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....

I am now well insured - A short post

 

Could you imagine what these two people would have done with proper travel insurance?  Neither of these two people expected to be diverted to Oz, when they expected to land in Kansas.  Mind you, I'd rather be in Oz than in Kansas as it is more likely to find a "Rainbow Flag" in Oz, than in Kansas.  😀

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I'm lucky that I thought to have my Alexa unit send me reminders today.  RQS and I did not have travel insurance in effect for our upcoming Bermuda cruise, and we declined insurance on the California Coast  cruise we just booked.  So we figured that it was time to buy a yearly travel insurance policy than to pay for a policy each time we cruise or take a long distance trip. And both of us took care of this task today.

Now that I had taken care of this task, it was time to pay some bills.  Luckily, I had enough money in the bank to cover my bills and some to spare.  Given that I'll be taking a trip to DC and a California cruise before the end of Spring, I now have to think of moving money around to conveniently pay for my trips from a single bank account.  (I hate draining savings accounts, but realize that I need to do so to afford some of the trips I want to take.)

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Once done with bill paying, it was time to go out and try to get some Tuesday swag from T-Mobile.  Unfortunately, they had run out of umbrellas, so I had to settle for a pair of gloves.  Just as I was done with T-Mobile, the president of my co-op called, and we discussed a zoom meeting to be held with the owner of the management company the co-op uses.  

Next, was a call to my brother.  After my wife died, a girlfriend and I packed up place settings for 28 people. (My wife always wanted to have a gathering for her once large family, and bought way too many place settings.)  I told my brother that I'd drop down to see him later in the week, and pick up a few place settings that I can eventually use in my apartment.  These place settings (and other things like Gravy Bowls) may never get used.  But I think I'd like the option of using some of the place settings that my late wife spent so much money to buy, while giving the rest to a charity that I know well..

Now if only I can find a way to get rid of the stuff in the downstairs storage compartment, I'd feel a little better about bringing these place settings home.