Trekking into NYC and taking care of paperwork

 

I had one thing that I had to take care of today, and I can blame part of my failure to do so on my brother. Yet, today's focus is not on a minor screw up, but on visiting the neighborhood in which I used to work.

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The plan for today was to trek into NYC to get an official copy of both my birth certificate and that of my deceased father.  I'd have no problem getting my own birth certificate.  But to get my dad's birth certificate, I would need an official copy of my dad's death certificate - which my brother was supposed to mail to me, but didn't.

So, around 11 am, I drove to Croton-Harmon railroad station, stopping first at a local deli. Instead of taking 5 minutes to get my usual sausage and egg sandwich, it took 15.  So I arrived at the train station with barely enough time to make the 11:48 train.  And when I say barely, I mean just that.  I was in the elevator with 3 minutes to go, and had just purchased my train ticket as the train came into the station.  Luckily, I was able to make it down the stairs and onto the train without rushing, as I'd have to wait another 30+ minutes for the next train.

Arriving at Grand Central, I noticed hot hot and humid it felt.  (I was glad that I had chosen to travel as Mario, as wearing a wig would have been too much to deal with today.)  30 minutes later, I was downtown and in front of NYC's bureau of vital records.  (I wish I had kept in the habit of walking at least 2 miles each day, as my legs were bothering me for the first mile I walked.) After checking to make sure I was at the right building, I killed time at the Starbucks across the street.

Once inside, it was bureaucracy in action.  First, one takes a number.  Next, one enters ALL the information needed to purchase a vital record, in my case a birth certificate. And then, you wait for your number to be called and to pay for your service.  While entering my data, I was told that my dad's birth certificate had to be ordered by mail AND that I needed my dad's death certificate.  AARGH!  I could have stayed comfortable and done everything by mail had my brother sent me the death certificate as promised.

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Once done with the bureau of vital records, I walked over to where I used to work (a much longer walk than I remembered) to get lunch at the Halal cart I used to regularly patronize.  Although there were 2 carts there now, I picked one that best resembled what I remembered from 10 years ago and ordered my old everyday order - a chicken and lamb combo with lots of white sauce and a touch of hot sauce.  But I now had a problem. Where could I sit down and eat?  So I decided to walk a couple of blocks and find a place to sit.  The only place I found with open seats was inside a playground for dogs.  This was perfect, as I had free entertainment provided by the dogs and their owner while I enjoyed my meal.

Soon, I was on my way back home, and I was back in my car around 5 pm.  Once at home, I fell asleep for an hour or so and then was ready to take care of some chores before calling it a day.  At least, I likely won't need to trek into NYC again for paperwork purposes anytime soon.

The more things change, the more they remain the same with NYC housing

 

NYC has always been a hard place in which to live.  But now things are getting worse.  Recently, New York (not sure if the city or state) has enacted a law prohibiting landlords from evicting tenants for any reason without going to the housing court first - even after a lease has ended.  This makes it much harder to get rid of bad tenants who cause problems in the building for other residents.  

I'm not aware of all the factors that are affecting the above tenant's protest.  But I now see references to cockroaches and other vermin in this person's protest signage.  Without the ability to get rid of a bad tenant, a landlord could see an apartment trashed without the ability to remove the tenant.  In the case of my co-op, it took a water line break for us to find that an apartment had been abandoned and that it had been trashed - literally.  (There was trash in every room of the apartment, and we had to pay a contractor to clean it out before we could even fix the plumbing in the place.)  Even if a landlord wants to keep an apartment in good repair, he can't afford to do so - laws regarding apartment rent increases prohibit the landlord from making those repairs and raising the rent to what the market will bear.  So, apartments are being kept empty instead of being repaired and rented out.

