In another twist on my two worlds colliding, there is this strange world of men's fashion that I call Grayman fashion.  Now, people who do this will NOT call it that, because that's way too sissy.  No, these men consider themselves the most operatey of operaters, the tips of the spear, possibly even tier 1 (and some actually are!) but the point is, you can't just be a badass.  You also have to look the part too.  As Garand Thumb (a military YouTuber) loves to frequently joke, "If you don't look cool, then nothing else matters."

But while I could try to describe the style, it might be easier if I provide pictures for visual aid.  Let's start with Daddy Flannel himself, Garand Thumb:

However, maybe this image is a better depiction of what I think the fashion itself looks like:

Of course, most people don't walk around in plate carriers while slinging rifles, and so, take those away, and you have Grayman fashion in a nutshell, which I think this following 5.11 ad picture perfectly illustrates:

So, why am I bringing this up?  Prior to retirement, I was surrounded by a lot of highly impressionable young men who are really into stuff like this.  Regardless of who they are, or what their actual skill level is, they still want to look and feel like a badass.  And as such, there will always be companies who are more than happy to help them look the part, in exchange for unreasonable amounts of money.  One such notable brand name is the one I just mentioned, which is 5.11, though they are not the only one.

5.11 used to be an online-only gear and apparel shop catering to the military, law enforcement, and first responder crowd, but they have gotten so popular, they are even opening regular retail stores now!  How do I know this?  Well, I finally got around to visit the (relatively new) 5.11 store near me:

As I'm sure you can imagine, the place is EXPENSIVE.  For example, a cheap pair of trauma sheers, ones you might find packed with your first aid kit bundle for free, are being sold individually for $15 USD!  But yeah, sure, it's in "tactical black" and lovingly etched with their fancy 5.11 logo, so I'm sure that more than makes it worth the money....

Now don't get me wrong.  Most of their products are all high quality.  However, does one really need to spend all that money for quality and function?  I personally believe I'm just as functional and operatey as anybody in my old man sweat shirt and sweat pants, along with my plain jane T-shirt with holes in it, that I think I might have gotten from Goodwill years ago.

And to be fair, I'm not saying it looks bad at all.  Right?  Paul Bunyan meets Special Forces has that certain quaint look to it?  Or better yet, I personally prefer this look:

Can't beat a man looking sharp in highly functional suits, right?  You know, actually, even Jason Momoa looks very badass and operatey in this photo, which is mostly why I chose to share this one.  But don't worry.  While I might have to fix my wardrobe some day, for now, I am still comfortably sporting my cheap, homeless hot garbage look.  And I kid you not, even when geared up, literally NOBODY suspects me of being anything other than hoping you'll spare me a few coins for a McDonald's value meal.

Aside from friends and family, there is not a whole lot that I need or want out of the world. And though I've mentioned this before, the one notable exception is me being low key kind of a foodie.

For example, I typically watch cooking competition shows while I am eating.  The last one I watched was called Culinary Class War, a Korean cooking competition. (Good show!)  Yesterday, I went out of my way to finally go try Raising Cane's chicken for the first time.  (It was just Ok.) Before that, I was thinking about taking a trip to Texas some day to get some Texas BBQ.   Before that, I was watching a show about catching fresh fish off the coast of Hawaii for some sashimi, ceviche, and poke. (Are they not worried about parasites?)  Last night, I dreamt about finally meeting an Indian chef and trying out his signature curry dish.

I know food is expensive, and though it's a constant battle, I do keep it within my budget, always.  It's just, the very thought of amazing food is literally what gets me up in the morning and excited about life sometimes.  Yeah, it's crazy.  My one guilty pleasure.  I wish I wasn't like this, but here I am haha.

I don't know if you guys remember me talking about a friend of mine from Canada.  As a quick recap, she basically cheated on her boyfriend of more than 10 years, left him for a new guy, and apparently according to Canadian law, can sue her now ex-boyfriend for SPOUSAL SUPPORT!

I think the original purpose of spousal support is that a married woman, especially ones raising kids, can sue the husband for running off with someone else?  I mean I don't really understand Canadian law or anything, but it sounds to me like their version of the alimony.

