Mexican lunch and a new Bra

 

I had only one thing on the docket today, and that was lunch with CCS, my friend from the US Census.  Around noon, I made sure to get shaved, showered, made up and dressed for a 1:30 lunch.

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CCS and I aren't that close.  We're not the types who need to be at each other's beck and call.  Instead, we are the type of friends who can keep each other up to date on what's going on in each other's lives, and be there for each other when we need a small favor from each other.  So a friendship built on workplace camaraderie has evolved into something that nourishes us years after our involvement in the census.

When we got together, we talked of several things - current affairs, her upcoming trip to Atlantic City, my life with RQS and our upcoming trips, and issues one faces when one holds dual citizenship in the US and another country and wants to travel.  I learned how I'll be dealing with passport issues once I have my second passport.

Once we finished lunch, I took a long, overland route to Lane Bryant in Paramus to see what is in the store.  Nothing I would have liked was selling at a price I wanted to pay.  About the only thing I wanted was a new bra, and they were on sale.  Even more interesting, they actually had my size in store stock for a change.  So I bought the bra in the above picture.  Just before I left, there was another woman in the store who was shopping for a bra in her size - 38-I.  I can't imagine having breasts that large on my chest. The saleslady was trying to tell her to try on both the 38-I and the 40-H sizes, as sometimes a "sister size" bra will work better on some frames.  (I wasn't going to get involved in this conversation, as I've already had to deal with sister sizing when buying my bras.)

Soon, I was on my way home, and dealing with rush hour traffic.  Luckily, I got home in a little over an hour, and was able to relax for the rest of the evening.

A Co-Op shareholder meeting - I couldn't wait for it to end.

 

Well, this was another day that I couldn't spend any time as Marian.  By now, the look on my face probably mirrors the look on the picture above.  OK, it's not that weird, but I feel that way after the weekend I've had.

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Around 3:30 pm, I finally got around to doing 2 loads of laundry while I got showered and dressed for the 6 pm board meeting.  By 5:30, I was out the door and off to the shareholder meeting.  We have had a problem for the past several shareholder meetings - not enough people attending for us to have a quorum. And this year wouldn't be different.

At 7:45, our attorney called the meeting to order.  He noted that we didn't have a quorum, and that the old board would continue for another term.  And then, the "fun" began.  Due to financial problems we encountered last year and that we are working to resolve, we have a shortfall for which we will need to make an assessment of all shareholders to cover this shortage.  Understandably, people were upset.  They were even more upset that our bank hasn't been able to give us final totals for us to work with.  So, we are going with our attorney's estimate for what we will need to pay, and we then gave an estimate of what we expect to ding our shareholders to make things whole again.

The meeting ended at 8:30, and I was able to make it to the diner for a chef salad before they closed for the evening.  It was nice to go there again, as it is a place I only go when presenting as Mario.  Yes, I ended up eating too much today, but I'll watch my diet tomorrow.

 

Replacing the water heater was the reason for another drive to Long Island.

 

Before plumbing work

After plumbing work

As I mentioned yesterday, I couldn't park near RQS's house, and I had to drive back to Croton to stay the night.  So, today, I had to drive back to Long Island to let the plumber into the family homestead to replace the water heater.  This meant that I would have to get up early and spend 90 minutes driving to Long Island instead of finding somewhere to kill 2 1/2 hours before the plumber arrived.  Since I'd be in a position where Mario would be expected, this took away another chance to spend a day as Marian.

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Rushing to be on time, I got showered, dressed, and was out of the house by 10:15.  What happens when one rushes?  One forgets to take one's morning pills.  This would make it the second day in a row that I forgot to take some of my medicines.  So I know to double check this before I leave in the morning and when I come back at night.  But I digress.  Something must be going on with Android Auto updates, as I couldn't get a clean connection between my car's head unit and my phone.  Twice on the way to the family homestead, I decided to reboot the phone, reestablish Bluetooth connectivity, but to no avail.  Figuring things out would have to wait until I was ready to go home.

