Coming up for air

 

One of the things I thought of doing today was to go into NYC for another pop-up store.  The Unclaimed Baggage store (from Alabama) was doing a pop-up in Manhattan today.  It would be interesting to see a subset of their collection of goods.  However, I didn't want to spend any energy getting up and out of the house early, so that I could return to Croton on the same train with RQS.  Instead, I preferred to stay in bed until 11, and do chores such as folding last night's laundry before picking RQS up at the station.

If I went to NYC today, I'd likely spend roughly $30 for the round trip to the store alone.  And if I bought anything, I'd likely be down another $50 for things I don't absolutely need.  Why bother?  There are enough things that are on my shopping list, that I don't need to waste money which can be productively spent elsewhere?

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My brother finally gave me the tax information I need to go to my tax preparer.  Now to get that appointment scheduled.  I will try to get that done on a day I'm supposed to present as Mario (such as for the co-op board's annual dinner), so I don't have to change clothes (and gender presentation) during the day.

At least one thing is true - Other than minor corrections (and other tweaks), I am done with the cruise cost spreadsheet for a while.  I can finally come up for air! 

 

I think I can put a spreadsheet to rest for now

 

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been working on a spreadsheet (with formulas) which will allow one to compute the approximate real per-person cost of a cruise.  My problem with creating the spreadsheet is that I've never had to build something this complex before in Excel.  My thought processes towards computing values are akin to programmers who use procedural programming languages, where one could use "IF Statements"  (IF test, true condition statements, false condition statements) to do the work, where in spreadsheets, it is often easier to put key tests into separate cells.  So, when I find commonality between cruise line calculations, I reorganize the spreadsheet to simplify processing and make it easier to manage.

This work has been a tedious process, and is still subject to revision.  It has kept me busy to the extent where I've decided not to go outside when the weather looked nice, and instead focused on the work that needed to be done to complete basic work to fix known bugs, so that it can be used by others.

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Why do something like this?

In retirement, people still need challenges to keep their brains alert.  Current day politics strain my sense of well being, as I react poorly to falsehoods in the news.  The Orange Snowflake and his cronies do not care about objective truth.  They change the lies they tell and do not back down from their lies.  So, listening to the news becomes a soul suck for me, as well as something that can make me get angry.  As a result, I have to find ways to distract me from paying too much attention to the lunacy going on in the world, and focus on something which depends on objective truths and falsehoods.

My next step with my cruise blog still depends on objective truths - going back to the online classes on video production, and starting to record VLog entries to post on YouTube.  I do not intend to post anything with Marian's image for now.  It will be hard enough for me to post things as Mario, as I do not yet have a screen presence or screen personality.  But that will come with practice and experience.

In the end, I will maintain my sanity by doing things which allow me to maintain a healthy balance in life.  The outside world is going nuts, and I need to maintain a healthy mental balance to maneuver in today's insanity.  One has to see truth, and stay off the radar of the lunatics in charge of the asylum, while making plans to get as far away as possible before everything burns down around us. 

I stayed at home and stayed warm

 

This was a day to stay inside.  Outside, a strong chill was in the air, and I wanted no part of it.  So, I stayed inside, comfy in my jammies, and worked on updating my cruising related blog to reflect current conditions.

Sooner or later, I have to catch up on chores, laundry being one of them.  That will likely happen tonight, as I will be busy tomorrow and Friday.  Although the sun is out as I write this entry, I will likely get showered and dressed, then go out as Mario due to tomorrow's doctor appointment in the morning.

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As I write this, it is the end of January 2026.  Recent developments make me feel that it's time to start activating one's exit plan. The Orange Snowflake's Gestapo (ICE) has attempted to invade a foreign consulate today.  Foreign governments no longer believe that America will follow the rules based order that it established after WW2.  The regime now covers up murder by its Gestapo, and we have no respect (as a nation) from anyone outside our borders.  The rule of law is being replaced by the rule of a despot.  And this is our warning sign.

If my foreign citizenship (foreign birth registry) paperwork was fully processed, I'd have my foreign passport and be ready to move everything liquid (money) outside the US at a moment's notice.  I want to be on one of the last planes out, in a comfortable seat, before everything collapses here.

Keep your fingers crossed, I'm hoping to have tickets for one of the last planes.

Happy Birthday! (A short post)

 

It seems as if a lot of people "Got it on" in February, given how many birthdays there are this month.  First, we celebrated the birthday of a Meetup sponsor, followed by TCL's birthday a week later, and FCP's birthday a week after that.  In a way, it's a good thing we get the chance to take another trip around the sun. But I'll bet there are some people who'd still say: "Been there, done that."

So, I won't dwell on birthdays.  Instead of that, I'll describe the meetup I went to tonight.... 

The focus of tonight's meetup dinner was to celebrate the birthday of the meetup group's organizer, albeit a little late.  Unusual for me, I started getting ready to go out around 5 pm, and had myself made up and in a dress before 6 pm, and made it to the restaurant by 7, parking right in front of the restaurant.  I was the first person there, and the rest of our group of 20 trickled in over the next 30 minutes.

Service was very slow, and it was getting close to 8:30 by the time our orders were taken.  (Most of us ordered from the Restaurant Week menu.)   While waiting, I chatted with the woman across from me, a friendly person I've had the pleasure to be with at other meetups.  She mentioned my blog, and asked for advice about going to Hawaii for a cruise.  I gave her some information, and sent her links to 2 Hawaii Cruise articles I posted in my other blog.  By the time our dinner came, and then dessert, it was pushing 10 pm.  By now, I was getting disturbed at the wait staff, as they handed out bills to half of us, and left my group waiting.  After 10 minutes, I went up to the station and complained a little - and then our bills were finally presented to us.  

I'm not going to say that the wait staff ruined dinner.  Far from it!  But they did detract from the experience, as some of us (like me) had to leave a little earlier than others.  But I was able to get out of there by 10:20, and was able to chat with RQS for the entire ride home.  By 11 pm, I was glad to be home, as I couldn't wait to strip off my dress, remove my bra, and get into something something comfortable - just like most cisgender women my age would do.