Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 - Sea Day #4 (01/11/26)

 

The day started off with us going to our last, non-rushed breakfast at the ship's main dining room.  Nothing special for me, as I ordered the usual: OJ, Eggs Benedict, a Fruit Cup, and Coffee.  (I'd order Scrambled Eggs off the ship, but I've been burnt before with powdered eggs - and I hate them, no matter where they are served.) 

On the way back from breakfast, we saw that the ship's atrium was packed with people enjoying a dumb entertainment - Twenty Questions, where someone from the ship is trying to figure out what is on screen in back of her.  I'm not knocking this, as much as the two of us have experienced better onboard activities on other lines, such as Princess and Cunard.  So, we headed back to the cabin to relax and watch the vidiot box (TV).

Yesterday, I sent out most of my dirty laundry to get cleaned.  Although it should be delivered by 6 pm, I was looking for it well before then, so that I could get a head start on packing - as RQS did before me.  While she was doing that, I kept working on my travel blog, editing pictures and moving them to my laptop for posting with the current entry.   

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We returned from our last lunch on the ship, and guess what?  Laundry had been delivered, and my trousers and shirts had been hung up in the closet.  I haven't yet seen any charges to my account, so I wonder - did the second bag cost me anything?  Well, several hours later, just before going to dinner, I checked again - and there was no charge!  Maybe I got lucky. 

On our way to dinner, we stopped by the Inch of Gold stand and had a nice char with a lady called KD (from Jamaica). We talked of our cruises, and how she gets to spend port days.  I noted that she must love it when the ship makes port in Bermuda, and then she noted how a stop in Quebec City is just as good for her.  And then, we went to the main dining room - and were surprised by a decent meal!  (Remember, when we ate here last, we were upset by everything.)  Although the meal was not as good as that in the specialty restaurants, we enjoyed it much more - and were glad to have eaten there.

Finally, it was time to go back to the room and finish potting out our bags for pickup tomorrow at the pier. This was the greatest reminder that we'll be back in the real world tomorrow morning. 

Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 - Sea Day #3 (01/10/26)

 

Laundry!  I had enough laundry in my dirty laundry bag to take advantage of the free laundry bag service provided by NCL for Platinum level cruisers.  So, I put all the dirty underwear and socks into one bag (the free one) and then put my dirty shirts and trousers into another bag.  This way, I'll have burnt off $20 of my $50 non-refundable onboard credit.

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Both RQS and I got up early for two reasons - I had to put my laundry in the hall to be picked up, and we wanted to go for breakfast in the ship's pub restaurant.  While at breakfast, we met our "Birthday Boy" and his wife (from our dinner at the Hibachi restaurant), and she asked for the name of my cruise blog.  I figure that she plans to read it later on, and hopefully, she will like it.

Later on, we went to the main dining room for lunch.  This time, the food and the service were what we expected from this cruise line.  Again, RQS went out for a walk to get her blood sugar down, while I stayed in the cabin and worked on my blogs.  By the time she came back, I had taken care of a GI-Tract issue, and was ready to go to the buffet for something to drink.

Once at the buffet, we killed a couple of hours before going to the noodle bar.  If I had known how forgettable the food would be, I'd have said: "Let's take a chance on the main dining room for dinner."  But this was not to be.  Neither of were sated after this meal, so we went up to the buffet for something to drink and for something sweet

It wasn't much of a day, but it was pleasant for both of us. 

 

Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 - Nassau, Bahamas (01/09/26)

 

Nassau, Bahamas.  It's another of those "Almost No There, There" places which tend to be popular for beach related activities.  Unlike most islands in the Caribbean, this island has no fort.  Instead it has a shopping district near the piers, as well as beaches a short cab ride away.  Yet, it is one of the largest ports in the Western Hemisphere, being able to handle 7 cruise ships at the same time.  As long as there is a nice beach and good weather, people will love ports like Nassau.  And if I were a warm weather person, I might love this port as well.

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We both got up late, taking advantage of the port day by letting the mobs rush to eat and take their shore excursions.  Around 9:45 am, we went to the only open onboard restaurant to have breakfast, and it was there that I found that I forgot my room key.  Although breakfast was good, I couldn't help but think of the room key. So, we hoofed it back to the cabin after breakfast and found that my room key was not with my lanyard.  AARGH!  This meant another trek to guest services to get a new card key cut.

Eventually, both RQS and I made it back to the cabin, made sure that both of our cards worked and then RQS went out for her constitutional while I stayed inside and worked on this blog.  Sometimes, two people who care for each other need some alone time - and this was our time to be alone for the day.

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Lunchtime came, and we went back to the one restaurant open on the ship on port days, O'Sheehan's.  As we expected, lunch was forgettable.  Afterwards, we went back to the cabin so that RQS could pick up a few things for her alone time.  I stayed in the cabin to work on my blogs, and to experiment with multiple image displays on a single row in blogger.  Although I finally got things right, I still don't like what I'll have to do to make the blogs work right.

Once that was done, I started the check-in process for my next cruise.  Virgin Voyages doesn't make it easy for us geriatric old-timers - virtually everything has to be done via their mobile device app, and it's easy to screw up some of the data entry.  At least, I know what RQS will need to do when she starts her check-in process.

