The only reason we left the house was to move the car.

 

RQS lives on a street with Alternate Side of the Street parking.  When I arrived on Friday, I parked on the wrong side of the street for short term convenience, knowing that I'd have to move my car again if I wanted to stay over until Monday morning.  Well, Sunday came, and I planned to stay over.

Around 3:30 pm, we went out to move the car.  It was in front of the building next door, and I had to move it to an opposite side of the street.  (Her side is no parking on Monday/Thursday mornings, while the other side is no parking on Tuesday/Friday mornings.)  We got very lucky.  There was a good open spot right around the corner.  So, I parked there before we headed to the supermarket.

The area of Queens we were in borders Brooklyn, and this is one of many neighborhoods in NYC where per-consolidation street grids clash.  The bus route that RQS takes to the subway was established when trolleys ran between Brooklyn and Queens, and had to be changed slightly when some awkward intersections were taken off the street grid.  As a result, the main bus route that takes us to a key subway station makes a strange zig-zag before it crosses Myrtle Avenue.  For us, we didn't need to do the zig-zag, as we could walk along the path the road once took and cross Myrtle Avenue without problems, on our way to the supermarket.

The Ridgewood, Glendale and Bushwick neighborhoods are undergoing ethnic change.  Gone are the days when both Ridgewood and Glendale were German neighborhoods, although some traces of this still remain in a few stores which were founded during that era.  Now, the Spanish speaking community has moved into some of the blocks while others are being gentrified.  Gone are the days when one could rent a 2 bedroom apartment for under $2,000.  Given the going rate in RQS's area, I don't know how any newcomers can afford to live there.  But I digress.

We reached the supermarket and picked up some things to have with our leftovers meal that evening.  We had a sweet tooth for Ice Cream Sandwiches, so we picked up some Klondike Cookies & Cream.  Then, we picked up an apple pie before walking back to RQS's place.  Sadly, neither of these items were to our liking.  We prefer Fat Boy's Ice Cream Sandwiches to Klondike's.  And the apple pie was best left forgotten, the brand never to be purchased again.

Were the leftovers good?  Yes.  Was it worth staying over an extra night?  Of course.  But, do I wish I found a spot on the right side of the street on Friday?  YES!!!!  Both of us would rather have stayed in bed until evening.  But if we had done so, I would have had to leave for home that night.

The day after the cruise - back to reality

 

It's 10 pm and I'm back to reality.  There are two baskets of laundry waiting to be put into the washer, a bed to be straightened out before I go to sleep, and a dress to hang up for its next wearing.  I'm home, and I wish I were already on my next cruise.

- - - - - -

Although I woke up early after a short sleep, I didn't bother to get moving until noon.  There were clothes in a laundry basket left unfolded since before the cruise that had to be taken care of.  Of course, I was doing this on an empty stomach, as there was no fresh food in the house to eat.  About the only things I had to eat at home other than dried pasta and bottled tomato sauce were packages of instant oatmeal.  And that sated my hunger for a while.

Later on, I decided to get dressed and go out as Marian.  Once I showered, shaved and made up my face, I noticed one thing - I couldn't find the belt I normally wear with the dress I was wearing.  So, I knew what I had to do - shop!  This meant that I'd drive out to Paramus to see what Lane Bryant had lying around.  About 45 minutes later, I was in the store and carrying a bag with 2 belts and a necklace. 

Now that I spent most of my my discretionary money, I decided to have some dinner at a local diner. I chose the seafood over pasta - and I was stuffed!  I was lucky that the meal I ordered didn't include dessert, as I'd have to take it home in a pooch pouch.  And then, I was finally on my way home for the night with a quick stop at the supermarket to put something in the ice box.

Reality wasn't bad to me today - it's nice to sleep in my own bed again.

I did nothing I needed to do, save for going to the dentist

 

Although I used to go to the dentist as Mario, I now usually appear at the dentist's office as Marian. I don't remember how this started, but I'm glad I could do so. I only wish I could do so with more people in my life. But, sadly, this is not yet possible.

- - - - - -

This morning, I woke up after not getting enough sleep.  I thought I'd be tired throughout the day, but I was wrong.  Around 1 pm, I got showered, dressed, and made up to go out for the day - just in time to make it to my 2 pm appointment at the dentist's office for my 3x yearly teeth cleaning.  after a little chit chat, I was out the door by 2:45, and off to get something to eat.

My next stop was in Peekskill, where I stopped for pizza.  After that, it was off to the supermarket to pick up tonight's dinner, and some ribs RQS and I could eat tomorrow night.  Once I got home, I put my goodies in the ice box, then rested.  Did I do laundry?  No.  Did I pack for my upcoming trip?  No.  As I said in the title of this entry, I did nothing except for going to the dentist - and I feel good about this.

It was a long, hot weekend - and we stayed inside as much as possible.

