Today was a nothing burger of a day. (a short post)

 

It's rare that I wake up early and cook breakfast.  And it's even rarer that I go back to bed and fall asleep again.  But that was the main focus of the day - my total lack of energy until afternoon came, and when I found the energy to stay out of bed.

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Around 7 am, I got up and cooked some breakfast.  I rarely find myself having a short burst of energy, then depleting it quickly.  But that was my morning in a nutshell.  Right after breakfast, I felt a need to go back to bed, and I couldn't find the energy to leave it until the afternoon.  This meant that my plans to go into the city and see a Broadway play would have to be changed.

By the time I was ready to go outside, it was way too late for me to do anything that required a trip to the city.  So I got showered and dressed, wearing my new dress from Universal Standard.  It fit me well, but I'm unhappy with how the flutter sleeves look on me. Then I took a drive to the store to pick up some face powder.  My first stop had me picking up setting powder a little darker than my usual shade.  Once I realized this, I decided to drive to Target to get another container of powder.  

Once I was done with my shopping, it was back home to spend the evening.  Not much to say about today, and just as well.  RQS and I will be doing a Zoom meeting with our Texas friends in a couple of days, and we will be booking our next European cruise over the weekend as well.  (We may delay this until we get back from our next cruise, due to constraints on RQS's finances.)

The day started with a call from my doctor...

 

I can't say that I was asleep when my doctor called this morning.  But I can say that the call disturbed me before I got out of bed.  And this set the overtone for the rest of the day.

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My doctor wanted to review the results of a blood test he gave me a week ago.  Seems like one of the levels was way too high, and he wanted me to avoid alcohol until I see him again next month.  The reality is that I eat too much fatty food, and that the rich food I was eating on the cruise combined with the 2-3 drinks per day I was drinking on the cruise (I rarely drink alcohol otherwise) could have been a factor.  I guess that this has to be a wake-up call to get my act together when it involves what I'm eating.

Now that my morning was shot, I took care of some little things around the house, then went out for lunch and then make a run to the supermarket.  At the supermarket, I made sure to pick up some salad, as well as some fruit.  Maybe I can start changing my diet before my next cruise?  I hope so.  And then, I was home for the night, as I had a co-op meeting scheduled for 5:15 pm.

I started the co-op meeting, and it took a while for the board members to join in.  We conducted our business, and yet, it still seemed as if the president and I were the only two doing the work.  I'll be glad when we get some issues resolved, as both of us want to go on and do things other than spending our time keeping the co-op running. When the co-op meeting was over, I started 2 loads of laundry, and then called my brother.  His boss made an offer to him that he couldn't refuse - a promise to pay attention to my brother's need for a better work/life balance.

Finally, I chatted with RQS.  We got price quotes for 2 different cruises.  She wanted one cruise, and I wanted the other.  Both are good choices.  But RQS is more sensitive to the price of the cruise than I am.  So, I think I will bend to her preferences, and choose the shorter, less expensive cruise.  More on this later.

A split weekend with RQS

 

(The Marxes made more sense than our current government.)

I spent the Labor Day weekend with RQS.  Half of the time at my apartment, and the other half at hers.  She needed to replace her printer, and I needed to spend as much time in Marian mode as I could.  Given that I would be the one driving her from the computer store to buy her new printer, and back home to install it, this made perfect sense.

As expected, RQS arrived on Friday afternoon, and we decided to go out to eat.  This time, we drove to an AYCE (all you can eat) sushi place in Yonkers, where we chowed down on some delightful grub.  And then, I suggested that we stop by Micro Center and pick up a new printer.  I knew that if RQS bought the same printer as I had in my place, that she'd likely be happy. So I steered her to buying the exact same printer as I owned, and she got it on sale - $20 less than I paid for mine. After buying the printer, we drove home to relax - and we did do through Saturday.  Neither of us wanted to go out.  This meant that a possible dinner with Vicki was out.  So, I cooked some chicken I had in the fridge, and stayed in until Sunday morning.

Oft times, I joke with RQS about going to church while she stays asleep on the bed.  Well, as much as I thought about going back to sleep when the alarm rang, I decided to wake up and make this weekend's service.  By the time things were over, I called RQS, and was bring home Mickey D's for us to eat around 12:30.  Within 90 minutes, we were off to her place, hitting almost no traffic on the way there.  If we had waited until the next day, we'd be stuck in traffic.

Labor day came, and I had to leave.  It was nice to spend another weekend as Marian, knowing that when we take our next cruise, I'll be stuck for two weeks as Mario. 

Gone are the days I'd visit DC. (a short post)

 

Normally, I'd consider a short run to DC if I had nothing better to do at this time of year.  Ever since the Orange Snowflake took power, he has had nothing but hatred for the LGBT community, even trying to erase transgender history from the record.  A year ago, DC welcomed us all.  Now, I can't trust that I'd be safe, given the militarization of the nation's capital.

The above photo was taken in the Kennedy Center for the Arts.  It was a place that artists would be proud to stand on its stage.  Now, the snowflake has debased its stage and the honors it hands out.  In the name of cultural cleansing, he has taken over the Kennedy Center and is now eliminating any "Degenerate" entertainment. As a result, many artists are boycotting the center and its awards.  People like me are staying away from the Kennedy Center and DC.

The use of the National Guard to "clean up the city" by moving the homeless out of town is offensive.  What is going to be done for these people?  People who can't afford housing need shelter, something not available to them.  People who have mental health problems are not receiving treatment.  While the guard has been in DC, what has it done?  Picking up the trash, "Police Call" in military usage.  Did we need to call out the guard for that?