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Finally, it was time for dinner.  We went to the ship's Italian restaurant and were totally underwhelmed.  None of the dishes had any flavor.  The Calamari was forgettable, the Pork Scaloppini was missing something special, and the Italian Cheesecake tasted like it came from a boxed mix.  In the future, we will avoid this specialty restaurant on other NCL ships. 

 

Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 - Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas (01/08/26)

 

Great Stirrup Cay - NCL's private island.  The last time I was here, I declined to set foot on the island because it was a tender port.  And I did the right thing, as choppy weather was getting in the way of tenders returning people to the ship.

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We arrived at the island early in the morning.  The ship emptied out while we went to breakfast on the ship. That meant the ship was quiet and peaceful for a change, and we enjoyed it.  Breakfast was pleasant, as we didn't have to wait to be seated, nor did we have to be worried about overworked wait staff giving shoddy breakfast service.  Normally, we might not have roused ourselves out of bed until noon.  But we were hungry, and the mechanical staff had to visit our room again for a third time to fix the problem with our toilet not flushing correctly.  So, after breakfast, we killed time in the main atrium and gave staff a chance to make up our cabin, and fix the problem with the toilet without us getting in the way.

We came back to a room with a working toilet (Thank God!) and relaxed for a while before going to the buffet for a late lunch.  Again, we killed a little time, as we had an early dinner at the Hibachi restaurant. There's not much to say about this place, save that the food was tasty and plentiful.  I've seen the Hibachi show way too many times to be impressed by it, and I'm glad that we didn't get stuck eating 3 specialty meals in this place.

After dinner, it was off to the ship's theater to see a show we saw on one of our trips on this ship - the Broadway Cabaret.  Unlike the last show we saw in this theater, we enjoyed it - even though we had seen it before.   The ship's singers and musicians were at the top of their game, and we stayed to the closing number.  (We left during the number, as we both needed bio-breaks.)  And then we were done for the night. 

 

Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 - Port Canaveral, Florida (01/07/26)

 

 

Port Canaveral - a place where "there's no 'there' there."  It's a short distance to the Kennedy Space Center, and 90 minutes from Florida's theme parks.  But it's not a place to visit in its own right.

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We decided to get up late and go to the buffet for breakfast.  this would have not been an issue for us, save that there was an emergency drill starting, and that the Watertight Doors had to close for part of the drill.  So, when we started walking to the elevator bank (about 0.1 km away), we had to hurry up before the doors closed.  

Arriving at the buffet, only a small section was open to us both due to the closed watertight doors and due to the transition from breakfast to lunch service.  It was not the breakfast either of us would have wanted, but it was the one we got.  The omelet station was running out of eggs.  There was almost no bacon left for me to grab.  But the soda stations were open!  So, this wasn't a totally wasted meal.

Shortly after we got back to our cabin, the emergency drill ended.  RQS went outside to work on her art, while I decided to rest again.  (I had a bad sleep last night.)

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Around 6:30 pm, we went to dinner.  Sadly, it was one of the most disappointing dinners I've ever had on a cruise ship.  NCL's food and service quality has gone down since the last time we cruised this line.  We noted that even MSC's dinners were better than the dinner we had tonight.  Not only was the soup below the standard set by Progresso's canned Pasta and Bean Soup, but my local "red sauce joint" serves a better Cannoli.  To make things worse, the after dinner coffee was served lukewarm, so much so, that we had to go to the buffet to have a hot cup of decaf.   

 

Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 - Sea Day #2 (01/06/26)

 

Up again at 8:00 am could become a short term habit for us.  Unfortunately, this hasn't made it possible for us to be served quickly in the main dining room.

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We made it to the dining room at 9:15 am, knowing that we'd have to wait a little.  After standing on line to reach the restaurant's reception desk, we took a pager and walked to a nearby sitting area to await the buzzer.  About 20 minutes later, we walked back to the restaurant, and we were seated without waiting.  However, the restaurant is supposed to close itself off to new diners at 9:30 am, so everyone seated afterward might be affected by the pre-lunch preparations that start at the end of breakfast service.

Well, it took over 15 minutes for us to even be noticed by wait staff, and that was only because I had to flag someone down.  This server noted that things were busy today, and that they were having trouble handling the volume of cruisers wanting a served breakfast.  (I feel that NCL is skimping on staff at all levels, but that's a topic I'll cover elsewhere.)  Our order was eventually taken, and we were waiting until after 10:00 am for our food to come.  (We were thinking of skipping out and going to the buffet, as service was that slow.)  When it came, my Eggs Benedict were missing.  It took another 10 minutes (or more) for them to come.  By the time they came, staff had already started to clear the tables and cleared off the coffee creamers before we were finished with our coffee, and then they cleared the butter pats off the table before I had finished buttering my toast.  This was not a good omen for future visits.

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Lunch was at the ship's "American Diner" venue, and I made a big mistake before going here - I forgot to bring my sweater.  If the place had a good windbreak, I'd have enjoyed dining here.  RQS had a freshly grilled burger here, while I had the fish sandwich.  Both were done well, and were very tasty.  Would I eat here again?  Only on a warm and calm sunny day, as this venue is open to gusty winds that can bring in unpleasant weather.

