Meanwhile, In the Wild West . . .

I knew I was in for a bit of a challenge when I retired.  I retired early, just as soon as my Medicare and Social Security benefits became available,  and I wouldn't have a lot of money to spend on lavish travel plans or consumer goods.  I also live alone, and since I'm an introvert by nature, I was concerned about becoming isolated and eccentric (as if I weren't already).

As if living a new post-career life wasn't enough of a challenge, then the coronavirus pandemic came along with all of its the social distancing, hygiene requirements, and anxieties.  And then after eight months of that, a tree falls on my house, destroys my roof, and I can't get contractors to come by to so much as even give me a quote.

My refuge in all of this has been meditation  drinking masturbation video games.  I finished playing Detroit: Become Human (highly recommended) and started on the oddly titled Disco Elysium, which I didn't enjoy (too much text reading and long, pointless conversations).  I quit Disco before finishing the game as playing felt more like a chore than a diversion, and this Thanksgiving weekend, I've started playing Red Dead Redemption 2.  It's a good game, at least so far, and one thing I really like is the very satisfying sense of escapism derived from just mounting a horse and riding across the Wild West open-world environment.  Don't even need a task or a mission, although there are plenty of both in the game,  just ride around and enjoy the scenery.  The game is a very good horse-riding simulator.

Now that the long Thanksgiving weekend is finally coming to a close, I should have better luck with contractors next week.  Hopefully, I can get something done before Christmas.  If not, I can just keep riding my favorite mare (I've named her "Twitchy") through the Rockies.