I normally don't put rubber ducks on cruise ships, but....

 

As I may have mentioned, RQS and I are booked on another cruise.  Sadly, due to the current political environment, I am not able to take this cruise as Marian.  Instead, I'll have to cruise in Mario mode.  Hopefully, by the time this post is made public, we'll have kicked out many of the GOP Scheisskopfen (look it up in your German dictionary) who currently hold the levers of government.  Although they won't be out of office until January, there will be a lot of damage they can do (or let our "President" do), and I won't take chances until the Orange Monster is defanged.

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Yesterday, I picked up the above rubber ducks, and thought it would be perfect to hide on a ship as formal as the Queen Mary 2.  Today, I sent a picture of this duck to RQS and she agreed with me on this.  For only $1.00, it'll be a fun thing to hide on the cruise ship.

Around 6 pm, I was dressed and ready to go out the door.  Since I was already presenting as Marian, I knew that the Costco card in my handbag reflected my presentation and I'd have no problems entering the store.  Boy was I wrong - I had a problem.  The card had fallen out of its usual place in my handbag, and I had gotten on the membership services line to get a replacement.  After 10 minutes of waiting on line, I finally found my card, and entered the main area of the store.  Did I really need to go to the store?  No.  But I was able to get some food items I needed (Hard cheese for grating, smoked salmon, and some soft cheese for snacking) as well as a new mandoline for use in preparing food.  And I know that every one of these items will get used soon.

Next, I was off to the T-Mobile store for some swag.  Although the items were already given away, one sales person was playing with the last item (a small light), and I asked for that one - and got it.  Then, I was on my way home for the evening.

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Tomorrow, I'll be meeting "Short Vicki" for lunch.  Let's hope this place is worth the visit.

Parting may be sweet sorrow, but dentistry can be a pain!

 

RQS had to go home today, and this was the least memorable part of the day.  (Nothing bad to say about RQS here - it was just a typical Monday for us.) But the day was defined by what happened after RQS left for home.

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Around noon, I received a call from my dentist's office, asking me to come in for a new scan of my jaw.  It seems as if the scan done last week was flawed, and the laboratory needed a new scan before they could do their work for me prior to the dentist implanting a post in my jaw in preparation for a new tooth.  So, I scheduled the new scan for 3 pm, with enough time to rest between my trip to the train station and the visit to the dentist.  Luckily, I usually go to the dentist presenting as Marian, and today was no different.  I was wearing a corduroy dress over a long sleeve t-shirt, and was very comfortable with today's cool weather.  But soon, I'll miss being able to wear dresses during the winter.

The time for the dentist came, and I drove down the hill to the dentist's office.  I was the only patient in the place, and was quickly directed to the CT machine.  This time, they had me stand up for the scan - and boy did my legs hurt!  After 15 minutes, the scan was successful, and I was out the door.  (The problem was that they needed a better view of my jaw, and that I was again a guinea pig for their learning, so that they could finally get things right.)  

Once done with the dentist's office, I took a long drive to Mt. Kisco and did some shopping at Target.  I picked up a new remote for my TV/Roku stick, as well as some socks and a rubber duck (in a tuxedo) that I intend to hide on my next cruise.  And then, I was back home for the night.  But the day wasn't over yet....

Later that evening, I got a call from the co-op's president, and we discussed several issues important to us. We have a delicate financial issue that we'll be tackling in our next official meeting. It's one I don't want to deal with, but has to be dealt with due to our co-op fiduciary duties.  We'll hold a private zoom meeting to start the process of dealing with this issue, and then discuss the results with the rest of the board in November.

It was a short morning followed by a long day.  And I'm glad it's over. 

Blogger statistics may be FUBAR, or something worse.

 

The above screen shot reflects page views registered by Blogger.  One problem: Not all of them make sense, given at least one anomaly I detected.  For example, one line represents page counts over the last 7 days for a Christmas post.  (You may have to enlarge the above image to see it.)  The big question is: Why would anyone be scanning individual posts made 10+ months ago?