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Around 7:00 pm, we headed to the ship's theater to see a musical revue.  The ship's musicians and dancers performed a show centered around British Pop Music which became popular in the US, with songs from groups like the Beatles, the Who, David Bowie, Elton John, and the Spice Girls.  There was a little something for everyone in the music, but the dancing left a bit to be desired.

Sadly, we left the theater early, as we had 8:00 dinner reservations at the ship's Mediterranean restaurant.  (Think of Greek Seafood.)  Both of us loved our meals, but I wish portion size was larger - the octopus appetizer was the best I've ever had, as it was flavorful, tender, but not chewy! (Too bad I couldn't get a dinner sized portion of the dish.)

All too soon, reality hit us and we went back to our cabin after missing half of the comedy show.  We were in for the night, and will need to see if we can make reservations for the Noodle Bar tomorrow. 

 

Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 - Sea Day #1 (01/05/26)

 

This would be the first full sea day of our cruise.  Nothing to do, and we're doing it well.  If the alarm wasn't set, we'd have stayed asleep until lunch.  But the alarm was set, and we were up a little after 8:00 am, so that we could have breakfast in the main dining room.

We had to wait 10 minutes to get a seat at a shared table, and we got lucky - our table mate was a nice lady from Buffalo about to have her medical residency in Queens.  Most of our chat involved cruising and places to visit, with the cruise lines best for specific routes.

After breakfast, we went back to our room and it hadn't yet been made up.  We left the room around 1:00 pm, so that the room steward could make it up.  We went to the buffet to kill time, and he hadn't taken care of this by the time we got back.  (Several years ago, NCL cut the number of room stewards in half and doubled the number of rooms they service, leaving cruisers with once-daily room servicing.)  So we knew he was running late, servicing rooms as they freed up.  We simply vacated our cabin at the wrong time for him.  So again, we left the cabin for an hour, giving him time to do his job. 

Later, we went to Cagney's, the ship's steakhouse, for dinner.  Sadly for those who liked the Brazilian BBQ restaurant, Moderno, it is now gone with the 2025 retrofit of the ship, with Cagney's doubling the real estate used for the restaurant. With that out of the way, the food is as good as we remembered it, with beef portions that do more than fill you up - they satisfy a craving for a steak perfectly done.

Once done with dinner, we decamped to a "quiet" area on the ship before going back to our cabin.  It was a nice day, a chance to rest without anyone bothering us. 

Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 - Embarkation Day (01/04/26)

 

The alarms rang at 8:00 am, but didn't wake either of us up.  I had already been awake since 6:00 am, and couldn't get back to sleep, while RQS simply hit the snooze bar for another 30 minutes.

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When we finally started to move, I took my shower first and went out the door to pick up breakfast.  One of the delis that I'd usually go to as Mario was closed (unusual for a Sunday morning), so I went to another one nearby.  After finishing our breakfasts, we carted our bags downstairs and waited for our taxi.

Arriving at the local train station, we were a little surprised by how the change in railroad fares would affect us.  No longer could we buy a senior round-trip ticket good for use one day, and for a return several days later.  We now have to buy tickets before each leg of our trips, as they only offer single day use "unlimited" trips.  (Yeah, right.  Who wants to go back and forth into and out of New York City in one day?)  As a result of the fare change, we now have to plan our arrival time at the train station more carefully, so that we don't miss a train because we didn't allocate enough time to buy our tickets.

Once at Grand Central, we took a cab to the cruise terminal, and were on the ship in less than 20 minutes.  Unlike our last cruise, this ship felt crowded.  It didn't help that many cabins weren't ready for occupancy until after 2:00 pm.  This meant that most of the venues where one could sit down were crowded, without any room for newcomers.

Once on the ship, we checked in at our muster station (no problem, as it was right by the elevator bank we needed to use to get to our cabin.)  But we didn't expect the amount of walking we'd have to do between the elevator bank and our cabin.  (We were so far forward, that if we went much further, we'd be on the bow of the ship.)  We dumped our carry-on luggage in the cabin (even though it wasn't officially open for us to do so) and went to arrange for our 5 specialty dining meals.  (We got 3 due to the length of this cruise, plus another 2 due to my loyalty status with the cruise line.)  Although there was a long line to book specialty dining, we got slots in each of the restaurants on the ship, and had one of our favorites booked for this evening.

Having taken care of the time sensitive stuff, it was time to get lunch.  Unfortunately, cabins were not yet officially available to cruisers, so no one was giving up any space in the buffet.  I figured that with a little searching, that we'd find a spot - but I was wrong.  I ended up putting a full plate of food down in a public place for someone else to clean, and then proceeded to another restaurant for lunch.  We were told that we'd have to wait for 45 minutes, which caused us to go to our cabin for 30 more minutes (again, the cabins weren't officially available yet) before returning to the restaurant for pub food. 

