Trekking to RQS's place for a change

 

I never know what traffic (and parking) is going to be like when I start out towards RQS's place.  RQS is comfortable with me seeing her as Marian, and has become comfortable with me visiting her as Marian.  Since the weekend would be book ended with days perfect for me to be wearing dresses, I chose to wear a comfortable dress to RQS's place.

 

But first....

 

Right now, I have a basket of laundry waiting to be done.  Yet, I chose to get moving slowly, and start my trip to RQS's place around 2 pm.  Of course, I had to make the obligatory stops at the bank, and at the gas station before leaving town.  Although I expected heavy Friday afternoon traffic on the way to the bridge, I hit almost no traffic.  This looked like an exceptional day - until I hit traffic on the other side of the bridge.  And this caused my trip to take 15 minutes more than usual.

 

Normally, it's hard to find a decent parking space in RQS's neighborhood if I get there after 4 pm.  But this time, I parked only 1 block away.  So, instead of buzzing RQS to carry a 12-pack of soda upstairs. I stacked the soda on top of my suitcase, and wheeled it over to RQS's place.  Once  there, RQS carried the soda upstairs, and I took off my wig once I had a chance to rest.

 

RQS and I wanted to try out a new diner in town, so I put my wig back on, and we walked to the diner.  Neither of us knew what to expect.  The last Queens diner we went to, the Tasty Diner, wasn't tasty at all.  This diner, the Ridge, was the opposite.  We both had large portions of food that were quite tasty.  Yum! Finally, we walked back home and then we were in for the night.

 

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Saturday came, and we decided to make this a Jammie Day.  I can't say much about the day, save that we stayed in our Jammies most of the day (with RQS's exception to fetch the delivered pizza).  This was a day mostly spent watching movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime.  This was just as well, as there were flood alerts all across the NYC area.   

A trip into Manhattan to see a movie, but didn't. (a short post)

 

RQS and I planned to go to the movies today - but didn't.  

But first....

This would have been a perfect day for me to have been out and about as Marian.  The temperature was in the low 70's, and there was a nice breeze.  What a perfect day to have been wearing a nice dress!  But I had to be in Mario mode, as I do not yet have any of Marian's clothes or makeup at RQS's place.  At least, RQS had a nice dress she could wear, and she got to enjoy the nice weather.

We left RQS's place around 4:45 pm and went into Manhattan.  The first thing we did was to go and have dinner at an Italian joint on MacDougal Street.  I wish we had gone somewhere else, as it was both noisy and cramped.  It took a while for our food to come, and I was unimpressed by the lasagna I ordered.  Once done with dinner, we killed time at a local coffee shop.  Big mistake - we should have bought our movie tickets for the 7:25 pm show.  By the time we made it to buy tickets, everything was sold out.

So, it was back to the subway, and back to Queens.  After a stop at CVS for some tissues, we continued home on the subway (our bus was delayed much longer than we'd want to wait) and got off 2 blocks from RQS's place.

It was not a day that much was accomplished, but a good day anyway.

I now find that I try to avoid talk of politics (a short post)

 

I am still recovering from the November election.  In short, the Democrats didn't have a chance, as people have way too short memories of the chaos of the first Trump administration.  This means that I don't follow political news as closely as I once did, and I try to talk about other topics whenever possible.

Why do I mention this?

It's midnight, and RQS wanted to get information regarding who Trump's latest nominees are, and I wanted to discuss other things.  Although we didn't have an incident, I was uncomfortable for a minute or two.  And I was very glad that our conversation shifted into a more comfortable topic.

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On other matters....

I was too tired to get moving until 4 pm, when we decided to finally make our way outside for a pizza, and then go to the movies.  Although the pizza was very good (as usual), we couldn't say that about the movie - it was sold out in both of the theaters we went to.  At least, we got tickets for tomorrow's showing.

In short, today was mostly a nothing burger, and it was just as well.  Tomorrow, it will be Pedicures for two, followed by a trip back to the movie theater....

We decided to take a couple of short "cruises"

 

 

"All Under Heaven Are Equal."

Today, RQS and I decided to see a movie in the city.  One problem: We had to take the subway to get there, and her line wasn't running due to construction on the line.  So, it was off to the bus stop where we waited for a long time.  No, it was not the normal 5-10 minute wait.  Instead, it was a close to 20 minute wait, as the construction going on 2 blocks away was fouling up traffic for blocks around.  

