Rule of Acquisition # 34: War is good for business.

 

A wise scriptwriter once wrote something like this: 

"Rule of Acquisition # 34: War is good for business"

"Aren't you confused? Rule of acquisition # 34 is: Peace is good for business."

"Yes, it's  easy to confuse the 2 rules."

Corollaries to this include: "War is good for business, but less so closer to the font lines you get."

- - - - - -

The "Special Military Operation (read: War) in Iran is proof of this.  Once America burns through its stockpile of arms, we will be placing orders to refresh our supplies - with kickbacks going to the Orange Snowflake and his family (of course).

Right now, I'm very glad that my nephew is long gone from the military, and has built up a nice civilian life.  Soon, this war will become very asymmetrical, and I expect to see terror attacks occur around the world.  (God, I hope I'm wrong about this.)  But when one side has outgunned the other, what other way can there be to inflict pain upon an enemy?

I believe strongly in the law of unintended consequences.  The orange snowflake keeps making errors which would force normal politicians out of office.  But, as the leader of a cult, he has the support of a lot of under educated Americans  who hold grievances against the society that has left them behind.  Closing the main business in a "One Horse Town" often results in unemployment and a town that can no longer provide needed services to its residents.  With no opportunities available, this class of people becomes economic surplus and not worth investing in.  These people become alienated from the larger society, and will follow any "leader" who promises this group a new prosperity and the restoration of their social class and its privileges.

Many Americans see the Iran war for what it is - a distraction from the Epstein Files.  With a submissive House and Senate, there is no effective check and balance on this demented megalomaniac. He only wants to be able to say "I AM the State!"  So far, he has had a good run towards his goal.  But this comes at a cost - he has destroyed all of America's soft power, as well as people's faith in a government that would work for the people.

Luckily, and I hate putting it this way, he will likely trigger a world-wide recession.  Americans will not be able to afford foreign goods, and America's role as the "Consumer of Last Resort" will have ended.  America will cease to be first among many democracies.  Instead, it will be a lesser power among the democracies of the world, as we will need to regain the trust of the world.  Yet, the entire world will have a large price to pay for the snowflake's aggression. People will starve because they can't afford food. Nations will need to build up their militaries because we no longer live in a rules-based world.  And freedoms will be curtailed because authoritarian regimes will have more power over people.  Does the end justify the means?  I don't think so.

- - - - - -

The current administration is floating the idea of resurrecting the draft.  If I were of draft age and had a useful skill, I'd visit a few foreign lands (Canada being one of them) and look to leave the US for these countries.  Being TG, I'd get as far away from the US as possible, as I fear that the snowflake will seriously consider annexing Canada before his term ends.  I hope that Canada takes this threat seriously, as the snowflake is following the 1930's German History map which includes Austrian Annexation.  (You may want to translate the page into English first.)  

Although part of my family background comes from the Caribbean, it is way too close for comfort.  Most of the Caribbean is inside America's "Mare Nostrum",  So I wouldn't feel safe there as a cisgender person, much less a TG.  All I can say is that I have my exit route planned, and am waiting on paperwork to make it easy to do so in a hurry.

- - - - - -

Last night, I was talking with my friend Vicki about current events, and she sees the danger we are now facing.  I mentioned the movie "Casablanca" and its cast, mostly made of European exiles forced out of their countries by the Nazis.  Right now, I expect to have my "Letters of Transit" soon, and I hope my readers in America are making similar plans. 

Another Doctor Visit, Another Prescription. Another Co-Op Board Meeting, Another Evening Dinner Delivery.

 

There was no chance that I'd spend any time as Marian for the next day or two, so I moved my license and insurance card into Mario's wallet, showered, shaved, dressed, and headed off to my doctor's office.  I always dread this, but today's visit was a little worse than usual.

Around 10:15 am, I drove to the doctor's office, and there were no parking sport near his office.  This was an omen if there ever was one.  I had to drive an extra 5 minutes before I could get a nearby spot on a side street.  Several minutes after I arrived, I was shown to one of his rooms where he took my weight, my blood pressure, and proceeded to check my liver and some glands on my throat.  Now, he wants me to get another ultrasound.  AARGH!  To make things worse, he prescribed a medicine that's going to run me another $200/month - without consulting whether I could afford it or not.  When I mentioned the outrageous GLP-1 drug price, he wanted me to spend another $500+/month on the drug, something I will not do.  Until doctors start pushing back on drug prices being charged to patients, there is no way health care prices in this country will drop.  They are at the front lines of health care, and they should be our primary advocates for what we must do to maintain our health AND to keep the overall cost of that healthcare down low enough for the average person to afford it.  (Although I will soon have another $700/month coming into my pocket, do I really want to spend it on 2 drugs?)

When I was done with the doctor, I went home to rest.  I had a co-op board meeting starting at 5:30 pm, and there would be a lot to do at the meeting.  One good thing: We should be able to sell an abandoned apartment as-is, and help deal with our financial issues.  But I knew I would be very hungry afterwards, so my plan for the evening was to use the Slice app to order Italian to go, and have some Chicken Parmigiana and Penne pasta delivered - I would be in mo mood to cook or reheat food.

- - - - - -

Tomorrow, I'll be heading to my tax preparer, and then back to Croton for the yearly co-op dinner.  Yes, it'll be Italian food again, but I'll order something very different from what I ordered tonight. 

    

Parting is such sweet sorrow

 

RQS had to go home today, and both of us would have liked for our weekend to last longer.  So, I showered, made up my face, and got dressed to bring RQS to the train station.  However, this was not the only thing on my docket - I had arranged to have dinner at the Brazilian BBQ with Vicki, and it would be an evening I'd be tempted to overeat.

It was much warmer than I expected when I dropped RQS off, so I decided to change into something else for the evening.  Instead of a tunic dress over leggings, I decided to wear something different.  The first dress I tried didn't work well with the bra I was wearing.  So, I took another dress out of the closet and wore that instead.

Vicki arrived at 6, and I did the driving to get to the Brazilian BBQ in West Nyack.  She didn't believe how easy it was to cross the river, and I noted that it's usually backed up during rush hour, but not at other times.  We found the restaurant where I expected it to be, and almost as soon as we were seated, the meats started coming to our table.  I could have easily pigged out.  But I didn't want to be processing last night's dinner when I arrive at the doctor's office tomorrow.   