Now that we were done for the afternoon, it was back to the cabin to rest for a couple hours.  Just before 6:00 pm, we went to the ship's French Bistro for dinner.  As expected, the food was yummy.  Nothing in the menu has changed in 2 years, and that was good enough for RQS and me.  If one goes to this restaurant, go hungry - I had a 16 ounce pork chop, and couldn't finish it!  The food was good and filling, and worth going out of one's way to eat there.

After dinner, we went back to the room to relax for the evening.  Being sleep deprived, it made sense for me to finally be able to rest with no time pressures. 

Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 - Final Preparation (01/03/26)

Right now, we're making final preparations for our upcoming cruise.  Last minute packing, double checking documents, and figuring out when we must leave to make it to the cruise ship on time are among the things we have to deal with today.

One of the things I have to take care of is picking up a prescription at the drug store.  This forces me to be in Mario mode for the day - and for once, it's not a bad thing.  I expect some very minor annoyances when I tell the pharmacist that I only want the blood pressure medication my doctor prescribed, and that I want the prescription transferred to the mail order pharmacy.  But first, I will have to transfer both money and legal ID into Mario's wallet.

A last laundry basket has to be done - if only because I don't want to come back to an overflowing hamper. This is something that forces me to get off my ass when I don't want to do so.  More importantly, this is a task I prefer to do when RQS is not around, as I fold and store my clothing differently than she does. Finally, we have to clean out the perishables from the refrigerator.  Milk and other things get dumped, and then we take the last trash bags to the dumpster.  

Yet, there was an unplanned wrinkle to my day - I lost a set of keys when I was out to dinner last night, and I had to replace them before we went away.  So, after I picked up my pills at the drug store, I drove to Home Depot to get my keys cut.  The fellow at the key cutter couldn't find one of the blanks needed for me, so I had 3 or 4 of the keys I needed.  This meant that I needed to go to a hardware store for the last key.  And even there, they had a problem finding the right key.  But they found it.  Now, I had a set of 4 keys that I can again keep with my handbag. 

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By the time you read this, we'll be back from our cruise - and I'll be writing much more while I'm on the cruise.

I can't believe it! (a short post)

 

I can't believe it.  The Orange Snowflake has taken Venezuela's dictator into American custody without legal authority. Only congress can authorize America to go to war against another country, but the snowflake has usurped congress's authority and has said that the constitution doesn't apply to him.  This reminds me of Germany's aggression towards its neighboring states prior to the beginning of WW2 in 1939. The big question is: What Comes Next?

Sadly, if congress wants to take back its powers, it will need to remove the current speaker of the house. The man has no problem genuflecting at the altar of the snowflake, and has never resisted anything demanded by the snowflake.  I doubt this will happen, as many in the GOP are afraid of what the snowflake can do.  Instead, many in the GOP are retiring from Congress, leaving it up to the remaining party to find candidates who can win.  Only one problem - the party's reputation is so bad, that even hard-core GOP voters may vote against the party to stop the snowflake - if meaningful elections are held later this year.

Sadly, we haven't yet seen enough people in the GOP willing to challenge the snowflake. As a result, he keeps taking the powers that the constitution prohibits him from having. As this happens, we're seeing an erosion of our civil and human rights happen in real time.  For example, many naturalized citizens now carry their passports with them at all times, hoping that proof of citizenship will keep them from being incarcerated in an ICE raid.  Unfortunately, US citizens are being gathered up in these raids, and have been deported "by mistake."

(Passport Photo Example - Not the one I hope to have.)

Hopefully, the paperwork for my foreign birth registry will be processed before things in the US get too bad for me.  Then, I will apply for (and get) my second passport and be able to exit the US if/when needed.  These are scary times, and I'm afraid of what will happen here in the next year or two.  So, if you don't live here, don't come here until things change.

How we celebrated New Year's.... (A short post)

 

I'm not a big fan of this holiday.  New Year's Eve is one geared around partying, a little drinking, and staying out late.  The older I get, the less I care for it.  Everyone waits until midnight, shouts "Happy New Year",and then everything winds down within the next half hour.

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I knew that we'd be rushing on New Year's Eve.  RQS had to hoof it through Grand Central to make her train.  And while on the train, one of her bags slit open.  So, when I went to pick her up, I expected to be moving stuff from her broken bag into bags I brought with me.  (She'd then take the stuff we brought back to my place and pack it in her luggage.)  Instead, she had a backup that kept her bag intact until she could move the contents into another bag she had with her.

Once RQS got her bags in my car, we went out to eat - and got stuffed on Greek food.  When we were finished there, we went food shopping and picked up food for the next 3 days.  At this point, we were able to go home and stay inside until the ball dropped later in the evening.  When we got home, we got comfortable for the night and watched movies until midnight.  At that time, we uncorked a bottle of bubbly we got on our recent cruise and toasted the new year.

While hanging out, I sent texts to my friends wishing them a Happy New Year.  Most of the people were doing well, save one couple I know.  The husband was in the hospital for an emergency surgery.  Hopefully, all would go as planned the next day.

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New Year's Day was a day of relaxation.  Neither of us went outside - instead we loafed around watching movies and documentaries.  It was a Jammie day, something we won't be able to do until we get back from our cruise.  And even then, the week we return will be a busy one.