Currently, NYC has 3 classes of rental apartments: Rent Controlled, Rent Stabilized, and Free Market Rentals.  Rent Controlled apartments are the most troublesome for landlords, as many rents were established right after World War 2, and have not gone up enough to match the rate of inflation.  Leases for these apartments have been handed down from generation to generation, as family members retain the right to live in their apartments in perpetuity.  Rent Stabilized apartments are slightly different, as a rent control board allows landlords to raise rents to some board approved degree - only after inflation has taken its toll.  These apartments lose their stabilized prices when tenants vacate the place.  In theory, landlords can evict bad tenants in these apartments, but don't often do so.  And then there the Free Market Rentals. There were no rent controls whatsoever, until this law changed.

Now, NYC has even a bigger problem than before.  There are fewer incentives to be landlords, and we will see a speedier shift towards apartments being turned into condominiums, or new condominiums being built.  People like RQS would be in a bind, as they can't afford to buy their apartments (or others like them), nor could they afford to pay free market rates for the few apartments that are available.  Other cities don't have as bad a problem as New York, as they never made the mistake of preserving rent controls over several generations.  Yet, these problems might be a blessing to New York in disguise in the long term, as they tamp down the need for the city to keep upgrading its infrastructure for a growing population.  Could you imagine having to find enough water in the watersheds for double NYC's population?  What about the need for more mass transit options?  Sanitation?  I could go on and on with the problems we could have if real estate developers had their way.  But we need solutions today, and no one has any.  Too much success might be the one thing that kills New York City.  Hopefully, I won't be nearby when it dies....

Norwegian Fjord Cruise Vacation - 06/14/24 (Visiting the Tower Bridge and Family)

 

Neither RQS nor I wanted to get lost in the London Underground while staying for a short time in this large city.  So we decided to stay near our hotel and see some nearby sights.  Luckily, the Tower Bridge (often mistaken by tourists for the homely nearby London Bridge) and the Tower of London were near enough for us to spend a nice afternoon in the UK's capital city.

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We had no fixed plans for the day, and got moving a little late - but not late enough to enjoy the breakfast that came with our room.  With our stomachs filled to capacity, we walked from our hotel to the bridge, then started to explore the neighborhood on the other side of the bridge before returning to the bridge for a tour.

As many people know, the Tower Bridge is one of the most iconic sights in London, next to the Parliament building and Big Ben.  But many people don't know that one can go into the bridge's towers and walk across 70 cm thick glass panels to a tower on the opposite side of the Thames.  And that's where we encountered a family of "Karens."  

(Someone from the family of "Karens".)

One feature of many tall tourist attractions is a glass floor, where people can stand or sit on it to have their pictures taken.  The Tower Bridge has one of these floors, and many people dawdle while getting in their "important" photos.  While transiting the walkway between the towers there was a large family (I presume to be French, given their lack of concern for others) hogging space over a glass square.  When they shifted slightly, I posted RQS on the glass and started to take my picture.  And then the "Karen Family" decided to move into our square as I was starting to take my photo.  I was a little annoyed belted out (in my deep, rich, loud Mario voice) to STOP!  They were taken aback.  No one had ever challenged them for being inconsiderate before.  (Being a New Yorker does come in handy sometimes, as we don't have to care what some unknown "other" thinks of us.  Heck, the "F-Word" is only a mild intensifier here, with no one thinking the word is profane when Samuel L. Jackson utters it in this city.  But I digress.)  I got my picture, and then we left the walkway 10 minutes before these Karens.  (You should have seen them give us the "stink eye" as we rested in the gift shop.  But then, I don't care what my lessers think.)

Next, it was back to the hotel to rest, and wait for my niece (and husband) to come over for dinner.  We went to a nearby French restaurant (don't ever say that I claim that all things French are bad) and had a nice dinner.   All too soon, it was time to let my niece go to her sister in law's birthday party, and we bid each other farewell until next time.... 

1960's Music

 

New York City is filled with many old buildings, many of them over 150 years old.  The above building has to have changed hands many times, so the 1873 and 1906 markers above the windows no longer have much meaning in today's world.  Was the company who built this building founded in 1873, and moved to this building in 1906?  So much history in this city has been torn down, paved over, or altered beyond recognition.  