After dinner, we stopped at the store, so that I could pick up a thumb drive for my tax files.  This way, I'll be able to avoid carrying a lot of paper as I go to my tax preparer.  (That's on the docket for Wednesday.) 

 

PS: I'll be presenting as Mario for the next couple of days.  I can't wait until Thursday where I can get back to wearing something pretty again. 

Needing to get out of the house (a short post)

 

It always seems that both RQS and I always end up doing some serious relaxing when we're together.  Yesterday (as I write this), RQS and I drove up to Poughkeepsie to have dinner and to do some shopping.  It was simply an excuse to get out of the house and do something more than just sitting on the sofa and watching TV.

Today is the day after the big clock change.  We were up until 4 am last night (it would have been 3 am, save for the time change), and there was no way I'd be awake enough to go to church this morning.  But, due to not having enough sleep, both of us ended up taking naps after we had something to eat. Although we planned to relax today, having no commitments to do anything, rest was the most important thing we did.

We had talked about doing a load of laundry.  That will be done later on in the week.  But what we did do was to cook more stuff from the freezer, with some onion soup that I'd been planning to make for a while. Although the soup was decent, it wasn't one of my best efforts.  I'll use different types of onions next time, and maybe throw in a few shallots as well.

It was a restful day, and one that we decided NOT to deal with the desire to go out again.  Our need to rest was much more important than the need to go out....

Coming up for air

 

One of the things I thought of doing today was to go into NYC for another pop-up store.  The Unclaimed Baggage store (from Alabama) was doing a pop-up in Manhattan today.  It would be interesting to see a subset of their collection of goods.  However, I didn't want to spend any energy getting up and out of the house early, so that I could return to Croton on the same train with RQS.  Instead, I preferred to stay in bed until 11, and do chores such as folding last night's laundry before picking RQS up at the station.

If I went to NYC today, I'd likely spend roughly $30 for the round trip to the store alone.  And if I bought anything, I'd likely be down another $50 for things I don't absolutely need.  Why bother?  There are enough things that are on my shopping list, that I don't need to waste money which can be productively spent elsewhere?

- - - - - -

My brother finally gave me the tax information I need to go to my tax preparer.  Now to get that appointment scheduled.  I will try to get that done on a day I'm supposed to present as Mario (such as for the co-op board's annual dinner), so I don't have to change clothes (and gender presentation) during the day.

At least one thing is true - Other than minor corrections (and other tweaks), I am done with the cruise cost spreadsheet for a while.  I can finally come up for air! 

 

It's War! It's War!

 

As I write this, It's almost been a week since we've been at war with Iran, and I see no viable end in sight.  Yes, it could have ended if we (I should say, the Israelis with US help) didn't kill off much of the Iranian leadership who could negotiate with us.  But without a clear objective, war becomes open-ended, and can last for years "if needed".

Has anyone noticed that the two wars that the Orange Monster had been involved in both involve OIL producing nations?  Yes, Iran has been a sponsor of terrorism.  Yes, Venezuela has been a thorn in our side.  But did we need to go to war to deal with these countries?  I don't think so.  In the case of Iran, I think that the Israelis have gotten us into a quagmire.  First, we will bomb the hell out of Iran.  Then, when we haven't crushed them, it will be our boots on the ground, and our boys coming home in body bags.

Given the lack of long term thinking in our current administration, I think the four defenders of Freedonia pictured above could do a better job of running our country. And Rufus T. Firefly (the gentleman with the mustache in the picture) could have made a better president than the one we have now.  Sadly, he passed away roughly 50 years ago.

In an age of increasing inflation, I'm pretty sure that a President Firefly would take Capt. Jeffrey T. Spaulding's advice for fighting inflation and replace the discontinued penny with a seven cent nickel. In his day, one could buy a two cent newspaper and get the same nickel back in change.  Capt. Spaulding noted that: "One nickel, used wisely, could last a family a lifetime."

Sadly, war is not a laughing matter, and 6 service members have already come home in flag draped coffins.  Our president did not even have the courtesy to pay proper respects to men who gave their lives as their coffins left the plane, as he didn't take off his tacky white baseball cap emblazoned with the letters USA in gold.  Is it too much for us to ask that a president actually give a damn about the lives being lost in war, instead of displaying his Merchandise for all to see?   

I could have gone out, but....

 

I stayed home much of the day, when it was a perfect day to go outside.  Today's focus was on the spreadsheet (see yesterday's post), but I didn't have any real plans for the day.  

- - - - - -

When I got up, I realized that I could either get showered, made up, and dressed.  But if I did so, I'd be spending money I don't need to spend to entertain myself.  And that's something I don't really need to do.  So, I decided to finish work on the spreadsheet, and add two more cruise lines to the options available for use.  It was easy to get lost in the tedium, and time passed as if hours were just minutes.

Around 5 pm, I decided to get showered and dressed.  It was nice to be able to apply makeup again, as I won't be able to spend much time as Marian next week, as I'll be stuck as Mario for both a Doctor's visit and for a pair of Co-Op board meetings.  (Once they are over, I can switch back to Marian mode for a while.). At 6 pm, I drove to the local Chinese take-out to pick up dinner, and I got a call from Vicki - we both forgot about dinner at the local Japanese restaurant.  So, we postponed again, and will likely go to a Brazilian BBQ sometime in the next couple of weeks.  

After I returned home, I got things set up for the Zoom meeting with our Texas friends.  It was a good meeting, as both of our friends were more animated than usual.  When I mentioned that I may have to set up my own Zoom account subscription, one of the gals volunteered to help pay for it.  Now we know how much this one person wants to keep up our monthly Zooms.

- - - - - -

Tomorrow, it will likely rain all day, making it a perfect laundry day.  I'll bet that I find excuses not to do it until late in the day. 

I think I can put a spreadsheet to rest for now

 

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been working on a spreadsheet (with formulas) which will allow one to compute the approximate real per-person cost of a cruise.  My problem with creating the spreadsheet is that I've never had to build something this complex before in Excel.  My thought processes towards computing values are akin to programmers who use procedural programming languages, where one could use "IF Statements"  (IF test, true condition statements, false condition statements) to do the work, where in spreadsheets, it is often easier to put key tests into separate cells.  So, when I find commonality between cruise line calculations, I reorganize the spreadsheet to simplify processing and make it easier to manage.

