Returning to Reality After the Cruise

 

We returned my place in Croton and were exhausted, something that always seems to happen to us after a cruise.  I am not sure whether it was from waking up at 4:30 am with minimal sleep, or whether it's because we're just getting old.  A third possibility exists for me, as I've been coughing and feeling a bit achy today.

When we arrived at my place, we decided to rest a bit.  I couldn't fall asleep, yet I was tired all day.  Eventually, we needed to go out and get something to eat.  So, it was off to a local Mexican joint for dinner. We wanted to go to a place where we could hear each other speak, so the two closest Mexican joints were out of the question. So it was off to the "new" Mexican joints in Croton. We were pleased that we made this choice, as the place was busy, yet quiet.  We could chat without shouting for a change.  I ordered  the Fajitas while RQS ordered the Enchiladas Mole.  Both were very good, and made us put this place on our list of go-to restaurants.

Our next stop was at Stew Leonard's in Yonkers.  $120 later, I had enough food to restock my larder. But I was running out of energy.  After 1 more stop at CVS for cough medicine, we were home for the night.  Hopefully, I don't have anything more serious than a common bug....

PS: While at the new Mexican joint, I received a text from the firm supplying me with a new CPAP machine.  Why they would send this the night before my appointment is a total mystery to me.  So, I clicked on their link for a facial scan, and also gave them information on both my health and the CPAP Mask I prefer wearing.  Since I know more than the average newcomer to CPAP use, this was a waste of my time.  But, I know that certain inefficiencies need to be tolerated, so that adjustments for the individual can be made ahead of time....

PPS: The facial wasn't needed when I picked up my new machine and new mask. Why they bothered with this extra step befuddles me!

Lunch with a friend, then a shopping trip in the rain.

 

Today's lunch table looked nothing like the one above.  Instead, today's meal was at the Mexican restaurant down the hill from me, lunching with a friend from the Census.

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Given how cloudy the skies looked when I got up, I wasn't enthusiastic about getting dressed and out in the world as Marian today.  What made things worse, is when I started to use my electric razor, one of the rotating blades wasn't being held in place.  Unfortunately, I couldn't fix this problem and had to place a rush order with Amazon for a replacement.  In spite of this, I was able to get myself made up and out the door in time for lunch.

It was nice to meet my friend again for our monthly lunch, and we caught up on what was going on in each other's lives.  All too soon, lunch was over and we parted until next month.  After we parted, I went to Kohl's to drop off a broken silicone vegetable steamer I'm returning to Amazon.  One of the 3 legs were broken, and another didn't have a silicone sheath over a plastic leg.  Luckily, I don't have to cook in my non-stick pots and pans for a while.  Then after that, It was off to Poughkeepsie to do some shopping at Target and Lane Bryant.

A little while back, I bought some sexy lingerie to wear at home.  And when I saw the robe in the above picture, I felt it might be the perfect compliment to some lingerie I bought 2-3 weeks ago.  (Sometimes, a T-girl wants to wear pretty things, even if her body doesn't do these garments justice.)  Unfortunately, I didn't see this garment in Lane Bryant, although the site said it could be found in the store.  (I guess I'll have to mail order it soon.)  Once done with Lane Bryant, it was off to Target to see if I could find a really cheap electric razor - which none were in my price range.  So I guess that I'll have to make do until the replacement shaving head comes in a day or two.

Now, it was time to go home.  Before I started off, I found that we might yet have another weather related delay in scheduled driveway/parking lot work - I'm glad I can use my brother as a fall back. In addition, I finally got a response from my sleep doctor - he says that he hasn't received the results of my sleep test.  AARGH!  This is hard to believe.  But I'll have to accept this for now, and will complain if I don't have more information when I get back from Bermuda.

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While writing this entry, NYC's Mayor has just been indicted by the Feds.  It'll be interesting to see what happens in local politics, as NYC only votes Republican when the Democrats have gone too far - and this is too far for most of us....

The only thing on my docket was a meetup, and I'm glad I went.

