Getting snowed in.

 

You may be wondering why I posted an image of the Cruise Globe, with most of my voyages listed on its face.  Well, I'll get to that eventually, but first, let me describe my day.

- - - - - -

I woke up this morning, and knew that I didn't want risk moving my car, only to lose the one visitor's parking space left in our lot.  A blizzard was coming, and they expected the snow to start by mid afternoon.  RQS was safe in her home, near all the cold weather gear she'd need when the blizzard is over. As for me, I got dressed for only one reason - to take kitchen waste to the dumpster before the snow made it impossible for me to do so.  (Once back inside, it was back to my jammies.)

As I may have mentioned, I am working on a spreadsheet to allow people to plug in key parameters, and generate an approximate cost for an adult taking a specific cruise.  Each cruise line's beverage prices, Wi-Fi prices, package prices, package inclusions and automatic gratuity charges differ, and there is only so much someone can do to allow people to "Compare Apples to Apples."  At least, this spreadsheet comes reasonably close to doing so for basic fees, but it doesn't include things such as Specialty Coffees, Bottled Waters, and Top Shelf Beverages.  Work on the spreadsheet kept me busy all day and much of the night.

When I came up for air, I watched some cruise videos and read some cruise news.  There were 3 ships scheduled to leave from the New York City area, and all of them were affected by the weather.  NCL's ship left Manhattan as scheduled, and I expect people will get seasick before they spend their first night in the casino.  MSC's ship left Brooklyn, and returned later due to the weather.  Finally, Royal Caribbean's ship took on its passengers, but stayed in port.  Although the plans are for this ship to leave either on Monday or Tuesday, passengers had to be on the ship before its originally scheduled departure time.  Both RQS and I are very glad that we took our latest cruise in January, as the winter snows that came in the last month would have caused us some grief when we returned.

- - - - - -

Tomorrow, I expect to get dressed as Mario and shovel my car out of its parking space.  Since it's a heavy snow, I don't plan to rush things.  I'm no longer in my 20's, and I have to be careful not to over exert myself. 

 

Should auld acquaintance be forgot....

 

I'm not sure whether my friend knows I'm trans or not.  But I knew that I'd have to play things down a little, yet be honest when called for.  I met this acquaintance at a meetup many years ago, and she introduced me to Arts Westchester.  From there, we lost contact during Covid, and it was a phony Evite email that harvested email addresses which got me to reach out to her again.

- - - - - -

The weather, when I got up, was a constant drizzle.  Cold and damp was the forecast for the day, and I didn't want to go to lunch.  I wanted to stay cozy in my jammies and stay warm inside my apartment.  But I didn't want to screw up things, so I got dressed in something warm and left for a Chinese restaurant in Mamaroneck.  

While driving to the restaurant, I wondered whether this was such a good idea or not.  People were driving like mad men.  One driver I saw was weaving through traffic with barely a car's length of distance between the two cars.  On a dry day, this would be bad enough.  But when the road is wet, I knew enough to keep my distance and then some.

Although I had a hard time with the parking meter, I was able to pay for my spot and walk to the restaurant without getting drenched.  My friend came about 10 minutes later, not being sure if the meter had registered her payment or not.  And then, we both ordered the same dishes - Hot & Sour Soup, followed by Roast Duck.  Both were yummy.  We talked about many things, but the conversation was of the "Getting to Know You Again" genre.  Towards the end, she mentioned my dress - not noticing I was wearing leggings under it, and not tights.  (We were talking about the practicality of cold weather dressing.)

All too soon, lunch had to end.  So we bid each other farewell, and went out own ways.

- - - - - -

Later on, I picked RQS up at the station. Since I had Italian, Greek, and Chinese this week, it was off to the diner for dinner.  There are some dinners I go to as Mario and others I go to as Marian.  So, I chose the diner in Peekskill where I tend to go as Marian.  Food portions are plenty here - the fish and chips I had were enough to feed 3 people (or 1 of me).  And RQS had a healthy meal as well, also bringing home salad for tomorrow.

When we got home, we watched the weather reports - none of them were good.  RQS will now leave early, as a blizzard was coming in for Sunday/Monday.  AARGH!  This will likely be a very wet snow, and a bitch for shoveling out my car when it ends.  At least, my apartment will stay warm.  

Lunch with Short Vicki

 

It's been ages since I last saw "Short" Vicki.  (RQS and I call her that, to avoid confusion with the other Vicki in my life.)  Today was a last minute planned lunch, fitting it into her hectic schedule.

- - - - - -

I had to get up early today, so that I could meet Vicki in Tarrytown for lunch.  Given that I had leftover baked ziti in the ice box, I wasn't in the mood to have Italian again.  So, I chose a Greek place we both enjoy, and arranged to meet her by 11:30.  My alarms were set to waken me early, and I was up and moving by 9:30.