This work has been a tedious process, and is still subject to revision.  It has kept me busy to the extent where I've decided not to go outside when the weather looked nice, and instead focused on the work that needed to be done to complete basic work to fix known bugs, so that it can be used by others.

- - - - - -

Why do something like this?

In retirement, people still need challenges to keep their brains alert.  Current day politics strain my sense of well being, as I react poorly to falsehoods in the news.  The Orange Snowflake and his cronies do not care about objective truth.  They change the lies they tell and do not back down from their lies.  So, listening to the news becomes a soul suck for me, as well as something that can make me get angry.  As a result, I have to find ways to distract me from paying too much attention to the lunacy going on in the world, and focus on something which depends on objective truths and falsehoods.

My next step with my cruise blog still depends on objective truths - going back to the online classes on video production, and starting to record VLog entries to post on YouTube.  I do not intend to post anything with Marian's image for now.  It will be hard enough for me to post things as Mario, as I do not yet have a screen presence or screen personality.  But that will come with practice and experience.

In the end, I will maintain my sanity by doing things which allow me to maintain a healthy balance in life.  The outside world is going nuts, and I need to maintain a healthy mental balance to maneuver in today's insanity.  One has to see truth, and stay off the radar of the lunatics in charge of the asylum, while making plans to get as far away as possible before everything burns down around us. 

I hated getting dressed today

 

If I could have dressed like this to bring my car to the dealership for a NYS safety inspection, I would have done so.  However, I had to present as Mario today, and there's no fun in dressing as a male of my age.  But the car needed to go in, and I had to take it there....

- - - - - -

I woke up today knowing that there was one absolute task on my docket - My car's annual safety inspection.  With only 26k miles on the meter, I knew that I the car should have a clean bill of health.  The tires are roughly halfway through their expected lifespan, and the next major (expensive) maintenance wouldn't come for another 4,000-5,000 miles.  (I'm wondering when I will need new tires and brakes - but I won't bother doing that tonight.)

Since there was a Wendy's across the street from the dealership, I decided to have their Lenten-only offering - a fish sandwich.  It wasn't bad, and it wasn't that good.  But it sated my hunger.  Once done with lunch, I crossed the street and dropped my car off for service.  While waiting, I saw my downstairs neighbor in the waiting room and said hello as we were paying our respective bills.

Once done, I planned to return home, change into Marian mode, and go out.  But I was a little tired, and figured that I'd rather rest, then do laundry sometime in the evening. When I got home, I started to work on the spreadsheet again, and was interrupted by TCL when I was starting to get into mental "Flow" mode. I was able to get a load of laundry in (washed and dried) before 10 pm, and brought it back upstairs before calling RQS at the end of the day.

- - - - - -

Tomorrow, I will have a Zoom meeting with our Texas friends.  More on this then. 

It was finally time to go home.

 

Neither of us wanted to get up this morning.  It was chilly outside, and it would be another few days until we were together again.  Yet, I was up at 6 am, as the sunlight coming in from the window outside  wouldn't let me sleep.

- - - - - -

For some reason, I couldn't find the undies I left at RQS's place for when I sleep over.  Yes, it's easy to determine which undies belong to me when I'm presenting as Mario.  But, when both are wearing the same gender's undies, things can get confusing.  I was lucky to have a few pairs in the suitcase I brought with me this weekend.  Even more so, a pair of socks had holes, so I pulled out a pair from the suitcase as well.

Around 2:30, RQS and I left her place.  She needed to go to the bodega to pick up tonight's dinner, while I went to the bus stop which services both the express route and the local route.  This was a good move, as the first bus that came along was the express bus.  But even with the express bus, the trip home was problematic - the transit authority was replacing the turnstiles, making an "Accessible" station non-accessible.  I had to drag my bag down a couple of flights of stairs to get myself and my suitcase to the train.  (I'm lucky that the escalator to the upper level was working, as the elevator to that level was shut down for work on the turnstiles.)

Eventually, I made it into Manhattan, and then to Grand Central.  I had just enough time to make it to an express train to Croton, and was home before 5 pm.  By 6 pm, I was at Trader Joe's, picking up food for the rest of the week, before going home for the evening.

- - - - - -

Tomorrow, I'll have to present as Mario to get my car inspected.  After this, I can change back to Marian and put new polish on my nails. 

What happens when the highlight of the day is bed time?

 

As I write this, the US war against Iran is in its 3rd day.  Our president has made the major mistake of having peace talks while preparing to bomb a country.  America is about to get into another Vietnam, without any of the support it could have had if this were a just cause.  To make things worse, it feels like the war was started to cover up the Monster's presence in the Epstein Files. I wonder how many people will die because this madman wants to have a legacy that survives him

Why did I open with this?

Over the weekend, the most common thing in our YouTube feeds were talking heads and their discussions about the war.  It's hard to escape the insanity that is going on in the "Real World" when a madman's fancies are destroying everything America stood for.  I'm glad that my nephew is out of the military, as he'd be part of the cannon fodder the Monster is using to achieve his goals.

- - - - - -

Neither RQS nor I bothered getting dressed today.  It rained a little and the snow has melted a bit.  Soon, parking will be "easy" to find as before the snow storms hit.  Today was one of our relaxation days where we did nothing, save for having breakfast and dinner.  I shouldn't say we did absolutely nothing - RQS finished the reorganization of her storage shelves, and things are much easier for her to get at.

Part of me is looking forward to going home tomorrow.  My reasons are simple - I want to get back to work on my cruise cost calculation spreadsheet, and I can only work on it at home.  This has been a fun project for me, and something I will likely keep playing with as time progresses.  I already have some enhancements I'd like to work on that would make the spreadsheet much more useful.  But it will take some time to implement them.

My brother looks like he'll have a new job, and it looks like we have new tenants for the family homestead.  Although we will have money coming in, we will either need to reinvest it in the house, or let the next owner do so.  I'd have rather sold the property, but the timing of everything is fouling that plan up for now.  Assuming he has the new job, I'll get together with him for a last dinner before he moves out of town.  Yes, he'll be returning home to check on things now and then, but things won't be the same as before.  I'll likely get stuck managing the property - something I don't relish doing.

- - - - - -

At least, we caught up on our sleep for a change....  

A trip into the city for a play

 

No, we did not pass through Grand Central today.  But it would have been nice if we were able to do so.  Instead, our route brought us to a subway station I've never used before, as well as an area of the city I've never been to before on foot.

