California Vacation 2023 - Embarkation Day

 

Embarkation Day.  This is where I figured that we'd have some problems because I had lost (or misplaced) my Princess Medallion.  And I was right....

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Getting up this morning, I knew that when I arrived at the pier, that I'd have to go through a gauntlet of headaches before we could get to our cabin.  So I made sure to touch base (again) with the Princess personnel at the hotel to confirm what I needed to do to get on the ship.  And then the fun began.

RQS and I refused to pay $50 to the hotel's restaurant for breakfast.  So we got on line for the in-house Starbucks, where we found reasonably priced breakfast beverages and refreshments before getting on the bus to the cruise ship in San Pedro.  While making a Bio-Break, the bus came and RQS went outside for the bus.  She didn't hear me announce that "I had to see a man about a horse," so she went outside looking for me.  I got a little anxious looking for her, but things turned out all right and the bus started making its way to the pier.

Once at the pier, we had our first expected problem.  It took forever for the people at the pier to cut one-time-use cruise cards that we'd use to get on the ship.  And then, we walked onto the ship and into our second headache - the wait at Guest Services.  Normally, a visit to Guest Services shouldn't take too long.  But it was chaos in front of the desk, and the air conditioning was not able to keep up with the heat.  As a result, I was dripping when I approached the counter.  (Thankfully, I had no need to wear a wig on this trip, as I'd be presenting as Mario for the duration of the trip.)  About ten minutes later, I had a functioning medallion, and I was set to go.  One problem.  RQS's medallion no longer worked.  So it was back to Guest Services, and another ten minutes later, RQS had her working medallion.

It was a long day, and we took a much needed rest before dinner.  This would be the first of seven days where we'd enjoy great food, walk around a lot, and feel tired by day's end.  Things finally were starting to look good....

A Salt & Battery

A Salt & Battery.  If you want a place with almost no atmosphere that serves authentic British style fish and chips, this is the place to go!  It's a hole in the wall place next to its sister restaurant, Tea & Sympathy, which makes some of the best fried seafood in NYC.  Mind you, there may be only 4 seats in this place, so get there early!

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But first....

I had made plans with one of my TG friends (let's call her SRB) to meet for dinner.  SRB and I have gone out to eat before, and she drives in from her job from the hinterlands of Brooklyn.  Today, she had a hard time getting to the restaurant because of rush hour traffic. But she started to relax when we finally got together.

SRB asked me a personal question regarding my relationship with RQS. And I answered her questions, noting what I was able to give up in my path to femininity to have a romantic relationship.  She said I was lucky, as her ex couldn't deal with it. Then, she told me of a fruitless job search, and I noted that our age and TG status could have gotten in the way of things.  (I'm not going to get into details here, as SRB deserves some privacy.)  All too soon, it was time to leave the restaurant, as others wanted the 2 seats we occupied.  So, off we went to find a Starbucks, or another place where we could sit down with a cup of coffee.  Too bad that the local Starbucks closed an hour earlier than the times posted at the store.

After walking a couple of miles, it was time to part.  I made it to Grand Central with just enough time to take a bio-break and get some iced tea from the Starbucks at Grand Central.  Once I made it to my car, I had a quick chat with RQS before going to Wegmans for some grocery shopping.

As I said in another post - one busy day out of several before I get a chance to have a day solely to myself....

One woman says I passed the test of femininity.

 

Somehow, I feel proud about what happened today.  I passed a test of femininity while presenting as a female. But first....

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The other day, I was told that I've been given the authority to sign checks for my co-op.  However, it is a responsibility I didn't ask for, and almost blew off.  (I couldn't find the original email telling me who to ask for, and I had a case of the "fuck its" until I checked information in my online calendar.  At that point, I knew I wouldn't make it to have lunch with Vicki, and rescheduled our get together for a mid afternoon get together at Starbucks.  This was just as well, as the bank officer wasn't able to speak with me until 1:30, and I'd feel guilty telling Vicki that I screwed up after she left home.

At 1:30, I finally met with the bank officer, and we took care of the co-op account paperwork.  However, I had an issue of my own - I wanted to get the limit on one of my cards increased so that I could pay for my Hawaii cruise with a single charge on a single card.  Instead of shifting available credit balances from one card to another, he suggested that I open up a new account which more than doubled the credit available to me and gave me a $250 bonus for charging $500 to the new card within 3 months.  Of course, I expected to charge $9,000 on the card, so I would likely net almost $400 for opening up the account.  There is one potential issue - this may get in the way of me getting a good rate when I buy a car.  But more on that issue later.

Once done with the bank, I drove home and changed into Marian mode, wearing my new wig.  Vicki said that this wig looks better than my old wig as it better covers my chin bones.  She also apologized for going off on me at our last get together.  And I made a comment about FCP and XGFJ.  She agrees with me on how I interpret things, and said that I did the right thing by saying nothing.

After I left Vicki in Yorktown, it was off to the store to pick up a dessert for my meetup. With dessert in hand, I drove to Milford via the back roads - the turnpike was backed up (as usual). Like last time I was there, showers were in the forecast, and it drizzled a little throughout the party.  So, I sat down inside and read some email.  I found out that an auto dealer was willing to accept MSRP on a sedan, and $1500 over MSRP on the SUV.  So I now have a serious decision to make about buying a car.  While reading my emails, a woman came into the room and asked me if she minded if she changed her top into something warmer.  I shut the front door, and made sure no one came in while she was changing.  About the only thing I could see was her bra.  But she would not have let me see that if she thought I was a male.  RQS said that I passed the female test - women are now accepting me as a woman, albeit a tall, fat, and homely one. And that's fine with me.  I'd have gotten no excitement had she been braless and I had seen her breasts.  When presenting as Marian, I am reacting more and more like a cisgender women than I'd have thought years ago.

What would be going through your mind had you been in my position?