Eastern Caribbean Cruise - Embarkation Day (01/23/25)

 

Our day started by waking up "early", so that we'd make it to the cruise terminal by 12:30 pm.  This meant that we'd have to cook and eat breakfast, get showered and dressed, and into an Uber by 11:30 am to make it on time.  What didn't help is that we had some minor last minute packing to take care of, and RQS forgot her cane.  (Hopefully, she can buy one while on the cruise, or while we're in port.)

The Uber came on time, and we had a very nice driver, someone who was willing to take a side street to bypass traffic on the BQE.  We arrived at the terminal at 12:45 pm, and were snaking through the terminal for another half hour after that.  Once on the ship, we dumped our bags off in the room, then made it to the buffet to have lunch and kill some time before the muster drill.

As is the case with MSC, one does not watch a muster drill in person.  Instead, one watches a video to know what to do in case of an emergency, dials a number to register having seen the video, then report to the emergency station to show one knows where it is in case of an emergency.

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All too soon, it was time for dinner.  We were seated at a shared table with two nice people.  Yes, I might have run my mouth a little.  But they seemed to have enjoyed our company, and we hope to be seeing them for dinner until the cruise ends.  While dining, we found that the gentlemen across from me was a vegan, and had some trouble getting something he could eat.

After dinner, we made our entertainment reservations for the cruise, and then went up to the cabin for the evening.  We were greeted by our two large suitcases being placed by the door, and started to unpack for the trip.  In short, it was a busy day, but one which prepared us to enjoy our 10-day cruise. 

Now that the holidays are over, I can catch up on my posts.

 

RQS usually comes to my place on Friday afternoons and goes back home on Mondays.  If I go to her place, I'll usually arrive on a Friday, and leave on a Sunday or Monday depending on which side of the street I was able to park.  This holiday season is different.  RQS came up on a Friday, and will not leave here (with one exception) until after holiday season ends.  So I'll be catching up with occasional posts which describe what happened....

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The weekend before Christmas followed our usual pattern.  RQS arrived on Friday, and we ended up going out to a Chinese restaurant in Mohegan Lake.  (It was a choice between having Mexican for the 3rd time that week, or having something different.  Different won out.)  Once we were finished with dinner, we drove home for the evening.

Saturday came, and we ended up taking care of a couple of errands before driving to Ikea.  I wanted to replace a chest of drawers which is gradually falling apart with a cheap, but tolerably solid unit.  This would allow me to port clothing from one chest to the new chest, allowing RQS to be able to store more of her clothes at my place.  This would make it easier for her to stay for longer periods of time, when she has nothing much to do at her place.

Why did we go on Saturday, and not Sunday?  Bergen county, New Jersey has "Blue Laws" which limit the types of business which can be conducted on Sundays.  Furniture sales is not one of the permitted business activities.  So, we had to make it to Ikea on Saturday.  Otherwise, we would have to wait until after Christmas to check out the chest.  Once there, we wandered through the store until we found the chest in which I was interested.  RQS mentioned that I wasn't sure of the chest's dimensions, and convinced me that I should wait until I was sure of the measurements of the chest.  (I had previously measured the chest, but lost my confidence in my measurements, given that I had done this over a month ago.)  So, we browsed the store and bought a couple of things before leaving.  Just before we checked out our goods, we looked at the packaging for the unassembled chest - each of the two boxes weighed more than I wanted to lift into the car.  This meant that I would order the chest, and let someone else deliver the packages to my apartment.

Although we talked about stopping by Lane Bryant while in the neighborhood, holiday shopping traffic in Paramus scuttled this plan, and we went home for the night....

It was the end of a weekend, and a long search for a parking spot.

 

All too soon, Monday came and we had to drive down from Croton to RQS's place.  The storage area in my car had stuff from a prior weekend's visit to BJ's that had to get to her apartment.

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Neither of us wanted to get up early today.  But we knew that if we didn't get moving by noon - 1 pm, we'd never get the chance to both stop at Trader Joe's and find a good parking spot.  (Her area of NYC has alternate side of the street parking, and I didn't want to leave her at 7:45 am to avoid parking tickets.) Traffic moved fast, until we reached the bridges.  Both the Whitestone and Throggs Neck bridges were backed up due to lane closures, and it took us more time than usual to get into Queens from the Bronx.

