A trip to NYC and a temporarily lost handbag

 

My plan for today was to first go shopping at Universal Standard's sample sale, meet RQS at Grand Central to take the same train into Croton-Harmon, and then go to the one game night being held by my friends in Yonkers.  And everything on the checklist was accomplished, but with some drama while in Croton....

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When I got dressed, I figuratively flipped a coin to determine whether I'd be wearing a dress to Universal Standard, or wearing a unitard (body suit) under a duster.  The dress would be more convenient for taking a bio-break, while the unitard would be more convenient for shopping at Universal Standard.  I chose the unitard, as I wanted to be able to try on clothing without having to strip down to my bra and panties, possibly exposing that I was born in a male body.  And this would be a wise choice.

Before I got to Universal Standard, I stopped by Metro North's lost-and-found office in the vain hope that the backpack I misplaced a month ago was found and in their custody. From there, it was on to the subway to reach the store.  Upon entering the store, I noticed that two 20-30 y/o women were trying on garments, one of them in a unitard like me, and the other stripping down to her bra and panties to try on clothes.  Neither of them was uncomfortable with my presence, and both of them were handing me garments to try on.  There were 3 dresses I was interested in, and the 2 ladies said that I looked great in the black dresses (1 of which I would wear as a duster, which I did later on).  However, US's signature dress, their Geneva dress (a dress with an asymmetrical hemline) looked good on me, but the color was terrible for me.  So I made a note that in the future, to try one of these dresses in a color that looks good on me.

Next, it was off to Grand Central where I met RQS for the trip to Croton.  I killed some time before she arrived, and we took an early train home. And that's where the fun began.  Arriving at my apartment, we carried several bags upstairs, and the handbag containing RQS's phone was misplaced.  We attempted to ring her phone, but we couldn't hear it.  So both of us worried about going on our cruise without normal documents.  I was willing to drive to Albany to get a replacement state issued photo ID card, and willing to do a round trip to her place to get her birth certificate - the minimum documentation needed for a closed loop cruise from NYC.

After a break for dinner, we went back home.  Before entering the door, I looked around, and found her bag sitting where I often place my bag.  I rang her phone, and neither of us heard it.  Then she took her phone out, and I rang it again.  This time, we heard the ring.  So, we were both very relieved.  At this point, we were very late for game night, and decided to drop by just to chat - and that's what we did.  It was nice to see the gang again, and I hope to see them one more time before the holidays.

Lunch with a friend, and a lost credit card.

 

I really didn't think I'd want to get up this morning, so I made sure to set several alarms to get me moving in time for lunch.  Each month, a friend of mine from the census gets together with me and we have lunch at a nearby restaurant.  Today was no different, save that I was a little bit "off".

Considering that it was finally too cool for me to wear my summer dresses.  So I had to pull out something a little bit warmer to wear - a long sleeved blue dress with matching blue tights.  Although it's been forever since I put on a pair of tights, I felt comfortable, knowing that my "junk" was safely tucked and would stay in place during the meal.  (Soon, I will be wearing my Fall/Winter wardrobe exclusively, and I will miss the comfort of my Summer wardrobe.  But I digress.)  Once dressed, I was out the door, and at the restaurant only a few minutes late.

Not seeing my friend's car, I knew to walk into the place and look for my friend - who was sitting by the front door.  However, we ended up moving from our original table, as it was too loud where we were.  So we took our napkins, utensils, and menus and proceeded to the back.  And this was much more comfortable than where we were first seated, making it much easier to chat without a lot of the noise being made up front.  For the most part, our chat was mostly about the trips we took and the trips we were about to take. So, I won't mention much here.  But I was uncomfortable, as I felt "off" from the time I got up.  As a result, I was glad when 2:30 came around, and we bid each other farewell.

With lunch being done, it was time to fill my car with gas.  And this is where I noticed that my Exxon card was missing.  Normally, I keep it with my cell phone, so that I can use it in either gender presentation.  But it was gone.  So I proceeded to the BP station in town and filled up there.  From there, I went home and filed a missing card report.  Dollars to donuts I'll find the old card before its' replacement comes in....