BeamerBikes

No worries cause there's no Wegovy to be found.  CVS won't even try to fill the script for the starter doses.  

Permanently closed 

New Orleans is a world away from being a typical southern city. And yes, crime has gotten really bad there. Just use common sense, and be aware of your surroundings. It's a great city to walk in, but one can easily wander into a block or neighborhood where you really don't want to be. Most of the French Quarter remains full of tourists, so there is safety in numbers. The garden district is lovely, but is surrounded by really tough neighborhoods. Regardless, I'll be visiting NOLA until I die. Lordy I love that place!

Yeah, I'm out of my 20s&30s now, but it seems the gay meccas, much like the urban gay bars are fading. 
The PCB crowd was definitely what I felt on the ferry.  Once on island, I stayed at a rental in Old Town. After that, I was and still am prepared to drop 10-15k for a monthly rental to escape northern winters.  Just insane to me that 10k can go just for a week of lodging!  
Yeah on service, I don't mind move at the speed of the south when its less crowded.  Just different vibe when it's packed and also slow.  
But yeah, cute little resort towns once gay meccas are now overrun. Ptown to me felt like Key West but with overtone of Puritan keep it discrete vibe. It'd be interesting to see if there's any new up and coming locations. 

Good for them finding clientele to pay it. I probably I'm not alone getting priced out for vacation spots. I enjoyed Casa Marina for the relative quiet but ease of access to Duval. 
As the song goes though, if you don't have any money, keep your broke ass home. This is more the case of comfort spending at these rates. Also doesn't help I took the ferry from Ft. Meyers on my last trip, and the Florida crowd was full effect. 
I dont mind dropping coin, but its a hard value proposition if it's packed and the service is poor. 
Aside, I don't know how folks can responsibly afford those rates. Lots of folks yolo'ing?  It'd be interested in the demographics if tipping rate is affected by higher rates. 

Anyone with recent experience on Key West?  I've been looking at rates and floored how expensive lodging has gotten.  
Casa Marina rooms are regularly starting at $1k/night. I thought it was expensive, but worth it at 500/night a few years back.  Now that seems to be the going rate for even the airport area hotels. Not looking to turn this into a crank about how expensive it is.
I check out the Great Loop boaters group, and there's reports that island is almost too busy. Service is suffering, but folks are still forking over money hand over fist.
Curious, is the island actually this packed? Is it super crunched to find industry workers, and service is suffering?  Little from column A and B? 
 

I haven’t seen an update in a while of Lucky Horseshoe in Chicago, so I thought I would attempt one.
Since Micah took ownership of the bar, he has made quite a few improvements. There are three bars inside with two of them that have stages for dancers.  The third bar is open only on weekends.  The old bathrooms have been updated, and a third one installed in the far back bar.  They have various theme nights, and added new lighting.  Drinks are fairly priced compared to other bars in Chicago.
The dancers have improved greatly in my opinion.  They dance every night except Monday at 8:00 and start at 3:00 on Saturdays and Sundays.  On any given night there are from 12 to 20 dancers in all sizes and shapes, from twink to twunk to bodybuilder.  They are good about not huddling together, but make the rounds of the customers.  During the evening, there are 2 dancers at all times - one on the front stage and one on the back stages.  Both stages are accessible from all sides.  
Micah recently bought the bar called @mosphere up in Andersonville in Chicago.  They have dancers as well, but don’t start until the late nights.
 

Just a general Kudos for everyone chiming in here.  My parents didn't take care of themselves - lied to themselves when doctors wanted to get more aggressive.  As a result, I lost one parent when I was 17 suddenly. and did long term caregiving for the other from 28 - 40yo.  Unmanaged diabetes lead to a major life altering stroke and eventually being bed bound.  
Diabetes is no joke.  Keep at it.  Applaud everyone for taking their health serious,  chiming in with advice and med experience.  

Just a general Kudos for everyone chiming in here.  My parents didn't take care of themselves - lied to themselves when doctors wanted to get more aggressive.  As a result, I lost one parent when I was 17 suddenly. and did long term caregiving for the other from 28 - 40yo.  Unmanaged diabetes lead to a major life altering stroke and eventually being bed bound.  
Diabetes is no joke.  Keep at it.  Applaud everyone for taking their health serious,  chiming in with advice and med experience.  

I joined the CPAP club a few years back. I find I need to wear it otherwise my sleep is shit and I'm useless the next day.  I average about 6-7 hours based off the tracking app.
As I get older, I find I have to be more disciplined about when I go to sleep.  Getting up isn't a problem I have 55lb white Shepherd mix that channels his Siberian Husky high pitched loud yip as soon as the sun is up. If I ignore the yips, he will move on to pawing at me until I wake up.   Who needs an alarm clock?  

