I never used a debit card, and see where that got me.

 

As I've mentioned before, my brother and I own a rental property on Long Island.  After several years of renting the house to tenants, we made the decision to replace the washer and dryer as we refresh the place for our next set of tenants.  Today, I would have bought the above laundry set, save that the debit card for the joint account had expired.

- - - - - -

I was originally scheduled to meet RO for lunch today.  However, her sister is having health problems, and she must help her sister out in time of need.  But where did this leave me?  I now had a free day where I could order a washer/dryer combination and schedule delivery for a time convenient for me to be in Long Island.  So, I decided to get dressed as Mario and drive to Yonkers.

Once in Yonkers, I made sure to check whether there would be any problems with the card, as both ATM cards could be connected to both my personal and our joint account.  (I wanted 2 cards, so that my personal card would always link to my personal checking account, and that the "business" card would always link to the joint account.)  Well, when I went to the ATM, I found that the business card had expired.  Since I wasn't going to use my personal account for the transaction, I called my brother and told him about this glitch, and said that I'd send him the information about the washer/dryer that he now had to buy.

Since I no longer had to go into the appliance store, I figured that I'd go to the cell phone store and pick up some swag they were giving away.  Unlike past swag offers, they were not giving away this item at all of their stores.  I just got lucky and got mine at the store in Yonkers that was near the bank.  And then, I was on my way home for the night.

- - - - - -

Having arrived home, I rested for a while before opening the co-op board meeting.  It's now a pleasure to have meetings that last only 2 hours.  However, we still have a lot of problems to deal with, as we're still dealing with the fallout from our prior managing agent's mismanagement of things.  While on this zoom meeting, I received a message from DCD's ex girlfriend. (I'll call her NDC for now.)   His tumor has returned - bigger than ever.  So, I ended up chatting with her for an hour or so, and found out more details about his life.  His mom bailed out his car, but kicked him out of the house.  Now, he mostly lives out of his car, going to his ex's house to wash and clean up.  This has put some stress into her relationship with her current boyfriend.  She effectively has a grown up stray that needs taking care of, and she (with current boyfriend) have set boundaries for taking care of this stray.  Hopefully, when he goes into the hospital for his next surgery and for chemo, they will be stuck with the responsibility of finding a hospice for him to spend his final days.

While we're talking about DCD, I have to mention that NDC emailed DCD's mom to tell her about DCD's health concerns.  NDC feels that almost everyone in DCD's family orbit is a little F'd up to say the least.  His mom has a room which was prepared for her late husband to spend his final days, and won't let DCD stay there for his final days.  DCD's kids know that he's not long for this world, yet they won't renew contact with him.  (NDC has no idea of why DCD's kids hate him, but we think it's because of DCD's ex wife poisoning the well of affection between them.)  DCD's ex wife may have felt that she could have found a better man, and her resentment could have been the root cause of their divorce.  Strangely enough, DCD's ex was the only person in his current and former family to show an inkling of caring for each other.

When DCD dies, and I expect it to happen this year, I will attend the funeral (if I'm not on a cruise) in female presentation. NDC has only seen me as Marian, though she knows I'm transgender.  DCD's family will not remember me, much less realize anything is amiss.  It'll be a sad day, but it'll be the least I can do to pay my respects.

Doctor, Car, Co-Op and DCD (the latter two being F****d Up messes.

 

I should start out by saying that I knew that this would be a busy day.  What I didn't know was how much this day would take out of me.

But first....

My doctor visit was scheduled for 10:45.  I knew that it would be a long visit, as the doc tends to run late with his late morning appointments.  Today was no exception.  Even though I arrived at 10:45, the doc didn't see me until 11:10-11:15 or so.  Again, the doc is changing my medication mix to get things where he wants them.  However, he didn't say anything about one of the drugs he wanted me to start on a while back - before we knew that it could be covered by my formulary.

After seeing the doctor, it was off to the deli for a breakfast sandwich, and then home to rest.  One problem - I thought my car service appointment was for 2 pm, and not for 1 pm.  So I didn't have much time to rest.  Luckily, I live 15 minutes away from the dealership's service department, and got there on time.  So, I was back home by 3 pm.

I couldn't take a nap.  So I ended up watching YouTube videos until the Co-Op board meeting started. Before everyone joined in, I found out the current state of our finances - and they weren't as good as I'd like to see them.  Later on, I found out how our former management company fouled things up.  In short, their arrogance and lack of adequate communication with the board and co-op shareholders is the root cause of our difficulties. All I can say about this is that I'm glad that we have a good accountant and a good lawyer we can count on if things go bad.

