A trip to the store and dinner with Maria

 

I've been hemming and hawing about buying this set of frivolity.  The colors attracted me to this sleep set, and I felt that it might look strange on me.  But once I wore it for the first time, I can say that it is comfortable - and I may just wear it when RQS is not around.

But first....

Today's weather forecast was for heat and humidity.  It was not a day to go outside, nor was it a day to do anything strenuous.  So I used the already-present summer excuse, and skipped doing the laundry again.  (I'll have to do it tomorrow, as RQS will be here on Friday.)  However, I eventually got moving, as I wanted to see the above sleep set before buying it with cash.  (All my credit cards now have a zero balance, and I want to keep it that way for a while.)  So, I drove down to Lane Bryant at 3:00, and was examining the garments one last time by 3:45.  Shortly afterward, the garments were in the car, and I was on the way home.

There is one more garment that I want to buy.  But I'm not sure if I want to buy it without RQS looking at it. I wouldn't have much use for it right now.  Yet, it would be nice to have in my closet for a special occasion, such as gala night on a cruise ship.  I figure that the above dress could be dressed up a little by the use of the correct jewelry, and I think it would look good on me.  So I think RQS and I will be making a trip to the store over the weekend, weather permitting.

Rush hour starts around 4:00 pm around here, and I took a slightly convoluted way home.  Although I had just enough time to do the laundry, I left this for one of the tasks I'll do tomorrow.  Instead of laundry, I took a needed nap until it was time to meet Maria.  (In retrospect, I should have done laundry, as Maria left for the restaurant 30 minutes later than planned, giving me the extra time that would have been needed to take care of this task.) At 7:10, I left for El Coyote.  I've never had a bad meal here, and it is one of my Mexican standbys.  When I got to the restaurant, I found out that my cell phone could not connect to any service there.  (It's a common problem when indoors in some places.  I may need to buy a new phone which can work with more frequencies.  But I digress.)  So I was out of reach until I left the place.

Around 8:00, Maria finally arrived, and we both ordered Paella.  Yum!  Hopefully, the leftovers will taste at least half as good as when they were first served.  We talked for a couple of hours, and could have gone on longer.  Too bad that there was no one else in the place.  We decided to leave, though we weren't being rushed out.  Why should anyone stay late because of us.

All too soon, Maria and I parted.  Hopefully, I'll be able to introduce her to RQS soon.

I finally got some papers notarized.

 

A few years ago, my friend Maria asked me to do a boudoir photo shoot so that she could print one of my pictures and give it to her husband as an anniversary gift.  In a way, this is my favorite shot, as shows a vulnerable side she rarely shows to people.  Of course, the picture shows that I am an amateur photographer, as no one should be consciously aware of how a scene is lit.

- - - - - -

Today, Maria and I finally had the chance to meet for a few minutes in person.  I needed her to notarize my signature on a form I need to send in, so that I can claim my share of the funds in my late father's IRA. So we scheduled an after work get together at a McDonald's near her house.

As usual, my work day was 8 hours of electronic "Whack-a-Mole",  Luckily, I had a good sleep the night before, and was able to get through the day without falling asleep at my desk too often.  This is a job that I go to for two reasons only: (1) Money and (2) Something to occupy my time during the day.  Do I enjoy the job?  Not really.  But I don't hate it either.  I should have looked for a part time job, so that I'd have more time in my life to schedule and do the things I want to do.

Luckily, I get out at 4:30, and can beat rush hour choke points on the way home, and on my way up North.  That is what I did, making it to Fishkill an hour before Maria and I were supposed to meet.  So I went shopping at the local Walmart to kill time, then I drove to the McDonald's to meet Maria.

This turned out to be a very quick meeting with Maria.  It was freezing outside, and we both had other things to do.  Her notary stamp was giving her trouble, so she had to stamp the form twice.  Hopefully, that won't be a problem when I send it in to the bank.  At least, I'm all done for now.

- - - - - -

Afterwards, I went looking for a place where a food truck is going to be next week.  Ever since I've heard of Cousins Maine Lobster before, and I wanted to try something from their food trucks.  Every time one is nearby, I'm scheduled to be elsewhere.  So I went to Hopewell, thinking that the truck was going to be there today.  And I was surprised to find another food truck there.  Since I was "in for a penny, in for a pound," I decided to try a grilled shrimp Po'Boy sandwich.  The sandwich was so messy, that I figured that it would be best eaten at home.  And 45 minutes later, that's just what I did.  It was yummy.  But the next time I order from this truck, I'll ask for a few less greens so that the sandwich is easier to eat.

