Rain, Rain, Go Away.... (a short post)

 

Unlike the other day, I decided not bothering getting dressed and going out in the rain when I had no real plans for the day.  If it had been dry, I might have put on my exercise dress, applied some blush and lipstick, then gone outside for a 20 minute walk.  Unfortunately, this was not the case.

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This week, it looks like we'll have a total of 7 consecutive rainy days before we see the sun again.  Luckily, RQS will be here for one of these days before she goes home again.  And after one day, I'll be taking the train into NYC, so that we can enjoy a fancy dinner during NYC's Restaurant Week.  

I'll admit that I find it easier to have RQS come to see me, than it is for me to see her.  Yet, because we can get into my car, we have more options regarding what we can do when the weather is bad.  If we are in Queens, we must wait at the bus stop for (up to) 20 minutes before a bus comes, or walk 1/4 mile to the closest subway station, climb up 4-5 flights of steps, and wait outside for (up to) 15 minutes before the train arrives.  Contrast this with a 200 foot walk to my car, and we have many more comfortable options up here.

- - - - - -

Tomorrow is Game Night, and I'm hoping for better weather.  Specifically, I'm hoping that we only have a drizzle in the evening, as I don't want to bother with an umbrella.  But if I need to bring one, I will....

An unplanned dinner with RQS and Vicki

 

Food - Our lives revolve around its consumption, simply because we need to eat now and then. Today, I texted Vicki, and the end result was a nice meal for the 3 of us (and ice cream afterwards).

- - - - - -

RQS and I didn't want to deal with the hot weather.  But we had to go out to pick up some items for the bathroom at Walmart.  So I got dressed in the dress I bought at Universal Standard on Thursday and the two of us headed over to Mohegan Lake. where the two of us planned to get a quick snack, then shop before going to meet Vicki at Lefteris Gyro.  

Of course things didn't work out the way we expected.  We were very hungry when we reached Mickey D's, and were surprised to find the place was closed - the place had lost all power, and couldn't serve any customers.  This meant we had to get our snack elsewhere, and that meant driving over to Taco Bell.  Driving there, I realized that we wouldn't be shopping at Walmart, as we wouldn't have enough time to be sure to meet Vicki at 6:00 pm.  Instead, we drove straight to Mt. Kisco, where we spent our time shopping at Target for the things we planned to get elsewhere.  By doing this, we made it to the restaurant at 6:00 pm, and were on time for dinner.

Upon entering the restaurant, I missed Vicki, as she was in a corner on the left and I was focusing on the right.  After that minor snafu, we settled down to enjoy a good dinner. One of the things I noted was that Vicki was dressed much more casually than in the past. Post-exercise wear for some has a look like wearing PJ's.  Yet, she should be proud of all the weight she has lost to be able to look good in this clothing.  As for me, I'll stick with my dresses, as they hide parts of my body that I want to de-emphasize. Although I knew I was going to come home with leftovers, I didn't know how much I'd be bringing home!  Conversation flowed naturally, as Vicki, RQS and I were all relaxed with each of us having something to share and to take home from the conversation.  (This isn't always the case, given the occasional imbalances we have to talk about certain subjects.) 

All too soon, it was time to brave the weather and make it down to Ben & Jerry's for dessert - Ice Cream.  Although there are a few B&J's ice cream shops scattered over the country, this is the only one I know that's close to the New York City area.  Even more surprising, this would be the first time I've stopped here in over 40 years of living here.  So I knew that I was in for a treat.  One glitch - when moving a table out to seat the three of us, my sundae fell on the floor and had to be replaced.

As we left the ice cream shop, the heavens started to open up,  Even though we were avoiding the heat and rain during the day, we were able to make a good day out of something that could have been crappy.  In the end, this was the big advantage of being outside of NYC this weekend.  

 

Was she dead or alive? Inquiring minds wanted to know.

 

I hadn't seen Pat in months, and I haven't been able to reach her by voice or text.  Given that she's 84 years old, I figured that I should take a drive to her care home to see what was going on....

- - - - - -

Today's weather report predicted a strong chance of rain for the evening - but I decided to brave the weather anyway.  So, around 6:30 pm, I decided to get dressed and drive across the river to Pat's care home.  As I crossed the river, the clouds looked ominous, and I knew that heavy rains were going to come.