Once in Queens, we had no trouble making it to Trader Joe's for a shopping run.  I picked up some candy for early Xmas gifts, while RQS stocked up on needed goods. Next, we were off to RQS's place where we stopped to unload my car and get stuff into her apartment. And then, the fun began.  When hunting for a parking spot, one has to zig-zag through the streets until an acceptable spot is found.  Today, I had to find a spot on the Westbound side of the street - and this took longer than expected.  First, I made my usual loop down the street for two blocks until I could reverse direction on an adjacent street and continue my search.  After completing most of the first loop through the neighborhood, we encountered a problem: Two ambulances blocked the street for an emergency call, when they had open space to park their vehicles.  I was pissed to say the least - especially when none of the personnel seemed in a hurry to do what they came to do.

After a few minutes, both the car behind me and I backed up, going the wrong way on a one way street, escaping the defacto dead end street.  We were lucky to have done so when we did, as there was a bus about to come up the street, and we would have been boxed in by it.  Yet, we escaped the blockage, and circled through the neighborhood until we found a spot 3 blocks away from RQS's place.

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After dinner, I had to sign on for a closing session for the study in which I participated.  While RQS kept busy in one room, I took the test to see how my skills may have improved via directed game play. I feel a little strange, as my part in this study is almost over.  Tomorrow will be my MRI in Queens, and then it's over. 

Bermuda Cruise 2024 #2 - Embarkation Day (10/27/24)

 

Today, RQS and I were to take our second Bermuda cruise.  And the day started off with us not getting enough sleep before starting to get ready for the day.

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Our alarms woke us up around 7:30 - 8:00, and we proceeded to get showered, dressed, and ready to go.  Both of us did some last minute packing before calling the cab that brought us to the train station.  When the cab arrived, there was an old lady in the car who was being taken to the local church.  Because of this detour, we missed the train we wanted to take, but barely had enough time to take the local to Grand Central.

Once at Grand Central, it was time for a bio break before taking a cab to the pier.  Traffic was fouled up more than usual for a Sunday, as the ex-president was going to have a Bund Rally at MSG later in the day. Yet, we made it to the pier by 1 pm, and were on the ship by 1:30.  After we dropped off our bags and checked in at the muster station, it was time for lunch in one of the main dining rooms.

After we had food in our stomachs, it was time for a nap. Now that we were rested, we relaxed in our room for a bit before going to the noodle bar for dinner.  Although the food was tasty, neither of us would make it a habit of going there when on the ship.  (As of 1/1/25, the restaurant will no longer be complimentary, thus creating another disincentive to go there.)  And then it was on to the main theater to see a comedy show.

In the past, I remember most NCL theater shows being 60+ minutes long. Tonight's comedy performance was only 45 minutes long, and I fell asleep during the show. All I could remember was one comedian talking about defecation (he used a more vulgar word) and being bored by his act.  While in the theater, RQS struck up a conversation with a solo traveler, and we proceeded to continue our chat after the show ended.

Both of us were getting tired, and we made arrangements to see our new friend again before parting.  Then, it was off to bed for the two of us.

- - - - - - 

PS: There was a medical emergency that caused the ship to go back to NYC to get a passenger appropriate medical help.  This will affect the time that is needed for us to reach Bermuda.  Let's hope that it is only a short delay.

A return to the Norman Rockwell Museum

 

This past Saturday would be a long day with my brother.  We had tried to get together on a weekend for a while for a road trip to the Norman Rockwell Museum.  Since I've seen the exhibition before, I figured that I'd look at things I didn't look at before, and let him wander around the place while I sat and took a load off my feet.

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I set my alarms to wake me around 8 am, so that I could be at our meeting place by 10:30 am.  It's hard to believe that I was early for a change, but I arrived at the parking lot around 10:15 and killed time waiting for him.  Unfortunately, he hit a lot of traffic, and didn't get to the lot until 11 am.  (It also didn't help that Google Maps gave him bad driving instructions.  But I digress.)

Once we were on the road, it took us a little over 2 hours to reach the museum.  (We were careful not to feed the bears.  We passed at least 3 "Smokeys" handing out citations on our way up.)  It was the perfect day for such a drive: traffic flowed smoothly and fast, there were no clouds in the sky, and it was the perfect temperature to drive to the Berkshires on an autumn day.  Eventually, we made it to the museum, and we went inside.