On the way home, I talked with the woman who used to run a store I used to shop at.  We were getting along fine, but something she said was a hint that she couldn't deal with the Marian side of me.  Oh, well.  I haven't put a few years' investment into this relationship, so I'll have little to be upset about if she reacts negatively to my reveal.

Once I finished eating, I decided to make reservations for the dinner I plan to have with FH tomorrow.  She deserves to go to a nice place once in a while, and I'm glad I can take her there tomorrow.  FH may not be the one for me in the long term, but I like her - and that's what counts.

It was the end of the week, and things are catching up with me.

  

 
Several  weeks ago, Vicki suggested I buy the above top to go with the wide leg trousers I wore to dinner with her.  Today, due to Lane Bryant not having the top in its warehouse, I decided to drive to New Jersey to buy it.  This top and the top below were the results of this shopping trip, a trip that cost me more in gas and tolls than what I may have saved if I could have bought either top online.

With my face, I am far from a 10.  The weight also makes me look fat - because I am.  Yet, I seem to blend in well enough to be accepted by people in the female role.  Of course, the voice training I got at Mercy College helped a lot in making my female presentation workable for everyday use.  (Now, if only I could get rid of my male body fat distribution and develop a set of hips in its place....)

But why do I say that things were catching up with me?  People I didn't expect to get in contact were getting in contact with me, and I didn't have the time to do all the things I needed or wanted to do.  For example, my friend from game night wanted to confirm going on our hike and wanted to bring another friend from game night along.  I wasn't going to miss seeing this other friend as well, so I made sure to say YES to that.  Then, one of the two women I befriended from Mercy contacted me and wanted to schedule getting together.  With two events already on my calendar that took up days I'd normally use to get together, I decided to use a Thursday, now that my Texas friends are meeting in person and not via Zoom.  And I had to consider my get together with FH, along with my weekly chores of buying food for the week, with laundry afterwards.  How do I fit everything in to my schedule, now that things are opening up again?  I haven't had to think this way since the last time I was gainfully employed.

If I were dating someone who were coming to my apartment on a regular basis, I wouldn't have done what I did after work today - go shopping for the above two tops.  I would have been with the woman, as I would have put her needs first.  Since I had nothing better to do, I decided to take a drive to look at the above two tops. It's been ages since I was in Clifton, NJ - almost 40 years ago, when on a gig for a "consulting" firm (read: Rent a Programmer) that has been gobbled up by even larger firms since then.  The firm I was contracted to also has been gobbled up.  So I didn't expect many professional memories to be stirred up while on the drive - and they weren't.  Yet, I didn't expect to see how much the area had changed since I was there last.  All the landmarks I might have remembered were gone, and either large strip malls or apartment complexes were left in their wake.  The Lane Bryant store I went to was in one of those malls.

By the time I left the store, all the rush hour traffic I saw along the way had dissipated. So I decided to take a leisurely ride back home.  Could I have bothered to do laundry?  Yes.  But I was too tired from getting up at 6 am.  Instead, I decided to rest, and fell out with the TV on....

I only wish I could get enough sleep.

 

Yes, I could go to bed earlier, but I'm a woman with bad habits.  If I had someone to share my bed, things might be different.  But this is not going to be the case for a while yet.

- - - - - -

Last night, I had a hard time falling to sleep.  So, I decided to fire up Netflix and look for the "Headspace Guide to Meditation".  Somehow, if I can get into a meditative state late at night (or when overtired), I will fall asleep.  And this is exactly what happened towards the end of the first episode.

When I awoke early in the morning, several episodes of the series had played while I was asleep, and I switched the TV to MSNBC to get my fix of Morning Joe while I was getting ready for work.  Leaving the house a few minutes earlier than usual, I was able to avoid much of the rush hour crunch that affects Route 9A south of Croton.  This allowed me to reach the office with 20 minutes to spare.  (I needed those minutes to have a second cup of coffee.)

All though the day, Hypnos (the Greek god of sleep) was testing me. Yet, I was able to function tolerably well until the end of the work day.  After stopping at home, I decided to make a quick run to Walmart to get some exfoliating makeup remover wipes.  Walmart's store brand is relatively inexpensive, and their exfoliating wipes don't disintegrate when contacting the stubble on my face.  Unfortunately, they didn't have the exfoliating wipes in stock, so I'll have to look for them on my next Walmart run.  

Maybe tonight, I'll fall out before Perry Mason comes on....