And finally, I got a text from DCD's ex-girlfriend (I'll call her N for now).  He really screwed up this time, and no one's going to help him get out of his mess.  DCD has been sleeping in his car for a while, and let his car insurance lapse.  N has been giving DCD work to pay some of his bills, and she wants to be done with him.  If N's boyfriend were to find out how much she still helps DCD, he'd leave her.  So, she keeps what she does for DCD a secret from her current boyfriend.  Recently, DCD received some money from his mom and gave N a token payment for all the money he owes her.  You'd think that with the rest of the money he had, he'd bring his car insurance up to date.  Wrong.  A few days ago, he had no money, and asked N for some money to get gas.  N gave him $20, and told him to take a gas can, walk a mile or two to the gas station, and return to the car with gas.  Under no circumstances should he call AAA or similar roadside aid for help.  DCD ignored her, and called for a tow.  Someone ran his plates, and found that the car wasn't insured.  DCD's car was towed to a pound, and he was left without transportation.  He now has 30 days to bail out the car and get it insured, or the car will be gone for good.  (And with that, there goes any chances I have of getting the $2,100 he still owes me for the car.)  To make things worse, he broke into N's place, and is now squatting in her garage. 

If it were me, I'd consider being honest with my current love, and telling the truth.,  If N's boyfriend were to leave, then he isn't worth her time.  She needs to kick DCD out of her place once and for all.  He is sick, and needs help.  He still uses N's place for his mail, so that he can keep Connecticut residency.  One problem - he shouldn't be listed as living there anymore.  What would you do if you were N?  What type of help should DCD's parents give him, even if it is to steer him to a shelter and public assistance.  (Remember, DCD has had two operations on his brain, and might qualify for public assistance, being physically/mentally unable to hold a full time job,)  It's a dilemma for which I have no solutions. And I can say that I didn't depend on him paying me off for the car....

Frustration - a short post about something other than transgender life

 

I recently attended a co-op board meeting.  Although I won't go into details about what we discussed, I will go into some of my observations in regard to this meeting....

- - - - - -

Knowing what was going to happen at the meeting, I knew to allocate 3 hours of my evening for the board.  This got in the way of my finally doing laundry, but this was my laziness' fault and not the board's fault.  Around 6 pm, I opened up the meeting, and the president gave us the latest status updates on matters of concern.

Around 6:30, we interviewed an applicant who wants to live here, and we reported the result of our vote to the site manager from the old company.  After that, the outgoing site manager gave his report, and we relayed our concerns to him.  But this isn't what frustrated me.  One board member was trying to slow down our decision making, something which would cost the co-op (and our shareholders) big bucks.  I was almost at my breaking point when I told her in no uncertain terms - stop getting in the way.  No one is going to come out of the blue and rescue us - we have to deal with our problems ourselves.  Both the president of the co-op and I are tired of this lady.  She has nothing to offer, and only stands in the way of making any real decisions.

When the meeting ended, I chatted with the board's president about my frustrations, noting that I will take care of a letter that has to be sent out before Xmas.  The problem is that our outgoing management firm may either slow walk the letter, or simply not send it out in time for our shareholders to deal with upcoming changes.  Hopefully, we will get things done on time....

The Co-Op meeting was the most I could deal with today.

 

It was raining on and off today, and I had to be home in the evening for a co-op board meeting. We had a lot to discuss today, and the (to be) former site manager didn't show up, as he had an excuse (as usual) that prevented him from attending our meeting.  

- - - - - -

If it had been better weather, I'd have liked to go out as Marian and do some shopping.  However, this was not a day to go outside and brave the elements - I wasn't in the mood to get showered and dressed, much less turn myself into Marian and return to Mario mode for the evening. So, I relaxed in bed most of the day, and decided to get ready for the co-op meeting at 6 pm.

6 pm came, and I started the zoom meeting.  Eventually, all of the board members arrived, and we got some more disturbing news about events that took place since our last monthly meeting.  Suffice it to say, that none of us were happy.  One board member keeps acting as if our president can do more than she's already doing, and this pisses off both the president and myself.  This person is as useless as tits on a bull. And we're both tired of her.

Soon enough, the meeting ended - and I am ending up driving 2 people to dinner tomorrow.  Too bad that I have to be in Mario mode for this dinner.  But, I am looking forward to Thursday when I can again present as Marian again.

We delivered bad news today

 

Now that it's public, I can talk about things a little more than I could in the past.  My co-op is going to have a significant maintenance hike, and none of us are happy about it.

