I spent the weekend with GFJ, and had the pleasant opportunity to see "Raise Hell: The life and times of Molly Ivins" on Sunday night. Usually, it's GFJ who falls asleep during the movie. But I missed a bit of the movie because I couldn't stay fully awake. (Having just eaten a heavy dinner didn't help.) What I saw of the film, I liked. And I hope to catch it when it comes to cable sometime in the near future.
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The next day, I accompanied GFJ to her dermatologist, so that a cyst could be removed from her left shoulder. I'm glad I did so, as she didn't feel good about driving on the way back to her place. She told me that the doctor had to dig deep to get all of the cyst out, and that she expected the wound to hurt a bit as it healed.
When I drove home in the afternoon, I could have called my GP to schedule my yearly physical. I missed his office when I got home, as it now shuts down at 3 pm - and I got home at 3:45 pm. (Dollars to doughnuts, based on his shrinking office hours, that he is readying himself for his eventual retirement. That's another story for another post.) But I did make it to the drug store for my second shingles shot. And this was something I had to do while presenting as a male.
Getting home, I played the messages on my answering machine that I couldn't play while away. Once I got the phone number of the lady I had to contact for an interview, we scheduled an interview for next week - an interview that I'll go to as a female. Assuming that I work again, I intend to do so while presenting as Marian. Although my legal identity may still be in Mario's name, I want to continue my path towards living my life as Marian and not as Mario.
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Tuesday came, and I wasn't in the mood to do anything. JS and I were supposed to get together, but she cancelled out. Seems like she needed to earn an extra few dollars tutoring a child today. In our quick online exchange of messages, I think it's fair to assume that nothing has changed in her life, save that the assumptions she made to take the job in Brooklyn were invalid - her costs are higher than expected, and the commute is sapping the energy out of her. Too bad that she didn't take her financial planner's advice and move to Florida - she'd be better off down there. This left me with one thing on my docket - going to the dining meetup. Did I really want to get showered, made up and dressed? That was the big question I had to address, and I had to address it by 3:30 or so.
Around 4:00, I ended up taking my shower and getting ready for tonight's dinner. GFJ called me as I was about to put on my makeup, and I chatter with her for about a half hour. (There went the extra time I needed to arrive early at the restaurant.) But it was worth the awkward timing, as she's been getting tired earlier in the evening than in the past, and I wanted to chat while both of us were able to chat coherently.
A little before 6:00, I ended up leaving for dinner, and I got stuck in slow moving traffic along Route 9. It didn't help that the driver just ahead of me was impaired. No, I'm not saying that the person was drinking or drugging. Instead, I think that he didn't have a clear view of the roadway's edge due to the rain, and had trouble staying fully in the lane. (If he had also been swerving over the center double line, I'd have thought the person was under the influence.) Even I was having trouble driving, given the darkness and the drizzle. A hard rain might have been better, as people may have driven more slowly and followed a path set by the leader of the pack of cars.
Just before 6:45, I arrived at the restaurant and found a seat. This restaurant did not know how to handle late arrivals for a large group, nor did it staff our area properly. I had to get up and ask the waitress for the Prix-Fixe menu, as she didn't bring me one on my arrival. She shouldn't be given a hard time based on my writing- the waitress was doing the job of two people, and had to deal with the needs of 28 people. Unfortunately, the restaurant was too noisy for my taste, and I had a hard time chatting with people. To keep myself busy, I started reading articles on my cell phone. (Where would we be without these devices?) But, I was glad to be drawn back into conversations by my table neighbors, as well as by WDJ.
Our meetup broke up a little after 9:00, and I drove home through the rain. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to reach GFJ again, so I was glad that I spoke with her before leaving for dinner. Arriving home without incident, I stripped out of my clothes and got into something comfortable for the rest of the night.