PS: My friend's husband got out of surgery OK.  It'll be a while before they travel again, but the worst has (hopefully) past.

Thoughts on a therapist

 

Money is important to me, as it allows me the freedom to do what I want in life - with moderation.  Recently, I got the price on some GLP-1 drugs, and none of them are reasonably priced for me.  If I were to take the Ozempic that my doctor prescribed, I wouldn't be able to afford a bucket list cruise this year.  There is no way for me to justify that after booking a bucket list cruise this past autumn.

I'm grateful that I can make this kind of choice.  My former therapist would hector me a bit on this.  But he had the attitude of an addict in recovery - his whole life revolved around his recovery, and not his life as a whole. The man could only focus on my food addiction issues and not the other issues I had with my life.  Towards the end, I realized that he either didn't respect my opinions, or was trying to provoke me.  (I can still remember how dismissive he was when I mentioned that I was investigating an annuity for an investment, and remember how he was prodding me to try some vegetables I hated him saying that maybe your tastes have changed.)  As much as I realize that I didn't have the emotional strength to tell him to fuck himself at the time, I did gain a lot from his therapy sessions for a while, and was glad when he retired to Hawaii.  I've grown a lot since then, and I am much more comfortable challenging people when needed - I have a feeling that he'd be glad for me.

Why did I bring up my former therapist?  Well, I never felt comfortable talking about presenting as Marian with him.  The man was a staunch Republican, a recovering alcoholic, and I bet that he'd be supporting the Orange Snowflake out of tribal loyalty, and not out of logical thought processes.  But then, most twelve-step programs tell people to surrender to "higher powers", and that usually translates to adhering to some undefined faith.  

As you can see, I'm letting my thoughts run a little wild today. But then, it's my blog, and I'm thinking of a man who was a decent person, someone who was a little unorthodox in his craft, and who I would have liked to meet in a non-therapeutic setting - if only to finally be able to tell him that if he didn't respect my opinions, that he could stick it where light doesn't shine before going out to Starbucks.

I decided NOT to take a 401-k distribution

 

Since I was forced to retire from the bank, I've had access to my 401-k retirement account for use.  Although I left the bank before I was 59 1/2, federal law allowed me to collect from the bank's pension plan after I turned 55.  I lived on my pension, coupled with money from some short term gigs, and finally started collecting money from Social Security when I turned 66 1/2.  It helped that I was able to collect some monthly money from renting out the family homestead, as well as tapping into the 401-k a couple of times.

The last time I tapped into the 401-k plan, it was on the last business date in 2024 that I could take a distribution for the year. So, I had to ask myself a question: Did I want to take a distribution for 2025?  And I answered my own question - NO.  Although I may take a 2026 distribution, I will have a drop in income for 2025 because I had no money coming in from the family homestead and took no 401-k distributions.  (I can only think of what my tax preparer will say in a couple of months.)

Next year (as I write this - it's still 2025 right now), I will likely take a larger distribution than I did last year and trigger a larger tax bill for 2026.  (I'll deal with that in 2027.)  I want to be able to take another cruise towards year end, and not worry if RQS will be able to afford it or not.  (A Hawaii cruise is on the horizon, and I want RQS to see the state while she's able to travel.)

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When I turn 73, I will be forced to take Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) to comply with IRS regulations.  Right now, the website tells me that I have more than I need to retire well.  And I'm grateful for that.  I certainly didn't plan for the life I've had so far - the things I wanted for myself when I was a child, a young adult, and a middle aged adult are not what I got in life.  In many ways, I'm glad I didn't get those things, as I'd likely be a person I wouldn't like to know today.

The younger version of me wanted wealth and power.  The person I became simply wants independence, freedom, security, and to be unaffected by the madness going on in the outside world.  I allow no one to burden me with responsibilities or duties they have no right to impose.  And I am finally comfortable telling people to go to "Helen Waite" when needed. I did a lot of growing up in my senior years, and I'm glad I finally did so.

Getting ready for my next cruise.

 

The above is far from my favorite cruise itinerary.  This is a route I've sailed twice before: once with XGFJ, and once as a solo traveler. Both cruises are best forgotten, albeit for different reasons.

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When I last cruised this route (albeit to another cruise line's private island), it was the worst cruise I ever sailed on.. There is "no there there" for Port Canaveral, and the only reason that I got off the ship there was to go to the Kennedy Space Center.  (I'm surprised that the Orange Snowflake hasn't yet named it the "Trump - Kennedy Space Center".😆) 

Next is Nassau. The first time I was here, following a disappointing trip on a glass bottomed boat, XGFJ and I walked around the port area a little bit and got bored.  Since I am not into beaches, I'd get bored going here again.

And finally, there is the cruise line's private island.  Great Stirrup Cay was a disappointment when I was there, as there was no dock for the ship.  Everyone had to use tender boats to go between the island and the ship, and I didn't bother going to the island with XGFJ.  She wasn't that happy with the snorkel experience she had, as the water was churned up too much to get a clear view of the underwater life.  To make things worse, the tender boat had a hard time returning to the ship due to high winds.  (Although I've seen evidence that the new pier for this island is finally available, I still see little gain by visiting this place.)

