My schedule might collide with a house sale.

 

My brother and I have "owned" our family homestead for years.  Yet, we didn't have control of it for years, since my dad was living there.  After he went into the nursing home, we fixed up the place to rent the place out.  When our tenants moved out (into their new home), the house has sat vacant.  Recently, we've been paying taxes on a non-performing asset.That's part of why we decided to sell the house.

We went into contract in late May, and the clock has been ticking.  Our lawyer told us that the buyers have 2 months to close on the deal unless their bank refuses to give them the loan.  And now, my schedule conflicts with the last 2 weeks of this 2 month period.  So, I sent an email to my brother to let him know which days I can and cannot be available for the closing.  Hopefully, this won't cause the closing to be delayed any further.

I have a lot of memories of living in this house.  And I will miss having a connection to the house.  But for everything, there is a season.  Yet, that season is over.  

- - - - - -

My apartment has been my home for much longer than the family homestead.  Like the family homestead, I have held back on doing many of the renovations and modernization that most properties go through over the years.  My kitchen looks like any kitchen did in the 1970's, and my bathroom looks a little older than that due to the color scheme of the toilet and bathtub.  It'll need a hard core renovation when I eventually leave this place.  But that'll be someone else's concern.

If I had had children, I know how my property would need to be divided.  This is not my reality in this universe.  My niece and nephew will get most of everything, with the proceeds of the house sale going to RQS upon my demise. (And I hope that's not anytime soon.)   

- - - - - -

Memories are important things, as that's all any of us can take with us when we pass.  If there is something afterwards for us, no one knows.  But I want to be rich in happy memories when that time comes. 

 

As a lark, I contacted someone I once knew

 

The other day, I sent out texts to several people I hadn't heard from in months, if not years.  And I was surprised to hear from one of these people.

Maria #2 and I met via a dating app, but we already knew we were going to be friends and not lovers.  (She was out of my league in many ways.  But she did tell me some things about living near XGFJ.  But that's another story for another day.)  Maria got busy with her life and had no room in her life for a friendship at that time.

Two years later, I reach out to her to say hello, and found out that she and her boyfriend (now husband) had moved to Ireland.  When he lived here, he was the immigrant looking to become a citizen.  Now, she's the immigrant looking to become a citizen.  Amazing, huh?  Yet, with the political shit storm generated by the Orange Monster and the GOP, it makes perfect sense to leave the USA.

- - - - - -

Right now, I wonder if anyone is tracking all of the crimes being committed by the flunkies loyal to the monster.  The monster has given his Brown Shirts and Black Shirts effective immunity for the murders they have committed under the guise of enforcing immigration laws. We've seen them lie about their actions, with upper political echelons protecting these animals.  It is unsafe for virtually all immigrants to stay in this country now, and it is becoming unsafe for the native born as well.

RQS senses that I may have to leave the US if the monster if not checked soon.  But where can I go?  I'm too old to start a new career.  I'd have to worry about moving my money out of the US, so that I could have a comfortable retirement.  Yet, if I have to do so, I will.  At least, I know where to start finding resources to make this possible. 

Game Night - with a little celebration

 

 

OK - I'll explain about the celebration in a few....

But first, I'll describe the day.

Since I'll need to present as Mario on Monday and Tuesday, I held off on doing my own nails to prepare for the coming weekend.  Instead, I decided to sleep late, and then fold 2 loads of laundry from last night.  By the time I was done with things in the apartment, it was getting close to 5 pm, and I had to get ready to go to game night.

By now, I have my routine down pat to prepare myself to present as Marian.  First, I shower, making sure to shave as much of my body as possible.  Then, I prepare for my makeup routine and let my undercoat dry.  After I shave my face, it's time to put on my underwear, bra and falsies and start applying makeup.  I'm usually done in 15 minutes at this point, but sometimes I take more care to get everything right. Once done with my makeup, I spritz on some perfume, put on a dress, and am ready to put my wig on just before leaving the house.

I left the house around 6:50. and headed to Yonkers for game night.  There is a Mickey D's along the way that I'll often stop at.  But there's one problem I have to deal with - there is no left turn into Mickey D's driveway.  So, I usually make the left turn into a skating rink's parking lot so I can make a right turn into Mickey D's.  Well, there was some police activity at the skating rink, as there were 4 police cars in front of the door.  There was no way I was going to hang out here - even if I wanted to.  I drove through Mickey D's, picked up "dinner" and finished my drive to game night.

Game night was fun, even though I lost both games.  There were the 3 of us girls at our table (me the only TG), and we had a chance to chat.  One game selected the starting player by birth date - and this made me the starting player.  When the games wound down, we chatted loosely on current events, all of us having had fun watching Iran's Lego Block propaganda videos.  

Around 10, I left game night and drove home talking to RQS.  She has booked her trip to see her sister.  So, I can now book my cruise to Bermuda.  (Now to find some extra cash to pay for the cruise.)  My big question: Will I take the chance on traveling as Marian this time? 

We've hit the middle of the year. How quickly time has passed.

 

God, how I could have born to be the happy woman in this picture.  Alas, I was born with the wrong chromosome mix, and could not ever look as good as this idealized version of myself.  At least, I didn't have to deal with mood swings, monthlies, pregnancies, or any of the problems unique to a cisgender female.  And I would never have met RQS - that would have been a great loss.

When I look at today's politics, I see women's rights under attack around the world.  In some cultures, its a religious patriarchy that subjugates women.  In others, it's social values which insist that a woman must be subordinate to a man.  And in nations like the USA, women are under attack - and many don't see what's happening.

