Dotting I's and Crossing T's.

  RQS and I have talked about going to church together for a while.  With her, I think it's a form of curiosity about where I came from, and with me, it's a form of gaining comfort from old rituals from childhood.  So I was pleasantly surprised when she said "Yes" to going to Christmas Eve services. But first.... It's been a while since I've been to RQS's place, so it was my turn to go to her place on Friday. Considering the frigid weather we were expecting, I didn't want to leave my car at Cortlandt station and have the engine fail to turn over when we got back there on Saturday.  The weather made my mind up for me - take a cab to Croton Harmon, and then take the train into NYC from there.  As usual, getting a cab wasn't as easy as it was before the pandemic, as no one was answering the cab service's main number.  I was lucky to find an alternate number, and then get my ride to the station. Once at Croton Harmon, I found that I missed my train

  People who read my former blog may remember my favorite "Bedspread."  This display of cash is what my former girlfriend won on one of her casino visits.  But why do I show this picture again?  Well, I chatted with a financial advisor, and we weren't on the same track. - - - - - - I'm not knocking what this advisor proposed.  My ideas of what I want to do with my money after my demise are not yet firmed up.  Do I want to leave the bulk of my assets to a charitable trust (and associated charity) yet to be set up?  Or, do I want to leave the bulk of my assets to my niece and nephew? This is not the place to discuss details of my financial situation.  But I will say that I have enough money to retire comfortably - if I'm careful with my money.  In addition to my 401(k) which has to be tapped by the time I'm 72, I am already drawing on a pension, and I hope to inherit some money in the future.  (I don't count on that inheritance, and would be just as happy if

  I haven't been doing much as Marian these days.  It's not because I don't want to take the time to prepare myself to use my feminine presentation these days.  Instead, it's because the both the weather and the pandemic has reduced the number of opportunities I have to go outdoors. As a result, my "normal" tendency to shift to a nocturnal sleep pattern hasn't been arrested, and I found myself going to sleep "last night" around 8 am this morning. - - - - - - The ex girlfriend and I have had some limited email exchanges as of late.  After we aired out things, our recent communications have been friendly, but guarded.  I'm not sure of how much either of us can open up to each other given our past. But I will admit that I miss our old and frequent communication - does she miss it as well?  Neither of us should live in the past. But is there enough there for a good friendship? - - - - - - As I write this, my nephew and his girlfriend will be soon

  Yes, Santa is exhausted, and so was I after leaving my brother's place on Christmas.  Lately, I've been getting too little sleep, and slept later than I planned before going to see my brother for the day. This year, I had my doubts about visiting my brother, as I am concerned about catching the virus. Considering everything, I decided to drive to Long Island to see him and his family. I was an hour later than planned, but just in time to eat.  As seems to have become a habit, my sister in law is being anti social, and only comes out of the bedroom for a few minutes before going back inside.   It was nice to meet my nephew's girlfriend.  And when I said that I was originally planning on being in her area this year, my brother said that she comes from Seattle.  I said that I knew that, as I was going to mention a 21 day Panama Canal cruise that got canceled due to the virus.  It was a pleasant trip, but not much to say about it  

Recently, I talked with my brother.  He has had a troubled marriage for a while.  Every time a major milestone in his life is about to happen, it seems as if his wife tries to sabotage things. The older they get, the worse the damage she cause to herself and to my brother.  He is at the breaking point, and is considering a legal action from which there is no return. - - - - - - About 31 years ago, my brother got married because his wife-to-be was slightly pregnant. (You can barely see her baby bump in their wedding pictures.)  From the beginning of their marriage, in retrospect one could see that they were sailing into stormy waters. There were the expected problems for a 25 year old man without a college degree on Long Island trying to make his way back then: jobs that didn't pay well enough to take care of his family, a career in a dead end industry, and real estate costs that were starting to go through the roof. But the worst problem was one that was not under his contro

I have been salivating, considering breaking open my 401k a little to take this cruise.  If my balance breaks a certain level and stays there for a while, I may just withdraw enough cash to pay for this cruise (and the taxes on the withdrawal itself) to take this once in a lifetime cruise. - - - - - - So far, the people in my life are encouraging me to take this cruise.  I'd be away from home over 3 weeks, as I'd want to do some sightseeing in Seattle before going home.  Doing incomplete research (JetBlue prices for the return trip aren't posted yet), I figure that I should budget at least $4,000 for the trip, broken down as follows: Base Fare          - $2298 (includes $1149 single supplement) Port Fees/Taxes -     543 Gratuities           -     315 ----------------------------- Simple Cruise    - $3360   Trip to NYC Pier -     60  from Seattle Pier -     40 ------------------------------ Simple land cost  -    100 Airfare (SEA-JFK) - 250 Trip JFK