I arrived at Pat's place around 7:15, and the receptionist said "long time, no see". Then she told me how to use the new system to record visitors to the building.  My face was scanned, and then I proceeded upstairs to see Pat.  Strangely enough, we got into a serious conversation where we didn't disagree much. Then we talked about me being transgender and how she didn't understand why a man would want to be a woman.  I noted that I didn't have severe gender dysphoria, but that I would rather have been born female - with all the problems that women have to deal with throughout their lives.   The conversation then shifted to sex, but not in a graphic way.  Specifically, I wondered why human males evolved to have 25%-33% more average body mass than human females, and how this is reflected in the first position we think of when a man and woman have sex.  I contrasted this with Bonobo ape sexual behavior, wondering if there is any beneficial evolutionary advantage in how humans have sex.

Of course, I can't do our conversation justice.  It was one of those "you had to be there" moments that will be forever lost in time.  But I did look at Pat's phone to see why she says she is having trouble with the phone.  And I found that she didn't have the phone's ringer set loud enough to be heard.  Once I set the ringer to a loud enough volume, I tested it and it worked properly.  Now, Pat should be able to hear the phone ring - until she screws up the volume again....

Closing out a weekend.

 

I accidentally deleted my original post for today.  So here goes....

Saturday was a rainy day where RQS and I would rather have stayed home.  However, I had taxes to take care of, and I had to take them to my new preparer.  Several traffic jams and delays caused by bad drivers losing control of their cars, we made it to my new preparer and were ready to make our trip to Suffern, NY to see the new Ghostbusters film.  

Why Suffern? you may ask.  There were closer theaters which involved much less driving.  Well, Saturday night's showing was accompanied by a Wurlitzer Organ being played prior to the 7:30 showing.  With the rain and road floods, we barely got to Suffern in time to get a bite to eat and enjoy the organ performance.

Too bad that we didn't stop somewhere other than the pizza parlor near the theater.  I won't name the place, as the food was mediocre at best.  But if you are in Suffern, skip the pizza and go for Mexican. At least we were able to get to the theater early enough to hear the whole organ performance. Was the film good?  For a franchise flick, it was pleasant.  But was it good?  It was an enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half on a Saturday evening. When we returned to the car, I found that a slow leak was detected by the TPMS system.  So I drove home, and made plans to go to Mavis Tires the next morning.  

Sunday came, and I went to Mavis.  90 minutes later, the tire was fixed, and I was home for the rest of the day to rest with RQS.  Unfortunately, Monday came, and RQS had to leave.  So we got some lunch, and I dropped her off at the station, so that she could get home during daytime hours....

Lunch with a friend was the high point of the day

 

I had three things on the docket today, and I blew one off because it looked like we'd have heavy rain in the evening. Luckily, the most important thing, lunch with my friend from the census was on, and we had a great time.

- - - - - -

Although I had my alarms set for 10 am, I didn't get moving until 11 am.  This meant that I only had an hour to get ready for lunch. Since this was going to be a day out as Marian, I made sure to shave all over before getting dressed and made up to go out for lunch.  I may have stood out a little by wearing a sweater dress instead of jeans, but I prefer the feel of a dress over that of trouser like garments.

Arriving at 12:30 pm, I was at the restaurant first for a change.  My friend arrived a couple of minutes later, and I proceeded to chat about my car purchase saga.  Then, I had fun telling her about the man from another meetup group who wanted to help this old lady. She had her own stories to tell as well, such as her upcoming trip out west.  Hopefully, the family will have a great time on this birthday trip.

All too soon, we had to leave.  And my next stop for the day was Trader Joe's, where I hoped to pick up a small tote bag for RQS.  Unfortunately, I could only find the bag in the next size up.  So, I guess that's a keeper for me, and that I'll keep looking for one for her.  Luckily, a visit to TJ's rarely makes a big dent in my wallet.  So I didn't mind going out of the way on a rainy day.

Eventually, I got home.  But I wasn't in the mood to go out.  So I posted a quick message in the meetup forum, and then focused on attending an Arts Westchester Zoom meeting.  I figure that I'll ramp up activities with this organization, as it will give me things to do when I'm up in Westchester....

Sinkholes and other headaches

 

This is the view of a road across the river from me.  I often used this road to return home from my (then) girlfriend's place before I was married. So I'm very surprised that this road would fail in this way.  Yet, I shouldn't be surprised, given the rain we've had lately.  Some TV weather reporter noted that our area received as much rain in one July day as we normally do for the whole month of July.  

