It was Mario's day out. (A short post)

 

A financial issue with the co-op forced me to go out as Mario this afternoon (Wednesday).  I was asked to move a small amount of money from our savings account and wire it to our operating account.  This would allow us to make a payment from the operating account that had to take place by the end of the week. Unlike most days, I didn't mind so much going out as Mario, as I had several errands of my own to take care of as Mario.  So, when the president of the co-op called me while she was away, I used this essential excursion to the bank as Mario to also pick up a suit from the cleaners and a blazer from the tailor. 

My first stop was at the bank, where I performed the wire transfer.  And then, it was off to the cleaners to pick up my suit.  This stop took more time than expected, as my car had just downloaded an update to its software, and I had to give it 10 minutes to complete after the download.  So, this was a perfect excuse to have a slice of pizza before picking up the suit.  Fifteen minutes later, I was back in the car (with my suit), and off to the tailors to pick up my blazer.

Once I had everything in hand, I drove to BJ's for a shopping expedition.  Although there may have been 1 or 2 items that I might not have needed right now, I figured that I'll eventually use these paper plates as my old stash runs out.

Even in retirement, I am still busy.

 

I originally had a very busy day scheduled for today.  First, I had to pick up a suit from the cleaners.  Then, I had to drive to Long Island to let the contractors in to replace a chimney liner, After that, I was supposed to drive to RQS's place to drop off the suit I'd be wearing on our upcoming cruise.  And, finally, I'd be driving hope to participate in a co-op board meeting.  If it weren't for the folk dealing with the chimney liner, I'd have spent the day in Marian mode.  Instead, it felt strange to be wearing trousers and not carrying a handbag.

But first....

After getting dressed, my plans had me picking up my suit at the dry cleaners.  I was there by 9 am, but no one showed up before I had to leave at 9:20.  Leaving around 9:20 would leave me enough slack time to compensate for the expected traffic jams I'd encounter on the way to Long Island.  And I needed every minute, so that I could get to the family homestead by 11 am.

Normally, after 9 am, southbound route 9a moves smoothly through Ossining.  Recently, NYS DOT crimped a 2 lane road to 1 lane just after the top of a long hill, causing traffic to back up for a mile.  There was no way I was going to get stuck in this jam, so I took back roads to bypass 95% of the snarl, and saved 15 minutes in the process.  Next, I encountered another traffic jam in another area which never backs up.  So, again, I took another highway south, avoiding the worst of this jam.  Finally, I made it to an East River bridge with 40 minutes to complete a 25 minute drive.  With a stop to pick up the day's lunch, I made it to the homestead by 11, where I waited for the chimney people to come.

At 11:30, the chimney people arrived, and they were gone by 12:30.  Not having a suit to bring to RQS's place, I decided to drive home for my next appointment - the co-op board meeting.  But first, I had to pick up my suit.  When I got to the cleaners, the lady behind the counter gave a lame excuse - she had to pick up (or deliver) something.  I wasn't going to get into an argument with this irresponsible lady.  Instead, I picked up my suit and vowed never to do business with this place again.  Instead, I'll go to one of the two other established places in town and be sure that I can pick up my clothes when I want/need to do so.

With a couple hours rest, I initiated the co-op board's zoom meeting.  We had some problems at first, and the applicant we expected had a hard time connecting with Zoom.  But eventually, we accomplished what we needed to do, and discussed board business that I can't report here.  Finally, at 8:30 pm, my day ended, and I could finally rest.