This weekend, RQS and I went to see an off-Broadway play called "A Sign of the Times."  It's plot (or what little you can call a plot) is there to tie 1960's era songs together to tell a little tale of a small town girl who comes to NYC in the 1960's and finds the world much different than she expected.  As much as I love 1960's music, I'm not sure of what to make of this play.  RQS enjoyed the music very much.  But I was underwhelmed about how the songs were assembled.  Although I loved the songs and enjoyed the performers singing these songs, I felt that many of them were flat - because of how the people who orchestrated this piece of fluff changed the feel of some of these songs.

Would I recommend seeing this play when in NYC?  Yes.  Like the outside of the above building, the music from the Brill Building keeps getting reworked for better and worse.  All the casual listener of 1960's music will remember may be the original performances and maybe occasional covers of these songs.  But these were great songs, with only one clinker (in my humble opinion) in the bunch.  And I'm glad that someone has put them together for a new audience....

Wildfires in Canada and the Smog in New York

 

When I was young, people would make comments about the smog in Los Angeles, as the pollution from their cars and trucks made their air hard to breathe.  Today, as I write this, the particulate matter in New York's air is even worse than LA at it's worst.

Going outside is a risk for most of us.  The pollution index is higher than it has ever been.  Baseball games have been cancelled, and people are wearing N95 face masks which were put away since pandemic restrictions ended. When I go outside, it smells if there is a small wood fire nearby - even though there are many big fires over 800 miles away.  This is the scope of this disaster.  We're seeing a prelude to what we should expect as the effects of global warming take place.

Sometimes I wonder if the "Book of Revelations" is a simple metaphor for what is going on in the world.  No, I'm not thinking of the Bible as being divinely inspired.  Instead, I wonder if our planet was contacted by an advanced civilization who had the technology to predict what humanity would do to this planet and itself centuries in the future.  If so, could the "End Times" themselves be a metaphor for the challenges we have to face before things become simple and "easy" for mankind?  Assuming that is the case, we then have hope of getting through what may be the most interesting and challenging times humanity will endure, and come out the other side as an improved species when improved societies.

All too often, people look too closely at the arc of history.  If we look too closely, we see this smog as something to fear.  Could a different view mean that this represents a challenge to be overcome, a test that will make us stronger if we act wisely?

I'm not really sure of anything, but my Magic 8-Ball says: "Reply Hazy, Try Again."

Queer at the Quad

 

This was a terrible weekend to go outside in NYC, as two separate storms would drench the city with inches of rain, and cause many streets to flood.  So, what would two intrepid movie goers do? Trek into NYC, of course, and visit the Quad Cinema to see "Little Richard - I am Everything."

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Little Richard (a.k.a. Richard Penniman) was one of the Rock & Roll greats, but one who never was able to profit from his music in the way he deserved.  As a member of the LGBT community, his hedonistic music, lifestyle and gender preference was forever at odds with his religious upbringing and the times in which he lived.  No, I am not going to recite Little Richard's life story here.  Instead, I simply want to acknowledge his ability to make being Queer less frightening to the "Rock & Roll Generation" coming to age as Richard was in his prime.

How would I have felt if I were in my prime at the same time as Little Richard? Given that I was deep in my closet, I would have been appalled by his presentation but in love with his music.  I guess that many people of his era felt the same way about the man and his music, and let him be because of those mixed feelings. If people knew how hedonistic he was when "Rock and Rolling", I think he would have drawn more hatred in an era already being threatened by the freedom that Rock & Roll could bring. So, I'm glad that he was able to survive the era, and pass on a legacy for the rest of us.

RQS and I came out of the theater with a newfound appreciation for this man, his music, his life and his accomplishments. Hopefully, my readers will take the opportunity to see this film when it plays near them, as it will be a pleasant eye-opener for those unfamiliar with his music.

Looking for things to do on the weekend.