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So, why did I choose this cruise?

It was the cheapest way I could find for RQS and I to spend a week together and to see whether I'll consider cruising on NCL again for cruises other than the Bermuda run from NYC and for the 7-night Hawaii run from Honolulu.  Many people have reported that NCL now has the feel of a cruise line that nickel-dimes too much.  My impression has been that post-pandemic cruising has a much different feel (and I'm not referring to health related changes) than the pre-pandemic cruises that made NCL a go-to cruise line for me.

Will we have been spoiled too much by Cunard and Princess to choose NCL in the future?  Who knows? But I know that there are only a limited number of cruises that NCL offers that I want to take.  Without being able to get self-service laundry onboard, I will avoid taking cruises longer than a week on this line. (The free laundry bag provided to Platinum, Sapphire, Diamond and Ambassador status is a little too small to clean most garments other than undergarments and socks.)  

I may have outgrown NCL as a go-to cruise line.  But I'm glad to know that I still have good cruises ahead of me on other lines.    

The weekend ended early for us

 

I've gotten so used to having RQS around, that it always feels a little strange when she has to go home.  Today was the last Sunday of 2025, and it was an early end of a weekend for us due to New Year coming on a Thursday this coming week.  And it feels stranger today, as she will be back here in 2 days.

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On Sundays, if I wake up early enough at my home, I have the option of going to church.  It's partially a running joke with us that I will turn over and go back to sleep for another 2 hours or so, instead of going to church.  Although I was up at 8 am, I decided to stay inside and watch videos while RQS slept.

Around 9:30 am, RQS got up, and we relaxed a little more before showering and getting dressed.  This is when I started work on the co-op meeting minutes for December, so that they can be reviewed and corrected before the end of the year.  (I usually try to keep myself occupied when RQS is showering and getting ready for the day.)  We were both ready by 1 pm, and I dropped her off at the station 30 minutes later. What I didn't mention so far is that I decided to go out as Mario for one reason only: I had to return the watch I bought as a Christmas gift for RQS, and I expected to need to present as Mario for this trip.  (If I put off the return for another day, I could have enjoyed a day out as Marian. 

Once I was done with returning the watch, it was back home to rest a little.  Sometime around 6 pm, I decided to replace my CPAP mask, and I fell asleep while trying it out.  (I must have both needed sleep and to replace the mask.)  By the time I woke up, it was late, and I'll bet that RQS wondered why I didn't call.  So I shot her a message to tell her that she could call me - if she was still awake when she read the message.

Tomorrow (weather permitting), it will be a Marian day for the rest of the week.  What better a way to spend New Year's Eve, than to be out as Marian.... 

The only reason I got dressed was to shovel out my car (a short post)

 

It is the last weekend of the year, and several inches of snow fell last night.  There was only one reason for me to get dressed - to move my car, so that the plow could clear the spot.  Luckily, I had parked my car in a visitor's spot the night before, so I only had to brush off the car, scrape the windshield a little, and move the car back to my already plowed packing space.

When I came back inside, RQS wondered whether I had even started the process of cleaning off the car.  And I was getting ready to get undressed to be able to relax for the rest of the day.  And rest we did, watching several movies and videos on the TV, making excuses not to do some laundry. Yet, we finally took care of that task around 3:30 pm.

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Snow days are common at this time of year, and I cherished the forced relaxation time we get on these days.  Yes, we will do laundry on these days when at my home.  But I can often stay in my jammies for much of the day.

One thing I've noticed is that I am slowing down.  Getting older is a drag, but the alternative would be far worse right now. For everything, there is a time and a season.  Right now it's winter outside, and I see that stage coming in my life.  And I'm comfortable with that.

Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the house....

 

Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the house....

Well, the stores were all stirring with people returning gifts, and those shopping for food in advance of the oncoming snowstorm.

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RQS and I knew we had to go out to get some food before the snow started, and we didn't get out early enough to get a lot of things done.  I decided to go out as Mario today, as there was no sense in presenting as Marian on a day where I might need to present my legal ID.

Our first place to stop was the local BJ's.  However, the parking lot was too crowded for us to risk spending time there to return an item I bought before Christmas.  (I can return the item as soon as I shovel out my car after the snowstorm ends.)  And then, it was off to Trader Joe's - a place much more crowded than usual, noted by both the numbers of shopping carts in use and by the lines of people waiting on line to pay for the food in their carts.

Next, was a stop at the drug store.  I was supposed to pick up a prescription for a GLP-1 drug.  However, when I saw the price of the drug ($510 for a low dose), I decided NOT to buy it.  I'll discuss this with my doctor when I see him in January.  There is no way that I'm going to spend that much of my after tax money on a drug which may aggravate other problems I have with my body - and I'm referring to my GI Tract.

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When I got home, I checked the prices for GLP-1 drugs on my plan, and they are insane.  Unless the price drops significantly, I will not bother with these drugs,  RQS wanted to suggest a few things, but I knew that having her try to help when I'm not ready for help would make things worse.  Thankfully, she knows how to read me well enough to let me process things if I cut her off.  Our communication style and skills may not be perfect, but we are lucky to be able to air things out before they fester and make things worse.

