Another lunch, another friend....

 

Today, I had another lunch date on my docket.  This time, it was with CCS, my friend from the Census. One wouldn't know it looking at her, but she and her husband have had successful careers.  They just live modestly, save for the upper middle class area in which they live.  (She's a perfect person to have as a friend, as I'll bet that she could smell pretentiousness and BS from miles away.)

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I got dresses and met CCS at the Mexican restaurant down the hill.  And as usual, we caught each other up on what has been going on in our lives.  Again, I recounted the story of our "Moved Over" cruise, and dealing with the summer heat.  While having lunch, I received a call from our co-op's managing agent.  They didn't have copies of our meeting minutes for 2025.  So I left lunch more quickly than I'd have liked and sent 7 months' of minutes to him 15 minutes later.

Now that I had nothing to do until a zoom meeting later in the evening, I decided to look for a summer weight cotton blanket for my bed.  It's hard to believe that after Bed, Bath and Beyond closed its stores, that these blankets seem to be only available on Amazon.  So, another item will get added to my Amazon shopping cart soon.

Once home for the night, I started up a Zoom meeting with our Texas friends. First, I told the story of our "Moved Over" cruise, then I encouraged RQS to recount the trip into NYC to see Rakugo.  Later on, RQS noted that it was much more lively than usual, one of our friends opening up more than usual  It was good to know that I could lay back a little and let someone else chat for a change.... 

Lunch with a friend who I used to work with.

 

The docket for the day had me lunching with SJM.  We skipped our monthly lunch in June, as she had too many things pop up that got in the way - right before the cruise we were supposed to take.  So we had a lot more to say than usual, but less time than we wanted.

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For some reason, my CPAP turned itself off last night, and it wouldn't turn back on.  I wondered why it did.  So, I switched the transformer and power cord (I have an extra in my CPAP travel bag) and it worked.  Now, I had to check out the original transformer and power cord.  This time, I plugged it into a different outlet - and everything worked!  Because I can't explain why things happened, I will need to swap the original back to my CPAP machine and make sure it works - then keep it that way for a while.

Now that I was wide awake, I decided to eat breakfast and nap until 11 am.  At 11:15, I started to get showered and dressed for lunch.  Making it to lunch at 1 pm, I met SJM and sat down for our meal.  I told her about my cruises, and she told me about what was going on with her, her sons, her husband, and her "headaches" with everything.  Her older son has the problems that one would expect from someone who needs more real-world experience before he can safely be completely on his own in life.  The other is willing to take on more challenges than his mom is comfortable with.  All of her problems share one detail - she is not a superwoman who has a solution for every problem. 

All too soon, lunch had to end and we parted.  I then checked in with my brother and found out that I still needed to get a document so that we can submit paperwork needed to rent out our house.  Tomorrow, I'll call up the town, and get things done.  But first, I would stop by the local Walmart to buy myself some anti-chafe slip shorts to wear under my dresses.  By the time I was home for the night, it was 7:30 - just enough time to get a load of laundry done.

It was a nice day to spend as Marian.  Soon, I'll have to switch back to Mario mode to get some paperwork notarized.... 

Donner und Blitzen (That's "Thunder and Lightning" to us Yanks.)

 

The "Highlight" of the day was the thunderstorm.  Although I had lots of things I could have done today, I decided to do only a small number of them.  And I'm glad that I did what I did....

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I started off the day with the "Blahs".  Nothing seemed to interest me that much, and all I wanted to do was watch videos on YouTube.  The most interesting of these was a cruise blogger talking about her Northern European cruise to the land where the sun never sets in the summer.  Both RQS and I wish we were cruising there this summer.  Yet, we are grateful to have been able to sail to the most interesting of the Norwegian ports before they were shut down to conventionally powered ships. 

Why did I watch YouTube videos instead of my "normal" news channels?  Well, I get sick when I see the Orange Snowflake make an ass of himself and show how America has fallen. As I've said in other posts, I try to limit my exposure to the evil this man sows, so that I retain my sanity.  These days, he keeps trying to distract people from  his association with the Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and even his base is calling him out on it.  Are there any files or not?  Either way, he will be caught in a lie.  And when it involves underage females, even his base has a line that it will not cross.

