I finally got my nails done!

 

I finally had the chance to get my nails done.  It's something I've wanted to do for several weeks, but the need to go out as Mario has gotten in the way.  Seeing my brother, having a doctor's appointment, and having to go to the bank for the co-op has all made it impossible for me to have at least 7 days (or more) in female mode.  As a result, it didn't make sense to have polished nails.

RQS was scheduled to arrive in Croton at 5 pm.  So I had just enough time after I got dressed to get my nails done, have a little snack and get to the station.  When I arrived at the nail salon, they knew me enough to ask whether I was there for a mani-pedi or just a manicure.  Since I was there for just a manicure, I sat down at the manicure station and proceeded to have my nails done.  While there I struck up a conversation with a recently widowed woman, and got into talking about cruising and the lines we preferred.  (Later, I mentioned to RQS that I wish I could have befriended this woman as Marian.  But this was not likely, as this woman was visiting family in Croton, but lives on Long Island - a very inconvenient place for me to visit.)

Once my nails were done, I had time to kill.  So I filled up the car, then drove to the station to relax until RQS arrived.  She didn't see me at first, but after a few honks, she saw me and my car, and we were off to have dinner.  The first stop was at the new Thai restaurant in town.  They couldn't accommodate us until 8:30, so we drove to a Mexican restaurant nearby.  I had the paella, while RQS had some tacos.  Both were yummy.  But my dish had enough food in it to feed two people  So I had leftovers to eat sometime over the next day or two.

And then it was time to go home.... 

Today, I presented both as Mario and as Marian.

 

I could easily blow a wad on Universal Standard dresses, as there are two on sale that I wouldn't mind buying.  With a 25% off code that will expire at midnight, I can only justify buying one of these dresses (sadly, not the one above in that color).  Instead, it will likely be a linen dress which is perfect for the upcoming summer.

But why do I mention dresses?

Well, today's schedule had me present as Mario when I went to the doctor, and as Marian when I meet with MAR for dinner.  And I'm almost always in a dress when I meet up with her for dinner.

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First, it was a visit to my doctor.  I know that he'll hector me about my weight, but I go there because I know that my health needs to be monitored, so that things don't get worse for me in this area.  My appointment was set for 10:30, and I didn't see the doctor until 11:15 (an intern did check my blood pressure around 11.)  By the time I was done with the doctor, I was hungry and craving a sausage and egg breakfast sandwich.  So, I ate some food, then dropped my suit off at the cleaners before going home for a couple of hours.

I rested at home for a while, and then changed into Marian before meeting MAR for dinner.  Although we agreed to meet at 5:30, she was there around 5.  So, I said to get a table, as I could be there in a few minutes.  Once there, we caught each other up on what has been happening in our lives. Both of us showed each other some of the clothes we were thinking of buying for ourselves.  MAR was a little envious of me and my travels, and suggested that she'd like to join me on one of my cruises.  Well, that won't happen for many reasons, one of them is that I'd have to reveal I am transgender.

After dinner, I dropped my leftovers at my apartment, then drove to Stew Leonard's to buy some breakfast sausage patties.  One problem - they were nowhere to be found, as the store was arranged to supply patrons for their Easter dinner needs.  Yet, I found a lot of things I needed for this weekend's dinners with RQS.

On the whole, it was a busy but not hectic day.  Next week, I expect things to get hectic on the run up to my upcoming cruise.

 

The only reason we left the house was to move the car.

 

RQS lives on a street with Alternate Side of the Street parking.  When I arrived on Friday, I parked on the wrong side of the street for short term convenience, knowing that I'd have to move my car again if I wanted to stay over until Monday morning.  Well, Sunday came, and I planned to stay over.

Around 3:30 pm, we went out to move the car.  It was in front of the building next door, and I had to move it to an opposite side of the street.  (Her side is no parking on Monday/Thursday mornings, while the other side is no parking on Tuesday/Friday mornings.)  We got very lucky.  There was a good open spot right around the corner.  So, I parked there before we headed to the supermarket.

The area of Queens we were in borders Brooklyn, and this is one of many neighborhoods in NYC where per-consolidation street grids clash.  The bus route that RQS takes to the subway was established when trolleys ran between Brooklyn and Queens, and had to be changed slightly when some awkward intersections were taken off the street grid.  As a result, the main bus route that takes us to a key subway station makes a strange zig-zag before it crosses Myrtle Avenue.  For us, we didn't need to do the zig-zag, as we could walk along the path the road once took and cross Myrtle Avenue without problems, on our way to the supermarket.

