Getting my ears pierced (again) & Dinner with a friend.

 

This is another one of the iPhone pictures that I had problems receiving and moving to my PC.  Seems like Apple found a new way to name image files which make people using non-Apple equipment have problems extracting and saving more than one image file in a single message.

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When I got up and ready to drop RQS off at the train station, I decided to wear the same dress she was wearing (albeit in a larger size).  This made her smile a bit.  And then it was off to the piercing studio to get my ears repierced.  I arrived at the studio around 12:30 pm, and was out the door by 1:30 pm, with studs in each earlobe, and $170 less in my wallet.  So what did I do next?  It was to go home to strip and relax.  Several hours later, I decided to get dressed in something new - the jumpsuit I purchased from Universal Standard.

Now, I won't wear this jumpsuit too often, as it  gets in the way when I need to take a bio break.  I have to plan to be able to remove this jumpsuit gracefully when I go to the ladies' room, and put it back on (along with a top I plan to wear with it) before reappearing in public.  Today, I wanted to look pretty and wear something different in my wardrobe.  So I wore this with a neutral linen shirt over it.

I arrived at the restaurant a few minutes before my friend, and we proceeded to have a nice dinner at the Himalayan restaurant in Yorktown Heights.  It was a yummy meal.  And the conversation was even better, as the two of us were able to talk about things AND assume the other could process things at the same level.  (Did I say that my friend has a doctorate and speaks several languages, including German which has mostly been forgotten?)  I don't mean to sound snobbish.  But when one is a lesser grade polymath, it's nice to be able to talk with another polymath - and this person is a polymath.

All too soon, the restaurant had to close.  My friend asked me to advise her on Alaska shore excursions she could take that would allow her to do some serious wildlife viewing while accommodating her handicap.  Hopefully, I can find some excursions for her, so that she might be able to plan a cruise soon.

A belated birthday dinner

 

This is NOT what I wore out to my belated birthday dinner with RQS.  I was thinking of wearing this outfit until I realized that it's a pain to go for a bio-break when wearing a jumpsuit.  But I figured that I would show you how I looked today when I met with a friend for dinner.  The trouble with that plan is that her phone is an Apple phone, and they do their damnedest to make their products incompatible with Android and Windows equipment, so that Apple can lock people into their ecosystem.  And I had to figure out how to get 3 pictures sent to me in text messages from an Apple phone copied onto my PC, then accessible by Google's web software.

The above is the dress I did wear to my belated birthday dinner.  It is comfortable, and I felt pretty when we arrived at the Hudson House Inn for dinner.  This restaurant is only a few short feet from the river, and is a wonderful place to have a nice romantic meal.  But I digress.

RQS and I have been at this place a couple of times.  First, it was for a Hudson Valley Restaurant Week dinner.  Next, it was for a Thanksgiving dinner a year and a half ago.  I am no stranger to this place, and would cheerfully eat here more often if my finances allowed for it.  Both of us ordered the same main course, crab stuffed salmon - and loved it.  It's hard to believe that one can get filled up with a smaller quantity of high quality food than a larger portion of lower quality food.  (Too bad that I grew up on junk food, and have a lower class palate when eating on my own.)  

Years ago, when I was dating CSN, we had considered this place for a wedding banquet.  (I'm glad that I terminated that relationship, as it would have ended in a costly and messy divorce.)  The Hudson House Inn may have seen its better days.  But I can't complain about what it is now, as it is known for being an excellent restaurant with nice accommodations for people who might want to spend a romantic weekend in Cold Spring.

You might wonder why I broke up with CSN almost 40 years ago.  The first thing was that she was one of those yuppies who wanted to get to the top, and would never have understood who I really was inside.  (And this was way before I realized that I was transgender!)  Next, CSN wasn't a humble person as I remember her, and she was extremely status conscious.  (I, on the other hand, did not care about outward displays of status.  The last thing I wanted to be was a pretentious asshole - even if I didn't recognize it yet.)  In the end, it was a good learning experience for me, as I learned a little bit more about who I was and what I valued in life.  I still was far from the person I am now.  But I had started to find out....

Fast forward about 40 years, and I am still living in the same apartment I bought before I met my late wife.  Her death taught me to appreciate people in the here and now, as they may not be around in the future when I "have time" for them.  So, I try to show RQS how much I care for her whenever possible.  Though it might have been a birthday dinner for me, it was a way of realizing that someone like me has undergone similar experiences and is trying to show how important I am to her.