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Originally, I was supposed to go to TCL's place and have lunch.  With today's rain, it was smart of me not to drive to her place.  It was raining "Cats and Dogs", and I hate driving in this kind of weather.  The last thing I would need is a flat and have to call for help in this weather.  Instead, I stayed home and waited for an Amazon delivery to come.  Now, I have a new wig stand, more breast form cleaner, and a new shaver for my female "to go" kit.  (Next, I need to find a cheap carry-on to finish my female "to go" setup.)

While at home, I started taking care of paperwork needed to formally rent out the family homestead again.  Although it's not complete, I'm hoping that we'll have the house rented by September, and that I can again focus on issues in which I have no emotional interest.

In short, it was a "Blah" day kept "Blah" by rain, thunder and lightning. 

The return home (a short post)

 

Since my car was parked on the wrong side of the street (for alternate side of the street parking rules) and that I had things to take care of at home, I had to leave RQS's place today.  However, this didn't mean that RQS and I couldn't take advantage of this.  My car could be used in a shopping run, as long as I didn't have to park it again.

Around 2 pm, RQS and I drove over to the local supermarket.   The market was packed to the gills, but the quality of the meat and fish on display made me wish I had this kind of food store near me. (If I'm willing to drive 30 minutes, I can always go to H-Mart or Wegman's, but that's a headache for me.)  We found everything RQS needed, but it took forever to make it through the checkout lanes - the cashiers were also bagging the groceries.  This is very inefficient, but it can make a perverted kind of sense in preventing shrinkage.  Eventually, RQS and her groceries made it to the car, and I dropped her off at her apartment.

Driving home, I knew I would want to take off my dress and rest a while.  But I knew I had something to take care of - my own shopping.  After a chance to rest, I did just that.  $95 later, I was on my way home for the night. Tomorrow will likely be a Mario day, so sometime tonight I will have to change wallets for the day.

Rakugo

 

Rakugo - a form of Japanese verbal entertainment, specifically comedic storytelling. Performers, known as rakugo-ka, sit on a cushion and narrate stories, often acting out multiple characters with only a fan and a hand towel as props.

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I've been looking to see this show in Manhattan for a while.  Last month, I could have seen it when RQS was in Philadelphia visiting her cousin.  I decided not to do so for 2 reasons: (1) It was too hot last month, and (2) RQS could get the tickets cheaper than I could get them.  So, why not wait a month, and both of us could have a great day in the city?

This weekend, the weather was expected to be in the mid 80's, and that meant that the subways would be miserable. (That prediction was spot-on.)  But we had tickets, and I braved the heat in my feminine best (I'm not talking about the formality of what I was wearing, only the attitude that women take in regarding to making no excuses when things have to get done.) Around 5 pm, RQS and I prepared to go to Manhattan, and we went to the subway station at 6:10.  It was warm, but we were tolerably comfortable in the air-conditioned train.

When we arrived in Manhattan, we had to change trains at an overcrowded station.  If it was 85 degrees above ground, it was easily 100 degrees underground.  And when the train came, it was overcrowded. Making it to 50th street, we went above ground with 2 1/2 blocks to walk, and RQS was exhausted.  Although I have more stamina than she does, I knew I had to take a break and down the bottle of seltzer I had with me.  Thankfully, we made it to the theater with 30 minutes to spare before the show.

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Sitting down at our seats (thankfully we were on the aisle), I noticed that every tune played on the PA system before the show was a version of "You are my sunshine."  (How Appropriate!)   The setting was sparse as one would expect, and I knew we'd be entertained given the reviews that RQS had read about this show.

First, an apprentice Rakugo-ka came on stage and told her story.  Then Katsura Sunshine came on to tell his stories.  (This video clip from YouTube should give you an idea about what Rakugo is all about.)  After one story was told in English, he noted that he was learning both Italian and Chinese, then told the same story in both languages, Italian used for "the apprentice" and Chinese used for "the master".  This time, it was language and mannerisms from the storyteller that made one laugh.  Truly, Rakugo is an art which was a worldwide art.