 

Garfield.  It's one of my favorite comic strips.  Cat lovers will see many of the typical traits in this cat that they see in their own cats and others' cats.  One of my favorite strips featuring Garfield has no image of the cat in the strip, but his presence is known by a steak being held by his "owner", Jon.  In the 3 frame set, the steak is offered to Garfield, and by the time Jon finishes talking, the steak is gone.  Many of the jokes in this comic are food related, like the strip above.  Yet, Garfield's love of lasagna is only a small part of this well drawn character.  Over the years, we've got to know this cat as well as real cats we've had in our houses.

Unfortunately, one can spend only so much time reading the comics.  First, there are fewer papers carrying comic strips. And then, we have more opportunities to entertain ourselves on weekends.  This is where RQS and I often have problems trying to figure out ways to spend some of our time together.

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RQS subscribes to a service which tells her about free things to do in New York City.  However, most of these things take place on weekdays, are taking place in awkward places to get to from her house, and are not interesting enough for us to spend our time there.  So, we often go into NYC without much of a plan, looking to go for a meal at Katz's delicatessen, the Nom Wah Tea Parlor, or some other of our "go-to" places in Manhattan.  Our problem is that too many people now have the same idea.  The last time we went to Katz's, there was a line that stretched to the end of the block.  The last time we went to the Nom Wah Tea Parlor, the wait was 45 minutes long.  It's getting harder and harder to go to our "go-to" places these days.

You might ask, what do you want to do other than eat?  Well, both of us enjoy theater.  But the off and off-off Broadway scene isn't the same as it used to be before the pandemic. Yet, things are changing for the better, now that the 20 at 20 special is being held this Spring.  Although I am going to be busy much of the 20 days this special is offered, I hope to take advantage of it on one of my free days.  And, if there's something that RQS wants to see, we'll try to see it as well. This time around, I'm going to suggest Drunk Shakespeare, a performance of a Shakespeare play where one of the actors is totally "three sheets to the wind".  In other words, s/he is shitfaced drunk.  It's supposed to be funny, so I'll see what she thinks - if we're in NYC that weekend.

A trip to RQS's place

 

I'm looking forward to this weekend.  Although I will be in Mario mode all weekend, I look forward to being with RQS.  As I've asked before, is this too good to last?  I don't know the answer, and don't want to know right now.

The logistics of getting to see RQS is always a challenge. Getting to and staying over RQS's place is an issue.  If I drive, I hate trying to find a parking spot in her neighborhood.  (It would be even worse, if I drove down during the week, as her neighborhood has alternate side of the street parking.)  If I take mass transit, I have to leave my car in a public parking area which is empty at night.  And then, I have to take Metro North into NYC, then the subway to RQS's place.  AARGH!  But she's worth it.

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I shouldn't look at the negative side of things, and I try not to.  There are some advantages to being with RQS - such as being able to explore NYC at will.  This is something that most suburbanites do not take advantage of.  Like most suburbanites who live near a big city, the headaches of going into the city often outweigh the perceived benefits of being there.  And this is even more true when the city is the cultural and economic capital of the country.

New York City, is a place like few other world class cities.  Unlike London and Paris, it is not a political capital.  Instead, it is "only" an economic and cultural capital. Vicki and I used to go into NYC to catch an Off-Broadway (or Broadway) play or two on a regular basis.  It is also a foodie capital as well.  Where else in the USA can one eat a different ethnic food style every day?  About the only food one can't get here is authentic Haggis, as we have a thing against organ meats in this country.  But then, I'd rather enjoy myself and go to Stillwell and Surf on July 4th to enjoy Hot Dogs with Joey Chestnut.

Unfortunately, given NYC's subway system, "you can't get there from here" in many of the outer boroughs.  So it's hard to explore one borough from another, unless one is going to/from Manhattan.  And this is why it will take me 2+ hours to reach RQS today, when I can drive there in an hour (in good traffic).  But she's worth it....

Thai Food - Yum!