- - - - - - -

As much as I wanted to go out as Marian today, it made much more sense to go out as Mario, as I had a special co-op board meeting open to shareholders.  We planned to prepare shareholders for next year's rate hike, and introduce the new management company to our shareholders.  Things changed a little, as the new company didn't attend the meeting - and I think the co-op's attorney was happy about that.  

The meeting started at 6 m, and our board's president informed us about what was going on, giving us the low down before the old site representative and our shareholders arrived. All too soon, people started arriving, and we couldn't speak openly any more.

Once everyone was in the room, the co-op president opened the meeting, telling the attending shareholders about the rate increase.  And then, the soon to be ex site manager took over, telling attendees the story about how we got into this mess. (I won't go into details here, but I'd say that what we were told is partly truth and partly fiction.)  After that, the floor was open to questions from the audience.

One shareholder stood out - he kept dropping the name of one politician as if that fellow could do things for us.  He can't.  Insurance companies are free to set commercial rates and only issue policies to firms that meet their underwriting criteria.  Others had more reasonable questions, and we responded with what we knew - we're waiting for our mortgage holder to approve this policy, so that the forced coverage policy we have can be dropped, saving us money.

I was glad that the meeting was over by 8 pm.  There is more that I have to talk about with the co-op president, but I won't go into that here.

Seeing RO for a Bacon Cheeseburger

 

 

I looked nothing like this today. It would have been nice to go out in a nice dress, but the weather was too cool to wear anything other than a trouser like garment.  But I had to go out - I had to drop RQS off at the train station, then I had to drive to Parsippany, NJ to have lunch with RO.

- - - - - -

RQS and I got up early, and we were out the door in time for her to make a 10:42 am train.  From there, I drove out to Parsippany where I was running 30 minutes early.  So, I decided to run into Home Sense and do shopping.  20 minutes later, a new broom and dustpan found their way into the back of my car, and then I was off to see RO.

RO and I were meeting at one of the last Fuddruckers in the Northeast.  I miss this chain, as they always had great hamburgers.  However, due to corporate takeovers and mismanagement, the chain has shrunk to a fraction of its former size. Luckily, there is one near the halfway point between RO's place and mine  She was in the parking lot when I arrived, and we walked in together for lunch.

Although this outlet has seen its better days, it still serves up a good burger - but slowly.  RO ordered her burger and got it quickly,  As for me, it took a long while to cook my burger - and I ordered mine within 60 seconds of RO.  Eventually, we sat down to eat, and we caught up on each other's lives.  Both of us were scarred from the political polarization going on, and I feel I might have talked too much about things.  She's retreating from things that annoy her in a different way that I am doing.  So, I hope that I didn't say too much to upset her.

Eventually, we had to part.  But we didn't set a date for a next get together, as holiday season is coming up.  RO drove back to Pennsylvania, while I drove home with an unproductive stop at Lane Bryant in Paramus.  While driving home, I started getting sleepy.  So I ended up pulling off the road before getting home and napped for 30 minutes before making the last few miles home.

- - - - - -

A little later, I opened up my co-op's board meeting, and we conducted some important business.  First, we interviewed an applicant to purchase shares in the co-op.  And then we met with our soon to be former site representative.  None of us were really happy about the things being discussed, but they had to be discussed without delay.  Were we happy about things?  No.  But we did get what we wanted to do done before ending the meeting.

We made a decision (a short post)

 

I can't go into details yet, but we have decided to replace one of my co-op's important vendors. In my opinion, they did a crappy job, and I'm glad that we started the process of switching vendors.

- - - - - -

For some reason, I woke up at 7 am, 3 hours earlier than planned.  So I was worried that I'd be sleepy by the time I met my friend for lunch.  Of course, I needn't have worried.  At 10 or so, I got showered, made up and dressed, to make it to lunch at 11:30.  One problem - the restaurant didn't open until noon.  My friend met me at the restaurant, and we ended up driving into town to go to another restaurant that we knew was open.

We sat down for lunch at the local Italian joint, where I ordered a sandwich and she ordered a slice.  And then we caught up on each others' lives. I mentioned both my Philadelphia trip and my Bermuda cruise, and she talked about her son away at college.  I was a more relaxed conversation than usual in spite of the noise that made it hard to hear each other.

All too soon, lunch had to end.  We set a date for next month, and she was off to pick her younger son off at school.  So, I dropped off my early voting ballot off at the post office, then went home to rest.