 

The above is an old picture of me at a meetup.  But it illustrates that I enjoy being with people when I can do so.  Today, I didn't do much of anything until almost dinner time, and then went to Larchmont for $2 tacos on Taco Tuesday.

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Yesterday's weather caused the planned driveway/parking lot work in my complex to be delayed for several days.  Instead of not being able to use my parking spot on a Tuesday going into midday Wednesday, this work was postponed until Friday.  This will put a big crimp into my plans for where to store my car during my cruise if this work is delayed any further.  The one benefit of this was that I could park in my reserved parking space Tuesday night, instead of trying to find a parking spot on the street.

Around 4 pm, I started to get showered and dressed for dinner.  Taking out one of my "old standby" dresses that I always feel good in, I started off to the restaurant at 5:45 pm, making it to the restaurant at exactly 6:30 pm.  This time, I wasn't the last person to arrive.  And yet, we still were disrupted, as we had to move to the rear dining room to get the discounted tacos.

Once done with dinner, it was off to an ice cream parlor for something sweet.  By now, my legs didn't want to help me walk, but I made them take me to the parlor and back.  I'll be sure to take RQS here if we're in this area on a weekend.

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Not much went on, but it was a good day out as Marian.

No Water Today!

 

When I came home last night, I didn't see a post on the apartment doorway's bulletin board.  And this screwed up my day today.

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While I was on the way home last night,  a friend invited me for dinner at a local Mexican joint.  Since I had already scheduled lunch with SJM and didn't want to have two big meals in one day, I scheduled dinner for the end of the month. When I arrived home, I saw a paper left in front of my door that said that the water was being shut off for emergency work on the water main.  Assuming the work was already done, I crumpled it up and figured that I'd be able to take a shower the following morning.and see SJM for lunch.  That was a big mistake....

Morning came, and I turned on the faucet to take my shower.  But there was no water!  So, I called the super, and he said that the work had to be postponed until today.  AARGH!!!  I wasn't going to go out without a shower, so I texted SJM and rescheduled things.  Unfortunately, I had no way of rescheduling things with my other friend, so I had nothing to do this evening.

Around 6 pm, I decided to get up and do a little retail therapy at Walmart.  Arriving at the checkout counter, the cashier gave me a hearty compliment regarding how I looked. That brought a smile to my face.  Although I didn't need that much from the store, I ended up spending more than I expected.  And I could say the same for the following visit to Trader Joe's.  

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One thing of note: I think the piercing in my right earlobe has closed up.  Given when I'll be taking my next cruise, I'll wait until after my return to have the piercer look at it.....

Florida-Bahamas Cruise 2023 - Day 3 - Port Canaveral

 

Bahamas Cruise - Day 3 - Port Canaveral - 12/11/23

I had a good night’s sleep last night. How do I know this? I had a strange dream that was pleasant, but can no longer recall. And that’s just as well as I was woken by the alarm on my phone and made it in time to have breakfast in one of the ship’s restaurants. What a mistake that was!

Over the years, I have developed a preference for having my meals in a dining room over getting my meals from a buffet table. This ship, the MSC Meraviglia, has fixed dining hours for its restaurants. Dining room meals are scheduled as follows:

1. Breakfast - One seating - 7:30 am to 9:00 am
2. Lunch - One seating - 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
3. Dinner - Two seatings - 6:45 pm and 8:45 pm

If one doesn’t arrive within the breakfast and lunch hours, one has to go to the buffet for one’s meals. If one doesn’t arrive within 15 minutes of one’s scheduled dinner seating, one has to go to the buffet for this meal. My first night’s dinner seating was horrendous, because fixed seating on the first night takes a lot more time and effort from everyone involved. But the second night’s dinner was almost a pleasure, save that they assumed that I wanted red wine with dinner before I had the chance to choose my meals from the menu.