My brother took in all the exhibits slowly, while I picked and chose what I wanted to see next.  I didn't try to take everything in on this visit.  Instead, I looked for the exhibits that interested me most, and took some pictures before sitting down to ease my back pain.  Once we were done, I went to their shop and bought a couple of books related to the art of Mad, and then we departed the museum to find some lunch.

Once in Stockbridge, it was hard to find a vacant parking spot.  But we got lucky.  However, we did not find much in the way of open restaurants that weren't crowded at the time.  Yet, after a little bit of walking, we found a place to sit down for lunch.  (I won't mention where the place is, but as Arlo sang, "it's just a half of a mile from the railroad tracks.")  Sadly, Alice left the building many years before, and its current proprietors serve good food with mediocre service - so I will look for other dining venues when next in town.

After our late lunch, it was time to drive home.  I shared some of the driving duties, as my brother needed to nap a bit.  Boy, does he saw wood!  This wasn't as bad as I made it sound.  But he was tired, and he'd still have 90 minutes of driving ahead of him when he dropped me off at my car.  I was home by 6:30 or so, while he got home by 7:45.  (Again, he hit a lot of traffic.)  I was home in time to do laundry, but I didn't bother with this.  I could do it on Monday when I have some time.....

One week and counting (a short post)

 

One week to go.  The countdown has begun.  By this time next week, I'll be sailing to Bermuda. And you'll be reading this after I've returned from the cruise. (Sorry, I never post in real time anymore.)

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Until today, I didn't give the task of packing for the trip much thought.  But, having to take RQS home along with my large suitcase made this cruise seem a little bit more real to me.  So, I printed out a packing list to make sure that I didn't forget anything.

I plan to keep presenting as Marian until I leave for RQS's place next weekend.  And then, I'll present as Mario for about a week and a half.  On a ship where most people still get dressed up for formal night, I'll be envious of RQS, as she has the freedom to dress in a way that makes her look her best, while I'm stuck wearing clothing which doesn't let me feel my best.

When we go to the cruise terminal, we may have to deal with traffic jams caused by NYC's "Tunnel to Towers" race.  Our arrival time at the terminal is scheduled for 2 pm.  However, we plan to get there early enough to deal with the expected long lines at the terminal.  (Brooklyn's terminal facility is not known for speed, and it handles large passenger volume poorly.)  The last time I cruised out of Brooklyn, it took me over an hour to pass through the gauntlet to reach the ship.  Hopefully, by getting there later than last time, I can avoid the early bird processing jams.

One week and counting.  Hopefully, RQS and I will enjoy this trip....

Seeing LK for lunch and encountering bad traffic

 

Getting together with LK is not the easiest thing to schedule.  With young children, her responsibilities as a mother come before everything else in life.  That means that if anything goes wrong with her or her children, we must reschedule things.  Our most recent meal was one of those rescheduled events.

LK was feeling under the weather on Wednesday, and said that she'd like to try for a Friday lunch if she was feeling better.  Around 7:00 am, she texted me to suggest lunch at a restaurant in New City, NY for 11:30 am/  Since it was already 10:00 am. I suggested a 12:30 pm time and that was OK with her.  So I rushed to shower, dress, and do my make up to meet her on the other side of the river.  Since this was the first time I'd get to meet her 2 children, I knew it would be a special meeting, albeit disrupted by the needs of her children.

I ran a little late, while LK was 15 minutes late.  So I knew that I'd have less time than usual to chat, as I had to pick up RQS at Croton-Harmon at 3:30 pm.  We chatted less than usual, as her son was grabbing all of her attention.  But that was OK.  I'm comfortable with having friends in all stages of life. LK was born to be a mom, and I was glad to see her in her in all of her maternal glory.  (I won't use that phrase around her, as she was feeling challenged by motherhood that day.)  Around  2:30 pm, I was on my way back to Croton, and mistakenly decided to cross the river at Bear Mountain.  This was a big mistake, as the road to Peekskill was backed up halfway to the bridge.  Eventually, I made it through the gauntlet, and made it to Croton-Harmon station in time to pick up RQS.