- - - - - -

When we woke up, neither of us had an idea of what we wanted to do.  So, RQS looked up the "Freebies" available on Club Free Time to find something cheap.  Settling on a play called "The Giggling Granny", we planned our day around our evening's entertainment.

RQS wanted to reorganize her kitchen a little, and have me help with fixing shelving that needed fixing.  (Its fourth corner was improperly supported, and could collapse with the right force used against it.)  So, we took everything out, and I inserted the support which leveled things out.  Now, RQS can reload the shelves at her own convenience.

What I haven't mentioned yet, is that the Orange Monster started an illegal war today against Iran.  Yes, it is a desperate attempt to distract people from the Epstein Files, but it poses great risk to the USA and to the world.  Both RQS and I are appalled - even though the Iranian government deserves to be destroyed.  Yet, it shows something else - the Orange Monster never negotiates in good faith.  The Iranians believed that they were close to an agreement.  (Too bad for them that they never read Ambrose Bierce and his Devil's Dictionary.  They'd see that Peace is only a period of treachery between two wars.) 

With all of this in mind, we both got dressed and went into NYC.  Sadly, I was semi conscious during the play, and missed most of it.  On the way back to the subway station, we stopped for gelato.  And then we passed by two one-dish restaurants - one selling pasta, and the other selling Mac & Cheese.  Both of these are places I want to try some time in the future.

Soon, we were on the train back home, and back in the apartment for SNL's cold open.  One could tell that they had to rewrite everything to account for the big news of the day, and they referenced themselves in the skit.  Once Weekend Update (the Real Fake News) was over, we turned off the TV and went to bed for the night. 

Visiting RQS at her place for the first time in a while

 

Before I went to RQS, I had things I wanted to do: Clean up some of the mess in my apartment and do some Laundry.  Well, I got to the first task, but not to the second task.  

But first.... 

- - - - - - 

I woke up with the alarm, and realized that I had to clean up some of the clutter in my place.  There was a lot of clean laundry which had to be put into my closets and my drawers.  So this was the first task I tackled.  For the most part, my clothes were put away, and I was left with a single basket of stuff which required special handling.  (Towels to the linen closet, sheets to a drawer, and other items to be put in proper spaces.)  And then, I continued debugging a spreadsheet I developed to compute estimated cruise pricing, given expected purchases of items not included in the fares.

Once finished with all of this, I packed a suitcase with the stuff I'd need over the weekend (as Marian), and got ready to trek into NYC.  I barely made a local to GCT, and then had to transfer to the subway.  As usual, I made the mistake of transferring to a Brooklyn/Queens bound line at a station where the elevators weren't working.  But, once I lugged my bag up and down some stairs, I had a seat for the rest of my trip to RQS's place.

- - - - - -

Although I have keys to RQS's house, I had a problem - for some reason, I couldn't get them to work.  (I also couldn't get them far enough out of my bag to use them properly.)  So, I had to buzz RQS to let me in.  Once my bags were dropped off, we were off for some Thai food at a nearby place.  I had my usual - Drunken Noodles with Crispy Duck, a dish I could have more of any day.  But then, I love duck.  It may not be as much as in Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur, but enough that I rarely turn down the opportunity to have this bird for dinner. 

- - - - - -

It's nice to have a girlfriend/partner who seems to accept the idea that I prefer to present as Marian as much as possible.  The other day, she mentioned an area in Jersey City we may consider moving to, a place where I can ditch much of Mario's wardrobe and live as Marian 99% of the time.  When I mention IF we get married (there are financial negatives for us to do so), we'd both be shopping for (and wearing) wedding dresses.  That's something to look forward to! 

 

I was a lazy bumette today.

 

Although I awoke with the alarm clock, all I did while the sun was up was eat, sleep, and watch YouTube videos in my jammies.  And yet, I don't feel guilty, as I decided to get ready to go out around 4:30.  

- - - - - -

Last night, in my usual chat with RQS, we agreed that I'll be visiting her at her place this weekend.  Although I wasn't sure whether I'll be presenting as Marian or Mario, I figured that I might as well go down as Marian - I have the foul weather boots ready to wear, and I am not worried about a significant snowfall. This decision made my shopping decision much easier, as I would not have to buy any perishables until next week.  So, I could put off much of my shopping until I return from RQS's place and then everything could be fresh.   (And, I'd be able to keep my nail polish on until Monday, when I'd have to remove it for several appointments as Mario I have scheduled for early March.)

Yet, I still ended up getting dressed and going out to shop.  I wasn't in the mood to cook, and I had a hankering for a Wendy's fish sandwich, something only sold during Lent.  So, I shaved, showered, and made up my face, then took the 30 minute drive to Fishkill.  Once I was done with my fish sandwich, it was off to Walmart when I ended up spending $101 on various items, including a cheap bodysuit (on closeout) that I wanted to try.

When I got home, I put everything away, and then tried on the bodysuit.  I can understand why women tend not to like these things - having to hold the split gusset apart to relieve oneself would be annoying - even if one has the anatomy the garment was designed for.  No wonder why many women prefer not to wear these garments, or choose ones with an awkward hook and eyelet fastening system.  At least, this garment was comfortable, but not practical for my purposes.

Eventually, I got into my usual jammies and went to bed.  It was a lazy day, but one I needed. 

 

 

Come fly away, come fly away with me.

 

The other day, I was at a meetup where I felt a woman was trying too hard to make me into her travel partner.  If I wasn't happily attached, I'd have considered the possibility of traveling with her, but I'd have to tell her that I'm non-op trans - and that would be a big risk factor I'm glad I didn't have to address.

- - - - - -

RQS and I are halfway through paying for our next cruise, and I think we'll be done by mid April.  Come hell or high water, we will make all of our payments by final payment date.  But even with that issue having to be addressed first, I've started to look at cruises taking place in 2027, specifically ones that sail from mainland Europe then going to Iceland and back. 

Now that RQS has seen Rick Steves' video on Iceland, I think RQS is starting to understand why this remote place, a land of fire and ice, is on my bucket list.   Like Norway and its Fjords, Iceland has places to see which are unlike any other place on earth.  I want to visit while we're both able to do so, as old age is rapidly creeping up on us.