A nice dinner out. (Not much to say, as I'm recovering from a cold.)

 As I'm writing this, it's Christmas Eve, and I'm still recovering from a cold.  So I won't say too much about today.  

RQS came up from the city, and I picked her up around 1:30.  Both of us were a bit hungry, so we went to the local pizza parlor before taking a rest at home.  A couple of hours later, we went to Cold Spring for dinner.  If I hadn't made Xmas Eve reservations, I'd rather have stayed in for the night.

We got to Cold Spring early, and were seated in an almost empty section of the restaurant.  Both the food and service were top notch, and I had enough taste buds working to enjoy the meal.  But my cold was draining me, and we decided to skip going to church as we planned.

I don't have much energy today - I'll write more soon.

I'm amazed at how little I watch network TV these days.

 

I am amazed at how out of touch I am with most pop culture programs.  Have I watched Survivor or Big Brother? No.  Have I watched the Voice? Never.  Have I watched Yellowstone?  Nope.  I'm so out of touch with what passes for modern "culture", that most of the people involved in these shows would get no recognition from me.

Most evenings, you'll find me going to sleep with Perry Mason playing in the background.  Am I living in the past?  No.  I just find that old TV shows had a better production quality than the shows we make now.  However, that doesn't mean all were good.  There were way too many copycat shows on the air way back when, and most of the copycat shows were crap.  I tend to filter out the crap and look for good shows.

Before getting addicted to YouTube videos, I watched the Western Channel constantly until I got bored by their limited selection of movies.  I feasted on shows like Have Gun Will Travel, Wanted Dead or Alive, and Bat Masterson. All of these had good writing and good performances.  This doesn't mean that I limited myself to these shows.  It was that the channel had predictable entertainment.

Sadly, with media consolidation, we're seeing fewer good shows being produced - especially news shows.  Recently, we've seen CBS (now controlled by a billionaire's son) delete negative coverage of El Salvador's CECOT prison, as it would make our president look bad.  But then, our corporate overlords don't care about law and order.  They only care about control.  

Fascism comes by first anesthetizing the public so that ignorance of important daily events takes place.  Eventually, people ignore what happens when their neighbors are scooped up in a regime's pogroms.  I am lucky NOT to be interested in pop culture, as I am not blind to what's going on in the USA.  And that means I will be to leave the country I love for a safe haven if needed.  Hopefully, this won't happen.  But if it does, I will keep up writing from my unique point of view.

A visit to the doctor - something I never like.

 

This is not a photo of my doctor.  Only when I started living full time as Marian and moving towards a medical transition, would I switch to a female doctor.  (As long as I  have my original equipment, I'd feel a little uncomfortable with a doctor who doesn't have my "plumbing configuration."  With that being said, this is not a discussion about doctors for transgender people.  We need to choose doctors with whom we are comfortable, and advocate for the best treatment we can get in our healthcare system.

Today, I visited my doctor.  I knew that he was going to be upset that I gained a couple more pounds since I last saw him.  But he was surprised to find out that the pharmacy was going to charge me $500/month for a Mounjaro (GLP-1) prescription.  There was no way I was going to pay that much for a drug, when there are others that Medicare has approved and is covered by my prescription insurance plan.  

What I forgot as well as my doctor did was that I was supposed to get my yearly physical.  So, after my visit was "done", I was asked to stay a while to get my blood drawn and for an EKG to be taken.  I again mentioned the problem with the GLP-1 drug that was prescribed, and he said that his assistant would look into this for me.  Guess what?  I got a text from his service that an Ozempic prescription was now on file, and also got a text from the pharmacy that the prescription was ready for pickup.  I'll have to call up the pharmacy to ask how much this prescription costs before I start with it.

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Unfortunately, there was 2 inches of snow on my car when I left for the doctor.  When I returned, I found that my parking space hadn't yet been plowed.  So, when I heard the plow a hour later, I was out of the house again to kill some time for the plow to do its job.  With the expected slop to be on the ground for tomorrow, I'll have to give up on the idea of wearing a fancy dress to Christmas Eve dinner and  to church, and simply wear a sweater dress over leggings for practicality.

This is the kind of problem many of us have to deal with during winter in New York.  It could be much worse.  But I'd rather have the problems I have in a TG accepting state, than to live in Florida where we are treated like dirt.  And some people wonder why I stay in my high tax state....

A weekend with RQS, getting ready for Xmas

 

As I write this, we're all getting ready for Xmas, and Amazon boxes are going here and there.  RQS has has some of her boxes shipped here, And I've had to make sure that boxes containing small Xmas gifts for her don't arrive when she's here.  This is not a big thing.  But it is something I have to stay aware of before the holiday.

Sunday came, and Amazon delivered the SIM card for her new phone.  It was a little bit of an effort to get her new phone plan set up, in part because the SIM Card ID was not easily legible without assistance, and that the setup would be more easily done on a laptop, and not the cell phone itself.

At that point, RQS started a little bit of cleanup around the place, while I edited my co-op's website to include some government contacts as part of the "useful contact" page.  And then I joined in the cleaning effort for a little while.  After getting some room freed up on the dining room table, RQS started to work on some of her art on a "clean" surface.