Having showered, shaved and made up my face, I was able to get out the door shortly after 11:00.  This would give me barely enough time to make it to Tarrytown by 11:30.  But I needn't have worried - Vicki was running late (caught in "flow" state with what she was doing) and was glad that I texted her, as she may have forgotten our lunch date.  While I waited, everyone treated me as the female as I was presenting. It's always nice to be treated as a woman - there are certain simple, polite niceties which women experience that I always enjoy. 

One thing about Vicki - she always seems to have a smile on her face.  This brightened up my day when she entered the restaurant.  We caught up on things - her trips (past and present), her family, current affairs, and issues affecting her family.  Our lunch was way too short, as both of us had things to do afterwards.  So, around 1:30, we left the restaurant, hoping we'll get together soon.

My next stop was back at my apartment, where I proceeded to work on a spreadsheet for my other blog.  It's not perfect, but it will give a person an idea of what one's real cost will be for a particular cruise, including optimizations made possible by judicious package purchases.

At a certain point, I decided to make a run to BJ's, and burn off a gift card I've had since before Xmas.  Other than gas, this was not an expensive trip, as the sunk money part of it (the gift card) was money already spent that needed to be used soon.

- - - - - -

Once I had finished work on the spreadsheet, I stored it away, and set up a zoom with our Texas friends for next week.  On the whole, it was a good day. 

 

 

Lunch with CCS, Laundry, and a Living Spreadsheet.

 

There was only one "Must Do" and one "Should Do" item on the docket today: Lunch with CCS, and Laundry.  And, believe it or not, I took care of both things.  But, doing laundry threw me a curve ball - one of the dresses I was to launder was labeled "Hand Wash, Dry Flat."  And this made me wonder about two other dresses from Universal Standard that found their way into my laundry basket.

- - - - - -

I woke up early enough to catch part of "Morning Joe" on the vidiot box. But it took me another couple of hours to get dressed and drive to the Italian restaurant in town to meet CCS.  When I got dressed, I put on a tunic dress over leggings, as I couldn't justify a dress with hosiery on a slightly rainy winter's day.  And, I got to the restaurant before CCS for a change.  During lunch, we talked about family events, our upcoming cruises, and politics - the usual stuff.   And, all too soon, lunch had to end.  Both of us had leftovers to eat another day.  So we scheduled our March lunch, and went our separate ways.

After lunch, I drove to Briarcliff Manor in the vain hope that I might stumble into the acquaintance I met at last night's meetup.  Of course, I did not stumble into her.  I guess she may have realized that I couldn't be the travel partner she seemed to desperately want.  (I also wonder if she wanted me as a lesbian partner.  But that's another reason I had to tell her that I have a long term partner in RQS)   Since she did not try to contact me, I'll write her off until the next time (if there is one) I stumble into her.

Once I was back home, I started work on my spreadsheet of cruising costs.  Finally, with enough experimentation, I was able to get the computation down for one of the nine cruise lines.  While doing this, I had two baskets (should have been three) of laundry in the washer and dryer.  So, after everything, this was a very productive day.

Finally, a meetup I could attend!

 

I had only one thing on the docket, and that was a Mardi Gras dinner in Rye, NY.  However, it didn't mean that I did nothing all day.  But it did mean that I avoided doing laundry again.

- - - - - -

The day started with me gaining consciousness around 8 am.  It doesn't mean I was fully awake.  It only means that my mind was functioning at a level where I could navigate the obstacle course from my bed to the toilet in time.  Once my bio-break was done, I was awake enough to start watching videos, and then work on a project for my cruise blog.

One of the problems most people have is having a good idea of how much their cruise will cost before booking the cruise. For most of us, we learn how to price out a cruise by the experiences we have when cruising.  But I want to make it a little easier, by having a spreadsheet that can be used to make the grunt work of calculating costs a magnitude easier than it is right now.

A problem with cruise packages is that there is no way to compare "apples with apples."  There are too many little wrinkles that make a side by side comparison of two cruises impossible. That is, until I finish this spreadsheet.  Then, one should be able to compare apples of two different varieties.  The spreadsheet will be far from perfect.  But it will give the cruiser a ball park figure to work with.

- - - - - -

Around 4 pm, I started getting ready to drive to Rye.  The location wasn't easy to find without Google Maps, but I got there almost on time, but not excessively late.  I had to call the restaurant to find out where to park - all street parking was in use.  But there was a nearby parking lot I could use.  The strange part in all of this is that I think I've been in the parking lot before, but not in the restaurant.

I saw the meetup hostess and her husband at the table, and a lady sitting there struck up a conversation.  This is one case where saying that I'm in a relationship AND presenting as female helped me.  I didn't want to send any signals that I am available (RQS would kill me for good reason), but I did want to send a signal that I was looking for another female friend.