Could this excessive rain be related to global warming?  To me, I can't be sure.  But when one mentions Global Warming in some circles, people become irate  A recent article in Fortune reports that many meteorologists are experiencing extreme reactions from the public because they choose to report weather related news honestly mentioning how climate change may be affecting local weather.  Even the weather has become politicized!

What about reports of global warming is so bad?  As I see it, they expose the possibility a given class of people are willingly ignorant of a demonstrable truth, and refuse to see their part (if not responsibility) in causing a global problem.  No one likes to admit that they are wrong.  And when a person's survival depends on being wrong, how can they afford to believe an inconvenient truth?

- - - - - -

In the past 5 years, we've seen excessively hot temperatures in the Pacific Northwest.  People living in homes which never needed air conditioning, now swelter during parts of the summer.  Wildfires in Quebec are producing particulates that result in this year's summer smog in New York, Chicago, Toronto and Montreal.  The world is changing around us, and global warming can explain it.

You'll note that I am not making any prescriptions on what society should do about this problem.  Instead, the first step to a solution (as I learned from a therapist) is to recognize what the problem is. And that's where I am annoyed.  Although I say that global warming is a theory, it is the one with the best evidence to support it.  It's a theory we should take seriously, as the risk factor is great.  We shouldn't be pointing fingers, labeling people as evil.  Many people still depend on the industries (e.g. coal mining) that have caused our problems.  We can't solve the problem unless we can give these people a way to both survive and prosper while retiring these industries.

So where does this leave us?  I don't know.  I have my doubts that the worst offenders will want to see how their actions have made things worse.  And yet, these are the same people who must be involved in the changes we need.  Somehow we must separate their past actions from their future actions, and allow them to move forward without feeling they should feel guilt about a past they couldn't control....

Game Night - The first of the new year.

 

Normally at this time of year, we'd have already had a coating of the white stuff around here and the above scene would be replicated at a nearby park.  Sadly for our reservoirs, we haven't had any snow yet.  But we have had more than enough "warm" days for any winter season.  

With the above being said, tonight's rain made me want to stay home instead of going to Yonkers to play games.  Since I am a regular, I decided to go - and had fun with the gang.  It's always nice to be with this crowd, as I always go as Marian.  And, as usual, I never seem to win any games, but have fun doing so.

Tonight, two of my favorite attendees weren't able to attend.  Given that one's parent is not in the best of health, it was expected that they would be taking care of that parent.  I missed the female half of the couple, as we always have interesting chats after the games are over.  (Yes, she knows I'm trans, and it doesn't matter to her.)  However, a couple of others that I wanted to see were there, and it was nice to see them again.

On other matters....

Lately, I've slowly made process in cleaning up my apartment.  Today, I made the decision to take two donation bags that were ready to go to charity, add a couple of comforters to those bags, and bring them to the donation center the next time I go out.  Additionally, I'm also finding a new home for a piece of luggage that I no longer use, clearing out even more space in my place.  But most importantly, I got around to hanging a poster my brother got me for Christmas - in the one remaining space in the apartment where it wouldn't distract from other things displayed in the apartment....

Seeing a friend from the "North Country"

 

I haven't seen DPV in ages.  We dated once, but found that each other's baggage was too much to carry, so we decided to be friends. With Covid-19, work, and what's been going on in our lives, neither of us has had enough free time to get together.  So I jumped at the opportunity to have a French dinner with her when the opportunity presented itself.

Cafe Les Baux is an intimate restaurant in Millbrook, NY. It's about a 1 hour drive from both where I work and from my home with free flowing traffic. I decided to stop home after work, so that I could check my mail before going to meet DPV.  As expected, the drive took 60 minutes, even with me ignoring Google's directions.  (They recommended taking the Taconic State Parkway through Putnam county - one of the roads I hate driving on due to the characteristics of the road.)  Once I reached Dutchess county, it was smooth sailing to the restaurant.

We agreed to meet at 7:15.  I arrived 15 minutes before DPV, and we had to wait a few minutes until a table freed up.  Both of us ordered the Roast 1/2 duck special, and it was better than anything I could have cooked when I was regularly roasting ducks.  From the appetizers to dessert, everything was top notch, and I highly recommend this restaurant when you have a few extra dollars to spend.  (Both of us went over budget dining here, but it was worth every cent.  I plan to take RQS here when it's time for a special dinner.)