As we usually do when we decide to take the bus to the subway, we walk a couple of blocks to the nearby express bus stop. And that's where we waited.  Buses tried to make the left turn onto an Eastbound street, only to find out that construction related jams were forcing everyone to back into the intersection to turn and take a circuitous route around the construction zone.  Flushing bound buses were taking roads usually used by Brooklyn bound buses causing even greater confusion for many riders. And as far as I can tell, it was all because a single key intersection was closed to vehicular traffic for the weekend.

We eventually made it to a subway line that was running and made it into the city.  And then we took the "backdoor" route to Chinatown to reach the Nom Wah Tea Parlor. (Ping's was closed for renovations, scheduled to be open next weekend.) Sadly, there was a 60 minute wait to get into the place.  So it was off to find another nearby place - and we did just that.  The food was acceptable, but not as our other go-to places. 

 
After lunch, it was off to the Staten Island Ferry.  Neither of us had taken the ferry in years, and I figured that it would be a nice way to kill some time.  So, off we went to the ferry, and onward to Staten Island.  For those who want a pleasant way to kill 60-90 minutes, a round trip on the ferry would be a good way to do this.  Once we were done with the ferry, it was off to the movies and  that's where our problems began.  

RQS had read the theater's movie schedule, and we believed that the movie we wanted to see was showing at 5:30.  One problem - the movie was scheduled for Sunday, not Saturday.  Now, we were on the West side of Manhattan with an awkward walk to take us to a subway station from where we could go home.

We finally made it to the subway, and it was almost a case of "you can't get there from here."  But we did get to the line we wanted to reach, and made it to a station near her home.  After a stop at the supermarket, we had to wait for a bus to take us home. By now, it was 3 miles of walking for us, and we were too tired to cook.  So, again it was Door Dash to the rescue - albeit with 30% higher prices than if the restaurant had been doing its own delivery.  (I avoid using them at all costs, as I don't believe that they should be nicking the restaurants 30% of the bill, instead of levying a fixed service charge.) At least, we didn't have to go back outside to pickup the fixings for dinner.

Not having much to say at times....

 

One shouldn't talk much when watching a movie at the local theater.  Maybe that's why sell so much popcorn - it keeps you from talking and it carries a hefty profit margin. However, things are very different when two people are on the phone....

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When I met my late wife, it was after two marathon late night phone conversations.  We ate our fair share of popcorn at the movies, and it showed on our waist lines.  Although she is long gone, I remember the nature of these conversations well, as she rented the strangest combination of movies for the first date. If she were here today, I'd bet that she'd recall all the movies she rented and in which order they were played. However, none of those are traditional "Date Movies", and I will not mention any of the titles in this post (largely because my memory is shot).

Lately, RQS and I have been having conversations that can easily go on for hours.  And if I didn't have to get up so early in the morning, we'd probably talk through the night and into the morning.  Yet, we wouldn't have any substantive to say to each other.  Instead, we simply like the other's company.  It's way too early to say anything. CWS is still in the picture for now..  And I think that she will be in the picture until RQS is sure of her feelings about me in my female presentation....

I'm reminded of an old movie with a hit song

 

Today, I don't have that much to say.  I was going back through some of my photos and the first photo popped up.  It's a view of a catering hall that once was a fancy restaurant.  Seeing the place in snow reminded me where parts of a movie whose set were used in two movies featuring the same hit song.

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As I write this entry, two holiday dates are coming up next to each other.  One is a social holiday where romantic rituals often lead to mating rituals.  The other is a legal holiday, where fewer and fewer people are given the day off due to the changing nature of American employment.  Neither day has much meaning to me anymore.  Valentine's Day is meaningful when one has a romantic partner who gives you comfort (however you define it).  And Presidents' Day is meaningful only if you have the day off for enjoyment.

Given that I'll be without a romantic companion on Valentine's Day and that I will likely be working on Presidents' Day, it's a big change from where I was 10 years ago.  But then, I was still in the closet, and worried about what people would think if I came out. Now, I can go to an interview as Marian, and not worry about what a person thinks of me.  Yes, FH still wonders why I want to go to work this way, and TCL probably thinks I'm a little nuts.  But this is OK with me.  Not all questions are meant to have simple answers....