A while back, Blogger screwed up the links to updated web pages - and took time to fix it.  Recently, I noticed that they were under-counting page views - and that took some time to get fixed.  I suspect that Blogger (Google) is making changes behind the scenes and testing them in the field.  One gets what they pay for, and Blogger is free for many people.

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Blogger.com is not the best platform for blogging and for webpage generation.  But it suits my purposes for now.  I'm having a little trouble deciding whether I should code a Javascript widget for my cruise related website or whether I should hire it out.  If I do the work, I'll understand how to maintain the darned thing.  But if I hire it out, it'll get done quicker and I can begin the work to generate a vlog and get it monetized.  Either way, it'll be a bit of work for me.

So, Blogger.com may be FUBAR right now, but it's a cheap enough platform for me to start from right now.

We went for a drive, and couldn't get to our destination. (a short post)

 

This was one of the last days of "Leaf Peeping" season in the Hudson Valley, and I agreed to take RQS to Bear Mountain to capture some nice fall images. So, we got dressed, and late in the afternoon tried to go to Bear Mountain - like hundreds of other people.  

But first....

Both of us slept late today, and didn't even have anything to eat until noon.  It took us a while to decide to go out.  But it was another opportunity to go outside while the weather was comfortable enough NOT to wear a coat. So, it was on with the tunic and leggings, and out the door by 3:30.  

It's not a long drive to the Bear Mountain bridge, but it took longer than usual due to the leaf peepers enjoying the weekend slowing up traffic.  When we got across the bridge, we made the mistake of heading for the entrance to Bear Mountain park. And that's where things slowed to a crawl, as the entrance to the park was closed.  It took a few minutes to get to a place we could turn around, and we proceeded to try to reach the park via another route.  No luck on that.  So we ended up taking a long way back to the bridge, going through an area mostly dedicated to West Point (one of the USA's military academies) activities before getting to the bridge.  

Once back at the Bear Mountain bridge, we went to Garrison where I captured the above photo.  Garrison is a sleepy little place, not known for much save for its country clubs and its train station.  And one can get some nice Hudson River views from the train station.  So, RQS was happy that she got some nice photos.

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When we got home, we rested for a while before cooking.  The dish of the day was "Rigatoni Lasagna".  It's a simple concoction made with a tomato based sauce (I chose Marinara), Rigatoni (or a similar shaped pasta), Mozzarella, Parmesan, Sausage (I could have used ground beef), and some other tasty ingredients.  Let's say that we filled up on this dish, and we have leftovers that we can eat tomorrow night (if we have room for them).

Now, to sleep off a heavy meal....

Lunch with Vicki, but at a different restaurant.

 

Vicki and I had planned to go to Lefteris in Mt. Kisco today.  One problem - there was a sign on the door that said the place was temporarily closed.  So, I ended up trekking to a place that I had never tried before.

But first....

I had awakened early, but didn't start moving until 10 am.  After a quick shower, I put a couple of loads of laundry into the washers, then went to the library presenting as Mario to pick up a book on hold.  Once I had the book, it was back home to put laundry in the dryers and change into Marian Mode.  Once I was made up and dressed, it was time to bring the laundry upstairs and drive to Mt. Kisco.

After paying for parking, I moseyed over to Lefteris to find the restaurant had closed.  So I went to another place that Vicki chose.  The place, The Turk, serves Mediterranean food, and we might have been the only people in the place.  It was nice to be greeted as a female when entering the place, and it was even better to have food that would make me want to visit the place again.  (My advice: Go for the Lentil Soup and the Chicken Kebab.)  Hopefully, we'll go back there soon.  While there, we discussed my healthcare issues, noting that I need to find a new doctor due to his attitudes about fat people. And then we discussed where and when we plan to eat during this year's Hudson Valley Restaurant Week. All too soon, we had to go.  I had to pick up RQS at the station.  After a stop at the supermarket, and at CVS for RQS's flu shot, it was time to go home for the night - where we passed out for a few hours.