Exiting the restaurant at 10 pm, I realized that I was doing to drive more carefully than usual.  The roads were slick from rain when I got on the road, and I drove much slower than usual on the short section of the Taconic I used before driving through Putnam County on Route 9.  

Although I called RQS when I got home, it was a relatively short chat - we agreed that we'd book our Autumn cruise the following day....

Bahamas Cruise - Day 3 (Charleston, SC)

 

If this cruise stopped at Nassau instead of the port of Charleston, I'd have passed on taking this cruise.  Yet, if I had known it was going to rain, I wouldn't have selected this shore excursion.  Go figure....

- - - - - -

I decided to take the afternoon trip to Fort Sumter, even though it was drizzling all day.  I had paid for this trip before the cruise, and I didn't want to consider the $100 I spent on the tour wasted money.  This was a good thing, as I met a new friend who I'd dine with at the Gem's Specialty Restaurants later in the week, and that I got a much better understanding (in a 10 minute presentation by a park ranger) of the causes for the Civil War than I ever got from the history books I've read.

After getting back to the ship, I ended up dining in the main room with the same lady I dined with earlier in the week.  This lady is a former opera performer, and we seemed to hit it off well.  (Too bad I wasn't in Mario mode.  But then, just as well, as she had already been divorced 3 times.  I don't want to be number 4.)

 

There seemed to be fewer performers on the ship than in the past.  They may have been given easier duties, but required to perform longer than usual to keep staffing levels down.  But then, with lounge areas this empty, I'd expect that the cruise line would need to use gimmicks to make people feel like they were getting their money's worth of entertainment.  (No, this is not a criticism of the cruise line.  Instead, this is a recognition that they have to be careful with every dollar they spend until the ships are running at full capacity again.)  When I looked at the shows on the main stage, I noticed that one of the shows is the same as I found on the ship over 2 years ago.  I guess that they needed to get a show up and running quickly, and re-staging an old show might be the most efficient way of making sure that each ship has at least one "theatrical" production.

 

PS: You'll note that I've said nothing about being transgender.  With the exception of showing my legal ID when returning to the ship, my gender and presentation wasn't an issue for me....

Brunch with the Fun Time Friends

 

 

There were two things on the docket for today: 

• Brunch with the FTF's in Connecticut
• Dinner and a Concert in Tarrytown with Vicki
  

Both of them would have me attending as Marian.  Yet, if I had my druthers on this dreary day, I'd have stayed at home and in bed.

- - - - - 

Although I was awake before the alarms rang, I still needed them to get moving.  In a rush, I ended up putting on my makeup outside my normal sequence. And this delayed my departure, as I had do triple check that my presentation was on target.  When one has a masculine body, one has to make sure that as many signs of masculinity have been disguised, and that as many signs of femininity are displayed. For the most part, I think I do tolerably well as presenting as a large size woman.

After an hour and a quarter of driving in the rain, I made it to the meetup and had a nice brunch.  The seafood pot pie was large, and well worth the price that the restaurant charged.  However, I had two meals out scheduled for the day, and should have chosen the salad for the first meal.  But I didn't know this at the time.

When the meal was over, I drove home, talking to a new woman from OK Cupid.  She's a widow, and located on Long Island.  Given our mutual schedules, we probably won't be seeing each other until the second week of January.

- - - - - -

Around 5:30, Vicki came over, and we drove to Tarrytown for dinner, then went to the Music Hall (a theater) around the corner to see K.T.Turnstall and Martin Sexton perform.  When we got to the theater, we were directed to a pair of orchestra level seats that Vicki found unacceptable - she ordered a pair of seats on the aisle, not in the middle of the row. When people were directed to our seats, we knew we had a problem.  So we ended up (after a discussion) being told that our seats were on the balcony level.  And again, the seats were not what Vicki thought we were getting. So, again, it was a trek to find someone who could help us.  This time, our seats were exchanged for two seats in the orchestra section, closer to the stage than before. But we had the aisle seats that Vicki wanted.

We both enjoyed the concert.  Yet, we were both glad when it ended - it was a long day for both of us. So, I dropped her off at her car, and I did the most feminine thing I could think of - take off my bra, and get into something comfortable....