 

This past weekend, I decided to drive to RQS's place with my new car instead of taking mass transit and suffering with 100+ degree real-feel heat.  It was too hot to do anything, and we stayed inside as much as possible.

But first....

RQS was expecting a refrigerator delivery on Friday, and no one called to tell her that the delivery was going to be delayed.  She had a 8:00-11:30 am delivery window that kept slipping.  By the time she got around to talking to the store, I was already on my way down for a 4:00 pm arrival.  At that time, she found out that the delivery truck broke down, and no one claimed responsibility for notifying her that she wouldn't get the delivery on the scheduled date.  In short, she had taken food out of the old ice box using the store's expected time to facilitate receipt of the new ice box, and much of the food was likely unsafe to eat. 

At this point, we wrote off the food from the ice box, and decided to go to one of our favorite restaurants for some Mediterranean food.  This was a mistake, as they didn't have the AC on.  Although we enjoyed the food, it was too warm to feel comfortable.  (Luckily, the temperature had yet to spike, as it would later in the weekend.)

The refrigerator was rescheduled for delivery the next day, and again, things were running late.  This time, she was told to expect a delivery between 7:30 am and 10:30 am.  And then, the computer reported another delay - delivery was expected between 10:30 am and 1:00 pm.  Well, the delivery men came at 10:20 am, and were gone by 11:00 am.  That meant that we could finally get some breakfast (actually, lunch) and then go to the local Stop and Shop to fill the new ice box.

When we arrived at the supermarket, we found that a lot of the shelves were either empty or poorly stocked.  Both of us figured that the store had electrical problems, and several of the refrigerated compartments lost power.  This would cause the contents (mostly dairy and frozen foods) to go bad, and not be saleable.  So, we ended up NOT getting the ice cream we wanted, and not getting the vegetables we wanted.  But we did get a rack of ribs we would cook the next day.

After we were done shopping, we were in for the next two days.  Saturday evening's meal was a delivered pizza.  Sunday's dinner was the rack of ribs bought the day before.  YUM!   I was glad that I parked in a spot that I didn't have to vacate until Monday night, as I didn't want to go outside when the weather felt like it was over 100 degrees "real-feel". Luckily, by the time I had to go to my car, the temperature was still in the 70's, and I made it home before going outside was unbearable.

 

 

PS: Later on, I got dressed in Marian mode and went to see a movie.  It was nice to get back into a dress again.

PPS: One of my Facebook friends is a Transgal who still uses her male id for legal purposes.  She will be taking an international trip this fall, and I want to find out if she has any problems with her identification.

A Holiday Weekend with RQS (Part 2)

 

Since this was Independence Day weekend, RQS and I had thought of going to a Fireworks display on Sunday.  This was not to be. We thought we'd do some furniture shopping in the afternoon,  and it made more sense to clean the apartment a little before going out. Once we spent 30 minutes in clean-up activities, we felt it a better choice to stay at home and watch movies all day.  Although we did go out in the evening to get some ice cream, this was a day that we paid attention to the weather and rested at home.

- - - - - -

Monday was just as warm as it was the day before.  But we had to go out - RQS left her shower cap at home, and it was time for her to take a nice leisurely bath.  (RQS's bath tub is only large enough for Billy Barty, and he's been gone for 23 years now.)  So, it was up to Poughkeepsie, where I did some sofa shopping, and then to Target for the Shower Cap.

On the way home, we stopped off at a supermarket for items needed for dinner.  Although I had some pork chops ready to cook, we still needed salad stuff and dessert - which we found at a reasonable price. Once home, I tried cooking the pork chops in a new way (for me), doing most of the cooking in a toaster oven and giving them some texture by searing in a cast-iron skillet.  Was my cooking a success?  Maybe.  But I learned to use more seasoning the next time I do this.

- - - - - -

Finally, it was Independence Day, and time for RQS to leave.  As Shakespeare said, "Parting is such sweet sorrow."  I didn't want RQS to leave, and yet I appreciated having space to myself again.  RQS got home safely, and her cat was all over her when she opened the door.

Random thoughts on a weekend day

I usually take care of shopping for the week on weekends.  When I'm at RQS's place I usually go to the supermarket on my way home.  This way, I'm able to pick up lunches for several days.  If I haven't done my laundry, Sunday is the day it gets done.  This weekend, I got a little bit done, but didn't have energy for anything else.

Yes, I've written about being tired many times before.  And I will likely do so again.  But I've noticed that when I don't have much at stake, I tend to do nothing - not forcing myself to gt up to do any of the things I need to do.  Is it old age, is it depression, or is it something else?  The root of my lethargy is a big concern to me, as I feel that as I approach traditional retirement age that I need to understand more about my health.

- - - - - -

Years ago, I could ride a bicycle all day, covering 50 miles without much thought other than the time it would take to do so.  Today, I couldn't even pedal a bicycle up the small hill that I live on.  Much of this can be explained by the weight I've put on over the years.  But that's not the only factor.  I never learned how to eat healthy, nor did I develop a taste for "healthy" things to eat.