In the case of this "friend" of mine, because she and her ex-bf have co-habitated for more than 3 years, somehow that counted as common law marriage.  And even though they have no kids together, she decided to sue him anyways because she really needs the money.

Well, I just found out earlier today that their lawyers have finally agreed to settle out of court to the tune of a $25k lump sum, to my "friend".  It's half of what she was hoping to get.  Actually, she wanted way more than that, then tampered down her expectations, but still got half of what she wanted.

I basically tried to console her that it's still better than nothing, and it would not cause her any further legal fees by going to trial.  Honestly though, I was shocked how much she was getting considering that she basically had NO CASE.

As for this "friend" and I, we are not really friends anymore.  I guess we still talk on occasion, held together only by whatever friendship we once had in the past.  But she's really turned into something different... and not in a good way.  She is still clueless about money, other than the fact that she's now having to actually struggle financially because her new hot boyfriend doesn't make any money, but hey at least he's great in the sack or so she says.

And though I was certainly no fan of her ex-boyfriend either, to be perfectly fair, he did take care of her financially.  He clothed her, fed her, put a roof over her head, and basically paid for all of her living expenses.  He even took her traveling all over the world, at least once a year, even though she insisted that she didn't care about that.  OK, whatever you say.

Point is, imagine being someone who has technically done nothing wrong, and has paid for everything, only to find out she cheated on you with someone else, and is now coming back to sue YOU for SPOUSAL SUPPORT!  Without actual marrage or any kids involved?

What a crazy world we live in.

You know, my world can be a strange mix sometimes, and consequently, I am not sure if I should share this as I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable here.  For example, I realize not everyone likes guns, or even law enforcement.  If so, please feel free to let me know, and I won't share anymore of it in the future.

For now though, even though I am retired, I am still occasionally in contact with people who are still active law enforcement.  More specifically, I was also a firearms instructor, and some of my LE buddies would still ask me for gun advice from time to time.

A quick word about the LE community: Generally speaking, we are very, very bad at financial stuff.  The focus is always the quality of the gear, regardless of the price.  Can't afford it?  Just have to work more overtime or moonlight until we can.  Or better yet, "It is better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission."  I don't agree with that of course, but for many out there, it's scripture.

Not to say every cop is like that, but let's just say I don't generally talk to them about being a fruggie, as many would think I have lost my mind.  (I can just see some of their weirded out expressions, if I ever complained to them about a $5 cabbage.)

However, sometimes, the LE path and the fruggie path can and do cross in beneficial ways.  A buddy of mine recently asked me for advice on a conceal carry pistol.  And sure, I could make all kinds of suggestions, but then, I decided to recommend something very affordable.  I don't want to bore you guys with the details (about the PSA Dagger), but the takeaway here is, I managed to talk him into looking into a cheaper option in order to help him save a few hundred dollars.

However, I didn't exactly tell him that.  I learned a long time ago that you can't sell affordability to cops.  You have to be more like an used car salesman, emphasizing practicality and value... and if at all possible, even a bit of charm and mystique.  I told them they're going to lose the gun to evidence anyway, so why bother carry something expensive and nice?  Plus, the Dagger isn't a horribly ugly gun... in the right light....

I don't really have much of a point to this entry, other than to say I felt mildly proud that I managed to help someone save a few hundred bucks.  Well, if anything, I am very concerned for their financial future.  Yes, they do have decent benefits, 401(k), SS and all that.  However, most of them are still not going to have anything to show for retirement, beyond what was required of them.  Generally speaking, most of their idea of a financial strategy is forming a list of things they want to buy in case they win the lottery, or better yet, hoping their crypto coins are going to rebound spectacularly.

Despite of it all, there are some really good cops out there, and I hope they land into retirement OK.  For all that they've done to actually help keep the streets safe, these ones deserve some peace and joy for a change.

When it comes to vegetables, I am typically quite lax when it comes to cost.  Even when they're not cheap, I know it's healthy for me, and it's hard enough to get myself to eat vegetables on some days.

However, even I had to do a double take when I checked my recipt and realized a head of cabbage costed me $5 USD!  Is that even normal?

Coming back home, I googled the average market price for cabbages, and found out it is not!  Then I realized I might have bought organic cabbages by accident, but even then, $5 is still on the high side....

