A visit to the museum

 

Today, RQS and I had an errand to run before the day's end - she needed to go to a jewelry store to have a link added to her watch band.  So I had an idea:  If we got out of the house early enough, we could go to the Magazzino Italian Art Museum in Cold Spring, NY.  

When I first saw this museum on the side of the road, I thought it was a warehouse for the sale of Italian art.  Well, I was partially right.  From what I was told, the Italian word "Magazzino" translates to the English word "Warehouse".  So I can say that I was half right.  Once I found out that this was a museum, I figured that I'd visit it when I had an opportunity.  Today was that opportunity.

Both RQS and I got dressed and out of the house by 2:45 pm.  By 3:30 pm, we were at the museum.  And this is where we got exposed to Contemporary Italian Art.  Much of it was not my taste.  But some of it captured both RQS's and my interests.  (You might see my reflection in one of the artworks above.) If you get the chance to visit this place, do so!  Not only is the art interesting.  But the grounds are beautiful too.  Both of us took lots of photos inside and outside the museum, and we might just go back in the fall to enjoy the grounds and some upcoming exhibits.

Once done with the museum, we drove into Cold Spring proper and had some ice cream before driving home.  After dinner, we went out again for a walk.  I had changed into my black exercise dress, and got compliments from both RQS and one of my neighbors.  (That was a nice way to end this day!)

It's amazing how much of a mess was near my desk - a quick post.

 

If I'm guilty of vices other than gluttony, I'd say that my next one might be sloth.  Laziness is a hidden trait that can be attributed to me, as I don't like to work.  This doesn't mean that I won't work hard.  I just avoid hard work whenever I can.

Over the past few months, I have allowed messes to accumulate in the corners of my apartment, and I decided to attack one for a few hours (with a lot of breaks).  It's amazing what one can accomplish when one breaks work down into manageable chunks.  (I guess that my experience of being a project manager helps me in this regard.)

Sooner or later, I will get everything organized in my apartment.  Until then, expect me to talk about my mess now and then.

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This weekend, the weather is supposed to be bad.  So, when I go out as Marian, I'll be wearing a dress over leggings, mimicking the kind of garments a cisgender woman would be wearing in inclement weather.  I've found that the leggings I've bought from Universal Standard are of a much higher quality than what I have bought from Woman Within.  So, I'll try to up my garment game in the future by buying garments from brands I know have the quality level I want.

Why do I mention garment quality?   Simple.  I'm finding that well made athleisure garments tend to be more forgiving of odd shaped people when they are worn.  Not once did I have to pull up Universal's leggings during a day of wearing (except when taking bio-breaks, of course).  I can't say this about the leggings I have bought from WW or Walmart.

There will always be some garments I'll buy at cheaper outlets.  But now that I have developed a sense of my own feminine style, I can afford to buy clothes that I expect will last, instead of clothes I know will end up in a donation bag after a few wearings.

If it weren't for game night, I wouldn't have even bothered getting dressed today.

 

The rainy weather has made me a bit lethargic, and I had a hard time getting moving today.  There were two things on my docket that required me to get dressed, one being laundry, and the other being game night.  So, I figured that I could take care of a couple of things while doing laundry and caused a minor issue for myself.

RQS was originally scheduled to go home on Sunday.  Fathom Events scheduled a 2-night revival of Lawrence of Arabia for Sunday and Monday at selected theaters.  I bought tickets for Sunday evening. But that creates a conflict between the time RQS expected to be home and the time she'd be in the theater.  So I asked her if she could stay another night.

The other task that I took care of was removing the nail polish from my fingernails.  I figure that I'll need to present as a male when I meet with the sleep doctor on Monday, as well as an appointment I have later in the evening for a research study.  Given that I want to look my best when I meet RQS in the city for dinner on Tuesday evening, I'll likely schedule a Mani-Pedi for the morning.

Luckily, I had only one load of laundry to take care of.  The one problem is that I usually do my sheets along with the rest of my colored laundry.  This means that I'll have to inspect the fitted sheet to make sure that nothing got caught in it while in the dryer.  That I can do in the morning when I fold the laundry in advance of RQS's arrival.