- - - - - -

The co-op board meeting started at 7, and lasted 90 minutes.  We reviewed recent developments and then cast our votes.  We decided to replace the vendor.  Not much took place after that, save to review what would be covered at our upcoming meetings and when they would be scheduled.   I will say more about things as they become public knowledge.  Until then, watch this space....

It's not something I want to do, but someone's got to do it.

 

Other than going out for my flu shot and for some food shopping, the high point of my day would be the co-op board meeting we held this evening.  This would be a longer than usual board meeting, as our goal would be to interview two prospective vendors before the main meeting started.

- - - - - -

Around noon, I went to the local CVS for my shots, then headed to Trader Joe's to do some food shopping.  Unlike my usual trips to TJ's, I broke the $70 barrier.  Mind you, I did this by buying some "expensive" olive oil, some packaged meals, and other items that quickly deplete the wallet - something very hard to do here.  Then I was homeward bound, as I had to get some food into the freezer before it started to thaw.

Sadly, there would be no way for me to go out presenting as Marian, as I had to be out as Mario until the board meeting ended.  So I killed some time, then started up the zoom meeting.  Although I got Zoom to work, I found that something was corrupted on my disk during two unplanned shutdowns that resulted in the equivalent of the "blue screen of death".  Although I don't think I have a virus, I'll have to check out things a bit more when I have the time.  But I digress....

The first vendor came online, and we had a polite conversation for the next 45 minutes.  Will we use this vendor again?  Maybe.  We've worked with them before, but one person there gives me a bad feeling about this vendor, given that his inattention to his job caused us a little grief in the past.  The second vendor fared a bit better, but we're not sold on them yet - we'd be taking a sideways step with technology, and our only gain would be to get rid of our current vendor.  Yet, we spent the better part of an hour and a half talking with this vendor.  So who knows what our answer will be?

Next came the session with our current managing agent.  We are not happy with the answers this fellow gives us, as I feel he is helping his manager to cover something up.  (I wish I had left the zoom recorder on like I usually do.  But I am only human, and was tired going into the meeting.)  Hopefully, he'll be able to supply us with the information we need by the time our next meeting comes around. 

It was an exhausting day, even though I didn't spend much time doing anything, save for the board meeting.  And that was more than enough for me....

We've just booked another cruise! (a short post)

 

RQS and I have booked another cruise!  Yes, we must be gluttons for punishment, as we will be sailing into the Bermuda Triangle twice in a little over a month. 😀

- - - - - -

Being serious, the idea of taking this cruise came about because RQS saw some cheap prices, and wanted to jump on one.  One problem - she might be biting off more than she can chew, and I'll end up helping her out more than I might have planned.  (We already have another Autumn cruise booked and an Alaskan cruise booked for next year.)  I guess that I'll have to be the voice of reason for our choices of vacations in the future.

I like the idea of taking this cruise, as it will allow me to compare apples to apples when evaluating two Bermuda cruises. (I have another blog, SlowTravel101, in which I post entries about cruising and other "slow" methods of getting from place to place while vacationing.)  The comparison between the two cruises should be published sometime in the next two or three months.  If all goes right, I will likely go on the second of these cruises as Marian - the way I prefer to travel.

- - - - - -

On other matters, I just got off of a co-op board meeting, and none of us are happy.  Our managing agent's site representative didn't show up again, and we were more than just disappointed by this. We haven't been happy with the quality of services being provided lately, and we needed to discuss this now.  Additionally, there are other issues that may cause us grief, and it looks like we'll soon be going back to twice monthly meetings until we get some of our issues resolved.

Hopefully, my duties to the co-op board won't interfere with the cruises RQS and I will be taking.

Getting little things out of the way

 

OK, this is not a good shot of it.  But this piece of equipment cost me the better part of 2 hours (maybe more) in trying to get my internet running with a faster interface unit.  If I had known what I was about to get into, I might have said: "To Hell With It!" and waited until I got back from my trip.

But first....

I spent much of the day as Mario, simply because the co-op's board meeting was to be held thins evening, and I was in charge of the Zoom link.  It didn't make much sense for me to go out as Marian, especially when I wasn't going to have enough time to enjoy myself before the meeting.

Around 4 pm, I started to work on switching over from the old cable interface box to a new one, and this is where the trouble began.  Given that the new unit was not registered to my account, I would have to call the cable company for technical support.  Unfortunately their IVR ("Intelligent" Voice Response) got me hung up in the wrong part of a diagnostic loop and wanted to have a service technician come to my house to fix the problem.  Given that I knew that the problem could be fixed remotely, I stumbled into the opportunity to reach out to a human for help - and was on the phone for over an hour.  But this wasn't the end to my troubles.  Although I got my main computer up and running with a wireless connection (I prefer wired connections to some hardware) I couldn't get anything else running with a wired connection, as the old router no longer worked.  This meant that I was stuck having to use a new wireless network name, and this triggered more work for me.