The sad and slow decline of a major American Mall.

 

Recently, I planned to meet a friend for dinner at 5:00 pm in Rockland County.  Only one problem: Bridge traffic across the Hudson River after 2:30 pm can be quite bad, given that there is usually a major slowdown on the NYS Thruway just after one crosses the river.  So I crossed the river around 3:30 pm, and had time to kill before meeting my friend.  Knowing that this mall had a bookstore in which I could sit down, have a cup of coffee and skim a book while passing time, I decided to drop in and see what it was like inside.

This mall has seen its better days.  I can still remember when J.C.Penney had two stores inside: one being their typical clothing store, and the other being a JCP branded furniture store.  Sadly, both are long gone, and the lower level of the clothing store has been replaced by a store called Mystery Bins.  By the time I got there, much of the stock had already been picked through, and there was nothing there worth looking at.  What made things worse for me is that the air conditioning wasn't working in the store (it was 90°+ outside, and fans didn't help keep the place cool enough to walk around) and one could see the "bones" of the Penney's store that once inhabited the space.

In addition to the "Mystery Bins" space, there was a 99¢ store in a space which held a more prestigious retailer.  But I was saddened by at least one large food outlet on the top floor having been shuttered, not having a successful tenant in years.  It would have been more depressing had I continued to walk around the mall, but I retreated to the chain bookstore to chill for 60 minutes.  And even there, one could see the signs of a retail store's slow death, as a quarter of the audio/video area was partitioned off as empty space.

Similar happenings have been going on at other malls in this region.  Lord and Taylor is dead and buried.  J.C.Penney is almost a memory, a fraction of its former size.  Sears and K-Mart are corpses waiting for last rites.  And the sad decline of in-person, big-box department stores has made many of these malls obsolete.  I'll miss them, as they became the Town Square for generations who no longer need this space.  I just wonder what will become the Town Square for future generations.

A long drive for a funeral service

 

My original plans for the day were to take the train to Grand Central, transfer to a Long Island bound train heading for my brother's station, and meet him before trekking out to Sayville, NY for my uncle's memorial service.  Well, things got changed at the last moment, and I ended up driving to Long Island to get to his house on time to go to the funeral service. Now, if it were someone else in my life, I might have skipped out on the drive.  Traffic going in the other direction was fouled up for miles, while I had easy sailing to my brother's place.  And this is where I left the driving to my brother....

 

We reached Sayville about 45 minutes early, and we killed time at a local coffee shop.before going to the church.  The above picture does not do the interior of the church justice.  It was built over 130 years ago, when the town was a rural hamlet.  And it still has a bit of land which it maintains for use as a cemetery.  

 

But I digress....

Arriving at the church, we were greeted by the priest who discussed his plans for the service.  Shortly afterward, my uncle's nice (from his wife's side of the family) came in with some of her brood in tow.  And at 2:00 sharp, the service began, with a zoom transmission being made available to his friends in Los Angeles.  Twenty minutes later, the service was over, and we went to the repast being held at a nearby restaurant.

There's not much I can say about the conversations that went on.  What is more interesting is what my brother hinted to me about what might happen when my aunt dies.  Neither of us expects to inherit any significant sums of money. He feels that when my aunt dies, my aunt and uncle's joint estate will be liquidated, and we will inherit a small sum of money.  If I inherit enough for the two of us to take a vacation, I will spend it on a Hawaii trip for two.

A run to Queens - accompanying RQS to the doctor

 

As I might have mentioned before, RQS has vision issues which require her to go to the best possible eye doctors when she needs treatment.  My plans for Tuesday and Wednesday were to go to her house to overnight there, then accompany her to the eye doctor and then get her home safely.  With minor glitches, things went off as planned.

But first....

Tuesday morning, RQS and I got up early, so that we could make an early afternoon train into the city.  By the time we reached her place, it was 3:00 pm, and we still had to think about dinner.  Luckily, there is a great pizzeria near her place (take-out or delivery only), so we ordered a pie to eat before my monthly co-op board meeting.  And I was very glad that we did so, as the board meeting lasted much longer than usual.

