A pleasant surprise from distant friends.

 

The 2023 Chicago Girls' Trip.  This is where RQS and I got the chance to meet our Texas friends in person.  We all agreed that we didn't spend enough time together on this trip.

But first....

It's been a year since we were all together, and we've hinted to our friends that we should get together again soon.  For the most part, it's gone over like a lead balloon, but that's OK.  We'd still be friends, and chalk up their reluctance to factors beyond our control.

Tonight's conversation took a different path than usual.  Usually, RQS gets on quickly.  But tonight, I had to try calling her - with no response.  I was concerned that something might have happened to her.  She does live in NYC after all.  But no, all was OK.  She took a nap, and didn't wake up when her Alexa's alarm went off.  She has gotten in the habit of telling her device to let her sleep for 15 minutes or so, and does this while semi-conscious. So, around 8:30 pm, she came into the chat, and she told the story about her doorway being replaced.

After RQS joined us, I showed off some pictures from our Bermuda cruise, and then the chat shifted towards other trips.  (I won't go into detail here, as it is not my story to tell.)  And then I was asked: "Why don't I come to Texas, when I'd go to New Orleans."  I mentioned that New Orleans was a LGBT friendly island in a deep red state, while Texas doesn't protect my rights.  However, I noted that Texas didn't make me going to the loo a criminal act as it would be in Florida.  So I might end up spending a day or two in Dallas one of these years.  But first, people like Ted Cruz and Greg Abbott must be voted out of office.  Who knows, there may be a New Orleans trip in the cards for us in 2025.

And then we all had to go.  But we made plans to have another Zoom call between Election Day and Thanksgiving.  Hopefully, we'll have good news to celebrate that week....

Another Game Night

 

I had two things on the docket: Having lunch with my friend from the census, then going to Game Night later on in the evening.  Given my energy level as of late, I'd have rather skipped both.  But I'm glad I didn't do so....

- - - - - -

In hot weather, I get very uncomfortable wearing my wigs.  As a transgender person, the male hormones that flowed through my body for years have poisoned the hair follicles on my head.  In short, my male pattern baldness has forced me to wear wigs when presenting as female.  So I try to stay in air conditioned comfort during the summer.  Today, I was able to do so.

Waking up way before the alarm sounded, I knew that I would need to fall asleep early, or to take a nap sometime during the afternoon.  So I decided to get up and take care of some things before getting showered, made up, and dressed to go out for lunch at a nearby Mexican restaurant suggested by my friend.

When I arrived at the restaurant, it had its normal lunch crowd.  So, I took a seat and waited for my friend.  She texted me to tell me that she was going to be late - she had forgotten to put in her contact lenses, and had to go back inside the house to take care of things.  After 5-10 minutes, my friend arrived.  I told her all about my Norway cruise, and our plans to visit Alaska next year.  She then told me all about her trip to Vegas to celebrate her son's 21st birthday, as well as how gambling comps have paid for some of the cruises she has taken and for spectacular rooms in hotels - one of which was a suite with a pool table in it.  (Hopefully, my friend won't mind me saying this much about her.)  All too soon, lunch ended and we made plans for next month.

I went home for a while, and then got ready for game night.  This was a time I could have easily have stayed home and caught up on my sleep.  Instead, I rushed down to Yonkers and was late for the first game of the night.  (It was only designed for 4 players, and I would have been the 5th.)  So I waited until the next game was played, and enjoyed that.  Things started to break up around 10:00 pm, and I couldn't wait to get home to sleep - and I was out within 1 1/2 hours.

 

2023 Bermuda Cruise - Day 4 (Port Day)

Wednesday, November 22, 2023.

The day started with the crowing of a rooster. No, there were no live chickens onboard the ship. Instead, it was my alarm trying to wake us up early enough for RQS to make it to the ship’s infirmary while they had clinic hours.  Like yesterday, the sky was cloudy when we awoke, but neither of us wanted to get moving. Both of us heard my phone’s obnoxious alarm, and it roused both of us as intended. Getting showered and dressed was hard for RQS, but she was out the door before me, as I was still dressing while she hobbled to the clinic.

When I arrived at the clinic, RQS was still filling out paperwork prior to being treated. Shortly afterward, RQS was brought into the examination room while I waited outside. The waiting area was sterile in more than one sense. In this case, all the furnishings were in the same color scheme as the walls - a very light beige. The floor was a light creamsickle orange, and the seats were a non-descript shade of gray. About the only things that could be said to stand out in this area were the pictures on the walls and the bright red biohazard bucket. This is where I waited, when I would have preferred to stay in our cabin until called for.

RQS came out several hundred dollars lighter than when she entered the clinic, with some pain killer pills, instructions to stay off her feet, and to use an ice pack on her ankle. This would not be a pleasant way for her to spend time on the ship. And then, ship security arrived to record our accounts of the embarkation day incident. If we’re lucky, we might be able to use a copy of the security investigation and the medical bill to have RQS’s medical expenses reimbursed by our travel insurance company.

And then we were off to have breakfast. Breakfast at O’Sheehan’s, a casual dining area on the ship, was mediocre, as both service and food quality was lacking.  Next time we'd decide to have breakfast on the ship, it would be at one of the other complimentary dining rooms, where they will deliver all components of a meal in a timely manner.

While RQS was relaxing in our cabin, I went to the buffet looking for some cookies.  In the process of heading to the buffet, I met someone with whom I struck up a conversation. By the time our chat was over, the buffet was setting up for lunch. And this gave me an opportunity to bring RQS something to eat. But I found no cookies! WHERE ARE THE COOKIES ON THIS SHIP???? On the way back to the cabin, an attendant was delivering cookies to several cabins, and if by magic (with a friendly ask of the attendant), RQS now had both the cookies she asked for and her lunch.

After lunch, I decided to and take a long walk. One of the stops I made along the way was a shop in the Clocktower mall to buy some jewelry for myself (when presenting as Marian). I figure that it will go well with the blue dresses I enjoy wearing. (I’m making a note to take care of some purchases I need to make when I get home.) While out, I checked my email, and found that there were a couple of messages of unknown origin that I have to check out. The first was likely a scam, as I know no one in a foreign country that I’d want to talk to. The second was a person who had my name who claimed to be from the Social Security office. This is one call that I must be careful to fully verify its origin before giving out any information - including that which I could consider harmless. (Let’s see if there is some snail mail in my box when I get home, as I believe that SSA uses that to establish first contact.) I don’t want to have a scammer spoof my identity before I am even able to collect my first SS payment.

Near the far end of my walk, I passed by the local prison. That was one place where I decided NOT to stop for a rest. A few minutes later, I passed by Pulpit Rock (no, I don’t have a picture of it) where I was able to take a few more photos. At that point, I decided to return to the ship, as it was getting late and I wanted to be back onboard before the sun went down. 

On the whole, it was not a day that I would have planned to have. But it was productive, as I got in more walking than I usually do in a typical November week.