But what about the cases where the guard has been used to terrorize a city, as it did in LA a few weeks ago?  Can we say that the snowflake won't use the guard like Hitler used the SA, only to replace them by the SS?  DC is an unsafe place right now, and I choose to go elsewhere, where people like me are tolerably safe for now.

We're now programmed to fail.

 

Years ago, when I started my career in technology, I had faith in a system that provided opportunity for all.  It didn't matter whether a person was black or white.  There was a relative meritocracy in this country, with an elite that cared somewhat for the conditions that the masses lived under.  I learned to analyze a situation, find the cause of a problem, and resolve it.  Over the years, I learned to look at larger systems and perform root cause analyses for problems in these systems.  Today, what I'm seeing frightens me.

We're seeing, in real time, the gradual destruction of American society.  A bandit class has gained control, a class which has no ability to care for the welfare of the masses.  The leader that we elected has exposed his toxic nature, and many of his followers are finally seeing the man for what he is - a man who only cares for himself, someone who has no ability to care for the little people who put him back in power.

People like me are under attack because we don't cleanly fit into the gender binary that his core supporters use to define their world. But we are not the only people under attack.  People who believe in science and the scientific method are under attack too.  We've seeing the destruction of the CDC, due to a crackpot in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services.  I can only wonder what epidemics will affect our nation, given the outflow of qualified, talented professionals from our government.  We're seeing a government ready to debase our currency, institute questionable tariffs, and do everything possible to create another great depression.  What's going to happen when people lose hope?

What is the root cause of society's current problems?  As I see it, it was a big mistake made by the elites 50-60 years ago.  America's business elites decided to globalize manufacturing without providing a safety net, a transition plan for those workers who would be displaced from their jobs as work migrated overseas.  Educated people in large metropolitan areas would still be able to find work.  But few jobs were being created in areas being hollowed out by globalization.  People in these areas lost hope in the system, and became ready to follow a populist leader who'd make idle promises.  They needed to show their anger towards the elites, and became more radicalized. 

Once people become marginalized and lose hope, they are willing to gamble on anything that would improve their lots in life.  They will often feel that restoring the oppressive social norms of the past will fix things.  But they only make things worse.  Instead of looking for ways to grow the economic pie, they look to keep others from getting their share the pie.  This only serves the bandit capitalist, as alienated people will blindly support leaders that make speeches that give lip service to the supposed needs of those people.

Right now, our president has set America on a course to fail.  As a result, he will likely collapse the world economy.  I shudder to think of what will happen if he succeeds in his plans.  What he will gain from this, I'm not sure.  I think he's a Nero who will fiddle while Rome burns - and enjoy the flames.  As for me, I want to be as far away from Rome as possible....
 

Seeing a friend, while Amazon has still not delivered.

 

When the above dog says "Woof!" he really means it - unlike Amazon's 2-day delivery pledge for Prime members.  But first, I'll talk about friendship....

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About a month ago, I last saw my friend CCS from the census.  Both of us were in good moods when we met at the local pizzeria, and had our choices of where to sit when we got there.  We were chatting so much, that I had no time to think of what I wanted to order.  (She is a vegetarian, so her limits made it easy for her to quickly know what she wanted.)  So, I ended up ordering an old standby, lasagna, even though I knew it was too heavy for a late summer's day.  We caught up on things such as our cruises, politics, and where we are vacationing next.  But all too soon, it was time to go, and we scheduled out next lunch for late September. 

Once I left the pizzeria, I dropped off my leftovers at home, then took a short drive just to see some sunlight. before going back home for a few hours to wait for game night.  Around 6 pm, I noticed a message: Our hostess was sick, and game night was cancelled for tonight.  In a way, this was just as well.  It gave me some time to straighten up the mess in my apartment.

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But back to Amazon....

The above items were originally ordered on August 25th, with delivery scheduled for August 26th. (I didn't care about next day delivery, but Amazon said they would deliver these items a day early.)  They didn't come on the 26th.  They didn't come on the 27th.  They were only noted as being late in transit, although they were reported as having reached the Hawthorne, NY carrier facility.  And this status remained well into the 28th.  

At the time I'm writing this entry, I don't think I will receive these items today, the 28th.  So, I prepared a new order, being ready to cancel the first order at 11 pm and issue a new order at that time.  I'll add a postscript to this entry if things change.... 




PS: I cancelled the order at 10 pm.   I'll reorder things over the weekend.

Amazon 2-Day delivery isn't so.... (a short post)

 

On Monday, August 25, I placed an order for 8 items, 6 of them were expected to be delivered the next day, August 26th.  However, Amazon sent me a "sorry message", saying that the above 6 items would be delivered on August 27th.  But these items were never delivered.  Now, Amazon reports that these items will arrive on August 28th.  If I desperately needed these items, I'd find another seller and buy similar things (if possible). One can understand why I am annoyed at Amazon, and may cancel this order if it doesn't come by the weekend.   Of these items, 3 are used to remove unwanted back hair, apply makeup, and help my wig stay on my head.  Luckily, I can get by for a while without these items.

A while back, RQS and I went to the Amazon fulfillment center to see how the firm processes goods.  It's a highly automated process, with people performing repetitive tasks all day.  (Not a job I'd want.)  The tour guise pointed out spots where items can get mishandled, or fell into the cracks of the process. I'll bet that my shipment fell into the latter category, as Amazon reported that the package had been received at the Hawthorne, NY distribution center.  (Sadly, that message can't be retrieved, and all I have is the status from the day before.)  But what could have happened?  Knowing how much they know about any package, whether it has been assembled, packed, shipped, or delivered, what could have gone wrong?  A 1-day delay is understandable, with a loose understanding of Amazon's processes. But a 2-day delay without a full explanation is not understandable, given Amazon's technology.  

Hopefully, this delivery will arrive tomorrow.  If not, well....