I won't go into the details of the board meeting, but we had 3 applicants to interview and one urgent matter to address.  The interviews went very well, and were followed by an intense discussion about the urgent issue that had to be resolved before the weekend.  By the time the meeting ended at 10:00 pm, I was wired and not able to chill out until 2:00 am or so.

Wednesday came, and the two of us were getting ready for the day.  (I was plagued by GI Tract issues that I won't go into here, save that they almost caused me grief at inopportune times.)  By the time we were ready, it was 1:30 pm, and we had to make it to the other end of Queens by 3:15 pm.  Given the traffic on the LIE, it was a miracle that we made it on time, as bumper to bumper traffic added an extra 30+ minutes to a 30 minute trip.(including normal LIE traffic).  Things went well for RQS at the doctor's office, and we were able to make it to a nearby diner by 5:00 pm.  

Around 6:00 pm, it was time to return to RQS's place.  Traffic in RQS's neighborhood was backed up, and we made it back to her place before 6:45 pm.  By the time I finally left RQS's place, it was a little bit after 7:00 pm, and I made it home by 9:45 pm.  

It was a long couple of days, but I'm glad that RQS is OK and that things are looking up for the co-op..

Sleep? What is that?

 

Last night, I didn't fall asleep until some time after 4 am.  As a result, I set my alarms to start waking me up around, 8:30, 9:00, 9:30 and 10 am.  What I didn't expect was a phone call from my bank to ask questions about a credit card which was stolen in Chicago about 2 months ago.  By the time 10 am came around, I was wide awake, and getting ready to drive down to the Bronx to see BXM,  (This was the main reason for the alarms, as I would hate to oversleep and forget about her.)

There were several things I had on the docket for today.  First was a call into my 401k custodian to see whether my distribution check was cut (or not). Next, was a visit to BXM.  Finally, I had to restock my refrigerator with fresh food, and this would likely mean a trip to Trader Joe's  Given that I had to get the 401k check cut before year end, I logged onto the 401k site and found that the 401k check had been cut overnight, and that it should be in my mailbox shortly after the New Year.  Whew!  Now, I could get ready to deal with things I wanted to deal with today, such as lunch with BXM, food shopping, and taking care of laundry.

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I was running a few minutes late to meet up with BXM, and hit a traffic jam on the Saw Mill Parkway at the Bronx border.  (No wonder why my GPS kept telling me to get on a toll road,  the NYS Thruway, instead of taking the more direct and free route to Riverdale.)  She looked better than I remembered, in part because life has been going well for her as of late - and it shows on her face.  I told her about what has been going on in my life since we last met, and she told me of what's been going on in hers. (Not too much or too little, as her job is very rewarding and takes up a lot of her time.)

On the way home, I passed by the Saw Mill's traffic jam (the trucks were still blocking one lane of the road) and proceeded to Trader Joe's.  This was a big shopping run, as I broke the $50 barrier and came close to spending $75.  But I still needed to go to Foodtown for some mayonnaise, and spent another $20 while there.  Thankfully, today's shopping run will last me into the weekend.

 

A Holiday Weekend with RQS (Part 1)

 

This was going to be a LONG weekend for us, as I planned to drive down to RQS's place on Friday, and then the two of us would return to Westchester for the rest of the weekend.  So, I made sure that I could get by on what I had left at RQS's place the week before, so that I would have room in my car to bring the remaining luggage from our California Cruise back to my place.

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As usual, I didn't get out of my apartment until 3 pm, and had few traffic problems until I reached Queens.  Then, I couldn't avoid traffic problems until I reached side streets that would take me to RQS's neighborhood.

Normally, I take the Whitestone Bridge into Queens, and then the Whitestone Expressway / Van Wyck Expressway to the Jewel Avenue exit.  From there, I usually take side roads to RQS's place instead of fighting traffic to reach the Jackie Robinson Parkway.  However, the first of the jams I hit was on the Whitestone - traffic on the Van Wyck wasn't moving.  So I decided to take the Grand Central to Jewel Avenue  - and hit traffic until I passed the LIE.  (For those not from the NYC area, I'm talking about major traffic choke points in one of NYC's outer boroughs.)  Then, I got off at Jewel Avenue with only a minor issue with street repaving going on. At this point, I was committed to taking side streets.  Since I expected a major traffic jam when crossing Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, I took an alternate route that brought me to Rego Park before heading inland to RQS's place.  This proved to be a fortunate choice, as I saved a bit of time in getting to RQS's place.  And even better - I found a parking spot in front of RQS's place!