One of the things I've found out about Iceland is that it seems LGBT friendly.  I could see flying to Amsterdam, cruising to Iceland and back, all in Marian mode.  Right now, I doubt that I'd do this with the current political climate in the US, but one can dream.  (As I write this, the Orange Monster, in his SOTU address, attacked us TG's once again.  Who wants to take a risk with TSA/CBP personnel right now, as they are hassling more and more people - including Americans.)

Hopefully, by the time I book this cruise, I will have my second citizenship and my second passport.  I'd like to fly into Europe without having to bother with ETA paperwork, being treated as if I were a citizen returning home. 

The state of disunion

 

For the most part, I did nothing bout relax all day.  Yet, a conversation I had with my niece underscores her reluctance to visit the land of her birth, much less with her British husband.  

- - - - - -

As I have mentioned before, my niece lives in London and will likely never return to the US to live.  (There is a paperwork issue, that due to a misfiling, may change this.)  She sees the signs of oncoming fascism in America, and wants no part of it.  Her friends report an increased scrutiny of British subjects (all with valid papers) at TSA/CBP checkpoints, which makes them feel like unwanted guests.  Even my niece, a US citizen, has undergone more intensive screening on her return to the US.  This does not bode well for my country, and I strongly suggest that if you don't have to visit the US until 1/20/29, don't do so!

We connected by Zoom around 12 pm (my time), and chatted for well over an hour.  We talked about my brother's job search, current affairs, and my niece's potential guilt for not being near family to help out.  (My sister in law has a disease which has pushed my brother away from her, and even my niece refers to her mom by her first name when talking with me.  You can guess what she feels about her mom these days.)  If all goes right, their family homestead will be in a trust by the time you read this, and my brother will be well on his way to getting a new job (and a new life).

- - - - - -

Once my niece and I ended our Zoom, I decided to relax a little.  I had no reason to go outside, and every reason to relax.  Around 5 pm, I realized that I squandered my chance to go out today, so I put dinner in the oven and got ready for a zoom meeting with my Texas friends at 8 pm.  Well, I screwed up the meeting, and we rescheduled it for next Wednesday.   RQS and I used the zoom in place of our usual nightly phone call

 

It's hard to believe

 

The above is the woman I wish I could have grown up into from my birth.  Sadly, I was born with an incorrect chromosome, and I do not look that much like the lady in the picture.  At least, I had a career bordering on a "Wall Street" Career, but with less risk.

About 14 years, I was afraid to go out in public dressed as a woman.  Would I look enough like a cisgender woman to NOT draw attention?  What about sounding enough like a cisgender woman?  And, would I be dressed appropriately, and not stand out?  So many questions, but most of them involving learning how to function as a woman without having lived my whole life as a woman.

People don't think much about boys and girls are molded from infancy, through adolescence, and on to young adulthood.  Boys have been taught to be competitive, taught that femininity is something less than innate masculinity, taught that they always have to prove their masculinity.  Where girls would play with Barbie Dolls, boys would have G.I.Joe "Action Figures.  Girls were expected to learn homemaking skills, as if their path in life would be like Donna Reed's role in her eponymous show.

The reality of male performance vs. female performance is much more subtle.  In WW2, we had many "Rosie the Riveters".  But as soon as the war ended, women were mostly relegated to household roles.  By the time the 1960's came, America (and the world) was hit by a major change that would liberate women - the availability of the birth control pill.  No longer could many women suffer the social, economic, and medical risks of pregnancy if they weren't ready to do so.  Women were often free to be as sexually active as men!

Once women had sexual freedom, other rights were much easier to fight for.  Why should a woman need a male guardian to have credit cards in her own name?  Why should women be assumed to be in the secretarial pool (or other female dominated jobs)?  Women fought and won their rights with decades long struggles.  Much of this happened in my lifetime   And I likely would have been taking the pill, so that I wouldn't have a career interrupted by an unwanted pregnancy.  (Sorry, Pope Leo, I don't believe in the papacy's claim of "the banquet of life" as an excuse to risk getting pregnant.)  If I were a cisgender female, I would likely be as childless as I am now.

Now, we have a government which, if it got its way, would return us to the 1950's with all of its evils.  Hopefully, we'll be able to stop this in November....

The snow came and then the shovels came out. (a short post)

 

Sadly, there was no way I could go out as Marian today.  If I'm going to shovel out 15 inches of snow from around my car, I'm not going to make up my face - especially when the few cisgender women there would be without painted faces.  (I like blending in for all circumstances, and this was not a time where presenting as Marian would make sense.)

- - - - - -

For the most part, I did nothing all day until I saw several people shoveling their cars out.  So, I took a quick shower and got dressed as Mario to move the snow away from my car.  Once done, I moved it back to my normal parking spot (a big mistake, as it hadn't been plowed out yet.)  A few minutes later, I heard the return of the snow plows, so I went out again, and killed another hour.  When I returned, my spot was mostly clear, and I could use my space again.

At this point, I no longer wanted to be outside, so I'll wait until tomorrow, when I can present as Marian again. 

 

Getting snowed in.

 

You may be wondering why I posted an image of the Cruise Globe, with most of my voyages listed on its face.  Well, I'll get to that eventually, but first, let me describe my day.

- - - - - -

I woke up this morning, and knew that I didn't want risk moving my car, only to lose the one visitor's parking space left in our lot.  A blizzard was coming, and they expected the snow to start by mid afternoon.  RQS was safe in her home, near all the cold weather gear she'd need when the blizzard is over. As for me, I got dressed for only one reason - to take kitchen waste to the dumpster before the snow made it impossible for me to do so.  (Once back inside, it was back to my jammies.)

As I may have mentioned, I am working on a spreadsheet to allow people to plug in key parameters, and generate an approximate cost for an adult taking a specific cruise.  Each cruise line's beverage prices, Wi-Fi prices, package prices, package inclusions and automatic gratuity charges differ, and there is only so much someone can do to allow people to "Compare Apples to Apples."  At least, this spreadsheet comes reasonably close to doing so for basic fees, but it doesn't include things such as Specialty Coffees, Bottled Waters, and Top Shelf Beverages.  Work on the spreadsheet kept me busy all day and much of the night.