The next task I started was to get my Roku devices up and running.  This was a minor headache, as all I had to do was find the network and enter the password. Next, I had to configure both my Chromebook and my laptop to use the new network.  And this was a little bit more of a pain than I expected. But then, the fun began.  I wanted to set up the wireless connection to my all-in-one printer/scanner/copier. Given that the machine is a little bit old, I had to use an awkward setup routine to enter in both the network name and its password.  This also meant that I had to get up on a stool to use the controls on the machine to enter this data.  Aargh!  One slip, and I'd have broken my neck.

For the most part, connecting to the new network is done.  Yes, I have to update settings on both my iPad and my cellphones to use the new network.  But this is a lower priority than just getting the important stuff up and running.

- - - - - -

I did a little packing today for my upcoming vacation.  There's still a lot that has to be done.  But I'll do the bulk of this tomorrow, as this will be the last, best chance to get this done before I go down to RQS's place....

It's amazing how apathetic some people can be.

 

As readers of this blog know, I am on my co-op's board.  Tonight we held our third yearly meeting, where we failed to reach a quorum.  Given that our apartments are sizable investments, it surprises me that so few people show up for our yearly meeting.  Tonight, we had only 33% of the shareholders present that we would need to have an official meeting.

Unlike most co-op board meetings, I can talk about what we discussed tonight, as it occurred in a public forum.  Before people showed up, I made reference to my transgender nature because one person didn't respect our co-op's president and deferred to me because I often present as a white male.  (Little does he know!)  I asked this woman whether she thinks it is because she is black or if she is female.  And she thinks that it's a little bit of both.  That's when I showed her a couple of pictures of RQS, noting that RQS is what used to be called as "passable".  (Later on, RQS reminded me that when summer comes, one can more easily see the color in her skin.)

There was a point where our president passed a question to me to answer, and I mentioned a lot of things to explain why we can't give more notice for potential maintenance increases.  Hopefully, I was able to satisfy the shareholder's need for an answer.

I was glad when the meeting ended, as I was tired and wanted to go home to rest.  And after my nightly call to RQS, rest I did....

 

The new car is finally mine!

 

Today, I felt like the day had more than 24 hours.  Not only did the night before allowed me just 4-5 hours of sleep.  But I felt like I needed to go back to bed for most of the day.

- - - - - -

The day started by me waking up early, and trying to go back to sleep without luck.  Given that I had a doctor's appointment at 10 am, I knew that it was going to be a long day for me.  So, I got showered and dressed as Mario, and off to town to see the doctor.  When I arrived, I found the place unusually empty, as if the doctor had come to the office for only a handful of patients.  

Lately, the doctor has had quite a few student interns from various medical programs assist him in his office.  Today, he had a new person, a young woman training to become a nurse practitioner.  And she introduced a different routine for the day, asking me a lot of questions that she could answer from looking at the doctor's records.  (She has to learn how to ask questions, as well as what questions to ask.  So I am not complaining.)  Then, the doctor came in, and asked his questions - and looked to put me on a new drug.  AARGH!  At least, I have renewed the supply of my old drugs, so the new prescription will have to wait.

Once done with the doctor, I returned home and prepared to remove the license plates from the old car, so that they could be placed on the new car.  Only one problem - I couldn't unscrew the fasteners holding the plates to the car, and I was in luck - my co-op's superintendent had just pulled into a vacant spot, and he was able to remove the plates with a little bit of effort.

- - - - - -

My next stop for the day was the car dealership.  Vicki came by around 1:30 pm, and off we went to complete the deal on the new car.  When I arrived, the salesman made sure to take a lot of pictures of me in front of my new car, and then started the process of showing me around the dealership before depositing me with the sales manager who sold me a couple of add-ons.  $1750 later, I was out the door, and the salesman showed me around the car, so that I could get the car home safely.  By then, Vicki was leaving, so I had the salesman to himself.  (Vicki noted that the fellow who sold her the car she was driving didn't take the time to make sure she knew the features on her car.  It's no wonder that he's now working at a used car dealership....)

When done with the salesman, I drove home to rest for a while.  And then, I got into a conversation with one of my neighbors.  It could lasted quite a bit longer, save for the fact that I looked at my watch and saw that I had to open the co-op's zoom meeting in 20 minutes.  So I rushed inside, and took care of co-op business for the next 2 hours.