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The next day, we woke up early, loaded up my car, and proceeded to my house.  While on the way there, RQS remembered that she didn't replace the litter in her cat's litter box.  So it was a quick call to her cat sitter, and we were lucky that he could make it over to her place on a day he was fully booked - the litter box was empty, and the cat wasn't happy about it. 

We were lucky to have started out earlier than RQS had planned.  Traffic was much worse than expected for a Saturday morning, and it took over 2 hours (minus time for lunch) to get back to my place and unload the car.  Once the car was unloaded and we had a chance to rest, we had a choice to make:  Do we go out to see some fireworks, and suffer in the hot and muggy air?  Or, do we go across the river to the historic Lafayette Theater to see the latest Indiana Jones movie, and enjoy a performance on the Wurlitzer Organ?  Comfort won out.  How often can one see a first-run movie for $6/pp and hear a performance on the Wurlitzer organ?  As much as RQS liked the movie, I felt that hearing the Wurlitzer again was worth the $6.  To me, the movie was a nice bonus for a live organ performance.

It's too bad that I couldn't upload the other video I had of this person's performance.  Given the film being shown AND the song being played in this clip, it's an appropriate way to end today's entry.

We decided to take a couple of short "cruises"

 

 

"All Under Heaven Are Equal."

Today, RQS and I decided to see a movie in the city.  One problem: We had to take the subway to get there, and her line wasn't running due to construction on the line.  So, it was off to the bus stop where we waited for a long time.  No, it was not the normal 5-10 minute wait.  Instead, it was a close to 20 minute wait, as the construction going on 2 blocks away was fouling up traffic for blocks around.  

As we usually do when we decide to take the bus to the subway, we walk a couple of blocks to the nearby express bus stop. And that's where we waited.  Buses tried to make the left turn onto an Eastbound street, only to find out that construction related jams were forcing everyone to back into the intersection to turn and take a circuitous route around the construction zone.  Flushing bound buses were taking roads usually used by Brooklyn bound buses causing even greater confusion for many riders. And as far as I can tell, it was all because a single key intersection was closed to vehicular traffic for the weekend.

We eventually made it to a subway line that was running and made it into the city.  And then we took the "backdoor" route to Chinatown to reach the Nom Wah Tea Parlor. (Ping's was closed for renovations, scheduled to be open next weekend.) Sadly, there was a 60 minute wait to get into the place.  So it was off to find another nearby place - and we did just that.  The food was acceptable, but not as our other go-to places. 

 
After lunch, it was off to the Staten Island Ferry.  Neither of us had taken the ferry in years, and I figured that it would be a nice way to kill some time.  So, off we went to the ferry, and onward to Staten Island.  For those who want a pleasant way to kill 60-90 minutes, a round trip on the ferry would be a good way to do this.  Once we were done with the ferry, it was off to the movies and  that's where our problems began.  

RQS had read the theater's movie schedule, and we believed that the movie we wanted to see was showing at 5:30.  One problem - the movie was scheduled for Sunday, not Saturday.  Now, we were on the West side of Manhattan with an awkward walk to take us to a subway station from where we could go home.

We finally made it to the subway, and it was almost a case of "you can't get there from here."  But we did get to the line we wanted to reach, and made it to a station near her home.  After a stop at the supermarket, we had to wait for a bus to take us home. By now, it was 3 miles of walking for us, and we were too tired to cook.  So, again it was Door Dash to the rescue - albeit with 30% higher prices than if the restaurant had been doing its own delivery.  (I avoid using them at all costs, as I don't believe that they should be nicking the restaurants 30% of the bill, instead of levying a fixed service charge.) At least, we didn't have to go back outside to pickup the fixings for dinner.

Seeing FH for a seafood dinner

 

It's been a while since FH and I got together, Part of me was ambivalent about seeing her, as we do not have too much in common.  But then, I think my ambivalence was related to once dating FH.  Today's post has almost nothing to do with me being transgender, save that I showed FH pictures of me in Marian mode while in Hawaii.

