The Sleep Test Results are in!

 

Today ended up being the last day I was going to present as Marian for a while.  So I made the most of it when Vicki mentioned that she wanted to talk about something serious, but not critical.  Instead of laying around the apartment and doing nothing, I told Vicki that I'd meet her at 5 pm, and we could get a bite to eat.

Although I started getting ready around 3 pm, I was late getting out of the house, and barely made it to Lefteris Gyro on time to meet Vicki.  (The food is healthy, plentiful, and reasonably priced.  What more can you ask of a restaurant.  When I arrived, Vicki was already waiting for me at the table.  I almost didn't recognize Vicki at first, as she had her hair scrunched to the back of her head, exposing the area which alopecia has taken its toll.  (I made sure NOT to say anything about this.)  And then we got into our conversation.

I'm not going to say much about the conversation, save that it was related to health issues.  I mentioned that I got a call from the sleep doctor's office today telling me that I have severe sleep apnea, that I'd be getting a new CPAP machine and put on a regular schedule of new supplies.  YAY!  The only problem is that it will take 2 weeks to get approved by my insurance, and another 2 weeks before it arrives.  AARGH!  The way things are going, it will arrive when I'm away on another trip.

On my way home, I called RQS, and found that she was having trouble with printing a luggage tag for our upcoming cruise.  Since I couldn't solve the problem from a moving car, I suggested that she contact MSC to figure out what was wrong - and she now has a luggage tag for her suitcase.  Next, I stopped at the bank to deposit a check, then onward to home.

Arriving at my house, I met a new resident - a nice woman raising a child on her own.  Although I don't want to get her in trouble, I figured that I should ask our managing agent for information to find out if she's an approved resident.  Then, it was doing the last load of laundry before my trip.  

I can't wait to get on the ship!

 

 

 

PS: I received test results from the lab several weeks after the sleep test.  They confirmed what I already knew - I need my CPAP machine!

California Vacation - Day 10 (Disembarkation & Returning to New York)

 

Last night, I put my large suitcase out for delivery to the pier upon the ship's return to LA.  This morning, I woke up unnaturally early (4:30 am PDT) and couldn't justify going back to sleep.  So I decided to shower early, finish packing for my return trip home, and go to the buffet before the crowds arrived.  And this proved to be a wise move, as I was able to eat in peace AND return to my cabin to relax before Debarkation.

Disembarkation on the Discovery Princess is a reasonably well organized affair.  A night or two before the end of the cruise, room stewards supply cruisers with luggage tags to be used for Disembarkation. Different colored tags are associated with groups of travelers.  For example, I was given Cream tags, associated with people with paid airport transfers.  Others had Brown tags, associated with people who had scheduled bus tours with airport transfers afterward.  As expected by the cruise line, I left the assigned gathering spot (the Princess Theater) at 8:20 am, and made it off the ship by 8:30 am.

Once inside the LA cruise terminal, it's a long walk to retrieve one's bags.  I figure that I must have walked a mile from the time I started my walk from the Princess Theater to the place my large suitcase was placed in the terminal.  From there, it was a short, quick walk to US Customs, where they matched my face against the photo ID I provided before the cruise.  And then, it was another long walk to the bus for my airport transfer.  Along the way, a fellow stopped me to ask which airline I was flying on, and he made sure each of my two bags were tagged with the correct terminal number at the airport.  So, by the time I got on the bus, my bags were ready to be returned to me when I reached Delta's terminal.

When I got to the airport, I retrieved my bags and proceeded to check in my bag.  With a little help from an attendant, my bag made it to check-in, and I made it to the TSA security checkpoint.  And that's where the "Fun" occurred.  Although I presented the first person with my legal ID (male, with Mario's name), when I reached the scanners, someone pressed the female button - and my genital area was flagged for inspection.  So I ended up getting a pat down by the first officer available - a female.  She was totally professional, and I was on my way into the secure zone in less than 5 minutes.

My flight home was uneventful, save that I didn't hear which luggage carousel would be used for this flight's bags.  So I was very glad that I had Delta's app on my phone - and found that my bag would come out on Carousel #12.  One problem - Where was Carousel #12?  I asked someone who told me that it was off to the side from Carousels #10 & #11.  Once I got there, I found my bag without problem, and began the long walk to the Uber stand.

For those unfamiliar with JFK airport, it is located in the middle of Jamaica Bay.  This means that it is usually uncomfortably humid.  Even with 75 degree weather, I was uncomfortable wearing leggings and a short sleeved dress.  After I reached the Uber stand, I summoned a car, and he was looking for me within 2 minutes.  Within 30 minutes, I was at RQS's house and ready to get some sleep.