 

 

One thing I love about being in New York City is that there are some wonderful restaurants in the outer boroughs.  Chachawan, in Ridgewood Queens, is one of those restaurants.  After having some good, but bland, Korean food the week before, it was a pleasure to go to this local joint for a Saturday evening dinner.

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When I'm with RQS, we try to find local restaurants in her neighborhood which have promise.  This restaurant is quickly becoming one of one of our favorites. She had a curry while I had the Three Flavors Duck.  Compared with the duck we had last weekend, this was wonderful.  I'd make the effort to go to this restaurant even if RQS weren't in the picture - it is that good.

A nice thing about New York City is that each neighborhood has at least one "go to" restaurant.  Ridgewood has several - including one of my favorites, Zum Stammtisch.  This restaurant has been in the neighborhood for 50 years, and I have been going there for 40 of those years.  When RQS and I finally get there, we will be taking a bus to reach the restaurant - it doesn't make sense to give up a good parking spot once you have found one.

Obviously, with easy access to Manhattan, it will be a while before we have completed our Ridgewood food safari. This is good, as there are no nearby Dim Sum joints like the Nom Wah Tea Parlor. But then, New York City is known for being a dining oasis....

Makeup

 

 

 

Transgender people have special makeup needs.  Unlike many people, I have found that theatrical makeup stores have many of the products we need - as long as we think creatively.  Once we have an idea of what needs to be done to our faces to make them look reasonably feminine, theatrical makeup houses such as Alcone often have the best products for our needs.

Due to a minor glitch on their website, my favorite store for makeup accidentally sold me a product from Ben Nye that was discontinued.  Since I use theatrical makeup for beard coverage and for jaw line contouring, this could have been a disaster for me.  In my response, I asked if they could recommend a similar product to Ben Nye Creme Shadow Natural contour compact, they promptly made several suggestions.  Mehron Cream color -Med Dark 4 came closest to what I needed, and I asked them to ship me a container to try out.  Hopefully, I'll be able to recommend this product to my TG readers.  I already recommend Alcone for specialty makeup, and will continue to do so in the future.

Don't be afraid to order from these businesses.  They were hurt during the worst of the pandemic, and they appreciate any and all business they get.  Almost all of them take internet orders, as many supply remote movie production, regional theaters and television stations across the country.  Although I highly recommend Alcone, I am biased - I have bought products at their NYC store when I worked in NYC.  Now, all my business is conducted through the internet - and they still meet my needs.  I expect that they can meet your needs as well.  

 

 

 

 

A trip into NYC

 

When I first worked in NYC many years ago, my friend WDS and I used to frequent this joint.  The food was always good, and the prices were always reasonable.  Today was my first chance to visit this place in years, and it didn't bring back any good (or bad) memories.  It was just another New York City restaurant that has weathered the pandemic, and has found a way to stay alive until things return to a new "Normal".

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FH and I had planned to visit Manhattan's Chinatown or Williamsburgh, Brooklyn today, and Manhattan won out.  So it was off to the core of the Big Apple, hitting every traffic jam along the way.  Once we reached Manhattan, FH's GI Tract started acting up, and we ended up in the West Village.  This is we found an on-street parking spot nearby several open restaurants.  And it was just in time, as FH had to take care of some urgent business.  With that out of the way, we sat down to enjoy a nice late lunch or early dinner.  

Considering that it was starting to get a little bit cooler after we ate, FH suggested that we head over to the Brooklyn Wegmans, so that she could pick up some food before going home. Unlike our previous visits, we had no problems finding a parking spot - Passover was starting, and most Jews were likely to be at home celebrating the holiday with family.  And then, FH's GI Tract acted up again.  So we cut our shopping run short, and went back to her place.   Unfortunately, there were no spaces available near her apartment, so I ended up going home earlier than either of us wanted.

The mess that is Covid-19 Vaccination.

