A prestidigitator who, putting metal into your mouth, pulls coins out of your pocket.

 

Ambrose Bierce defined the word "Dentist" as follows:

"Dentist: A prestidigitator who, putting metal into your mouth, pulls coins out of your pocket."

Now days, the dentist pulls more than coins out of one's wallet.  Yet, I see mine, on average, at least 3 times each year. And I often wince when I pay the bill, even though I know it pays to keep my teeth in better shape than the rest of me.

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Around noon, I started getting ready to go out.  Shaving, showering, and doing my makeup was the first order of the day, and I was done by 12:30.  And then it was time to get dressed, and kill a few minutes before going down the hill to the dentist's office. 

I usually go to the dentist presenting as Marian, and today was no exception.  The dental hygienist was running late, and it took longer than expected for me to get my teeth cleaned.  As the kid used to say in toothpaste commercials: "Look Ma, no cavities!"  And then it was time for lunch at the local pizzeria.

Once I was finished with lunch, I drove to Costco to do a little shopping.  One rule I have is: If I don't know whether I will be stopping somewhere on the way home, I don't buy anything perishable at Costco. And I followed this rule, buying an electronic scrubber and some other small items.  

As you can guess, the visit to the dentist was the most notable part of the day.  Hopefully, you do just as well as I did on your next dental visit....

RQS Had to go home today (a short post)

 

RQS and I have a nice routine.  One of us will go to the other's homes on weekends and return when the weekend ends.  We've found it to be a good routine for us.  We have our "We Time" and each of us has our "Me Time."  We enjoy being with each other, and miss each other when we're apart.

Today, RQS had a doctor's appointment at 1 pm, so I got dressed in a comfortable dress appropriate for the weather (it was expected to be hot and humid) and drove her to the station.  (These are the times I'm glad to be able to wear dresses instead of the trousers expected for me to wear in boy mode. When the weather is hot, humid, and sticky, the last thing I want is something clinging to my legs.)  By the time the train left for NYC, the heavens opened up in Croton, and took 20 minutes for the rain to ease off.  Strangely enough, she didn't hit any rain, and it was very uncomfortable for her to get to her doctor's office.  

I went home for a while to rest (I didn't get enough sleep last night), then got dressed again to go to Costco and Stew Leonard's in Yonkers.  Roughly $120 later, I was done with both stores, with dinner enough to last the week. Did I get everything I wanted?  No.  But I got everything I needed.

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On other matters.... 

Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to fix the co-op web site yet, and I think I'll have to buy a new domain for what I have built.  I'll deal with that in the afternoon, so I can have something to report before the co-op board meeting begins. 

The "repair" shop where I dropped off the printer last week contacted me in response to my email.  They asked whether I wanted Epson to ship my printer directly to me instead of me picking it up on Long Island - and I said YES!  Hopefully, it will be here before the end of the week. 

Financial stuff by day, with an open afternoon and evening.

 

The above sign was posted through London (from what I recall from history books) throughout "The Blitz".  It is something that we should keep in mind today, as the implied message is: "You have no control of when your number is up. So focus on the here and now, instead of worrying about the future."  In an age where our media wants us to live in fear, so they can have more eyeballs and ears, it's hard to keep our focus on the present.  But that's what I had to do with issues facing the co-op, and with issues affecting me as a transgender person.

Today started out with a meeting with a representative from our lender, as we look to deal with issues resulting from problems which occurred last year.  We were prepared for the worst, but the meeting went better than expected.  There is a good way to deal with our issue, and I expect that we'll finally see some movement on things soon.

Next up was a phone call to the lab testing company.  Two weeks ago, my doctor ordered some blood tests, and I received a bill for them.  After making the call, I found out that the doctor's office keeps supplying incorrect information to the lab, and that they keep billing the wrong insurance carrier.  The billing problem has been fixed with the lab test company.  But now, I have to hector the doctor's office to get things straight when they send things off to the lab test company, as the doctor's office keeps overwriting information I have corrected each time they order a lab test.

After taking care of morning activities, put on a dress (with leggings) and went on a Costco and Stew Leonard's shopping run.  It was a good way to waste some time.  But it was not a good way to stay frugal.  At least, I got a year's supply of AA and AAA batteries out of the trip....

 

A social day for Marian

 

This was a day where I knew I'd be spending the day as Marian.  So I made sure that I'd be wearing a comfortable dress when I went out for lunch (but not the dress above).  But I had one thing I wanted to do, but didn't for reasons I'll mention later.

My first appointment in my calendar was meeting with CCS, my friend from the census, for lunch. Since she exercises with a personal trainer on Wednesdays, we decided to have lunch after her session.  This meant that I'd be having a late lunch. The day's plan was to have me start moving around 11, and leave the house by 1:15 pm for lunch.  While I was getting dressed, I got a call from Vicki suggesting that we meet for lunch today.  So what did I do?  I scheduled dinner with Vicki for tomorrow, and had lunch with CCS today. 

I arrived at the Ossining pizzeria around 1:30, and found CCS already sitting in a booth.  Both of us ordered hearty meals with dessert, and I was stuffed by the end of our meal.  We caught each other up on the things happening in our lives, including RQS's visit to the ER, and CCS's family reunion during Passover in Atlantic City.  By 3:30, we were finishing lunch, and scheduled next month's get together before parting our ways.

Next, I was too tired to take care of one errand I had planned for the day - going to Costco and getting a membership card with Marian's image on it.  (I have one with Mario's face on it.)  So I went home, and went into a digesting sleep for a couple of hours.  

After I regained full consciousness, I prepared for a Zoom meeting with RQS and our Texas friends.  It was a good meeting, and everyone had something to say. At 9:45, I ended the meeting, and finally had a chance to rid my face of the makeup I was wearing for almost 10 hours....