According to the weatherman, when the temperature is hot....

Although I had only one thing on the docket for today, it almost got totally screwed up.  So let me start from the beginning, and explain why the temperature made a difference in things.

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Today, I was scheduled to see a friend I once dated, but both of agreed we'd make better friends than lovers.  Like RQS, this woman, VW, is an LCSW.  (Free therapy!  😇)  Being serious, I don't interact with any of my friends in their professional capacities with one exception - Maria, who will notarize paperwork for me.  Both of us had agreed on a place to eat, but we made one mistake - we didn't make sure that the restaurant was open on Tuesdays.  So, I suggested a fallback - a local buffet.  After doing some shopping at the "Dollar Store", I went and checked whether the buffet was open - it wasn't.  So, I called VW again, and we decided to meet at a nearby "Red Sauce" joint that I knew would likely be open.

I got to the "Red Sauce" joint before VW, and I decided to go indoors as it was starting to get too warm to eat out on the patio.  Yet, indoors wasn't as cool as I'd like, as the doors to the outside were opening and closing way too often for the A/C to catch up.  We had a nice chat, and we agreed to meet towards the end of July, when I'd introduce her to RQS.  The two of us had to leave around 3 pm, VW to ick up her dog at the vet, and me because I might need a bio-break in a hurry.

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Once home, I rested for a bit, then decided to tackle the assembly of my new chair.  It's a 1.25 person job, but I was able to do it alone.  Once done, I tried to get the chair inside my bedroom.  But the chair was too wide.  So, I had to get creative to get it in the bedroom and put it by my desk.

Tomorrow, I will need to get dressed, only to take the box the chair came in out to the dumpster, along with some garbage that I need out of the apartment.  Hopefully, I'll wake up early enough to do this before the temperature gets unbearably hot.  (They expect us to be in a 100+ degree heat bubble for the next 5 days.  And I don't intend to go out much until the bubble breaks.) 

Lunch with Vicki

 

Often, Vicki and I will choose either Japanese or Greek restaurants for our periodic lunches.  Today, I had trouble confirming lunch with her, as she was already in an exercise class.  But once we confirmed our get together, I rushed to get showered and dressed to meet her at 12:30.

Today's lunch was at the local Japanese restaurant.  Given that Vicki had a minor GI-Tract issue recently, she decided to pass on the sushi we usually have and instead went for the hibachi steak.  Since I've had that dish before, I decided to try the scallops for something easier to digest.  And then, we got to discussing more serious matters such as my relationship with RQS, my former relationship with XGFJ, and my former friendship with FCP.  She talked about her family issues and where she might live if her husband were to pass away first.  (Hopefully, that won't happen for a long time.)

Once finished with lunch, I drove to Kohl's to pick up a dress I had on order.  Now that I knew the routine, I knew the process of locating my item.  One problem, my pickup location was on the main aisle, and not in the smaller aisles to the side.  This was a minor issue, and I drove home to rest for a while.

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Around 6:30, I put my dress back on, and was off to a Red Sauce joint for dinner before proceeding to Walmart to look for some undies (actually bike shorts to avoid chafing).  Unlike my last visit to Walmart, I encountered no females looking to chat.  Instead, I had to rush to the lavatory for an emergency bio-break.  AARGH!  At least, Walmart's stalls were clean and safe. I mention a bio-break, simply because I no longer worry about going to the women's room - I'm confident enough in my gender presentation to be accepted as a female in most places around where I live.

On my way home, I called RQS to catch up on the day's events.  It was a nice day out presenting as female, and I will be doing so tomorrow as I pick RQS up from the station.

I didn't go out today.

 

I'd have loved to have Julia Child cook for me while she was alive.  Sadly, she's been gone for many years, but she left us with a cookbook with the essentials of French Cooking.  When I was young, I was a reverse snob, thinking that French Food was needlessly pretentious.  But that's simply because of cultural influences defined by many of New York's (and America's) early restaurants - French food was a sign of high culture.  I had yet to see French food as "Vittles" or "Grub" that the average French person might eat. Luckily, the more I got to know about the world, I learned that she was not as pretentious as my impressions of French Cuisine were.

Living in New York, I find it hard to see Italian food as anything but "Stick to your Ribs" food - there are way too many good inexpensive "Red Sauce" joints in the New York City area that allow me to think of Italian food (even its' American bastardization) as anything but everyday cooking.  So, when I go on cruise ships, I tend to avoid the ships' Italian restaurants for good reason - I don't want to be disappointed by a specialty meal which is not so special   In fact, the one time RQS and I ate at NCL's Italian restaurant, La Cucina, it was one of the worst meals I ever had on a cruise ship.  Yet, Princess's Italian restaurant, Sabbatini's had some of the best Italian food I ever had on a cruise ship, well worth the premium it would cost to dine here.  (I shouldn't leave out main dining room selections from MSC, where their Italian selections are always good.)

Tonight, I got dressed for only one reason - I placed an order for delivery from one of the Red Sauce joints near me.  This place is predictable and good.  But it has absolutely no atmosphere.  It's a place where one can order a slice of pizza to stay, eating in a marginally comfortable booth, or have a pizza made for takeaway. This is my one indulgence for the day, as I don't want to cook anything tonight.

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I mentioned that my friend Maria had medical issues.  Today, she had a CT scan, and will have the results next week.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her.