 

This is a picture taken from inside the Covid vaccination site in Yonkers.  Although it just opened up for any qualified New York State resident to make a vaccination appointment, there are no slots open anymore. Now that we have the vaccines to stop the virus, we do not have a unified system in any state which allows qualified people to do efficient "one stop shopping" for a vaccination site.  This is inexcusable.  Each of the 50 states (plus DC and other US territories) could have hired Google, Microsoft or Amazon to design a site which would make the headache of getting a vaccination appointment as easy as the vaccination itself.

Most people had no problem with "essential workers" getting "first dibs" on vaccinations.  Doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals on the front line deserve to be first on line for the shots.  Hardly anyone had problems with infirm residents of nursing homes getting a high priority for their vaccinations.  But once it came to the general public, both seniors (65+) and people with comorbidities (Diabetes, Hypertension, COPD, etc.) things started getting screwed up.

In New York, we have a state run web site for mass vaccination centers run by the state. New York City has its own site.  And drug stores (and drug store chains) have their own appointment scheduling systems.  In some cases, people are calling health care facilities directly to find out if they are giving shots to specific classes of people.  Total confusion reigns here.  I know one person from a Northern NYC exurb who drove to the South Bronx for her shot - after being given a phone number to call.  It's partially what technology one has access to and who you know that determines when (or if) you will get vaccinated before Summer begins.  And we have it good in New York.  Many other states have it worse!

It could be much worse than to be in New York.  Florida's governor has used his powers to distribute the vaccine to take care of white suburban voters who are likely to vote for Republicans in the next election.  Texas is "reopening" way too early, and will likely trigger a new "super spreader" event once the last of the Covid restrictions are lifted. The "Red States" acted as if the virus wouldn't harm them, and they have some of the highest viral transmission rates in the nation, if not the world. It would make much more sense to vaccinate as large as possible a group of people before starting a slow reopening.  But then, these states largely voted for Trump - and they, like lemmings, will march off a cliff if led there by a foolish leader.

Right now, I have a vaccination appointment scheduled for next month.  If I can, I will try to get an earlier appointment, so I can can socialize in safety by the beginning of Summer.  Hopefully, all of my readers will be able to do the same.

What I miss most about the "Old Normal"

With a title like the one above, one might think I was talking about having a girlfriend.  But you'd be wrong.  I realize that I don't miss my ex.  Instead, I miss being able to have closure in a dispute we were having.  She's not worth space in my head, and the memories I have being with her are not worth the time I spent with her.  

However, the above doesn't mention what I miss most about the "Old Normal".  If you were to ask me what I miss most, it would be the ability to be in places where people congregate and to be social. I miss the ability for my acquaintances to hold dinner meetups in local restaurants. I miss meetups where a small group of friends would play board games all night.  I miss being able to go into New York City to go to the theater.  And I miss being able to take vacations wherever I want to go.

A good part of my social life revolved around meetup groups.  I wouldn't think twice of going to more than one dinner meetup group per week if my schedule permitted.  Of course, I had a regular Thursday appointment in Yonkers to play games after work.  These groups helped me refine my feminine presentation and expression.

Although I can go to New York and visit museums today (they are allowed to open at 25% capacity), I am not comfortable using mass transit in the city.  So if I want to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), I'll have to drive into Manhattan and try to find parking there.  This is something I don't like doing.  But I'll do this to have an enjoyable date with one woman.  However, I will miss being able to visit some of my favorite restaurants in Manhattan when I do this.

Most of all, I miss being able to travel where and when I want.  The pandemic has gotten in the way of that.  Cruising is out for the foreseeable future, and I feel I am limited to travel in the Northeast.  This wouldn't be so bad, but I want to get some sun and be able to wear my swimsuit again.  The Hawaii cruise I wanted to take is likely to be cancelled, and it is getting priced too high to bother taking.  Instead, I am now looking at a cruise scheduled for late next year, and am hoping to book that cruise before prices start to spike irrationally.

There are 4 words that I try to focus on when the "New Normal" gets me down....

"This Too Shall Pass."

And I know it will....