Certainly, everything costs more these days, but perhaps this particular grocery store is just expensive in general?  To me, it doesn't seem anything special.  I'm going to check out other grocery stores, that are further away, but may offer lower prices.

So I finally got a humidifier, and have been running for a few days.

While I normally would loathe making such a purchase, after having constant bouts of itchy skin and static electric shocks, including one that partially zapped out my headset(!), I decided that enough was enough.

First, the machine has noticeably improved my room, bring up the humidity from 20% to 35% and more.  More importantly, I am no longer experiencing itchy skin and static electricity.  That was definitely worth the investment.

Now, here's the crazy part: My room is not very big.  In fact, it's roughly 8 feet by 8 feet (about 2.5 x 2.5 meters), and that's not including all the furniture I have in here.  And yet, this thing runs almost constantly, billowing out a noticeable spray of mist just to maintain that level of humidity.

But it's insane.  Each day, it can easily power through more than a gallon (~3.8 liters) of water.  That's a lot of water, right?  Where did all that misty water go to?  I know it's not sticking to my furniture or me, and the walls are not wet or anything.  But the water levels don't lie, and replenishing it with water is turning into a daily chore.

Of course, the room is far from air-tight, but I also keep the doors closed constantly so the humidifier won't have to work even harder to maintain this humidity level.

This foggy puzzle aside, I am still pleased with the positive results.

After reading PatientSaver's entry on them, I decided to get one as well, mostly because I am a bit concerned about my small room perhaps resulting in unhealthy levels of CO2 concentration, which as you know leads to dizziness, headaches, and the inability to focus.

Well, according to my new monitor, the CO2 levels seem very acceptable.  However, this is also most likely because I keep my room door open at all times.  It will not be the case come summer though, when I plan to run a window AC as well, to prevent from having to cool the entire house.

Hmm, I should run an experiment by keeping my door closed, and see what the readings say.

Currently though, the monitor is also showing that my humidity level is rather low, at only 20%.  That makes sense, as my skin always gets rather itchy around this cold time of year.  What to do about it though?  I am not sure if this is mildly bad or very bad?  And what would be the ideal solution in this case?

All other readings, including the ones that I don't understand yet, are all in the green.

I was finally able to file my taxes.  I even took notes this time, because every year, I always feel a bit fuzzy about how I managed to file my taxes from last year.  I just don't do this stuff often enough.

Anyways, through some weird insurance marketplace situation, it turns out that I ended up owing the IRS $10.  Equally amusing, they immediately accepted my federal tax return filing for said $10.  I don't recall my filing being accepted this quickly when they owed ME money!

In other news, we're getting snow again.  However, I did do some shopping earlier, so I am prepared and am not planning to leave the house anytime soon.

This year will also be the first year I embark on my journey towards eventually converting all my traditional IRA money into my Roth IRA.

My plan is to convert $10k chunks every year, and when I file my taxes this year, I basically pay $1k in taxes, right?  I am no longer working, and paid no taxes on last year's tax return.

Likewise, the process seems very easy.  I made the money transfer on my phone app while lying in bed.  In fact, the whole thing seems TOO easy, and that's making me feel slightly uneasy, like I must be missing something or am not understanding some detail....  Am I missing anything?

As a part of my 2026 goal of rebalancing my portfolio to something more sane, I just sold my Merck (MRK) stock today.  My gains here are more than six figures so I am clearly not complaining.

However, and this subject came up as I was on my Jollibee road trip with this buddy of mine, where I said if I am being completely honest, I don't know which Dumb and Dumber character I was channeling when I bought MRK, because I clearly had no idea what I was recklessly buying into.  I barely remember the drug patent that was about to expire, or when, I had no idea what other research they had in the pipeline, let alone what they are called, or how far along and how commercially viable they are.  All I basically saw was that their PE was at an enticing low, all the while paying a beefy dividend.

Well, as I joked to my travel buddy that even when one put all their chips on black, sometimes, just sometimes, the roulette ball does land on black!  And that's essentially what happened for me here.  Yes, this could have easily backfired on me, and only out of sheer luck, not personal skill, did it swing to my favor instead.  I recognize that.  I recognize that, and that is why I decided to sell it today, because in cases like these, it's best to Quit While You're Still Ahead!