Later that day, we put a spatchcocked chicken in the oven and feasted on the bird when it was fully cooked.  We took out some stuffing I had prepared the day before, and, with a salad, we had a filling dinner.  This wasn't much to talk about.  But the day wasn't that eventful either.  In short, this was a Jammie day that went well.

A new restaurant and a new phone.

 

As I write this, Christmas and New Year have yet to come.  Yet, I'm rushing to get a co-op newsletter out before the end of the year, so that shareholders see that we are trying to communicate with them on a regular time frame. 

RQS is unable to reach me today, as she left her phone here last weekend.  So we made arrangements for me to pick her up at the train station at 4:30.  Once I picked her up, we decided to go to the new Thai restaurant in town.  Before I say too much about the restaurant, the owners used to have a place in Thornwood, and after 20 (?) years, decided to move to Croton to open a new place.  Their website still lists the Thornwood address, even though they have been located in Croton since Halloween weekend.  

We walked into the restaurant without reservations, and were shown to a table next to the bar.  We were told that since the place hadn't yet been given a liquor license, they were giving away a glass of wine with each meal.  Looking at the menu, we both saw that prices were a little bit more than we expected.  I could easily manage this unplanned cost, so I ordered the Tamarind duck while RQS had chicken in a spicy red curry sauce.  Both were excellent!  We'll be going back when the budget allows for it.

Our next stop was Best Buy, where RQS bought a backup cell phone, just to have a cheap phone for use in an emergency (or, when she leaves her phone at my place).  It took a stop at 2 stores, as the first one didn't have the budget Motorola phone in stock.  When we got home, RQS was about to buy a SIM card directly from a service provider.  I told her NOT to complete the transaction, and explained why she should buy the SIM card through Amazon.  If the card were shipped by the cell phone company, it wouldn't get here until sometime after Xmas.  But, if the card came from Amazon, it would be here before the end of the weekend.  So, RQS ordered the card, then started to set the phone up for backup use.

Hopefully, RQS will be able to use her new phone for phone calls by the end of the weekend.

This was a quiet day until I decided to go out after dark.

 

As I write this, it's a week before Christmas.  RQS now has 2 boxes she can open on Christmas, and I can relax a little before the holiday.  Given that she knows about her big gift (a cruise), I felt that she should have something small to open on Christmas as well.

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I didn't start getting ready to go out until 4:30 pm.  Once I was ready, I went out to the car and started driving to Walmart.  But before I was out of the driveway, my brother called to shoot the breeze.  He opened up a little about his home situation, and then we chatted about the family homestead.  Once at Walmart, I took a detour to Best Buy to see if they had a webcam I could use as a replacement.

My back was hurting a little as I entered the store, and proceeded to the computer accessories area.  (I was smart enough to be using my cane tonight.)  Five minutes later, I went to the check out area to pay for the webcam.  And that's when things went South.  One would expect a busy store with slightly less than a week to go before the holiday - but it was almost empty.  There were only two people tending the cash registers, and neither of them were doing anything fast.  One of the attendants were handling a return that was taking forever.  (I couldn't hear much, but if I did, I didn't understand their language.)  The other attendant couldn't feed a new roll of paper into the receipt printing machine.  Ten minutes later, I was almost ready to give up on the purchase and go to Walmart.  But then, a register opened up, and I was finally able to leave the store.

Next, I took a drive and ended up at Trader Joe's.  $60 later, I was out the door with the food I'd need this weekend.  At least, I won't have to go food shopping when RQS arrives tomorrow.... 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                 

Schedules change, and sometimes for the better.

 

Today, I had lunch with my friend from the census.  At this time of year, it's always hard to find good days to meet, but we did so - and had a good chat.  She told me of her husband's semi-retirement and of some other goings on in her life, while I mentioned my cruise and the little things we enjoyed.  Time passed quickly, yet I felt that I was "out of sync" again.

Once finished with lunch, it was back home to rest for a while.  While I had the chance, I texted Maria to see if we're on for the weekend.  She would only be available for lunch on Saturday, so I had to check with RQS whether she would be able to make it up to Croton before noon.  After a little back and forth, she said she'd take an early train, so that I could pick her up at the station for lunch with Maria.  

While I was in the mood to text, I checked in on my acquaintance from meetup (MAR).  She doesn't get that I can't make any weekend dates, and she has a hard time having any energy to meet on weeknights.  Sadly, she's stuck in a rut, and there's nothing I can do (or should do) to help her at this stage.  When one's 40, stuck in a dead-end job, and still living with parents, it's doubtful she'll ever be able to afford the time or money to maintain certain friendships. 

Since I was home for the evening, I decided to do some laundry.  Although I didn't bother folding anything, the clothes are clean and ready to be put away.  Once done with this task, I checked in with RQS and found out that her friend wanted to have lunch, not dinner, with her on Friday.  So RQS will be able to make it up here Friday night and have an easier time making it to lunch the next day.

In the end, the calendar worked out for me.  And that's a good thing when I'm living as much of my life as I can in Marian mode. 

Happy New Year!

 

Happy New Year!

(See you tomorrow.)