Check out my new car! It’s a brand new 992 Porsche 911! Just kidding! I snapped this picture from a cars and coffee event I attended this Spring. I must say, though, if I were building a Porsche 911, I would maybe come up with one like this–it is very tastefully done. Ironically, it is very similar to my previous car with that style of wheels and the sunroof. The main difference is the GTS trim and color on this one. I will say that it is certainly still a goal to get back behind the wheel of a traditional flat 6 911. I muse with the idea of going Cayman or Boxster, but my current target is a 911.
I was not really compelled to write something today, but I do like to put something here at least once in a quarter. My thought is that when I do have the time to actually go back and read all of this, the story is more cohesive with updates at least quarterly. Well, this past Spring was pretty uneventful. The term “dark age” comes to mind when I think about my work. The team looks different today than it looked 5-10 years ago, and the recent company buy-out has most certainly shaken up our culture. The term “jumping onto a moving train” comes up from time to time, and I think it is an adequate analogy to describe how I feel as though I’m clinging on for dear life. I’m also reminded of the the tunnel analogy–we are enduring a rough patch, but as long as we see that light at the end of the tunnel and that light gets brighter, little by little, we can make it through. Just like that Fred Again track Carlos, “we gon’ make it through.”
My time has been spent going through the motions of life. I have not been as active as I’d like–my primary types of exercise have historically been yardwork and spin cycle. I had a ganglion cyst removed relatively recently, causing some wrist pain when I use the spin bike too frequently. That becomes my usual excuse when I don’t use the spin bike for weeks or even months. The weather here in Florida has been colder than usual so I have not been mowing my grass as much, however, as Spring starts working its way to summer, I should have some yard tasks to get done.
The days of my project car are effectively behind me at this time. They are not behind me forever–this is most certainly temporary. My wife has me spun into a scenario where I can’t really tech out my GR Corolla. At the same time, I also can’t (and quite frankly, don’t want to) drive her Supra. This leaves the only real car I can tech out as my Tesla, and there is not anything I really want to do to it, other than perhaps upgrade the subwoofer on it. I don’t really want that bad enough, so for the moment, I’m stuck. Guess I’m just saving up to either pay off the house or throw funds into retirement. I also know my wife was discussing renovating or redesigning the house. I floated the idea of moving, but she was less than interested.
The video games taking my time these days are firmly in the casual gaming space. The thought of a game that is more on the hardcore side of gaming sounds exhausting. I suppose this is proof that I am getting older. I also notice that the idea of gaming into the wee hours of the morning is not as appealing anymore. I frequently find myself gaming and just saying, “Man, I’m tired. I’m going to bed.” Some of this may map into my less than active lifestyle, but some of may also be my age. Honestly, some of it may be related to the minor rut I’ve been battling. At least once a year, I like scheduling a full week off from work–I may need to cash that in sooner rather than later.
So, about the rut I describe. I have recently made a decision to give up caffeine. This was, quite frankly, a backbreaker for me. The moment I gave it up, my mood took a huge nosedive, and it has never really recovered. I feel like an entirely different person. Mind you, I still get by, but life is definitely less bright. This decision was in line with a long list of decisions I’ve been making over the past 10+ years. The first of these decisions was to give up hard liquor. That seemed almost a lifetime ago, around the age of perhaps, 28-30. I was having shooting, neuropathic pains in my leg and when I gave up hard liquor and drank loads more water, they stopped. They have never come back since.
This was followed by the decision many years later to give up drinking entirely. That was more recent–somewhere within the past maybe 5 years or so. I determined that the juice was just not worth the squeeze, meaning that when I drank, the hangover I got was not worth the reward of drinking. Drinking was a great way to unwind–there was a dopamine release and it was effective for me to forget whatever the concern of the moment was. Best yet, it was socially acceptable, and I would say, even pushed onto me by peers. It takes resolve to reject the social stigma that comes with remaining sober. There was a reduction in caloric intake and monthly expenses. Also, naturally, I do not miss the hangovers.
The next decision was pretty recent, maybe within the year. In essence, one could say, I gave up sugar, however, I would rather say I drastically reduced my sugar intake. Completely eliminating sugar from your diet is an especially tall task–one I don’t think I could handle due to the extreme dietary changes required. Sugar is everywhere. What I did do is give up candy, and drastically reduce my dessert intake. When I do have a treat, I look at the nutritional facts first. If I integrate a treat into my regular diet, it has to be low sugar. I occasionally give myself the opportunity for “cheat days,” but I would need to work out the frequency. I’m thinking maybe once every 1-2 months?
Then came the most recent decision to give up caffeine. It has been perhaps 2-3 months now that I drink decaf coffee. I have occasionally been tricked into drinking tea or the wrong soda, but as a rule, I keep it at water with my meals. I generally avoid any drinks that have calories aside from kombucha in the evenings. I’ve also decided to reduce my red meat intake, tending to lean towards chicken and fish when eating meat.
So to circle back to games… The games I have been playing lately are Civilization VII and NBA2k25. I stepped away from EA CFL and Madden 2025. Fun fact: I invested in Take Two Interactive stock, who owns game publisher 2K behind Civ VII and NBA2k. That stock has steadily went up. As of today, I’ve made about $100 off of the stock I purchased, which means it essentially paid for my Civ VII and NBA2k for me. I got NBA2k on sale because I waited to buy it well into the NBA season versus during the preseason or beginning of the season like most people. I ended up preordering Civ VII. Fun fact #2: Take Two Interactive also owns Rockstar Games, behind the famous Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption game series. When/if GTA VI ever comes out, my stock should see some real movement. They’ve only been working on it over 10 years…
I’m hoping things will start to normalize within the year–we will see.