Oh, and I should also mention that this trade was made in my Roth IRA account, if that adds any more shock and horror to it all, but at least it shouldn't cause any tax issues for me from the sale.

This is basically how I feel about this entire thing, though at least I can take comfort in its surprisingly positive outcome:

Now, a rather important question for you dear readers: What do you have in your Roth IRA?  Or what do you suggest?  Me personally, I'm thinking of buying a good ole index style bond fund and just leaving it alone for all eternity, but I'm always open to suggestions.  I'm going to sleep on it for at least a few days while the money is settling and all that.

Ok, this isn't exactly financial.  Just warning you upfront, so you can skip it if you want.

For anyone else still reading, remember I blogged earlier about how I had buddies that wanted to take road trips, but none of that ever really panned out?  Yeah, real life happens, and I get that they're busy, so it's not like I am holding them to the fire over this or anything.

Well much to the surprise of even yours truly, one of them actually happened yesterday! This buddy and I have always wanted to go try Jollibee at Virigina beach, and off we actually went yesterday!

Now, before I continue, I just want to say that this is very much a bucket list item.  Yes.  A bucket list item, as in, we have never been to Jollibee.  Actually, we've never even been to virginia beach in our lifetime until now!  However, all over the internet, people were raving about how good Jollibee is, and being a bunch of self-professed foodies that we are, we were like you know we really have to try this out some day, just once, before we croak.

I think perhaps the passing of our co-workers might have finally lit the fire under the butt of this buddy to finally say yeah let's at least check off Jollibee (as it was arguably the easiest item on our bucket list).

So anyways, off we finally went and I ended up with this unhealthy amount of food:

That's a bucket of chicken, adobo rice, gravy, jolly spaghetti, and hiding behind the bucket is a tray of palabok.

The fried chicken is basically the best I have ever had out of any fast food restaurant.  The skin was light and crispy without being hard and hurting my mouth, and the meat was so juicy and tender.

The adobo rice was similar to Bojangle's dirty rice, but a bit drier and milder, so I didn't personally care for it.

The jolly spaghetti is like eating Chef Boyardee's, except the sauce was sweeter?  It's odd, I don't care for it myself, but I can see why it's a popular item, especially for kids.

Now the palabok.  That was truly a surprise.  Here's a separate picture of it to get a good look:

Basically, it's a clear noodle dish, but covered in this meaty, savory sauce I can't describe, but was really tasty and I couldn't stop eating it.  I COULD NOT STOP EATING IT.

But yeah, this bucket list item has been checked. It's a shame there is not a Jollibee near me, or I would definitely get food from there again.

Oh, and by the time we got there, it was already dark, so we decided there was no point in actually visiting the actual beach.  So we just ate and went back home.  Overall, I had nice time.  Not bad for a one day road trip.

I just found out that two of my former co-workers have either died or is dying.  Well, let explain.  One died recently of acute liver failure.  The other is dying of stage 4 cancer that has unfortunately spread to the point where he is not expected to be around for much longer.  Chemo has only slowed down the inevitable.

They are or were both still so young to me.  Neither have reached age 60 yet.

Both were or are shining beacons to the rest of us, always so tireless and capable, and were so much fun to work with.  If you were to ever call for help or 911, they were the kind of people you wish and pray would show up to come help you.

I don't really have a point to this entry.  If anything, I guess I do feel bad that my past few entries have been nothing but downers, but I just found out about all this like 5 minutes ago.  In moments like this, life certainly feels short though, and fate seems to have a habit of claiming the best of us, a little too early.

I don't have any particularly new or specific goals for the new year, except for the usual to reduce spending more, rebalance my portfolio, to spring clean and declutter more, and to just be more mindful of my use of time and energy.  I know, I know, not all that specific hahaha.

The only new wrinkle, I guess, is re-connecting with this female friend of mine, and to see if we can't work things out again.   So far, to the surprise of no one, we are not working out.  We are politically incompatible, for example, and I see that gap has only widened and become more entrenched during our time apart.

