It was a busy day and evening

 

Today would be a busy day.  I didn't have the time or energy to clean up my apartment before RQS came up today So, all I could do is get some little things out of the way, so that she could feel more comfortable while here.

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I woke up early, but had little energy to move.  My back was bothering me a little, and I didn't want to spend what little energy I had cleaning up my place.  So, I moved things out of the way and got ready to go out as Marian for the first time since before my last cruise. 

Getting ready as Marian involves several things.  First, I have to shave very close.  Then, I have to apply my makeup.  And that has a routine that I try to follow: (1) Clean my face, (2) Apply beard concealer, (3) Apply dark makeup to disguise my chin bones, (4) Apply foundation, (5) Apply brow makeup, (6) Apply setting powder, (7) Apply blush, and finally (8) Apply lipstick.  There are times that I am in a rush and skip a step - but that's usually when I'm in a rush.  It's a production, but worth it to go out as Marian.

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My friend from the imaging firm and I had a lunch appointment scheduled for noon at Panera Bread in White Plains.  So I wouldn't have much time in the morning to putz around and all I could do would be to get up, get ready to go out, and drive to White Plains.  By 11 am, I was running late, and was about to call my friend.  Then I read a test on my phone - my friend would be late.  She "got credit" for asking for a delay, and this suited me just fine.

We met at Panera at 12:30, and had a nice chat.  I talked about my recent cruise, and she talked about her Thanksgiving day dinner disaster.  All too soon, lunch had to end.  Part of me couldn't wait - this place was much too loud in which to hold a good conversation.  So I went home for a while, waiting for RQS to come in.

At 4:30, I picked up RQS at the station, and we went to a local "Red Sauce" joint for dinner.  But neither of our dishes were covered by red sauce: she had shrimp scampi, while I had chicken scarpiello.  Yum!  The food was tasty, plentiful, and filling. We lingered a bit at the restaurant, and then it was off to the Westchester Woman's Chorus perform at a nearby church.

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A friend of ours performs with the chorus, and we were there to hear her (and others) sing.  It was a nice performance, and  we were glad to have gone.  We met DS there from game night, but she didn't have a lot to say.  Soon, it was time to leave, and we were home for the night.

Still recovering from my cruise

 

As I write this entry, I've been on land for 3 days now.  And reality is catching up with me.  I've had to write out a fistful of checks (actually, they are ACH Payments for the most part) , and my bank account is the lowest it's ever been for a while.  By tomorrow, my monthly Social Security payment will be credited to my account, and I will be mostly whole again.  

Catching up with this is always a pain in the butt.  Last night, I laundered 2 baskets of dirty clothes, with another basket ready to go today.  Today, I paid bills.  And tomorrow, I'll likely do some apartment cleanup before going out for lunch with a friend and going to game night for the first time in a couple of months.

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Today, I went to the radiology center in town to get a liver scan.  Now, I have some understanding of how a woman feels as her belly gets slicked up for the ultrasound scan, and for the device to be rubbed over the skin.  (No, there's no sensory comparison.  But there is a procedural comparison, and only that, here.)  In a week and a half, I expect that my doctor will be giving me some bad news as the results of this scan comes in.

Once done with the liver scan, it was off to the bagel shop to get breakfast.  Being without food or water for 10 hours made me hungry and thirsty.  And I dealt with that need before going home.  Then, I relaxed for the rest of the day. 

Merry Christmas 2025

 

Merry Christmas!

(See you tomorrow.) 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

 

While we were on the cruise, both RQS and I were noticing the gradual mounting of Christmas decorations around the ship.  First, it was setting up this Christmas tree.  Then, it was the read garlands around the light sconces on the ship.  Gradually, the ship had been transformed for its Christmas season cruising.  If I could afford both the time and money, RQS and I would be taking a Christmas cruise on the Queen Mary 2.  Given what I've seen so far, they how to celebrate the holiday on this ship. 

Several years ago, I took a Christmas Cruise which sailed from New York to Port Canaveral, NCL's private island, and Charleston, SC before returning to Manhattan.  This was one of the first cruises to sail after Covid-19, and it was one of the best cruises I've ever been on.  On Christmas Day, both children and their parents came down to the atrium in their PJs, just to visit with Mr. & Mrs. Santa.  The best gift that we could get that year was the ability to travel again as things were coming back to normalcy.

This year, I have yet to buy RQS a present she doesn't know about.  But I've already given her the gift of a cruise we'll be taking soon.  As much as I'd like to have traveled as Marian for this cruise, I know I'd be pressing my luck with another visit to Florida and its dreaded bathroom laws.

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I still have to give RQS an idea of what I want for Christmas.  I don't need any more dresses in my closet.  And I need to figure out what best fits me from the Marian side of my closets if I want her to give a clothing gift.  Jewelry would be nice, but I'm not sure of what I'd want and it's hard to find things that will fit me and look good on me.

Still, as I write this, it's a couple of weeks before the holiday, and we have time to figure things out. 

 

 

 

 

 

Eastern Caribbean Cruise 2025 - Thoughts on the cruise (12/09/25)

 

The more I travel, the more I realize that I should have done much more traveling while I was younger. Now that I have a travel partner, I feel a bit more secure about going into the unknown (for me) and experiencing new things.