Arriving at the house a little bit before noon, I had to double check to see whether the plumbers were coming.  They were a few minutes late, but got to work quickly.  About 3 1/2 hours later, the new water heater was installed and the gas lines tested for leaks.  (Sadly, we may need to run new gas lines within the house, as replacement will likely be cheaper than repairs.  Ouch!)  And then, it was all over for the day.  So, I fought rush hour traffic on the way home, and arrived at my apartment around 5:15 or so - and proceeded to rest for the evening.

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Given that we will need to have more work done in the house, I will need to coordinate a day which works with my schedule, RQS's schedule, and the plumber's schedule for the next visit.  Since the day would begin around 8:30, I'd have to stay over RQS's place the night before, so that I don't have to fight bridge traffic that morning.  Hopefully, this can be done before my next trip.  If not, it will be done afterwards. 

 

 

PS: My brother told me that the additional plumbing work will cost an extra $4,000. This means that we will not add a half-bath to the house.  Instead, we will either again rent out the house or sell it at today's high prices.

An overly short weekend (and a short post)

 

Yes, I know that this is not 2016.  But I wanted to illustrate that this past weekend was way too short for me.  Only being able to be with RQS on Friday night and Saturday wasn't good enough for me.  At least, I was able to get back to her for dinner on Sunday before going home for the night.

But first....

I had agreed to help my brother with power washing the foundation walls again at the family homestead, as the concrete he used for patching the interior wall was faulty and didn't hold up.  So I told RQS that we'd have a short weekend.  Strangely enough, we didn't do much of anything other than rest.  That was good enough for me, as I'd be working much of the afternoon on Sunday.

Sunday eventually came, and I had to give up a good parking spot in RQS's neighborhood to meet my brother.  After an aborted visit to Mickey D's due to their order kiosks not working for me, we went to the local Burger King - where the touch pads worked.  (Note to me: Do not let one's anger out at the crappy Mickey D's order kiosk - they force their franchisees to buy shitty hardware which annoys both the customer and the franchisee.  Note to reader: If you want to know if a McD's soft serve is working at a particular site, use the mcbroken.com site.)

Once done with our burgers, it was off to the family homestead for 3 hours of work.  This time, the power washing and new concrete seem to do the job.  My brother will apply a skim coat during the week, and will hopefully apply paint after he comes back from a quick trip to the back woods of Appalachia.

Quitting time came, and my brother was off to his wife, and I was off to RQS.  Although I could find a parking spot or two, I could not find one that would let me sleep late in the morning.  So I found a space nearby the house, and went upstairs for dinner.  All too soon, I had to leave, and I had an easy drive home until I hit the draw bridge on the Hutchinson River Parkway.  I lost 30 minutes in that jam.  And yet, even with a shopping trip at Walmart and the Supermarket, I was home shortly after 10 pm.  

Unfortunately, I'll have to go back to Long Island in the morning for the plumber, and then finally go home.  At least, I can see the day where I can again go out as Marian....

Lunch with another Vicki - transgender issues were the theme of the day

 

Unlike yesterday's dinner with Vicki #1 (Tall Vicki), today's lunch was with Vicki #2 (Short Vicki)..  It's hard to keep my Vickis straight without a scorecard.  With that being said, we went to Chazz Palmenteri's restaurant in White Plains for a Restaurant Week meal.

Vicki ended up shoehorning me into her schedule, as unplanned things got in her way.  First, her 21-y/o TG offspring had to be picked up from college, as they had a power outage and were operating remotely for the day.  Since he had no power at school, he couldn't attend a virtual class without power and the internet.  So she ended up driving up to Purchase, back to Dobbs Ferry, and back to White plains to meet me.  While at lunch, she described the issues going on with her wife (who is transgender, and whose issues I won't mention here), as well as the vacation they plan to take next month.  All too soon, we had to go.  She had to take her offspring back to campus, reversing her morning's drives.