For example, why does she give certain people and politicians she doesn't even know, that she only see on TV or the internet, people that anyone can easily prove to be lying outright, get a complete free pass, but people who she personally DO know, but is telling her the smallest and most inconsequential things to her, and yet is the truth, she will grill me on it for the rest of the night?

For example, my last job working for the Feds required that I maintain certain military standards, meaning no facial hair, and either short or no head hair.  I joked to her that she missed out on the years seeing me running around bald, but somehow this became a point of contention?  She spent the rest of the night questioning the legitimacy of me actually working for the Feds?   I'm like HUH?  That was years of my life at it, but I no longer work there anymore anyway (which is what I really think is the important point here), and somehow, she accused me of lying about my hair for my job???  I'm telling her the truth about something that's not even all that important, but she refused to believe me, oh but some politician lying to the public that can be easily proven false, about things that can end up getting thousands of innocent people hurt or maybe even killed, gets a complete pass?  How does that even work?

Politics isn't the core issue here though.  It's just a convenient example.  At the end of the day, what really concerns me is how she views and treats even her own friends, nevermind her enemies.  For example, is she going to grill and accuse me of every little joke or musings, no matter how small?  She's already told me that she and her friends in their circle never trust men, not even their own husbands, because men cheat and can leave them in a bind at any time, which I agreed is an understandable concern, but as the guy in this picture here, I'm also wondering.... why am I here then, if you don't trust me?  I'm trying to be supportive and make you feel better, but joking about something as inconsequential as hair (or the lack of) is somehow going to be a problem?  I feel like I'm walking on egg shells around her, never knowing what's going to set her off, and I typically hang up stressed after I talk to her.

However, she is still recovering from a potentially botched knee surgery, a toe dislocation (long story), and is even fighting off a cold right now, so I thought maybe she's cranky because of all that.  I. am doing the best I can to, again, just be a kind and supportive friend to her while she is in recovery.

If I am being honest though, our communication at this point has broken down to just basic, passing pleasantries for the most part, and that to me is a pretty clear sign that things have already failed pretty spectacularly.

Regardless, with or without anyone else, I still have to live my own life, and I am still committed to try to make 2026 my best year yet.

His last day at work will be this December 31.  Truly the end of an era.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od3jjn7sAPU

Bonus topic, because I don't think it's worth making a separate entry for it:  I noticed how a lot of people are calling luxuries "Billionaire's ... [insert luxury item name here]".  I totally understand why most people don't think the term "millionaire" has the same shock value as before, but what if someone has $999 million?  They are still technically a millionaire, but that's a lot of millions.

I have a male friend who is recently going through divorce.  Basically, from now on, he will not have Christmas with his kids or ex-wife anymore.  (He will have the kids on Christmas Eve though.)  For a man who is very family-orientated, this is a huge blow to him, and it will take time for him to adjust.

I myself have gone through that as well, where from Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day, it's just an emotional slog that I have to get through, year after year, with varying degrees of success....  Because I understand what a man has to go through, ever since last year anyway, I have made it a point to check up on this friend of mine, and see if he wants me to come over and visit during Christmas.  He said yes.

Walking into his apartment reminded me of an all-too-familiar haunted look into my own past made present.  His tree with the colorful lights are still up, and below that tree are signs of presents that was once there, not too long ago.  All around, you see children's toys and clothing littered all over (his kids are still young so this is normal).

And yet, despite all the obvious hints of life and holiday cheer, said actual holiday sights and sounds were nowhere to be found.  There were no smiles and laughter running around, nor anyone causing a ruckus.  There were no cheap cons trying to trick the wife into walking under that mistletoe you hid just to net that giggly smooch.  No sounds of mugs of hot chocolate or even egg nog being toasted.  There were no present swapping, and then mentally strategizing how you will return that silly item she bought you without getting caught by her.  All that was there, when I walked in, was a house with that familiar piercing silence that my buddy was sitting in, alone, on Christmas day.

I know that divorces are not easy for women either.  I completely acknowledge that.  However, I wonder how many realize that it is also not easy for good men either.  Because they won't be out at bars trying to get a cheap one-night stands.  They are not always out with family or even at work either, because perhaps the emotional toll is just too great for now, because they valued their time with family so highly.  I also can not help but wonder if he is also perhaps trying to punish himself for what he sees is a failure somehow....