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When I have nothing to do, I relax as much as possible, and relax I did. By the time I was ready to drive to FH's place, it was 4 pm, and I still had to gas up the car, then get cash for the week before proceeding to FH's place.  As much as I tried to avoid some traffic jams, I still took longer than expected to get to Forest Hills.  Once FH got in the car, it was like old times.  No, I don't mean that things went smoothly.  Instead, I mean that it was obvious why I could never have a serious romantic relationship with her, and why she could only be the type of friend I could meet for an occasional dinner once in a blue moon.

We arrived at the restaurant a little bit early, and sat down for dinner as soon as we arrived.  Yes, it was a little bit of sticker shock for FH, but I wanted her to make sure that whenever we get together that it is "dutch treat". She wanted an adult drink, while I could have settled for something a child would drink. Yet, she didn't know what she wanted to drink, and had the waiter suggest a drink.  Too bad that she didn't like it - she had to flag down our waiter to get a different drink.  As for me, I have several go-to adult drinks that I will order, and I decided to have one with dinner.

After waiting a while (and eating the bread, carrots, and celery that was in front of us), dinner came - and we both were filled to the gills. And then it was time for us to go home.  By the time I dropped FH off, I realized how much I missed RQS and wished that she were here with me. 

Fireworks!

Although this is not one of my better photographs, it gives the viewer an idea of what RQS and I saw this weekend....

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One of the things about living in the Hudson Valley is that we have a choice of fireworks displays to choose from on any given holiday/holiday weekend.  This year, I decided to take RQS to see the Labor Day fireworks display at West Point, but view it from across the Hudson River in Cold Spring.

For those of my readers who don't know the Hudson Valley, Cold Spring is a sleepy little river town about 90 minutes from NYC by train.  Like many river towns around here, there is a little area near the river front where one can often find a park, a railroad station, and some marinas; with a main street that goes up a long hill.  When I moved to the area, Cold Spring was about to be found by the artistic community, and housing prices were about to zoom beyond the ability of locals to afford them. Today, Cold Spring is one of the more expensive towns in which to live in the Mid Hudson Valley. And it has kept much of its small town charm.  This year, it coordinated its neighborhood street fair to coincide with West Point's fireworks display. 

I normally don't pay close attention to what happens in many of the river towns, so I was a little surprised to find out about the street fair, as it blocked direct access to the river.  However, I was able to find a set of side roads which led us away from Main Street and to the river.  Once I found a convenient parking spot, we had a couple of hours to kill before the fireworks started. So we found a vacant park bench and listened to the Slambovian Circus of Dreams until the fireworks began.

Although watching West Point's fireworks from Cold Spring did not provide us with an optimal view, it did make it very easy to go home from the park.  We didn't have to drag lawn chairs for 3/4 to a car nor did we have to deal with traffic jams getting out of West Point and getting across the Bear Mountain Bridge.

Come on baby, drive my car....

I'll bet that you don't know what this car is. One thing I can say is that you couldn't pay me to drive one.  With that being said, my latest drive home from RQS's place took over twice as long as it should have taken, and some of that was caused by me refusing to listen to routing instructions from my phone's GPS app.  At least, we were able to see "The Automat" this weekend, as we didn't need a car to get into NYC.

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Yesterday, I drove to RQS's place to visit with her and to see "The Automat" at the Film Forum.  She offered me the choice of watching this film or The Godfather in a 4k restoration.  Given that I can watch the latter on either of 2 days this coming week, it made more sense to see the documentary while it's in the theater.

One of the things about watching documentaries is that one has to have a moderate interest in the subject for it to hold your attention.  Given that the last Automat closed roughly 60 years ago, it's amazing that this restaurant chain still tugs at the hearts of many New Yorkers and Philadelphians.  Yet, it does, and it's a concept that should have been able to survive had the chain had good management in turbulent times.

I won't go into my analysis of the chain's demise.  However, I could have done some historical work for a thesis to be presented at a business school.  Let's say that I could see several easy to fix reasons for the corporation's demise, and wish that someone in power had explored them before shutting down the chain.

I woke up early, and wished I could wake up late

 

Last night, I went to sleep early in an attempt to recharge after a long weekend.  However, my body clock had its own way, and woke me up almost 2 hours earlier than I wanted.  So, again, I was barely awake as I did my job in the morning, and became more awake as the day went on.