In the past few years, the US Supreme Court has effectively eliminated a woman's right to control her own body.  Some states are making it illegal for a woman to travel from her home state to get an abortion in a state where it's legal, putting the woman at risk of legal persecution if her home state's government finds out.  These states are attempting to prevent out of state sources from sending in drugs which can induce abortions, and will force a woman to carry a rapist's child if she becomes pregnant.

America's attack on women started with several religious fundamentalists seeing a chance to gain power by using Americans' strong religious beliefs (especially in what we call "Red States").  Trusted leaders easily manipulate people who only think in 2-3 second sound bites, getting them agitated in ways that they are willing to elect authoritarian leaders to impose their cultural values on those who don't agree with them.  And guess who benefits?  Not the common person.  Not society as a whole.  But, only the people manipulating the masses.

- - - - - -

Why did I start off sounding like a history teacher?  Well, the Orange Monster's attack on Transgenders is in full swing.  And I'm thinking of doing a peaceful act of rebellion - taking a short cruise as Marian.  I'm tired of obedience to a norm that the people did not choose.  Only by standing up for our rights, can we survive this hateful administration. 

But the choice of taking this cruise depends on RQS visiting her sister.  I would be booking this cruise ONLY if she decides to fly to Florida.  I'm not sure yet of what will happen.  But it'll be nice to get back on a ship again.

Thankfully, it was cool - but warm enough for a nice dress

 

The next time the weather gets hot, I may finally again get to wear the dress in the above picture.  It's comfortable.  It's lightweight, and it is very prone to developing wrinkles after a few minutes of wear. But today, I wore something slightly more substantial - a dress I got from Kohl's this year.

- - - - - -

Last night, I didn't get much sleep.  So, when the alarm sounded, I shut it off and woke up an hour later.  Looking at my phone, I saw a message from Vicki #2 - she was available for lunch.  But I wouldn't be ready in time. So I messaged her to say I couldn't make it, and proceeded to take care of little things, such as dealing with my cable TV box.

When I sat down to deal with the cable TV box, I was pleasantly surprised - the cable company dealt with my problem overnight, and I hope it stays "dealt with".  So, I then relaxed for a while before deciding to get dressed and go to Costco for some retail therapy.  (Nothing I bought wouldn't be put to use.  So, it was money reasonably well spent.) While driving home, I chatted with my brother.  The bank has approved our buyers' mortgage, and we're waiting on a date from their bank for the closing.  I can't wait for the sale of the family homestead to go through, as it will be nice to have extra funds in my bank account.

At home, I sent out the link for next week's Co-Op board Zoom Meeting, then chatted with TCL and RQS before getting around to cooking dinner (a shrimp concoction from Trader Joe's which I will likely not buy again.).  And finally, I got down to writing this blog entry to close out the day. 

A day spent as Mario - AARGH!

 

I had several errands to do in Mario mode today, and I ended up putting on a pair of trousers for the first time in over a week.  AARGH!  

But first....

It started as Mondays usually do for us when RQS is at my place.  I woke up first, and let the alarm clock wake RQS up.  It was much cooler this morning than it was yesterday, so I was glad to have a clean long sleeved shirt to wear for the day.  Around 11:15, I dropped RQS off at the train station, and stopped for a bit to clean my wiper blades.  And then it was off to Ossining to take care of some errands.

First, I stopped by my bank to have a replacement credit card reissued.  (The old card expired, and I never received a new one.)  This was the first place where I needed to present as Mario.  After a few minutes at the bank, the teller ordered a new card for me, and updated an incorrect phone number on file.  (I was glad to have my drivers license on me.)

My next stop was the cable TV store where I exchanged my cable box for a working one.  (Unfortunately, I didn't decide to test it until late in the evening.)  I had decided not to stop by a second bank in the same strip mall to see if I could get an account type changed to one not charging service fees.  I was more in the mood to go home and relax.

Late in the evening, I called the cable company regarding the box.  It needed a technician ID to complete the setup process - and they couldn't help me because key staff had already gone home for the evening.  Now, I have to call back in the morning to get help.  AARGH!  (If they have 24 hour tech support, why couldn't they have someone on call for problems like this?)

At least, if I can get the cable box set up tomorrow without a technician's visit, I'll be back to presenting as Marian until the end of next weekend....  

The Heat Wave is breaking and we finally were able to see a movie!

 

Yesterday, we missed seeing this film because all seats were sold out.  Today, we did the smart thing and bought our tickets several hours before showtime.  

But first....

We woke up early, and made sure that the air conditioners were still running at full blast.  Although the weather wasn't going to be as bad as it has been for the past few days, it was still going to be hot.  So we took it easy until 2 pm, and were out the door for a 4 pm arrival time at the theater.  

This would be the last time I'd be wearing a dress for the next couple of days, as I had to schedule my presentation as Mario for tomorrow's errands.  So, I pulled out another Flax dress from my closet and made sure I'd be comfortable outside.  We arrived at the theater a little before 4, and we were among the first to be there.  Even though "Peter Asher - Everywhere Man" was not at the top of RQS's list of films to see, she was glad to see this film after seeing how this man had connections to so many people in the entertainment industry from childhood on.

When the movie let out, it was time to go home for the night.  I was glad to get back into my jammies and be comfortable for the rest of the evening.  It was just as well that we didn't go out again later on, as a storm came in which cooled things off - finally!