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.