When I came up for air, I watched some cruise videos and read some cruise news.  There were 3 ships scheduled to leave from the New York City area, and all of them were affected by the weather.  NCL's ship left Manhattan as scheduled, and I expect people will get seasick before they spend their first night in the casino.  MSC's ship left Brooklyn, and returned later due to the weather.  Finally, Royal Caribbean's ship took on its passengers, but stayed in port.  Although the plans are for this ship to leave either on Monday or Tuesday, passengers had to be on the ship before its originally scheduled departure time.  Both RQS and I are very glad that we took our latest cruise in January, as the winter snows that came in the last month would have caused us some grief when we returned.

- - - - - -

Tomorrow, I expect to get dressed as Mario and shovel my car out of its parking space.  Since it's a heavy snow, I don't plan to rush things.  I'm no longer in my 20's, and I have to be careful not to over exert myself. 

 

Should auld acquaintance be forgot....

 

I'm not sure whether my friend knows I'm trans or not.  But I knew that I'd have to play things down a little, yet be honest when called for.  I met this acquaintance at a meetup many years ago, and she introduced me to Arts Westchester.  From there, we lost contact during Covid, and it was a phony Evite email that harvested email addresses which got me to reach out to her again.

- - - - - -

The weather, when I got up, was a constant drizzle.  Cold and damp was the forecast for the day, and I didn't want to go to lunch.  I wanted to stay cozy in my jammies and stay warm inside my apartment.  But I didn't want to screw up things, so I got dressed in something warm and left for a Chinese restaurant in Mamaroneck.  

While driving to the restaurant, I wondered whether this was such a good idea or not.  People were driving like mad men.  One driver I saw was weaving through traffic with barely a car's length of distance between the two cars.  On a dry day, this would be bad enough.  But when the road is wet, I knew enough to keep my distance and then some.

Although I had a hard time with the parking meter, I was able to pay for my spot and walk to the restaurant without getting drenched.  My friend came about 10 minutes later, not being sure if the meter had registered her payment or not.  And then, we both ordered the same dishes - Hot & Sour Soup, followed by Roast Duck.  Both were yummy.  We talked about many things, but the conversation was of the "Getting to Know You Again" genre.  Towards the end, she mentioned my dress - not noticing I was wearing leggings under it, and not tights.  (We were talking about the practicality of cold weather dressing.)

All too soon, lunch had to end.  So we bid each other farewell, and went out own ways.

- - - - - -

Later on, I picked RQS up at the station. Since I had Italian, Greek, and Chinese this week, it was off to the diner for dinner.  There are some dinners I go to as Mario and others I go to as Marian.  So, I chose the diner in Peekskill where I tend to go as Marian.  Food portions are plenty here - the fish and chips I had were enough to feed 3 people (or 1 of me).  And RQS had a healthy meal as well, also bringing home salad for tomorrow.

When we got home, we watched the weather reports - none of them were good.  RQS will now leave early, as a blizzard was coming in for Sunday/Monday.  AARGH!  This will likely be a very wet snow, and a bitch for shoveling out my car when it ends.  At least, my apartment will stay warm.  

Lunch with Short Vicki

 

It's been ages since I last saw "Short" Vicki.  (RQS and I call her that, to avoid confusion with the other Vicki in my life.)  Today was a last minute planned lunch, fitting it into her hectic schedule.

- - - - - -

I had to get up early today, so that I could meet Vicki in Tarrytown for lunch.  Given that I had leftover baked ziti in the ice box, I wasn't in the mood to have Italian again.  So, I chose a Greek place we both enjoy, and arranged to meet her by 11:30.  My alarms were set to waken me early, and I was up and moving by 9:30.

Having showered, shaved and made up my face, I was able to get out the door shortly after 11:00.  This would give me barely enough time to make it to Tarrytown by 11:30.  But I needn't have worried - Vicki was running late (caught in "flow" state with what she was doing) and was glad that I texted her, as she may have forgotten our lunch date.  While I waited, everyone treated me as the female as I was presenting. It's always nice to be treated as a woman - there are certain simple, polite niceties which women experience that I always enjoy. 

One thing about Vicki - she always seems to have a smile on her face.  This brightened up my day when she entered the restaurant.  We caught up on things - her trips (past and present), her family, current affairs, and issues affecting her family.  Our lunch was way too short, as both of us had things to do afterwards.  So, around 1:30, we left the restaurant, hoping we'll get together soon.

My next stop was back at my apartment, where I proceeded to work on a spreadsheet for my other blog.  It's not perfect, but it will give a person an idea of what one's real cost will be for a particular cruise, including optimizations made possible by judicious package purchases.

At a certain point, I decided to make a run to BJ's, and burn off a gift card I've had since before Xmas.  Other than gas, this was not an expensive trip, as the sunk money part of it (the gift card) was money already spent that needed to be used soon.

- - - - - -

Once I had finished work on the spreadsheet, I stored it away, and set up a zoom with our Texas friends for next week.  On the whole, it was a good day. 

 

 

Lunch with CCS, Laundry, and a Living Spreadsheet.

 

There was only one "Must Do" and one "Should Do" item on the docket today: Lunch with CCS, and Laundry.  And, believe it or not, I took care of both things.  But, doing laundry threw me a curve ball - one of the dresses I was to launder was labeled "Hand Wash, Dry Flat."  And this made me wonder about two other dresses from Universal Standard that found their way into my laundry basket.

- - - - - -

I woke up early enough to catch part of "Morning Joe" on the vidiot box. But it took me another couple of hours to get dressed and drive to the Italian restaurant in town to meet CCS.  When I got dressed, I put on a tunic dress over leggings, as I couldn't justify a dress with hosiery on a slightly rainy winter's day.  And, I got to the restaurant before CCS for a change.  During lunch, we talked about family events, our upcoming cruises, and politics - the usual stuff.   And, all too soon, lunch had to end.  Both of us had leftovers to eat another day.  So we scheduled our March lunch, and went our separate ways.

After lunch, I drove to Briarcliff Manor in the vain hope that I might stumble into the acquaintance I met at last night's meetup.  Of course, I did not stumble into her.  I guess she may have realized that I couldn't be the travel partner she seemed to desperately want.  (I also wonder if she wanted me as a lesbian partner.  But that's another reason I had to tell her that I have a long term partner in RQS)   Since she did not try to contact me, I'll write her off until the next time (if there is one) I stumble into her.

Once I was back home, I started work on my spreadsheet of cruising costs.  Finally, with enough experimentation, I was able to get the computation down for one of the nine cruise lines.  While doing this, I had two baskets (should have been three) of laundry in the washer and dryer.  So, after everything, this was a very productive day.