- - - - - -

After the meeting ended, I was feeling exhausted.  But I figured that I'd make a run to BJ's as an excuse to see how well the car's automatic lights worked.  (There are a few things I have to be aware of with this setting, but I'll get used to it in time.)  What really gets to me is that I have to learn a whole new way to deal with the car's infotainment system and with its driver safety systems.  And this will also take some time.  (I just have to remember to turn the collision avoidance system off before going into a car wash, as the brakes will mistakenly hold the car in place to protect the car and what's in front of it....)

I think it's going to take a while to learn the ins and outs about the car, and I'd better be careful while doing so.

The board meeting got off to a buggy start

 

Today was dedicated to work for the Co-Op.  Nothing was too strenuous.  But it meant that I had to go out in the world as Mario instead of Marian.

- - - - - -

One of the things I am responsible for doing is to take care of some financial transactions as directed by our board's president.  Today, I had to run down to the bank and have a check cut.  Now that I am used to doing this, I still find that I'd rather not be one of the two people who can sign paperwork for the co-op.  I was in and out of the bank in 5 minutes, and drove into town to get a bite to eat.

Once I finished with the bank, I dropped the check off to its recipient and proceeded to take care of a couple of tasks before returning home for the board meeting.  And that's where the glitch occurred.  Although I had sent a zoom link update, one board member didn't get it.  So I had to resend the link while the meeting was going on. Then the meeting proceeded normally.

When we had our old site manager, he wasted a lot of time fighting us all the way.  A meeting that we once completed in 2-2½ hours started stretching to 3½ hours, the extra time being wasted by the old site manager, as he fought us at every chance.  Now that we have this youngster, we completed our business in 2 hours.  What a relief!

I could go on and on about things.  But even I found most of the day to be a bore....

Bored with the board

 

Today's post will be a short one with nothing to say that involves being transgender, as I am too tired to say much of consequence.

- - - - - -

One of the things I had on tap for the day was a co-op board meeting.  Normally, I find them a little boring.  But today, being sleep deprived, I wasn't in the mood to be active.  Luckily, others made up for my lack of energy - and we got a budget passed.

As usual, I can't provide any juicy details about my co-op's business.  But I can say that I was tasked with writing a letter that could stir things up a little with our co-op's managing agent.  And I did it in one take.  If one reads between the lines, I've indicted one person for not caring enough to his best for us.  If not, the email addresses a problem the co-op has had with the managing agent from the beginning of our relationship.  

Either way, we win.  I did my job.  And that's the important thing....

I couldn't sleep, and I had a long day ahead of me

 

The above caricature seems fitting for today, as I had to go in for my colonoscopy today and then be awake enough to deal with a co-op board meeting.  Of course, I didn't get much sleep last night, so staying awake until I'm back home would be the most important thing on my mind.

- - - - - -

Around 6:00, I drank the last of the ghastly fluid, and I spent the next 2 hours treating myself like royalty - if you get what I mean.  And then I had the last liquid of the morning, as I wasn't allowed to have any fluids within 2 hours of my procedure.  Shortly afterward, I got myself ready to go to the hospital, and Vicki was waiting for me as scheduled.  She noted that it was a little bit of a surprise to see me as Mario today.  But then, she knows me in both modes, and part of her didn't realize that I'd have to present as Mario today.

Normally, I'd budget about 30 minutes to reach the hospital.  That's about how long it took, in spite of a few slow moving trucks that got in the way.  But we were there early, and that worked to our advantage, as I still had more paperwork to take care of when we got to the hospital.  And then it was upstairs to the floor where my procedure was to be performed.

Of course, my doctor was running late with other patients, and our expected procedure time was being delayed 30 minutes. Getting into my hospital gown, I realized that I'd be handing Vicki two of my most valuable things: my cellphone and wallet.  So I made sure to hand her these things before I packed my clothes into a small bag that would follow me into the procedure room and then to the recovery room.  At this point, I was "in for a penny, and in for a pound."  Any ambivalence I might have had became meaningless, as I was committed for the next 2-3 hours.

By the time the doctor was able to get around to me, he was an hour behind schedule.  Vicki noted that the doc looked like a famous singer - and I agreed with her.  Soon, I was whisked away to the procedure room, and was unconscious a few minutes later.  When I regained consciousness, I wasn't groggy, but I knew I was off.  Having Vicki with me gave me the confidence that nothing would be missed when the doc came to tell me what he found - nothing to worry about, but tissues were being sent to the lab just to be safe. Soon, I was dressed and ready to go.  Vicki and I went to the local diner where we both ate more than we should have.  The food was good, and well worth the extra calories.  And then I was dropped off at my apartment, where I'd spend the rest of the day.