One of the things I can do to help myself is to get outdoors more often.  Before I took my current job, I had no problem finding time to do this - even in the worst days of the pandemic.  Now, it's much harder for me.  I figure that things will get better once I finally retire for good, as I will both have no excuses not to get out and I will have the time (and energy) to do so when my body is ready to do so.

- - - - - -

In chatting with my brother for a few minutes, he mentioned that an operation he just had is healing nicely.  Hopefully, he'll still be glad that he took care of this when he has to go to work.  In many ways, he's in the same position I'm in - he can't ask a family member for help.  In his case, he'd prefer to ask a friend for help.  In my case, I'd need to ask a friend for help.  This will become more of a problem as we get older, as there will be fewer people around that we can ask for help when we need it.

- - - - - -

I could go on and on about little things.  But I'm not in the mood for regurgitating little things.  So, I'll end this entry here....

Weekly Food Shopping

 

Above is a woman who gets in her daily share of minerals in a non-traditional way.  As for me, I end up buying prepackaged meals at the local grocery store, as I am often too tired to prepare a set of proper lunches for the rest of the week.  And this is what I want to focus on today....

- - - - - -

Sometime before the pandemic started, I decided to try Freshly's pre-made meals.  Although they were tasty (and healthy), the problems with the last mile delivery services (e.g. LaserShip) made me cancel the service.  Who wants to look at nearby doorways to find a set of boxed meals that should have been delivered to one's own door?  The last time I used Freshly, their last mile delivery services got the delivery wrong 10 out of 13 deliveries.  So I am a little hesitant about choosing this service.  

After dropping Freshly, I went to Top Chef Meals.  This service is located 15-20 minutes South of me (near where I work now), and is easy to reach for small orders.  When I used it last, I could place an order for 6 meals and pick them up locally for no charge.  This option isn't available today, and I'd have to order 10 meals to get "free shipping."  Yet, I am seriously thinking of using this service again given where I work.  The meals were good, and I could easily customize them to recognize my vegetable preferences.  (I hope that they have better last mile servicing than Freshly does....)

- - - - - -

Unfortunately, the pandemic got in the way of me using these services.  I could now use one, so that I don't have to deal with a weekly visit to Wegman's, Stop and Shop, or Shoprite for my lunches.  It's a big pain to rush out every weekend to pick up my meals for the week, as it doesn't make sense to pay for delivery from a nearby deli.

As you can guess, I am not a fan of cooking for one.  I miss having someone to share housekeeping duties with.  But in many ways, I am still a typical American male - as I will let someone take care of things if possible.  Thankfully, there are prepared meal services available that make my life easier than it would have been had I been in this position 50 years ago.

Where is Skeeter Davis when you need her for a theme song?

 

At the time I started to write this entry, I was watching a film on Netflix called "Don't Look Up."  It's the story of two people who find a planet destroying comet, and all of the lunacy that happens when politicians and businessmen try to spin this knowledge for their own gains.  

All too often, we're finding that our political leadership uses emotional manipulation to keep the common people under control.  Much of our media dulls our senses, so that we won't notice the truths we have to deal with on a regular basis.  In the film, the media is painted as only wanting to deliver "happy news", trying to spin the projected destruction of the earth into an event that will benefit us all.  This is too close to real life for comfort, given the amount of "happy news" being broadcast on network TV.

What would happen if there was an extinction level event?  Given the past few years of politics, I think we'd fail to rise to the challenge.   Hopefully, Skeeter Davis would have had an alternate version of "It's the End of the World." in the can for us to listen to.

- - - - - -

But enough of that....

Today was a typical weekend day that started out with nothing for me to do, save clean up this apartment of mine.  And I proceeded to kill time as to not do that.  Then, I still have a hard decision to make - do I really want to keep this job I have?  I like having the money from the job, but I don't like how drained I feel after a long day at the office.  No, I can't complain about how I'm being treated.  It's the nature of the work environment that I don't like - it's an electronic assembly line that doesn't allow much for social interaction.  This is a problem for me, as I need more social interaction than I'm getting now.

After wasting the whole day in bed watching TV, I decided to go out as Mario.  It feels a little strange getting dressed this way, but it is the quickest thing I can do to get out - even if only to fill my car up with gas.  Unfortunately, I went to the wrong supermarket (ACME) as they did not seem to have a section where I could find pre-made meals that I could heat up at lunch.  So I picked up a couple of frozen dinners, and will eat them until I can go to Stew Leonard's or Wegmans to get something "Fresh."

Once I finished dinner, I called CWS.  Three hours later, we realized how long our call was, and called it a night.  But that wasn't the end of phone calls.  My friend Patty texted me to wish me a Happy New Year, and we ended up on a phone call that lasted another hour or so.