In the case of this cruise, it wasn't much of a stretch for me to take this trip.  I am comfortable with the cocoon of cruise ship travel, as it allows me to feel safe in foreign lands.  What was new for me was the casual elegance of this ship.  This was the first time that I kept bumping into people who think like I do. (I'm not talking about agreeing with me.  I'm talking about people who can disagree, but talk about and analyze objective data.

I remember one acquaintance telling me that I would enjoy the Queen Mary 2.  And she was right.  Sadly, she is preoccupied, and doesn't include me in her circle anymore.  But then, there is a difference in social class between us, and I figure that she isn't comfortable with someone from my social level.  Yet, I feel that I finally was in my milieu when I was on this ship. Maybe, I have finally started to reach the social level I could have been in when younger, had I only proper mentoring and guidance.

Sadly, the older I get, the more I realize that I wasted much of my life.  We live two lives: the first, where we waste much of it away.  And the second, where (if we're lucky) live up to our fullest potential.  For me, travel is helping me live up to that potential. 

Eastern Caribbean Cruise 2025 - Disembarkation Day (12/08/25)

 

I don't have that much to say about leaving the ship today.  The alarms were set to go off at 5:45 am, and I was up even earlier.  Normally, if one is on the starboard side of the cruise ship. one doesn't get a chance to see the Statue of Liberty at sunrise from the safety and comfort of our cabin.  However, our ship was brought in to the pier pointing South. And that meant that the ship would do a U-Turn before going to the pier, allowing me to capture the shot above.

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We got off the ship around 8:30 am or so, and spent the next 30 minutes going through the cruise terminal hunting for RQS's luggage.  (It was placed in a wrong, but nearby area.)  By the time we found it and got outside, we saw the ferry leaving the dock, meaning that we would have to stand outside on the coldest day of the year, waiting for another hour.  Of course, we had no intention of waiting.  But all the cabbies shunned us, and the fare to take us to Central Queens.  After getting frustrated, someone at the pier told us - summon an Uber, as it will be cheaper. So, we did.

When the Uber arrived, we encountered a very nice fellow at the wheel  His GPS took us through a traffic jam I always try to avoid (the section of the BQE that's falling apart and always moving slower than a walk), and then through back roads to RQS's place.  (I knew most of the roads, and it probably was the fastest way there.)  What startled me a little was that the driver was getting his directions in Chinese!  We were at RQS's place before 11:00 am, and the gentleman helped us bring our luggage to the first landing of RQS's apartment.  I made sure to give him a good tip!

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RQS had no food inside her place.  So at noon, we ordered some from a local pizzeria.  We knew we were going to have problems when she had to repeat a phone number and address several times to the fellow on the other side of the line.  At 12:40 pm, we got our first call - where were we?  The delivery person was waiting for us.  (But at the wrong address, as we'd find out when RQS went downstairs.)  After a few fits and starts, the fellow still couldn't find us, and claimed he was in front of our place.  So, when the pizzeria called at 1:00 pm, we were both very upset and told the person we were cancelling the order.  We wanted hot pizza, and after 30 minutes, it would likely be cold in this weather.  After hanging up on the owner, he left me a message telling me to F-Off!  With an attitude like this, and a screwed up delivery, we'll never order from this place again - a sad thing, as this was the best pizza joint in the neighborhood for delivery.

I got home around 4:30 pm, and found that a plumber was doing work downstairs.  What was being done, I don't know.  But I'll find out at our next co-op board meeting.  At least, the work being done did not affect my apartment. 

Eastern Caribbean Cruise 2025 - Sea Day #6 (12/07/25)

 

This would be the last day we'd have breakfast in our room.  Room service came at exactly 9:30, and they put all of our places on the small table, save for the one they put on our bed.  We were hungry and ready to feast - and feast we did.

The last sea day before returning home is always sad.  We have to pack up our clothes, toiletries, and other things, keeping what is needed for the morning into our carry-on bags, and stashing the rest into larger suitcases which left by the door tonight to reappear on the pier tomorrow morning.  There are so many people who get things wrong on this last day, such as packing their passports in their larger suitcases being brought to the pier.

One usually says goodbye to the new friends met on the cruise, knowing that they may never see these people again.  One will often hand their cabin attendant a tip for service, as well as tipping any staff member who went over and above what would be expected from that staff member.   And we planned to do that tonight, when we'd see our cabin attendant for our last time.

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For the most part, we took it easy today, packing things back into our suitcases, so that it could be left by the door before 10 pm.  We were mostly ready to go before dinner, but we planned to do one last inventory of things before leaving them in the hallway.

We went to dinner for one last time in the main restaurant, and had an almost private nook all to ourselves.  Today's minor inconsistency in service was that the person normally assigned to take our drink order didn't see us in the alcove, and we had to ask for service.  Again, a very minor issue that didn't get in the way of enjoying our last dinner on the ship for this cruise.  And, I'm glad to say - everything was to my liking!  Yum!

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Once back in our cabin, we did one last check before putting our luggage in the hallway.  This is when the reality set in - we will be at home tomorrow, and we will have to pick up our towels if we leave them on the floor.

Coming home is such sweet sorrow.