Around 4:30 pm, I showered, and went downstairs to do laundry as Mario.  This was the more convenient way to be out of the apartment when my face had yet to be made up.  But when almost ready to go out for the evening, I had switched into Marian mode. Though I started doing the Laundry at 5:00 pm, I wasn't able to get out of the apartment until 7:10 pm. This meant that I'd be in Yonkers after the first game had started.  Even so, I drove down, and found that only an abbreviated portion of the group was in attendance.  I got into a couple of games, and left before the hostess returned with her dog.  (Just as well - he is ready to bite anyone who isn't family.)  On the way home, I chatted with RQS, and picked up some stuff for dinner to be eaten tomorrow or Saturday.

I was glad to finally be back at home by midnight, as I couldn't wait to strip and get comfortable again.

 

 

Rain, Rain, Go Away.... (a short post)

 

Unlike the other day, I decided not bothering getting dressed and going out in the rain when I had no real plans for the day.  If it had been dry, I might have put on my exercise dress, applied some blush and lipstick, then gone outside for a 20 minute walk.  Unfortunately, this was not the case.

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This week, it looks like we'll have a total of 7 consecutive rainy days before we see the sun again.  Luckily, RQS will be here for one of these days before she goes home again.  And after one day, I'll be taking the train into NYC, so that we can enjoy a fancy dinner during NYC's Restaurant Week.  

I'll admit that I find it easier to have RQS come to see me, than it is for me to see her.  Yet, because we can get into my car, we have more options regarding what we can do when the weather is bad.  If we are in Queens, we must wait at the bus stop for (up to) 20 minutes before a bus comes, or walk 1/4 mile to the closest subway station, climb up 4-5 flights of steps, and wait outside for (up to) 15 minutes before the train arrives.  Contrast this with a 200 foot walk to my car, and we have many more comfortable options up here.

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Tomorrow is Game Night, and I'm hoping for better weather.  Specifically, I'm hoping that we only have a drizzle in the evening, as I don't want to bother with an umbrella.  But if I need to bring one, I will....

Co-Op business and a trip to the store

 

I didn't want to start moving to go outside.  The weather forecast was terrible, and I didn't feel like getting dressed.  However, I had an exercise dress waiting at Macy's for me to pick up, and I didn't want to waste any time.

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Around 2:00 pm, I received an email from my co-op's president, telling the board about some issues people were having with our managing agent. (No, I won't go into any details here for privacy concerns.)  But this triggered my need to check in with her, resulting in a set of questions we need answered by our site representative, and a task for this person to take care of.

Next, I called my doctor's receptionist, and she established an account for me on their system.  Although I am connected, I can not yet send messages to the doctor via this portal.  Luckily, I'll be speaking with the receptionist again this week, as I have to schedule another appointment with the doctor (as well as scheduling a liver scan at Northwell's local office).

Now, I was ready to prepare to go to the store.  But I lallygagged a little, and it wasn't until 6:00 pm that I decided to go into the shower.  By the time I was ready to go out, it was raining.  But I didn't know hard it was raining until I got to the front door.  In for a penny, in for a pound - and I was out the door in the pouring rain.  Things got even worse, as my car's accident prevention system couldn't see through the pouring rain.  If I made it to Macy's by 8:00 pm, I'd pick up my dress.  If not, at least I was driving slow and safe.  

I arrived at Macy's around 7:40 pm, and the rain had eased off a little.  10 minutes later, I was out of the store, and the rain started up again.  So I drove home slowly and safely.  By the time I got home, the rain had eased off again, so I wasn't soaking wet as I got in my door.  But this is a trip I should have  deferred until the morning, and will do so next time it's raining this hard.

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On other matters, I was originally scheduled to see DCD tonight for dinner.  Now that he's late in making his monthly car payment, he is avoiding me.  Since I know that his car is off the road due to his actions, it serves him right to try to make it home in this rain via public transit.  Karmic justice....

My Pooka was at it again!

 

I just spent $20 to replace a souvenir button that cost me $2.50.  And that wasn't a bad deal, except that I found the button two days after its replacement.

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A couple of weeks ago, RQS and I went to the Norman Rockwell Museum to see an exhibit for the Art of Mad Magazine.  Somehow, I had misplaced the sweater that had this souvenir button on it. After searching everywhere for it, I gave up hope of finding it and ordered a replacement.  Today, I found that sweater and button.