To end on a more upbeat note, we went and enjoyed a Chinese buffet that was pretty good for what was available and open on Christmas.  We distracted ourselves with great conversations and had a great time overall for what it is.

I don't know if this is going to turn into a weird Christmas tradition between us.  I hope not, or at least not for too long.  It's better if he finds someone decent, and is able to enjoy Christmas again like the way he used to, or at the very least, be distracted by work on the holidays and get paid well for it.  Either way, and to end on a more financial note, I felt my gift of Christmas Chinese buffet to him was totally worth the money, and he enjoyed it as well.

While I may not always check my net worth monthly, I still at least do it annually.

Part of the reason I didn't look too often this year is because things were not exactly all that rosy for me.  For example, my investment portfolio's Year to Date performance fell by roughly $40k compared to January's high.

To be fair, January's stock market was unusually high, so when we fell off of that (*cough* Tariffs *cough*) I'm just kind of glad that it recovered enough that it's "only" $40k short now....

At the same time, the value of my (paid-off) house fluctuated a bit throughout the year, but ultimately landed at roughly $5k less compared to January's listing.

The real estate market remains pretty red hot where I am, and losing only a mere $5k on an otherwise already highly-valued piece of property is definitely no sweat off my back.

The bottom line is a net-loss of $45k for me this year.  It's never fun looking at losses, but at least it's not affecting my daily life or anything.

There's something I've been ruminating recently, and while it is financially-related, I think it's also something even more fundamental than that.

Do you know why men are generally not savers?  Asking a genuine question here, because I've known and spoken with a lot of smart men before, and yet, most of them struggle financially.

Sure, you could say it's simply not in their interest to do so, because it runs contrary to whatever it is they want out of life.  Whether it's fishing, off-roading, or even just wanting that large screen TV to watch the sports of their choice, it's what they are most interested in, as opposed to not scratching that itch and building up a financial nest egg....

But why though?  Why these things?  Why anything at all?  A lot of men love to say how they can't spend their money once they are dead, so might as well spend it now, but unless you're a hardcore believer in the Egyptian afterlife, neither can you take your large screen TV or fishing boat with you.  So what's really going on here?

For us men anyway, I find that... many of us struggle with a sense of self-identity or self-worth.  I think we want to be of value to our peers, even to society in general, and ideally in our preferred field of interests.  Even if it's hobbies such as fishing, off-roading, or just watching the game on TV and being highly knowledgeable in sports teams....  That and the majority of us men tie our identity and worth to our jobs and careers as well....

But not in Saving though.  To be clear, I am not suggesting saving is a bad idea.  Quite the contrary, but I also think... most men are not savers because they don't tie their self-identity and self-worth to saving and investing money.  Not all men, of course, as there are plenty of male accountants, investors, and day traders.  Still, even then... it's not Saving exactly.

On the flip side, I wonder, is this also why most regulars on SavingAdvice here DO become so financially successful?  Dear readers, would you go so far as to say that your self-identity and self-worth is at least partially tied to being a proud Saver and investor?

And while I am here, how does it work for women?  Since there are several readers who are female here, I am curious, what do women typically base their own sense of self-identity and self-worth to?  What is something you wish your significant other (real or hypothetical) should understand that's important to you, that makes you who you are, and is perhaps even considered sacred that he or she should understand and help nurture?

Does any of that make sense?  Am I talking crazy?  I'm starting to confuse even myself, so I'll stop here.

Just found out my FICO score went down 10 points because they decided that I don't have enough... what did they call it, Paid Accounts?

Basically, I have no debts of any kind, and currently have only one credit card active.  Why?  Because I'm a lazy simpleton *COUGH* er I mean Thoreauvian who enjoys the peace and tranquility of the simple life.  Uh yes.

In any case, I say this is a good problem to have because I'd rather be this than have massive debts that are spiraling out of control.  I also know it very likely won't stay like this forever, with expenses that will have to be incurred into the future.  Also, there are some things I would like to do eventually, I think, though they are more wants than needs, so they are not a priority or anything.

In the meantime, does anybody have any fun or creative suggestions for tackling this peculiar issue of "lacking in Paid Accounts"?

