Cleaning out some of the mess

 

To start, the above is NOT my living room.  This is the way Ex-GF-M had her living room when I was last there over 15 years ago.  My apartment may be a cluttered mess, but it never got as bad as her mess.  When I met her, she had a small den which was so crammed with stuff that she couldn't enter the room. This is not meant to say that my place is devoid of clutter.  Instead, it is a reminder how much worse my life could have been had I stayed with my ex. 

 

Today, I took about an hour to get rid of some of the clutter in my place before showering and dressing to go out and pick up RQS.  She is keenly aware that I am a clutter bug, but she tolerates it to have me in her life.  Yes, there are some shoe boxes I might wish I had kept.  But, I plan to be tossing out more than I bring in to my space over time.  And that will allow me to gradually clear out the clutter in my place.

 

Things got really bad for me when Covid hit. as I no longer had the need to straighten up the place for the cleaning lady to do her magic.  I hope to get to the stage where I can have another trustworthy cleaning person come in again on a regular basis.  Until then, I have to gradually work at pruning the stuff in my space, so that I can again have a place in which I feel comfortable inviting guests..

 

Recently, I looked behind my loveseat and found that I have at least 2 more storage containers filled with summer clothes.  It's almost impossible for me to get rid of a nice dress.  But, if I can lose some weight, I'll have the incentive to do so - if only to replace much of which is in my wardrobe.  That will be a fun, but expensive experience, as I may finally have shrunk to a size where I can walk into a typical women's department and find pretty clothes I want to wear.

 

Until then, I'll be dealing with the clutter in my apartment and in my closet.... 

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.

Lunch with an old friend (postponed), and dinner with a new meetup group.

 

Today, I was supposed to meetup with an "old" friend, and then attend a meeting with a new meetup group.  Well, things didn't work out as expected.  Just after I had gotten dressed to meet her for lunch, SJM texted me to postpone lunch, as her son was taken to the hospital.  (I won't say more than this here.)  But she had one hell of a day, and we'll catch up with each other in the morning.  So, instead of meeting SJM, I picked up an egg sandwich at the deli where I used to stop every day before going to work at the imaging firm.

It's amazing how some people remember you after a couple of years.  I was greeted warmly, with the "what happened to you?" question.  I mentioned that I had retired, then told not to make myself scarce.  (Of course not, they want my business and they like friendly faces.)  With sandwich in hand, I decided to drive up to Poughkeepsie to browse the spring offerings at Lane Bryant.  While on the road, I chatted with my friend Maria, and we caught up with what's happening in each other's lives. And before too long, I was at the mall.

It was nice being in Marian mode again.  It's been more than a week since I last presented as female.  Once inside the mall, I noticed my legs weren't used to walking any distance - something I have to work on before going to Norway later this year.  There were some nice things at the store, but nothing that said "Buy Me!"  And that's just as well.  I've spent too much on clothing lately, buying another unitard from Universal Standard, a denim dress from Eshakti, and some shoes from Woman Within.  (It's hard to pass up good bargains when these are things I want to have in my closet.)  Now, I have to buy some things to wear over the unitards I have when not in exercise mode.

Once I got home from the mall, I relaxed for an hour before driving to Yonkers for another meetup.  This time, it was at an informal pizza joint in a business park off of Executive Boulevard.  I was the second to arrive, and we were all seated at the bar in order to get separate checks.  And this is where another feminine experience comes in....

Last night, I mentioned to one of the people at the meetup that I had been shopping for a car.  Well, he offered to help me buy a car - and volunteered to be my masculine "beard" when I go back to the dealership.  (My feminine presentation must be reasonably convincing now.  Little does he know that I present as male when dealing with car issues.)  Once he saw me, he showed me the information he gathered from one dealership's web site, as well as talking about what he's learned from his experiences car shopping.  Are all men like this?  AARGH!!!!  In his own way, he respected me last night for what I knew about cars, but was treating me like a lady who needed a man in her life to deal with these things.  Am I like this when presenting as Mario?  I hope not.  Once I was ready to leave, he showed me his new car - with all the bells and whistles.  Typical male behavior....

Luckily, I was able to make a graceful exit after a few minutes and left for home.  It was nice to be able to strip off all of the garments that cisgender women hate so much!!!!

 

 

PS: My friend's son is OK, and is at home resting as I write this.