The Ridgewood, Glendale and Bushwick neighborhoods are undergoing ethnic change.  Gone are the days when both Ridgewood and Glendale were German neighborhoods, although some traces of this still remain in a few stores which were founded during that era.  Now, the Spanish speaking community has moved into some of the blocks while others are being gentrified.  Gone are the days when one could rent a 2 bedroom apartment for under $2,000.  Given the going rate in RQS's area, I don't know how any newcomers can afford to live there.  But I digress.

We reached the supermarket and picked up some things to have with our leftovers meal that evening.  We had a sweet tooth for Ice Cream Sandwiches, so we picked up some Klondike Cookies & Cream.  Then, we picked up an apple pie before walking back to RQS's place.  Sadly, neither of these items were to our liking.  We prefer Fat Boy's Ice Cream Sandwiches to Klondike's.  And the apple pie was best left forgotten, the brand never to be purchased again.

Were the leftovers good?  Yes.  Was it worth staying over an extra night?  Of course.  But, do I wish I found a spot on the right side of the street on Friday?  YES!!!!  Both of us would rather have stayed in bed until evening.  But if we had done so, I would have had to leave for home that night.

Leftovers

 

The above salad is NOT what was left over from dinner the other day.  It tasted fresh, and left no aftertaste on the tongue or in the mouth.  Instead, it was the gyro meat (not pictured here) that left a bad taste in my mouth for several hours after dinner, and after having the rest of the meat as next day's leftovers.

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One thing that can be said about me in either Mario or Marian mode is that I travel on my stomach.  Most of the time, my friends can trust that I have an instinct for places that have good food.  Is it because I subconsciously analyze everything going on in and around a restaurant before entering?  Who knows?  But I usually find places which have at least one good dish on the menu.  In the case of Saturday's dinner with RQS, the best thing about it was the desserts - in my case, the Bougatsa at Piato.   

Several months ago, Vicki and I ate at Piato, and were underwhelmed with the food.  Neither of us could put a handle on why the food was underwhelming, but the Bougatsa was fantastic.  Vicki would gladly go back to that restaurant, if the only thing she would eat from there was this dessert.  However, Lefteris still remains our Greek restaurant of choice.  Neither of us have had a bad meal there, and its high quality has become "boring" - at least, until we try a place like Piato.

Now, I'm not knocking Piato.  But I am noting that after eating their food, I had a strange taste in my mouth.  Could it be that I'm allergic to a spice they use?  I doubt it, as I am allergic to very few things.  Instead, I think the food was likely to have been excessively salted.  That could be the logical explanation why I felt very thirsty after eating there.  When I had their leftover gyro meat the next day, I had that strange "taste" in my mouth for several hours.

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There are so many places from where I look forward to eating leftovers the next day.  Many of them serve food in sizes large enough that I can cut the portion in half, and eat it for lunch at work.  (Most of these places are Italian restaurants which serve giant plates of pasta and huge portions of meat.)  Even though I'm not eating out as much as I did before the pandemic, I still eat out more often than the average person.  Hopefully, I'll figure out how to do this in a healthy way which my doctor would approve of....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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My refrigerator overfloweth

 

One of the problems in living alone is that it's hard to get enough variety AND small enough quantities of food at a reasonable price.  Either one has to over stuff a refrigerator, or pay too much for the small quantities one needs.  For example, I only need a tiny bit of celery to make a decent tuna salad for sandwiches.  Yet, I always end up wasting food by buying too much to feed only one person.  

What makes things worse is that it's so hard to plan my meals.  I'm lucky that I can buy my lunches at the local supermarket and heat them up in a microwave oven.  But this is not the healthiest thing to do, as I will always end up eating more than I should.  In certain ways, this is a problem not unique to single people.  Most of us are on the go, and don't have the time to do any serious meal planning.  Given that my mother was a horrible cook, she was not the person from whom to learn either cooking or meal planning.  This is where I wish they gave "Home Economics" to both boys and girls when I was of school age.

Over time, I may get the hang of things.  But the one thing I am grateful for is the rotisserie chicken found at many supermarkets and warehouse clubs.  A whole chicken can easily be made into 3-4 meals. And the trick is making at least one of those meals a lunch.  Chicken Salad sandwiches are always a good way to use an "old" chicken.  And I've done this more than enough times over the years.

Well...  Enough for now.   The pork tenderloin that's been in the freezer (and just thawed out) is finally ready to eat.  It's enough meat for two people, but I can always use it tomorrow night - as long as I'm not cooking anything else....