Metropolitan Museum of Art w. Sophie

 

This is far from the most flattering picture of Sophie (of the blog "A Woman Named Sophie").  But I feel that it shows her as the thinking person that she is.  Both of us have advanced degrees, and both of us have a curiosity about life that is best illustrated by this picture of her examining an Egyptian relic at NYC's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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A couple of weeks ago, Sophie mentioned that she'd be coming into NYC for a couple of days, and that she'd be available to get together today.  I knew that this would be a rare treat, and that I'd be putting off long delayed tasks originally planned for today (e.g. post-cruise laundry) to see her.  As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I was totally exhausted when I came home from Hawaii, and all that I needed was rest.  But, Sophie was only available today.  So I chose to meet her at Grand Central, then take the bus to the Met.

Sophie had driven here from her home in Pennsylvania, and became painfully aware of the headaches of both driving and parking in NYC.  She needed a little time to get settled down before we got together. So we decided to meet at 2 pm at Grand Central, then proceed to the Met from there.  After taking a while to find out where to buy tickets from a human (Residents of NY, NJ, and CT can pay what they wish, all others pay full price for admission), we went to the ticket booth and ended up paying a New Yorker's rate for both tickets.  

Although my main interest was in the Egyptian artifacts, Sophie's spread through several areas - and was reasonably knowledgeable in these areas.  (Shame on me for only becoming interested in art later in life.)  

In the end, it was the Egyptian artifacts that held our interest.  After visiting the Temple of Dendur, it was time to leave, and we decemped for Greenwich Village.  We ended up eating at a BBQ joint off of 7th avenue, and both of us noted how salty the food was.  But is sure was tasty! All too soon, it was time to go.  Sophie went back to her hotel, and I went to my apartment.  Hopefully, it won't be too long before we meet again.  

When I got home, it was time to go to the supermarket to pick up some food for the week.  While shopping, a woman asked me if it was hot in the store.  I mentioned that I was feeling comfortable, and she ended up talking about her menopausal hot flashes, as if I were a 65 y/o woman who already went through the change.  Little did she know how much of a change I've gone through so far!  Although it was a short conversation, it was a confirmation of my femininity.  (Even RQS got a kick out of this when I mentioned it in our evening chat.)

I went to temple today, and I'm not even Jewish

 

I made a joke with several of my friends that it's been a couple of years since I've been to temple, so I decided to go today.  What I included in the message was a picture of the Temple of Dendur at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met).

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Earlier this week, I made arrangements to meet RQS at the Met for an afternoon of wandering around the museum.  This was going to be a fun day, as she hadn't been to the Met in years, and I hadn't visited since before the pandemic.  And one could easily spot some of the changes made at the Met if one had visited it before, such as the elimination of a public dining area.  More importantly, if an exhibit required that people enter a small space, that space was closed off to prevent people from contaminating each other within a small space.  

After 3 hours at the museum, we were both getting tired of walking around the museum, so off we went to the Nom Wah Tea Parlor.  This was my first time back there in 2 years, and the place felt a little bit more airy - as if a table or two had been removed.  So we sat down and enjoyed a nice Dim Sum dinner, exposing RQS to new tastes in Chinese food.  And all too soon, it was time to leave.

This was a nice day out, but I'm a little leery about telling her about my bi-gendered nature.  Yet, it's something I'll have to do soon.  

Keep your fingers crossed.