Misplacing items like this has always been a common occurrence for me.  I have learned to have two of everything important, as I never know when one of these things will go missing.  (I'm still looking for a pendant I bought while in Hawaii - it was one of my favorites!)  I even have duplicates of all of my portable electronic stuff (wires, adapters, etc.), as I tend to misplace or lose them while in transit.  (I lost a cell phone charger on a flight back from London this year, and just replaced it.)

If you were to see a picture of my desk, you'd understand why I misplace things so often.  A cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind.  Boy, this is an understatement in my case!  But it does allow for the random mutations of ideas which allow me to have insights that most people aren't lucky enough to have.  (Could you imagine how much more boring I would have been if my brain hadn't been able to make its random connections?)  

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One of these days, I'll be able to straighten out the mess on my desk, in my bedroom, and throughout the apartment.  Until then, I expect to keep misplacing many more things and replacing them prematurely.

I knew that this would be a problem

 

No, that is not my old car.  It's been generations since America knew how to build cars with real style.  But it reminds me of how much of a relic I have become in my old age.

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Like old cars, old friendships have their costs of maintenance.  In the case of DCD, I owed him for helping me move furniture, so that my (then) new carpet could be installed.  So, I figured that I could pay him back by offering him my old car at a below market price.  And this is where the problem comes up.  DCD is not paying me the money he owes me in a timely manner.

My brother and I talked about DCD a while back, and he figured that DCD would skip out on his payments.  Although I also figured this would happen, I am not bothered too much - the old car is out of my parking spaces, and is now his responsibility.  The other day, DCD told me that he failed to get "permanent" plates put on the car because he couldn't get in for an emissions test on time.  Dollars to donuts that this is a BS excuse from him.  Instead, RQS and I both think it is because he doesn't have the money to register the car in his legal state of residence - Connecticut.  

DCD had major health problems a few years back, and maintains legal residency at his (ex) girlfriend's house.  Ideally, he should find out how to switch his legal residence to New York (where he is a de facto resident), while keeping his Obamacare/Medicaid coverage.  But he doesn't do this.  As a result, he is paying an extra tax on the value of the car so that he can legally register the car in Connecticut, not jeopardizing his official Connecticut residency. 

- - - - - -

Do I think I will ever get all of the money DCD owes me?  No.  He is not a responsible person.  He avoids awkward situations, as I did almost 30 years ago - before I was forced to grow up.  Right now, he doesn't have a pot to piss in, and in late middle-age, that's a very bad thing.  I'm grateful I don't have his life to live.

RQS had to go home today.

 

RQS was up here for a long weekend. It's always nice to have her here.  But it's also nice to see her go home, if only because we both need to recharge our batteries for the following weekend.  We long for each other and are energized when the weekend comes, and we are re-energized when we part.  I think it's because we both have gotten used to having our own nests, and are re-energized by being able to retreat into our own spaces to do the things we would have done on our own before meeting each other.  Simply put, love in one's senior years is more complicated than when we were young.

- - - - - 

Yesterday, the high point of our day was a trip to Stew Leonard's to buy food for the week.  Today, it was the 1-mile walk we took by the Hudson River before it got too hot to do anything outside. It was nice being able to wear my exercise dress again.  RQS noted that she saw another woman wearing her exercise dress.  So I guess I didn't look out of place, save for my height and size.  By the time we were done with this walk (shortly before 11:00 am), all energy was drained from us.  I was glad that we set a limit of 20 minutes to be exposed to the hot and humid weather outside.  After this walk, we went to a deli that I used to frequent daily when I worked for the census bureau.  Four years later, I am still remembered there. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon resting in my apartment.  Unfortunately, I had to wake her up so that she could make her train back to the city.  So, we both got dressed in lightweight dresses, and out the door we went.  After dropping her off, I drove to Poughkeepsie and stopped off at Walmart on the way back home to pick up some makeup remover towelettes and Pointed Tip Swabs. (Think of Q-Tips with a pointed head - perfect for cleaning the area where my ear piercings were done.)  Once home, I was done for the day - and almost ready to go to sleep again.