I am now well insured - A short post

 

Could you imagine what these two people would have done with proper travel insurance?  Neither of these two people expected to be diverted to Oz, when they expected to land in Kansas.  Mind you, I'd rather be in Oz than in Kansas as it is more likely to find a "Rainbow Flag" in Oz, than in Kansas.  😀

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I'm lucky that I thought to have my Alexa unit send me reminders today.  RQS and I did not have travel insurance in effect for our upcoming Bermuda cruise, and we declined insurance on the California Coast  cruise we just booked.  So we figured that it was time to buy a yearly travel insurance policy than to pay for a policy each time we cruise or take a long distance trip. And both of us took care of this task today.

Now that I had taken care of this task, it was time to pay some bills.  Luckily, I had enough money in the bank to cover my bills and some to spare.  Given that I'll be taking a trip to DC and a California cruise before the end of Spring, I now have to think of moving money around to conveniently pay for my trips from a single bank account.  (I hate draining savings accounts, but realize that I need to do so to afford some of the trips I want to take.)

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Once done with bill paying, it was time to go out and try to get some Tuesday swag from T-Mobile.  Unfortunately, they had run out of umbrellas, so I had to settle for a pair of gloves.  Just as I was done with T-Mobile, the president of my co-op called, and we discussed a zoom meeting to be held with the owner of the management company the co-op uses.  

Next, was a call to my brother.  After my wife died, a girlfriend and I packed up place settings for 28 people. (My wife always wanted to have a gathering for her once large family, and bought way too many place settings.)  I told my brother that I'd drop down to see him later in the week, and pick up a few place settings that I can eventually use in my apartment.  These place settings (and other things like Gravy Bowls) may never get used.  But I think I'd like the option of using some of the place settings that my late wife spent so much money to buy, while giving the rest to a charity that I know well..

Now if only I can find a way to get rid of the stuff in the downstairs storage compartment, I'd feel a little better about bringing these place settings home.

 

RQS and I will be missing each other

 

Normally, I feel good for a while after RQS leaves at the end of the weekend.  However, this would be the last time we will see each other for about 3 weeks.  I'll be flying out to Hawaii for 11 days, while she will be visiting family in the South for a long weekend.   

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As I write this post, I will likely have returned from my Hawaii trip.  So we will be in the run up to Xmas, where we will be seeing family and friends.  I still have to find another gift to buy her, and she appreciates my frugality in finding a gift that will both bring her happiness whenever she sees/uses it and is something she'd consider good value.

Today, we ended up doing a simple shopping trip to Walmart, followed by a visit to a home furnishings store to get small gifts for my niece & husband, and for my nephew.  All 3 got mugs, as they will be easy to pack for their return trips back home.  Then, it was off to the nearby T-Mobile store to check on whether my plan is the Magenta Max plan.  It wasn't, so the store employee graciously changed my plan to give me greater value for the same price. (I'll now get free Wi-Fi on airplanes due to a new T-Mobile promotion.)  

Once we were finally done with stores, it was off to get a bite to eat.  As much as I prefer Burger King to McDonald's, I might have chosen the latter because of the woman manning the counter.  She could not operate the cash register, nor could she count how much money to give me in change from a $20 bill.  I was a little annoyed, but realized that fast food joints are now scraping the bottom of the employment pool and this woman was typical of the prospective employees left in the employment pool.

After finishing our burgers, I dropped her off at the train station.  Neither of us wanted to separate from each other, and the shortness of this week's visit made our parting a little sadder than usual.  Hopefully, we will feel equally as uplifted when we are together again....

Henri!

 

No, I'm not talking about Henri Matisse.  I am talking about a tropical storm that was making its way up North to New England as I started to write this entry.  This storm put an area from New York City (and the Hudson Valley) through Eastern Long Island/Eastern Connecticut at risk for major storm damage.  So, like many of us, I battened down the hatches and waited for the storm to pass.

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If the storm hadn't come, I'd have taken the day and traveled into NYC to do two things:

1. See "Automania" at MoMA (NYC).  (I want to get there before 10/11, as the cars will be gone from the sculpture garden after that date.)
2. Go to the Saatva NYC showroom to see a mattress designed for heavy people.  (At my weight, I want to get the best night's sleep that I can, and a "regular" mattress won't cut it anymore.)

Instead, I ended up staying inside my apartment, save to go downstairs and do some laundry.  One thing I've noticed lately is that I don't do that many loads to launder male garments anymore.  Although I'll include my male trousers and shirts in a typical load of colored laundry, my whites are virtually all male garments and sit inside the hamper for a few weeks - until  have enough for a full load.

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Right now, it looks like my Saturdays and Sundays are starting to get booked up.  I wonder how I'll find the time to enjoy any downtime while I'm working....

Why do I mention work?

I'm leaning towards quitting the job on my own volition, and cracking open my 401k a little.  There is enough money in the bank for me to afford a new car.  Right now, I'm looking at two different Honda models:

1. 2021 CR-V
2. 2021 HR-V

In both cases, a late model, low mileage used car from a different year would be acceptable at the right price.  Unfortunately, the pandemic has disrupted supply chains enough that it is hard to get a good car at a reasonable price.  If I had known what I know now, I'd have gone to the same place where my brother bought a late model Chevy Malibu and bought one there last year.  Unfortunately, few people have good foresight while hindsight is often with 20-20 clarity.

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How many of you have T-Mobile for a cell phone provider?  If you do, I suggest that you go on to their site and lookup what you should be doing in response to a recent data breach.  I'm in the middle of doing things, and I'll be requesting a credit report soon....