- - - - - -

Once home, I took a nap, and woke up just in time to start the co-op zoom meeting.  It was a struggle to stay awake, as I was still recovering from both a lack of sleep and being anesthetized,  But I made it through the meeting, and was ready to go back to sleep once I finished my dinner....

Packing for another cruise - again.

 

Yes, I will soon be on another cruise, and I'll be taking pictures - of the ship.  It's not that I don't want to get off the ship.  Instead, it's because there's nothing new for me to see at the ports when I leave the ship.

- - - - - -

Today, I took care of some business for the co-op, and then attended our monthly business meeting.  Ever since we got our new site representative, things have been running well.  Instead of our meetings running 4-5 hours with the old site manager, they now run 90 minutes or so and are almost a pleasure to attend.  When someone commented about a mistake this new fellow made, I noted that this would be the price we pay to train this person to do the job in the way we want the job done.

Once the co-op board meeting was done, I proceeded to do a couple of loads of laundry before the cruise.  I figure that I'll need clean sheets for when I get back, as well as clean clothes I can take with me on the cruise.  And yet, I still have to pack the fancy dress I want to wear, along with the shoes I'll be wearing with it on gala nights.  It'll be nice to gussy myself up again, as its been a while since I've felt pretty - being stuck in Mario mode for too long can be hard to bear at times.

- - - - - -

Do I think I'll be wearing everything I bring on the cruise?  No.  But I have the room in the suitcase, so why not bring a few things so that I have a few options when I'm on the ship.  While cruising, I hope that the have the "Inch of Gold" chains on sale, as I need to pick up some 24" gold and silver chains to use with some of the pendants I have bought recently.

Even if this cruise is not up to my standards, I think I'll have a good time.  Keep your fingers crossed for me....

Bored, not Board

 

For the most part, I wasn't in the mood to do much of anything today.  Although I got up at a reasonable time, it took a while before I got moving.  And when I did, I realized that I had to start packing for my cruise.  So, it was off to unload the laundry basket that has been sitting in my living room, and putting both underwear and socks into compression bags, then into my suitcase.  Yes, I could have done more packing, I figured that it would be best for me to simply develop a checklist, so that I can be sure to include what I'll need for my 7-day cruise.

4 pm came around, and I decided to get Chinese takeout (a big mistake) before the evening's co-op board meeting. I returned home, finished my meal, and then turned on the computer for a 6 pm Zoom meeting.  And this is where today's tedium came in.  We have a new member on the board who chooses to regurgitate what is being said, wasting time in the meeting.  (Sometimes, it's better to listen and not expect to pick up on everything going on in a business meeting.)  It felt that he was playing up to a teacher.  And then, he was trying to rescue a relationship without knowing why things were in trouble in the first place.  (As I said, sometimes it's best to just listen.)  I know that he was triggering some feelings, and I think it's that he wants to preserve a business relationship that we already feel may need to be broken. But enough of that....

While the meeting was going on, I was keeping my mind active by doing other things on my cellphone.  I've always had problems with long business meetings, as they are where minutes are taken and hours are lost.  As a result, I try to keep my mind active doing other things, and half-listen to what is going on when others are speaking. And today was no exception - even though I was the person taking minutes.  At least, I won't have to do this again until next month.

Visiting a friend sitting Shiva, then spending more money.

 

This morning, I was supposed to have brunch with SJM.  However, we postponed it, as the place we planned to go to was closed - as in no longer in business. (Or, so my friend said.)  And this was just as well for me, as I didn't have the energy to get showered, dressed, and made up as Marian until later in the day....

- - - - - -

When I finally got up and moving, it was well into the afternoon.  This was the last night my friend would be sitting Shiva, so I knew that I had to be there tonight.  So around 5 pm, I shaved, showered, and dressed - and was out the door by 6 pm.  Since I knew I was going to buy a new wallet and not use the one I bought through Amazon, I packed my license, money, and a couple of credit cards into my handbag and went to my friend's place.  It was perfect timing, as I got to spend some one on one time with my friend before people started coming over for the zoom service.  This gave me a good opportunity to leave, as I still had a couple more places to go to yet.

My next stop was Micro Center in Yonkers, where I bought a 30W USB-C charger, so that I could fast charge my phone when needed.  After that, I went to Target to pick up a woman's wallet - and found one that was close to fitting my needs.  So I bought it. 