Today, I had the chance to try out this ship’s breakfast in the dining room. I wished I had gone to the buffet due to its so-called service.  It took almost 15 minutes to be seated when I arrived - MSC is not good at anything that resembles flexible service. A menu was hurriedly put in front of me, and my order was quickly taken. But that was it for the next 30 minutes. No water was delivered to my table, no one asked whether I wanted coffee (there wasn’t even a cup on the table if I wanted any), and no food arrived for 30 minutes. When the food arrived, I received white toast, instead of the rye toast I had ordered - without the expected butter and jam. It took even longer to get coffee, juice and water. To make things worse, they didn’t have OJ - even though it was on the menu. It took more time for food to arrive at my table than I took eating it. Next time, I’ll play it smart and go to the buffet….

I decided to take a mid morning nap, and got up in time to go to the buffet for lunch. Today, it was much less crowded, as many people decided to eat before leaving for their shore excursions when the ship docked - around 1:30 pm. Compared to yesterday, the ship seemed empty. And I was glad about this. About the one thing I didn’t like (and this is a very minor issue not under cruise line control) is that it has to charge state sales tax on all beverages consumed at the bar while in port.

While at lunch, I noticed that there was a ship infested with rodents next to us. Although there were rat guards on the lines securing the ship, I could easily tell that there was a pair of giant rodents onboard. And they even had names for these rodents - Mickey and Minnie.😊  Needless to say, even if one doesn’t like the “House of Mouse”, one has to respect it for what it does.

After a mid-afternoon nap, I decided to explore the ship a little before having the first of my 3 specialty dinners. Not much happens while on the ship on port days, so it was peaceful during the day at port. All of the stores were closed, and the main promenade was relatively empty. Around 6:30 pm, I walked over to the theater to watch the magic show. This show had a variety of magicians including illusionists, mentalists, and conjurers. It was an entertaining show, even if one has an idea of how things were done. With that being said, the entertainment was lacking, as the show was only 45 minutes long.

As the show let out, I was in a rush to visit the first of my 3 specialty restaurants - a Mexican joint called “Hola Tacos!” On the way there, I had to bypass a performance about to begin in the mid-ship promenade. Although I might have liked to see the performance, my stomach was telling me that tacos were needed. Once inside the restaurant, I was shown to my seat and placed my order. The food came out quickly. It was very good, and one could get an unlimited amount of it - I ate more than my fair share. Even if I had to pay the up charge to have a meal at this place outside of the dining plan I bought, $18 would have been a small price to pay for food this good.

At this point, I was done for the day. So I went back to my room to sleep. Before doing so, I had the chance to ask my room steward about the virtual porthole behind my bed, and he noted it was out of service. Just as well. It might have disturbed me in the morning.

An unplanned early visit with RQS

 

I chose the above image for no particular reason.  It just fit my mood for the start of the day.  Yet, it fits how I felt on waking up - tired, semi-conscious, dry-eyed, and stumbling to the loo.  It was time to go back to sleep, but I didn't....

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Due to reasons I won't post here, RQS came up from the city a day early. This meant that we could have dinner together and go to game night together.  (RQS usually has a compressed day on Thursdays, as she takes care of things that nourish her soul, as well as things to prepare for her visit the day after.)  So, it was nice to be able to have her up here and share an experience that XGFJ wouldn't share with me because I'd be in Marian mode.

Upon arrival, RQS and I went to the local Mexican restaurant down the hill from us.  Unlike the last time we were there, the place was relatively empty and we had a nice meal with decent service.  Because the place was empty, there was little reflected noise from the hard walls, and we were easily able to hear each other speak, unlike the last time we were there.  (This has been my big complaint about the place, not the restaurant, since it was rebuilt years ago.  The walls reflect and amplify sound, making it hard to hear conversations when the place is crowded.)  As much as I enjoyed the fish tacos I ordered, I wouldn't order them again unless I wanted to make a mess of myself - they were overloaded with filling!

Our next stop was game night, where I got into a game which required a little bit of experience before playing well.  Mistakes I made early on caused me to lose the game.  But I'd play it again later on.  At least, we were able to get RQS into a simpler game afterwards - Qwirkle.  It's a simple game where one tries to match colors or patterns (in rows) for points. (Don't ask me to explain the simple rules of the game at this time of day.)  

All too soon, game night was over, and we had to go home.