The Jambalaya I ordered wasn't that great - the flavors were too muddy, and there wasn't enough protein (chicken, sausage, shrimp) that stood out.  For the most part, the dish tasted like gravy soaked rice with a minimal amount of protein to enjoy.  (Too bad we didn't go to the original restaurant, where I know the Jambalaya is prepared much better.)  

My new friend monopolized by attention for a large part of dinner, and I couldn't really enjoy the ice cream covered brownie, as I had to give this lady my attention.  Yet, I'd like to see her again, just as friends.  It would be nice to keep building up a network of people who only know me as Marian, and not as Mario. 

And now, back to my everyday life

 

I dropped RQS off at the station today for her trip home.  She'll have 3 days to run her errands (and me the same) before she returns here this weekend.  

- - - - - -

There are only so many current events videos I can watch before getting sick thinking of the Orange Monster and what he's doing to this country.  So, I limit my consumption of political news.  I wish I could filter out the damage the monster is doing to this world, so that I could focus on everyday events that occur in the NYC region (fires, building collapses, murders, subway derailments and other disasters that affect a small number of people in my region.)   To contrast a NYC view of things vs. the rest of the world's views, I suggest looking at a case of suicide via subway train during rush hour.  To outsiders, we'd be mourning the tragic loss of a human life.  To New Yorkers, we're getting pissed off that some jerk has screwed up thousands of commutes at the worst possible time - if the person wanted to off himself, the least he could have done is to wait until after rush hour AND have the good taste do it where it wouldn't affect anyone's commute.  (One needs a certain sense of callousness to live in this city.)

I got up around 8 am, and let RQS sleep until 10:30 am.  Around noon, I started getting showered and dressed, so that RQS could make a 1:30 pm train.  Although I was thinking of doing a couple of loads of laundry today, I decided to make a run over to Target and pick up a few things I'd need over time.  Sadly, the route that I'd normally take home was closed off to me (and to all) as the failure of a bridge over the nearby railroad tracks prevented me from taking my usual route home.

Arriving home, I decided to contact a friend and schedule a lunch get-together.  Although her schedule was a little tight, we found a convenient lunch date, and scheduled something for this week.  And then, I decided to rest for the remainder of the day, giving up any plans to go out again.  So, off with the makeup and outside clothes, and on with my jammies, and I could go to bed any time I want. 

- - - - - - 

Tomorrow will be a "Fat Tuesday" meetup, and I hope all goes right.  I think I'll wear a nice dress for the evening, and get some use out of it this season. 

Some thoughts on current events

 

The longer the Orange Monster stays in office, the more I'm afraid that he'll have enough time to turn this nation into a dictatorship.  The media is either afraid to lose access to key government personnel, or simply afraid of being put out of business by this regime.  Fox "News" is owned by an oligarch who wants to destroy liberal institutions.  CBS is now owned by another oligarch with similar political views.  It's a damned shame that a bandit capitalist class is working to exterminate liberal democracy.

Whether of not the bandit capitalist class succeeds in the US, the American empire will have left something of great value to the world: An economic structure where David Ricardo's ideas of capitalism based on comparative advantage and free trade has been adopted by most of the world's most powerful economies.  Each nation does what it does best, and prospers because of this.  

The orange monster believes that the US can stand alone.  (I'm giving him credit for a belief system that he probably doesn't have.)  Seeing what North Korea and its Juche philosophy has done to that nation, I expect to see the fall of America in my lifetime.  What will happen next?  Who knows?  But I know that we have helped democracy flourish around the world, and that the American empire has left the world better off than when we entered this stage of its existence.

Luckily, we are seeing a rebellion from below.  Power is not centralized in one level of government.  The states are resisting the monster's grab for absolute power.  Democrats in the Senate have checked the power of the orange monster by denying funding to DHS and ICE.  TSA officials at airports will not get paid while this pissing match between the Democratic party and the Orange Monster has ended.  Although ICE has 75 billion to piss away, the Coast Guard does not.  In short, the Democratic party is shutting down a key area of government to cause as much pain as they can for the GOP.  The Democrats simply want ICE officers to follow the same standards that most police officers have to follow - to be identifiable, so that rogue officers can be identified; to have people in ICE detention have the right to Habeas Corpus; and to have only judicial warrants used for detaining people. I may not be phrasing everything correctly, but the Democrats want to make sure that ICE follows all of the laws, and recognize the constitutional rights afforded to all residents in our country.

Sadly, I see events in America being a race against time.  How much damage can the monster do to keep his opposition from gaining power on January 3, 2027?  Can we prevent him from doing so?  When we have someone like Pam Bondi excuse the Jeffrey Epstein cover up by citing a Dow Jones Average over $50,000.  It's sick, and it shows that a large part of America no longer cares about anything but fluffing up their bank accounts. I hope to see America regain its sanity before I die...