Later in the evening, I was chatting online with XGFJ about issues we both share.  Unlike me, she was on a Medicare Advantage program - which got cancelled for 2027.  I'm glad I chose traditional Medicare with a supplement program.  In the end, I find I get better treatment when I can choose which doctors I can visit, and when I can visit them.  I'm lucky I can afford the coverage I have, but our medical system is FUBAR!  One TG doctor I know hates our system more than I, as s/he (I won't say his/her gender here) posted a screed against the very system employing that doctor.  As for me, I'd simply impose "Medicare for All" and be done with it....

Game Night - The only reason I got dressed today (a short post)

 

We did not play the above game tonight.  But we did play ONE game.  Yet, for the second time in recent memory, I was the only person who went to game night.

But first....

I woke up early, and took my time to get moving.  For the most part, I did nothing until about 4 pm.  And then I started to get showered, made up and dressed.  Going in any of the dresses I laundered the night before wouldn't work, so I pulled out a tunic and leggings and felt that would be perfect for the day. 

I left the house 15 minutes earlier than usual, and was in Yonkers in time to get a bite to eat AND to get to the host's place in time for the first game.  So, I decided to stop by the recently remodeled Burger King on the side of the NYS thruway in Yonkers.  This was a big mistake!  After placing my order on the touchscreen, I selected pay with cash at register.  And that's where the "fun" began.  Three woman, all Spanish speakers, were trying to place an order with the one lady manning the register.  Five minutes later, they vacated the counter area, and so did the lady who took their order.  There were at least seven people waiting to pick up their orders, and no one came to the register.  After another ten minutes, I walked out.  I received no food, so why should I wait to pick up any food?  If they can't keep up with the orders coming in, management should make sure that the store maintains proper staffing levels.  They lost $15 worth of business simply because a place that normally serves "fast" food wasn't fast enough to take care of its patrons.

A few minutes later, I had picked up a bottle of soda and a bag of pretzel sticks to hold me over until I could get to another fast food joint. Then, it was off to game night.  I was the only one there.  No one else showed up.  Weird.  At least, I was able to play one game before leaving.

 

I realized something about myself the other day

 

OK, it's a weird title for a post.  But it makes sense given that I am noticeably risk adverse.  I like safety, especially when I'm going out into the unknown.  That's why I found cruising to be so attractive - one goes to new places, and has a curated and safe experience when in those places.  

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Traveling in the United States is easy for me.  We have a shared culture, and almost everyone knows the rituals and what they should expect when traveling.  I can't say the same about foreign travel, especially when people don't speak the same languages that I do.  (I don't need fluency in a foreign language, but I do need the ability to ask for directions, etc. when needed.)  So, I felt comfortable going to Norway on my first overseas cruise, as many people speak English as a second language, and just as many also know German in addition to their national languages.  In short, I can feel safe, and yet still get a taste of the places I visit.

It's nice to let someone else handle the logistics of getting me from point A to point B.  I can do this within the USA, but that's because I know the rules (both written and unwritten) to set up my own travel arrangements.  Yet, if I'm going on a cruise, I'll let the cruise line handle the logistics outside of New York, because it is easier for me to do so.  Even so, I know what to do when traveling to cruise ports in Seattle, California (SF, LA, & SD), Texas (Galveston), Florida (Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa), Philadelphia, and Boston.  Outside the US, it's something else altogether.  Could I do this in London?  Maybe so, but I wouldn't want the hassle.  The less I know about a place, the more I want others to handle the logistics.

Last night (as I write this), RQS decided to add a shore excursion to our cruise at 11:30 pm.  I got a little nervous, as I know that most people make mistakes after a long day, when they are running out of energy.  Since I just paid roughly $3,000 for the cruise, the last thing I wanted was a check-out problem that could cost us the cruise.  (This happens on some cruise lines when payment for incidentals has not been completed.)  Luckily, RQS got everything right.  But if something went wrong, there was no one I could call at that time of night.

As you can see, I am a "Belt and Suspenders" kind of person.  Although I can "wing it" much of the time, I always want good options for the times things go wrong.  That's why I was nervous about going out as Marian for the first time.  Now, I have confidence in my presentation, and it shows.  And yet, I still needed help until I had the experience and associated knowledge to do things myself.