Eventually, the show ended, and we had to go home.  First, we stopped for some cheesecake before going underground.  We missed the train by 30 seconds and would have to wait 12 minutes for the next one.  I remembered that an express train was coming, and that we might overtake the local.  But that didn't happen.  Again, we missed the local by 30 seconds.  So we still ended up waiting those 12 minutes, and then had to transfer one more time.  At least, we found seats on the train to RQS's place.

We were both exhausted by the time we returned to RQS's place, and I needed to take a shower before going to bed.  At least, I had the forethought to leave some pretty night wear at her place for me to wear that evening....
 

 

Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes it eats you.

 

If there's flashing lights in the middle of a NYC street, one has to wonder: Do I risk doing down that narrow one-way street, or do I take my chances on finding a parking spot on another street.  Today, I made the wrong decision, and got stuck behind an ambulance for 45 minutes waiting for them to clear the street and allow traffic to pass.

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Summer is one of those times where it is much easier for me to reach RQS's place.  I was on schedule for a 3 pm arrival at her place, and turned onto her street and noticed an ambulance going down the street.  When I could have backed out of the street and tried my luck elsewhere, I didn't.  And just before the corner, the ambulance stopped, blocking traffic for 45 minutes on a hot summer's day.

If one looks closely at the above photo, there was not enough room to squeeze around the ambulance into the open parking spot, and I didn't want to leave my car to relieve myself before the EMT people came back and freed up traffic.  Immediately behind me were 4 or 5 buses, all stuck on their route to the terminal, as well as some cars who had no way to escape the log jam. The rescue efforts seemed to take forever, and a fire truck came with more personnel to help take someone out to the ambulance. I had to feel sorry for the woman being carried out to the ambulance, she looked like death warmed over, but she was still alive. At least, once the woman was in the ambulance (and in stable condition) they moved the ambulance out of the way, and I grabbed the free parking spot before anyone else came by to take it.

Finally making it to RQS's apartment, I brought my changes of clothes into the apartment.  This weekend, I'd be in full Marian mode, and it was nice to be able to wear dresses for the entire weekend.  Since I was not in the mood to stay inside for dinner, we walked over to a nearby Thai restaurant for dinner before checking in for the night.

It's nice to have a girlfriend/partner who accepts me for who I am, and whatever way I choose to present myself. 

How things have changed

 

Last year, I wouldn't think twice about going on a cruise dressed like this.  Today, given what we're seeing on TV (mostly YouTube video blogs), I'm not so sure about how I'd be treated by federal authorities.  The DOJ is going after medical records of Transgender Youth, and we've seen erasures from the Federal record of all things that celebrate or recognize the contributions of people in American society other than Straight, Cisgender, White Christian males.  The rest of us don't count for anything these days.

Why is this important?

We are seeing the malicious destruction of the American way of life by a malignant few.  Even the people who once supported the Orange Snowflake are turning away from him, as he is keeping what would normally only be campaign promises - things that are said to make people happy before an election, and not to be delivered on when in power. 

Instead of stable trading relationships with our allies, we are using tariffs to kill these relationships.  Instead of looking the other way when illegal immigrants do the work that Americans don't want to do, we are seeing tens of thousands of jobs go unfilled affecting both rural and urban economies.  Instead of having a federal government who'd step in and help when natural disasters occur, we now have a central government that tells us that disaster recovery is only a state responsibility.  Instead of having a government which protects individual rights, we now have a central government overseeing the stripping away of these rights.  In short, instead of having relative peace, order, and a well-functioning government, we have a belligerent, capricious, poorly-functioning kleptocracy.

For the first time in my life, I wish I were born in a stable European country.  Yes, each major country in Europe has big problems.  But they remember what happens when a bombastic, hate-mongering, kleptocratic leader took control of Central Europe. And they fear what is happening with America, as they have long depended on a stable , democratic American superpower for their own prosperity and freedom.

Next week, I will file the paperwork to get my second passport.  I'm hoping that I won't need it for an escape from America.  But if that time comes, I want to be ready.