 

 

 

The first part of the day was a dud....

 

Yes, a rainy morning puts a damper on doing things outside.  Given yesterday's activities, I only had enough energy to do laundry on a dreary day.  So that's what I did.

- - - - - -

After I had the chance to wake up, one of my newer acquaintances gave me a call, and suggested that we meet for an early dinner. And that we did, out in Jersey.  Too bad that I couldn't stop by TCL's place afterwards. But that's another story.

I hope that I will be able to see my new friend again.  We have similar ideas about what is needed in a good relationship.  However, there are drawbacks which could get in the way of things.  So we'll see what happens in the long term.

- - - - - -

Later on, I received a text from FCM.  She wanted to get together again. So I'll have to figure out some time that I can squeeze her into my schedule.

A rainy day, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to go out again.

I decided to try and get an oil change, but to no avail.  The cars were double parked inside of Mavis's parking lot.  If I really want to get the tire rotation and oil change I need at a reasonable price, I'll have to go very early tomorrow morning.

- - - - - -

Last night, I didn't start trying to go to sleep until 2 am or so.  And it seemed to take forever for me to fall out.  But when I finally woke up, I had blown through 2 alarms, only waking up for a 10 am alarm I had set.  This meant that it was going to take some time for me to get moving, and I stayed in the comfort of a warm blanket as long as possible. Eventually, I was up and out of the house around 1 pm, and saw that there was no chance for me to get the oil change I need.  So I ended up picking up lunch at the local Mickey D's, then drove home for a while.

Around 4 pm, I looked out the window, and saw that it was raining.  Did I really want to drive to Connecticut?  I wasn't sure.  But I still had a couple of things to take care of.  First, I had received a "Canvas Letter" from NYS asking me to express my interest in a position across the river from me.  So I ran off a copy of my resume, and enclosed it with a signed copy of the letter, and returned it to Albany to be considered for the position.  Then, I found that my printer had run out of ink.  So, in addition to the Dermablend foundation I needed to buy, I also needed to buy a new ink cartridge for the printer.

I left my apartment around 5:30, which should have given me enough time to make it to the meetup in Norwalk.  Luckily, I allocated the extra 15 minutes, as there was a major backup on Route 95 that I was able to avoid by taking the Merritt.  And I got to the restaurant at the same time that the hostess was arriving.  Instead of sitting down at our table, we realized that "Happy Hour" ended at 7, and that we could still get a discounted drink at the bar.  So we placed our drink orders, had the bartender take the picture above, and then brought our drinks to the table.  From there, most of us partook of Monday's $6 burger night.  YUM!

All too soon, it was time to depart.  The drive home was less of a headache than the drive to the meetup - there was no rush hour start and stops.  However, the rain did get in the way of enjoying the drive, as I had to be much more alert than I usually would be. So I was very glad that I didn't take full advantage of Happy Hour....

An Autumn Nor'easter is expected

When I started this entry, I was grateful that it isn't winter.  A storm like what was expected for this evening through Thursday afternoon would be a pain, but only consist of rain.  It would most likely get in the way of my daily events, but not cause me many problems after the storm ended.

Considering my lack of energy, I decided to bail out on volunteering for the day, and rested until it was time to get ready for dinner in Fishkill.  I expected that a few people would bail from the meetup because of the rain. But I didn't expect that I could be the only person there. So, I decided to brave the rain and drive to the Eleven-Eleven restaurant for a 6:30 dinner.  I arrived at the meetup a few minutes late, as it was hard to find a legal parking lot.  But there was nothing to be concerned about - no one's drink orders had been taken, and it would be a while before dinner orders were taken.

Sitting down at the far end of the table, I was able to chat with a new member of the meetup group.  But she wasn't my prime focus of conversation.  Instead, it was the two people to my right - a husband/wife couple who were interested in cruising.  And I had a couple of stories to tell.  However, it was hard to be heard over the noise.  This is not the place to go if you want a romantic meal.  Instead, this is a place to go when you want a pleasant night with someone, but aren't interested in heavy conversation.

As the gathering waned, WDJ came over to chat with me and this new member.  We were chatting for a while after most of our group left, and I chatted a bit more with this woman after WDJ left.  When the rain eased off a little, the two of us headed to our cars, and we headed to our separate homes.