That arctic cold front has finally arrived and coming down like a hammer!  The rush hour traffic is made even worse from all the icing on the road, resulting in quite a few car accidents.

Also, the wind chill makes it feel even worse.  Interestingly enough, the wind was strong enough to rip my back door open, setting off my motion sensors, and sending me a stream of false alarms to my phone.  I can't have that.  Luckily, the fix won't be expensive at all, I just have to get around to it soon.

As I mentioned earlier, I hope Mother Nature decides to bless us with a bit of snow.  Where I am, we don't typically get snow, but if it's going to get cold enough to ice everything up, She might as well go all the way with a White Christmas!

I have a few separate friends that want me to join them in a road trip of some kind.  I find it interesting that, even though these three people are all unrelated from each other, they have all caught some kind of wanderlust somehow.  Is it the season, the weather, or just pure coincidence?

Regardless, I'm not entirely opposed to the idea.  Even though I'm mostly a home-body, road trips aren't terribly expensive, and it is probably a good idea to get out there once in a while?

Actually, one of them has an even grander vision of eventually traveling all over the US in a full-sized truck towing a dreamy camper.  The cost of bringing such a vision to life would be, at bare minimum, at least $50k, but realistically much more.  This particular friend has a negative net worth, is in debt for around $30k that I am aware of, and is also currently unemployed.

I am always curious how people go about bringing their dreams to life, much less funding just their every day life?  Or do dreams remain just that in their minds: Dreams?  Sadly, these financial profiles are also very typical of most people I see around me.  Of all the people I know in real life, I only know one that actually has any means of realizing their dreams, but I digress.

Anyway, nothing is set in stone yet, as far as these road trip ideas go.  I guess only time will tell if I will end up on the road or not.

I was helping a buddy move some furniture the other day, and while we were at it, he asked me for advice to buy a TV.  The one he originally wanted to buy would have costed $2000 USD.  I talked him down to a $1200 set by explaining to him the technical differences between the two, and helping him realize that he would gain very little from the more expensive set.

Yes, I know $1200 is still very expensive, but this is what he wanted, and it's not like I'm spending my own money.

Earlier, I showed a photo of my snake plant with a couple of leaves that mysteriously collapsed overnight.  I was going to trim those leaves off, but over the following days, they are slowly making a comeback!  Here is its current status:

My plant may not be the prettiest around, but it's a fighter.  You go, little plant! I'm cheering you on!

Saw this recently in a parking lot, and thought it was very clever, even if it is a Kia.

Alas, I got a flat tire yesterday.  I installed an old spare tire and drove it to a garage.  The place was so busy, they couldn't get it done today, so I have to wait until tomorrow to pick it up.  Anyways, here's today's photo entry:

I friend of mine really, really likes sunflowers, so when I saw them growing on the side of the road, I decided to stop and take some photos of it for her.

While I'm here, I want to apologize if I am posting all these separate photo entries instead of just one big one.  SA blogs has this weird thing where it won't publish the first time I click it, so then I have to click the back button, and then click the publish button again to actually publish.

That's what I have figured out anyway, after having lost so many entries along the way, and even given up on trying to re-post that day because of it.  So, I am taking the cautious approach to basically post one at a time.  Baby steps....

As some of you may know, I was law enforcement in a previous life.  Although it's behind me now, I guess some things about me still permeates that past life, such as that I still have gang members that have sworn to kill me in the streets, and I still have to largely avoid certain areas and neighborhoods where they reside.

As such, I still have to remain vigilant, and even shoot once in a while just to brush up.  I like shooting as a hobby anyway, even though I would be the first to admit it's not exactly a cheap hobby.  Anyway, here is a picture of my last outing at a range.

Earlier this summer, I caught up with a couple of guys I knew from all the way back since high school.  We didn't do anything particularly interesting.  Just kind of hung out at a park for example, and this merry-go-round just happened to be there.

Maybe this is completely a normal thing for the rest of you, but I never knew it was possible to have white pumpkins until I saw it recently at a local grocery store.

How in the world a guy this big managed to get into my house is a complete mystery to me.  Luckily, I was able to get him back outside, but not before taking this picture first.

As the weather cools, I start to crave soups and stews, which is more or less what I am doing these days.  Here is a photo of my last crockpot pot roast.