Finally, a meetup I could attend!

 

I had only one thing on the docket, and that was a Mardi Gras dinner in Rye, NY.  However, it didn't mean that I did nothing all day.  But it did mean that I avoided doing laundry again.

- - - - - -

The day started with me gaining consciousness around 8 am.  It doesn't mean I was fully awake.  It only means that my mind was functioning at a level where I could navigate the obstacle course from my bed to the toilet in time.  Once my bio-break was done, I was awake enough to start watching videos, and then work on a project for my cruise blog.

One of the problems most people have is having a good idea of how much their cruise will cost before booking the cruise. For most of us, we learn how to price out a cruise by the experiences we have when cruising.  But I want to make it a little easier, by having a spreadsheet that can be used to make the grunt work of calculating costs a magnitude easier than it is right now.

A problem with cruise packages is that there is no way to compare "apples with apples."  There are too many little wrinkles that make a side by side comparison of two cruises impossible. That is, until I finish this spreadsheet.  Then, one should be able to compare apples of two different varieties.  The spreadsheet will be far from perfect.  But it will give the cruiser a ball park figure to work with.

- - - - - -

Around 4 pm, I started getting ready to drive to Rye.  The location wasn't easy to find without Google Maps, but I got there almost on time, but not excessively late.  I had to call the restaurant to find out where to park - all street parking was in use.  But there was a nearby parking lot I could use.  The strange part in all of this is that I think I've been in the parking lot before, but not in the restaurant.

I saw the meetup hostess and her husband at the table, and a lady sitting there struck up a conversation.  This is one case where saying that I'm in a relationship AND presenting as female helped me.  I didn't want to send any signals that I am available (RQS would kill me for good reason), but I did want to send a signal that I was looking for another female friend.

The Jambalaya I ordered wasn't that great - the flavors were too muddy, and there wasn't enough protein (chicken, sausage, shrimp) that stood out.  For the most part, the dish tasted like gravy soaked rice with a minimal amount of protein to enjoy.  (Too bad we didn't go to the original restaurant, where I know the Jambalaya is prepared much better.)  

My new friend monopolized by attention for a large part of dinner, and I couldn't really enjoy the ice cream covered brownie, as I had to give this lady my attention.  Yet, I'd like to see her again, just as friends.  It would be nice to keep building up a network of people who only know me as Marian, and not as Mario. 

And now, back to my everyday life

 

I dropped RQS off at the station today for her trip home.  She'll have 3 days to run her errands (and me the same) before she returns here this weekend.  

- - - - - -

There are only so many current events videos I can watch before getting sick thinking of the Orange Monster and what he's doing to this country.  So, I limit my consumption of political news.  I wish I could filter out the damage the monster is doing to this world, so that I could focus on everyday events that occur in the NYC region (fires, building collapses, murders, subway derailments and other disasters that affect a small number of people in my region.)   To contrast a NYC view of things vs. the rest of the world's views, I suggest looking at a case of suicide via subway train during rush hour.  To outsiders, we'd be mourning the tragic loss of a human life.  To New Yorkers, we're getting pissed off that some jerk has screwed up thousands of commutes at the worst possible time - if the person wanted to off himself, the least he could have done is to wait until after rush hour AND have the good taste do it where it wouldn't affect anyone's commute.  (One needs a certain sense of callousness to live in this city.)

I got up around 8 am, and let RQS sleep until 10:30 am.  Around noon, I started getting showered and dressed, so that RQS could make a 1:30 pm train.  Although I was thinking of doing a couple of loads of laundry today, I decided to make a run over to Target and pick up a few things I'd need over time.  Sadly, the route that I'd normally take home was closed off to me (and to all) as the failure of a bridge over the nearby railroad tracks prevented me from taking my usual route home.

Arriving home, I decided to contact a friend and schedule a lunch get-together.  Although her schedule was a little tight, we found a convenient lunch date, and scheduled something for this week.  And then, I decided to rest for the remainder of the day, giving up any plans to go out again.  So, off with the makeup and outside clothes, and on with my jammies, and I could go to bed any time I want. 

- - - - - - 

Tomorrow will be a "Fat Tuesday" meetup, and I hope all goes right.  I think I'll wear a nice dress for the evening, and get some use out of it this season. 

Some thoughts on current events

 

The longer the Orange Monster stays in office, the more I'm afraid that he'll have enough time to turn this nation into a dictatorship.  The media is either afraid to lose access to key government personnel, or simply afraid of being put out of business by this regime.  Fox "News" is owned by an oligarch who wants to destroy liberal institutions.  CBS is now owned by another oligarch with similar political views.  It's a damned shame that a bandit capitalist class is working to exterminate liberal democracy.

Whether of not the bandit capitalist class succeeds in the US, the American empire will have left something of great value to the world: An economic structure where David Ricardo's ideas of capitalism based on comparative advantage and free trade has been adopted by most of the world's most powerful economies.  Each nation does what it does best, and prospers because of this.  

The orange monster believes that the US can stand alone.  (I'm giving him credit for a belief system that he probably doesn't have.)  Seeing what North Korea and its Juche philosophy has done to that nation, I expect to see the fall of America in my lifetime.  What will happen next?  Who knows?  But I know that we have helped democracy flourish around the world, and that the American empire has left the world better off than when we entered this stage of its existence.

Luckily, we are seeing a rebellion from below.  Power is not centralized in one level of government.  The states are resisting the monster's grab for absolute power.  Democrats in the Senate have checked the power of the orange monster by denying funding to DHS and ICE.  TSA officials at airports will not get paid while this pissing match between the Democratic party and the Orange Monster has ended.  Although ICE has 75 billion to piss away, the Coast Guard does not.  In short, the Democratic party is shutting down a key area of government to cause as much pain as they can for the GOP.  The Democrats simply want ICE officers to follow the same standards that most police officers have to follow - to be identifiable, so that rogue officers can be identified; to have people in ICE detention have the right to Habeas Corpus; and to have only judicial warrants used for detaining people. I may not be phrasing everything correctly, but the Democrats want to make sure that ICE follows all of the laws, and recognize the constitutional rights afforded to all residents in our country.

