before NYE.

WHAT GAVE ME A TOE CURLING FOODGASM

I won’t disclose what ingredients I added to both a broccoli and then a cauliflower crust pizza on consecutive nights, but I ended up with the best of both worlds — thin crust Open Nature (Vons/Albertson’s) pies that blew my taste buds away and are carb friendly. Robzilla’s Kitchen Skunk Works for the win!

WHAT I BOUGHT FOR MY TRAVELS

A two-pack of hangars ($50) and a medium accessory pouch ($95) from TUMI, plus a pair of travel wine bags ($12.95 each, Williams Sonoma) for the upcoming trip. The latter and my TUMI duffel bag were very useful for…

WHAT I BOUGHT FOR MY PALETTE

At Dudley’s I bought another bottle of Tres Llaves Winery’s 2023 Syrah Rose ($35). My adventurous side will give Emerald Creek’s I’m A Charmer 2020 ($22) white wine blend a go. This one’s got Pinot Grigio, Riesling and Muscat Grapes all in one bottle. Ara ara!

WHAT I LISTENED TO

Trans-Siberian Orchestra. For some strange reason I hesitated until Christmas Day to play it on my laptop speakers. I have no idea why.

WHAT SACRED TEXTS I READ

• The Odyssey (finished)
• Rent-A-Girlfriend, Volume 28
• The Kept Man Of The Princess Knight, Volume 2
• Black Lagoon, Volume 13
• High School DxD (light novel), Volume 15

Also from J-Novel Club…

• The Hero And The Sage: Reincarnated And Engaged, Volume 3
• The Poison King: Now That I’ve Gained Ultimate Power, The Bewitching Beauties In My Harem Can’t Get Enough Of Me, Volume 3 (finished)
• An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels For Me!, Volume 9 
• Duchess In The Attic, Volume 3 

WELCOME TO SLAPSVILLE…

I was not Netflix and chill on Christmas Day. Despite being an NFL Sunday Ticket subscriber, I was SOL when it came to streaming those games. I feel like I was the slap recipient!

A FIST BUMP GOES TO…

Sasha Fenestraz, who after two forgettable seasons in Formula E returns to Super GT and Super Formula in 2025. He’s a kind, gentle soul that’s like a ray of sunshine that breaks through a battle gray sky. I look forward to watching him race again in April.

WHAT’S UP WITH MY HEALTH

I’ve regained a lot of strength but without the muscle mass, which is wonderful. I’ll lift as much as 50 pounds on some exercises nowadays. The problem is the Bowflex 552 dumbbells I bought only go up to 52.5 pounds. I might have to join a gym out of necessity in the near future if I continue these strength gains.

My weight was 256.0 this morning, well below my 260 “holiday season” limit. I’m going to treat myself to anything on the Buffalo Wild Wings menu for lunch today before I resume my health and fitness journey in earnest.

Let's go sports bar! *Clap, clap. Clap, clap, clap*