As for me, I took a long drive to stay out of the house.  I could have gone to Queens for a TG voice session at the LGBT center there, but I didn't want to risk getting caught in the rain.  So, I stayed home and rested. 

Zooming with my niece & Dinner with Vicki

 

My niece and I try to chat with each other via Zoom, as we live in separate time zones, separate nations, and separate continents.  She, like me, is wary of what is happening in the USA, and is worried about what will happen when she and her husband visit the US this month to see her brother compete in a sporting event.  So today's chat had American politics as a dominant theme, instead of what we prefer talking about.  

To deal with her visit to the US, she has deleted virtually all of her emails which reference US politics, as well as removing any social media from her phone.  She isn't too worried about her husband's phone, as he doesn't use social media.  However, she is concerned about him, simply because of the current xenophobic attitude of the regime currently in power.  

I discussed the conversation I had with her dad regarding how he treats her mom, as well as the conversation her mom had with me.  But I did not go into details, as I didn't want to make her a middle person.  However, I suggested that she keep tabs on her dad, as he is going through a lot of stress these days.  She is also being careful not to be caught in the middle of her dad and mom, as no one wins in these situations.

Hopefully, she and her hubby will have a pleasant visit to the US. 

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A few hours later, Vicki picked me up to go to eat at one of the Hudson Valley Restaurant Week (HVRW) restaurants.  Coordinating our schedules isn't always easy.  But now that she's semi-retired (she'll work if a good job comes her way), she has much more freedom to schedule things like HVRW dinners than in the past.

Today, we went to a new restaurant, Saint George, in Hastings.  I wanted to love this place, as it had the ambience and service that I would normally rave about.  However, the Beef Bourguignon left a lot to be desired, as it was presented as if it were a Shepard's Pie - and tasted the same.  This was not the French dish I was expecting.  And it caused both Vicki and I to give the place a "Thumbs  Down".  Maybe, if one of us had ordered something different, we'd have had a different opinion of the place.  But for now, we'll skip this place and go to other places in the area.

 

 

PS: We may be seeing Martin Sexton in June.  I wonder whether she will like his cover of the Beatles' Abbey Road album. (Unlike me, she is not a Beatles' fan.  I wish I could have been in Vegas to see Cheap Trick cover the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album about 20 years ago.  It was a better performance than I expect Martin Sexton's performance will be.)

 

Our Viper Holiday (420 Day) falls on Easter Sunday this year.

 

Those of you who know me know that I am moderate in my vices.  Although I have partaken in Snoop Dogg's favorite "Medicine", I am far from being a Viper like Snoop and Willie Nelson.  With maybe a couple of exceptions, the last time I partook of the the wonderful herb was in 1983.  Yet, I have always been a strong advocate for its legalization, and am glad that I can get it legally (according to New York State) in a convenient dispensary near me.

One year, the Transgender Day of Remembrance fell on Easter Sunday, and then the GOP hypocrites condemned President Biden for recognizing the Transgender community.  These are the same jerks who tried to deny the American public the right to enjoy the mind altering substance of their choice while smoking their "Tea" in private.  There is something they don't like about other people having the same freedoms that they want to reserve for themselves.

I can't say too much for the intelligence of the average MAGAloon.  Like many people, they aren't able to articulate why they support the conservative movement in this country, nor can they justify their beliefs with objective evidence.  I'll admit that the person in the above linked discussion is likely an uneducated person who follows their political and religious leaders without question.  Even when I was in therapy, my therapist would argue against the legalization of cannabis while smoking it in private.  Like many in the conservative movement, there is a blatant inconsistency in his reasoning that offended me; and I was glad to end my therapy sessions when he retired.

Although I doubt that I will partake of any cannabis on Easter, I will be glad that we are no longer putting people in jail in my state for enjoying their smoke of choice.  Hopefully, it will soon be legal in all 50 states, so that no one need worry about being arrested for illegal possession if they cross state lines.