I joined the CPAP club a few years back. I find I need to wear it otherwise my sleep is shit and I'm useless the next day.  I average about 6-7 hours based off the tracking app.
As I get older, I find I have to be more disciplined about when I go to sleep.  Getting up isn't a problem I have 55lb white Shepherd mix that channels his Siberian Husky high pitched loud yip as soon as the sun is up. If I ignore the yips, he will move on to pawing at me until I wake up.   Who needs an alarm clock?  

I joined the CPAP club a few years back. I find I need to wear it otherwise my sleep is shit and I'm useless the next day.  I average about 6-7 hours based off the tracking app.
As I get older, I find I have to be more disciplined about when I go to sleep.  Getting up isn't a problem I have 55lb white Shepherd mix that channels his Siberian Husky high pitched loud yip as soon as the sun is up. If I ignore the yips, he will move on to pawing at me until I wake up.   Who needs an alarm clock?  

Dunno where I want to go with this post. 
Just a general frustration. I've encountered a handful of great guys (friends, bfs, and providers), who ended up in the throws of addiction.  If they overcome and manage to make it into recovery, they end up significantly different than before.  
Most recent is a provider who was on the wish list. He had PnP in the profile and that was always why he stayed in the wish list rather than take a chance and hire.  Sadly, a recent peak at his Twitter shows him having full-blown paranoia delusional events. CIA, FBI, CISA(actually a bit impressed that he found this agency), etc.  
Summer 2020, I reprised a caregiver role as one of my gay "dad's" partially recovered after getting lost in the bottle. He drank himself into a months/year long stupor that resulted in a rare condition that resulted in permanent brain damage. He's a shell of his former shelf.
I've been in my adult years for 27 years now. Seeing friends/loved ones go through addiction whether it be alcohol or drugs is one of the harder parts of adulthood. 

Hiring can turn into an addiction with the right circumstances/personalities involved.  Long term harm could be transactional view for all relationships and going broke/into debt. 

So updates - summer is starting to wind down. The provider has now gone silent but hopefully is in a treatment program.  He went off the rails with full on delusions. 
The buddy who drank himself into some brain damage now is facing a possible eviction. He's also having cash flow problems because he's purposefully flowing cash to a P.o.S on/off again bad news ex-bf/hubby who's toxic af.  With that, I have to walk away. Buddy won't come clean about that being where the money is going, won't accept help with his finances, doesn't want to face facts about the landlord situation.  Best I could do was involve his family and let them know I'm out of options as his "in case of emergency"/poa.  Power of attorneys only work if the person wants the help.  Otherwise, I'd have to pursue declaring him incompetent.  I don't have it in me to fight that hard even if they may not be fully in control of their cognitive functions.  I have done a helluva more than others would have, and need to make peace with walking away. 
Lesson for all - the lies we tell ourselves are the worst of them all. Love yourself enough to cut out toxic exs and never let them back in your life. No matter how much you may be lonely. It's cheaper to get a pet.  
Sometimes the only thing left to do is set your own boundary not to get sucked into the eventual train wreck. Recognize when you have done all you could, and jump off before you get entangled in it any further. 

On balance, I also complained about Key West lodging prices being outrageous.  As a result, I opted for New Orleans pre-MardiGras. Nonetheless, if money was no object, I'd rather have been in Key West.

Don't look back!  Enjoy the new car AND more importantly enjoy no car payment! 
I don't subscribe the idea of cheap money loans on a depreciating asset.  Oh but cash flow, capital preservation, etc. When it comes to personal finance, it's much ado about nothing.  Car payment = another bill I have to pay and paying interest to a bank on top what I paid for the car. 
On top of that you used an RMD, which tells me you are fortunate enough to be required/forced to pull from accounts.  Just another reason to buy the car outright.  
My advice would be different if you voluntarily pulled the last of your emergency fund to buy the car outright.  That's not the case here. 

Just a general Kudos for everyone chiming in here.  My parents didn't take care of themselves - lied to themselves when doctors wanted to get more aggressive.  As a result, I lost one parent when I was 17 suddenly. and did long term caregiving for the other from 28 - 40yo.  Unmanaged diabetes lead to a major life altering stroke and eventually being bed bound.  
Diabetes is no joke.  Keep at it.  Applaud everyone for taking their health serious,  chiming in with advice and med experience.  

I personally want to leave Chicagoland in February. February is THE WORST.  I had hoped this winter would be the year to spend it in Key West. Sadly, those prices have climbed super high.  Who knows maybe FTL, Gulf Shores, Galveston...