I finally got out today, and I got some of what would not be bad news for normal people

 

This morning, I found that I had to go out as Mario, so that I could get passport photos that would pass muster for getting a renewed passport.  After I got the photo, I found that the photographer was way too close to me, and that the government's AI couldn't process the image.  (There's $18 down the tubes!)  Later, when I reprocessed a picture that the AI couldn't find my eyes (it claimed they were closed), it found the eyes and accepted the image.  Go figure. Once done with the photos, I chatted with the photographer and showed her pictures of me as Marian.  She couldn't believe it.  So, I may drop back to the store as Marian and see if she remembers me from the day before.

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I rested for most of the day, save for the period where I chatted with my financial planner.  It was a long talk about things of interest, including Chris Ferguson going "All In" at the WSOP (World Series of Poker) with three 6's and a pair of 8's.   There was only one have that could beat him, and it was three 8's with a pair of 6's.  And the other fellow had that in his hand.  As Ferguson was leaving the table, one of the fans watching the game said to Ferguson, "Jesus should know better than to go 'All In' with the devil's hand."  (Ferguson's nickname is "Jesus", as he once had a longer beard and looked just like the image of Jesus depicted in many pictures.)

 

Around 6 pm, I got made up and dressed as Marian and went out to go food shopping.  One problem - I had to get something to eat.  And I found an outlet of a sushi restaurant, where all dishes are presented to the diner on a conveyor belt. RQS and I have eaten at Kura before.  So I knew that the food would be safe.  But the bill would add up quickly.  And that it did.   Once done, it was over to Lidl for food shopping.  Total cost for this trip - $115.  Yet, it was worth it to have had a nice variety of sushi and an inexpensive supermarket run.

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On the way home, I chatted with my brother.  Politically, we are on opposite sides, and I can't see many of his claims that businesses are investing in America again, and that we're rebuilding our manufacturing base.  Nor can I justify the war with Iran, that he supports wholeheartedly. Could he be right?  I doubt it, but I don't claim to read as many news sources as he does.  (I'll bet he's BS'ing me, but doesn't want to admit it.)  If we weren't brothers, I doubt that we'd want to know each other.

But what would be good news for most people, and bad for me?  Well, I had planned a Marian mode weekend with RQS, and then meet my niece (and her hubby) in NYC for dinner.  My brother was thinking of getting my niece, my nephew, himself, RQS and I together for dinner.  That would kill a weekend spent as Marian.  AARGH 

Now, to contact my niece and see what she thinks.... 

Taking care of business ...slowly

 

I'll be glad when I get back from my trip, as I can move forward with taking care of my legs.  Today, the thigh and calf muscles were "sort of" behaving, but my knees bothered me when I stood up.  Pain killers will help a little, but I bet that there will be more things wrong with me that the doctor has to diagnose.

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I didn't really start moving today until noon.  This time, my knees were bothering me.  So, I added some pain killers to my morning regimen of pills.  But, I couldn't go out until after 2, as I had someone from a financial firm I had to talk to.

In mid afternoon, a lady from the financial firm called, and we proceeded to start signing me up as a client.  Seems like the registration process stops when no beneficiary Social Security number is entered.  Although I got the information from RQS (she's going to be my beneficiary), their system wouldn't allow me to continue - there's a bug in the environment.  So, I'll have to make a phone call tomorrow.

Next, it was off to the drug store to get some pain killers.  While there, I got new passport photos for the foreign birth registry AND a digital copy of the photo for use when renewing my US passport.  Although the injectors (whatever you call the needles) were ready for me to pick up, the GLP-1 drug wasn't ready.  I had to give the drug store my Medicare ID again.  AARGH!   Let's hope everything is taken care of before I leave on my trip.

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With the possible exception of tomorrow, this will be the longest stretch of time I'll be spending as Mario for a long while.  I can't wait to get back home from my trip, so that I can schedule more doctor appointments, and in-between, spend some time as Marian again. 

 

Today didn't go as planned - and it's just as well.

 

Yesterday, I sent out two pieces of paper by snail mail.  The first was a form my brother needs to have notarized so that we can send it in to the town for a rental permit.  The second was to my best friend from college, trying to find out why his special email account was disconnected.  (Given that he had a stroke a few years ago, I assume the worst - he passed away, and both his email account and his domain (blueroan.com) were shut down.)  Hopefully, my brother will be able to get the first piece of paper taken care of before his vacation, and I will get notice that my friend is alive and well in Florida.

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Today, I planned to get some passport photos taken, fill out the form to register my overseas birth with a foreign registrar.  This would allow me to get my second passport, something I might need if things go "impossibly" wrong here for us transgenders.  Well, I got those photos taken, but I didn't fill out the form, as I wanted to make sure I could get things notarized and a paperwork package in international mail on the same day. Next, I wanted to do some laundry, so that I would have fresh clothes for an upcoming trip.  (This I did later on in the day.)  Then, things went wrong - I knocked over a lamp in my bedroom and glass was scattered on the floor on RQS's side of the bed.  Now, I had to take care of two things: (1) Clean off the carpet as best I could and vacuum the remaining glass fragments out of the carpet; (2) Buy a replacement lamp, so that I have enough light in the room when I'm not sleeping.

If I had gotten everything done as planned, I would have switched into female presentation to close out the day, and consider going to the movies where I'd be entertained for the evening.  Given that I needed to be male presentation for the passport photos and it was in the 90's outside, it wasn't worth switching into Marian's presentation to go shopping.  At least, tomorrow I will be able to get into Marian mode again.