Next, I went home to take care of things.  I transferred the replacement credit cards into the new wallet, but will not use them until I record them in my data base of card information.  And then, I cloned my BJ's card, so that I can scan it when shopping for less than 10 items.  (Larger purchases will require me to present as Mario and use the legitimate card I have.)  Hopefully, I'll be able to get a BJ's card which doesn't have a picture on it (I saw one when I was last there), and I'll put that in my female wallet for use.

- - - - - -

One thing of note.  I wasn't able to stay asleep last night.  So I decided to catch up on co-op work and write up two sets of meeting minutes.  It's enough to bore someone to sleep, and it helped to put me into the right frame to go back to sleep....

I went to NYC today ...and left 15 minutes after I arrived.

 

A while back, I reported here that I left my backpack in the washroom at Croton-Harmon station and that someone picked it up.  Usually, it takes 3-5 business days for a lost item to make its way from a MNRR railroad station to their Lost and Found office at Grand Central.  This week, it will take longer, due to the mudslide over the Hudson Line's tracks that too place over the weekend. 

- - - - - -

My day started with a visit to the doctor (I referred to this in the past 2 days' posts), followed by a call to a credit card company, ending up with a call to make an appointment to see a doctor about new GI-Tract issues I'm having.  This was not a pleasant start to the day.  But, with a co-op board meeting coming up in the evening, I made a decision to try to make it into Grand Central and back within a 4 hour window, so that I could start the board meeting at 6:00 pm.

Given that I didn't want to trust travel on the Hudson line, I chose to drive to a convenient subway station where I knew I could park for free.  Luckily, I found a spot in front of the station entrance, and swiped my Metrocard to get in the fare control area - and not much too soon, as the train came about a minute later.  Around 3:30, I got off the subway and made it to the lost and found office.  Unfortunately, my backpack did not make it to Lost & Found yet.  They haven't been bringing "found" items from the Hudson line to Grand Central for a while.  Things are backed up, and the mudslide just made things worse.  The man at the front desk updated my claim form to mention the computer, and said that I may have a good chance for backpack/computer recovery.  (Keep your fingers crossed....)

Once done with Lost and Found, I made it back on the subway, and was back at my car by 4:30.  However, it took me almost 90 minutes to make it from the Bronx to Croton due to rush hour traffic.  At least, I was able to start the co-op board meeting "on time", and conclude it in less than 90 minutes later.  What a relief to NOT have the old site representative in our meetings!  Our average meeting time has been cut in half.  And we might be getting better service from the firm as well.

Out with the old sofa...

This is obviously not a picture of my apartment.  It looks too clean and barren.  But it represents how I feel, now that the sofa that I've owned for 25 years is out of the apartment.

But first....

Last night was another (almost) sleepless night, where I couldn't fall asleep to save my life.  Something was preventing me from relaxing enough to drift off to sleep.  And if I had a container of zzzQuil, I would have mega-dosed on it just to fall out.  So I knew that I was going back to bed once the junk haulers left and try to nap a little bit.

I don't know if any of my readers have had the need to use Junk King's removal service.  This is a franchised operation similar to 1-800-GOT-JUNK, where one identifies the junk to be removed, and shortly thereafter, it's gone.  The regional franchisee for the operation runs a side business in selling second hand goods and estate sales - Revivals.  It's a nice synergy (I hate that word, as it is overused to justify many corporate mergers) of two complementary businesses.

This morning, 3 men came to remove my sofa - at exactly 10 am (as scheduled).  I knew that getting the sofa out of the apartment would take a lot of effort, but I wasn't letting the cat out of the bag.  By the time they figured out how to get the sofa out, they had to remove the sofa's stump legs with a pry-bar and sledge hammer, then removing the entryway door to get the sofa out.  (It wasn't this hard to get the sofa into my place 25 years ago, as I only remember having to remove the door.  But I digress.)  Once they got the sofa out the door, they were gone in 5 minutes.  I paid the bill, thanked the 3 men, and then went back to my bed for a nap.

- - - - - -

Waking up at 2 pm, I knew that this would not be a day spent in Marian mode.  I had a co-op board meeting scheduled for 6 pm, and needed to present as Mario for that.  So, I reluctantly got dressed as Mario and took care of some chores before the board meeting.

The board meeting went quickly, and I was able to go out afterward to pick up some outlet extenders at Lowe's  One problem, these aren't the type one permantly attaches to the wall outlet.  So I will have to get different ones tomorrow.