Sadly, I see events in America being a race against time.  How much damage can the monster do to keep his opposition from gaining power on January 3, 2027?  Can we prevent him from doing so?  When we have someone like Pam Bondi excuse the Jeffrey Epstein cover up by citing a Dow Jones Average over $50,000.  It's sick, and it shows that a large part of America no longer cares about anything but fluffing up their bank accounts. I hope to see America regain its sanity before I die... 

Getting dressed up for Valentine's Day (a short post)

 

When presenting as Marian, it's always nice to have an occasion to dress up.  Valentine's Day was it for us.  And I know I enjoyed doing so more than RQS today.

- - - - - - 

Both of us were glad to stay inside most of the day.  Saturdays are often a day of rest for us, and we do that well.  What can I say about two seniors who know how much energy they have to spend, and want to spend it wisely?

Around 5 pm, we both started getting ready to go out.  Both of us had red dresses at the ready, and we were ready to wear them.  Both of us did our makeup, put on our jewelry, and did everything we needed to look our best when we went to the restaurant.  If the weather had been colder, I'd have worn my flannel dress.  If the weather had been warmer, I'd have chosen a lighter dress.  However, the sweater dress I chose was perfect for the evening - and a few minutes later, we were going out the door.

We made it to the restaurant 20 minutes early, finding an almost perfect parking spot in front of the restaurant.  When we entered, the host remembered us from previous visits and made a table available to us before our reservation time.  Then, we got started with dining.  In front of us was a proper table setting, with the napkin folded like a red heart.  It was the perfect setting for a Valentine's Day meal.   And both the food and service was as good as we expected - perfect.

- - - - - -

After dinner, we went to the supermarket to refresh the soda supply in the refrigerator, then homeward for the evening.  It was a nice day, with the high point being our V-Day dinner.

Help with healthcare. (A short post)

 

I was appalled with Obamacare subsidies were cut in the Orange Monster's favorite bill.  Today, I'm not going to comment on this man's evil nature.  Instead, I'm providing a link to a website, where help for paying for Medicare can be found.

https://armandalegshow.com/help/

Hopefully, my readers will pass this link to those in need.

Another Jammie Day (a short post)

 

This morning, I woke up around 10 am and had nothing on the docket.  Should I go out?  Should I clean my apartment?  What would be the best way to spend my time?  So many ways to spend the day, and I spent it watching videos on many subjects.  Even as I write this entry, I have a historical video on TV, covering the history of the A-Bomb and how our government managed its propaganda during WW2.

The clothes horse side of me wanted to see what dresses I could buy.  Did I need them?  No.  Yet, I can see how my late wife got addicted to buying clothes she didn't need.  So I always try to ask myself: Does the new garment add something useful to my wardrobe?  Usually, the answer is 'no.'  But, last week, the answer was 'yes' , when I placed an order for a pair of brown leggings that I'd be wearing with a light brown sweater dress.

I eventually got moving around noon, and moved into the living room.  6 hours later, I finally did something useful and deals with two suitcases.  The first, a 28" bag, contained most of what I carried with me on our January cruise.  The second, a 24" bag, contained some items from my female winter wardrobe that I planned on wearing last weekend when at RQS's house.  Even though nothing was removed from either bag (I actually added underwear and socks for my next cruise in the 28" bag), I placed both bags to the corner of the room where I previously stored empty suitcases, making space in the living room.

Was it a wasted day?  To a degree, yes.  But I will be busy over the next week or so, and I don't want to be overwhelmed before then.

Ragtime

Today, there was only one thing on the docket - going into NYC to meet with RQS and see Ragtime at Lincoln Center.  As much as I'm not a fan of musicals, I knew RQS would enjoy it, and we planned for this day long before Xmas.

- - - - - -

I set my alarms to wake me up around 8, so that I could make a 10:42 train.  This would bring me into Grand Central at 11:40, giving me 20 minutes to make it to Union Square for lunch.  So, I hopped into the shower at 9:15 (after I finished the co-op's meeting minutes for review), and was ready to go to the train station by 10:00.  This was a little chancy.  I'd be late if I couldn't find a parking spot (the station I go to is large, but often has no vacancies), but I wanted to pick up an egg sandwich before getting on the train. But luck was with me today, I got a decent parking spot.

Given this is winter, a sweater dress was my choice of the day.  Although most cisgender women were wearing trousers, some were wearing dresses.  So I didn't stand out too much.  I hoped that there wasn't too much of a snow melt, as I  didn't want to be stepping around puddles while wearing flats and tights.  I got lucky there as well.  So, when I made it to Grand Central, I chose the non obvious route.  Instead of taking the 4th avenue line direct to Union Square, I decided to save on walking by taking the shuttle to Times Square, and the Broadway line to Union Square, where I'd be leaving the system at 16th Street instead of at 14th Street. (2 street blocks = 0.10 mile, plus a 1 avenue block = 0.33 mile.)  The walk was long enough already than to add close to 1/2 mile of unneeded walking.  This was a smart move, as I ended up less than a block away from where we planned to eat lunch.

When RQS arrived, I said that she should go buy her lunch, and that I'd get up when she got back to the table.  All of a sudden 20 people walked in, and the store received a large door dash order at the same time.  It took her 20 minutes to get a sandwich which normally would be ready in 3 minutes.  So, we split her small sandwich, and headed up to Lincoln Center for the play instead of lingering in the sandwich shop.

It took us 15 minutes to make it from Union Square to Lincoln center.  Not being familiar with the complex, I had to ask for directions - and found the theater in the back of the complex.  It was nice to enter the theater from a mid level, as we didn't have to walk up too many flights of stairs to get to our seats. Although the seats were too narrow for me, my knees weren't hitting the back of the seat in front of me. So, I was able to be tolerably comfortable for the two acts of the play.

Rarely does a musical make me say "Wow!" But this was one of them.  Like a good Opera, the songs told the tale.  Unlike an opera, there was some spoken dialog that helps people understand the play.  So, when intermission came, there was the usual mad dash to the women's room.

I've never seen a sign like this before, but it made sense.  Where does the long line to the ladies' loo start?  In the case of this theater, the line was over 120 feet long.  Yet, that line moved, as there had to be 20 stalls available for use at any one time.  As for RQS and me, we were on a different line for only 2 stalls.  And it was just as well, as I liked having the extra room that a single stall facility has.

The play ended at 5:00, and both of us entered the subway around 5:15.  RQS was home by 6:15, while I was home by 7:00.  It was a long day, but well worth the effort I made to get to see RQS and the play.