As Covid-19 worries recede into the past, people are starting to go in to their offices again.  This means that there is much more traffic on Route 9a heading South, and many more times that traffic will get screwed up by either an accident or a series of ultra slow moving vehicles.  (Garbage trucks and cement mixers come to mind here.)  So, getting out of the house by 7:15 may not be a viable choice anymore, if I want to get to work on time with time enough to get my breakfast sandwich.

Sometimes, I wonder if I should have taken this job in Mario mode.  I feel much better in a feminine presentation these days.  (I'm not uncomfortable as Mario.  I simply prefer to go out in the world as Marian, as I feel freer in a woman's role than in a man's role.)    The extra 30 minutes it takes for me to get ready to go out in the world as Marian is a small price for me to pay.

After work, I chatted with TCL, and then with FH.  However, I never made it to call any of the other women on my list, as I didn't have it in me to chat much.  Yet, I made it to my Tuesday night Zoom meeting with my friends in Texas.  This left me with no time to take care of any of the other items on my to-do list.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be a day that I can catch up on things....

Dinner with the Fun Time Friends

This is not the normal way I enjoy Sake.  However, when a Hibachi chef is squirting it into your mouth, why say "No?"  The Fun Time Friends meetup was in full force tonight, and it was Marian's time to shine.

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My original plans for the day were to go to work, drive home, take 15 minutes to change, then drive to the meetup.  I thought better of it when I remembered that I'd be driving during rush hour, and that a 60 minute drive in off hours would take 90+ minutes during rush hour.  So I started off from my office and was making great time until I reached Stamford - and then the problems began.  First, Google Maps routed me from the Merritt Parkway to I-95.  And then, when I reached the Sherwood Island connector, Maps routed me (and several other people) along some nice side roads to bypass the traffic jam.  Unfortunately, Maps had to put us back on I-95.  But I was a little lucky.  I was able to pull off into a rest area, and then make myself presentable for dinner.

Eventually, I arrived at the meetup, and most of the bunch were early.  At least, this time, I was able to sit with the group's organizer (when she was sitting down at the table).  The organizer doesn't know how good she looks.  Nor, does she know that Mario has seen her personal ad.  It would be a hoot if she swiped right, not knowing that she already has met me in Marian Mode, as had CMF.  A little bit later, the fellow who always wants a picture with me got his picture, and I was free to chat with the two ladies sitting next to me.

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Once dinner was done, I tried to call FH.  Her fax line came on.  About 20 minutes later, she called me - and we were chatting until the line cut out.  However, she got pissed at me because (1) I didn't call back right away, and (2) that she had to call me 20 minutes later.  Who knows what her mood will be when I see her this weekend....

Later on, when I got home, I took some pictures of my SoClean CPAP disinfecting unit.  Seems like a piece of plastic broke, and the lid won't stay shut.  (My workaround is to put a weight on top of the lid.  But I shouldn't have to do this.)  So I wrote to customer support, sending in pictures, and stating that a product shouldn't break after a year's use.  Hopefully, they will agree with me and work with me to get this problem resolved.

 

 

PS: It took several days for SoClean to get back to me.  They asked me for information to see if my unit was under warranty, and told me NOT to use the unit as it might leak ozone.  With a weight on top of the lid, there is no risk of an ozone leak.  And I thought that it would make some sense to use a Velcro strip to hold the lid down if I don't want to use a weight on top of the lid.

So I will continue using the unit AND pressure them for a replacement if I need to do so.  However, if I don't get a replacement unit, I will pester the CEO of the firm a little, so that s/he knows I am a very unhappy customer.

Mavis Tires - The second, but not final visit.

 

You might wonder why I show pictures of a car's exhaust system.  Well, the long pipe connecting the engine to the rest of the exhaust system failed, along with the parts closest to the tail pipe.  Yesterday, I brought the car to Mavis Tires, expecting to have the work completed by the end of the day.  However, the parts supplier couldn't get the parts to Mavis on time to get me out the door by 5.  So I was told to come back after work to get this work done and to get my wallet emptied.

Whenever I get work done on my car, I go as Mario.  Yesterday, this meant a quick stop at home to change into Marian before going to work.  Today, it meant changing into Mario after work before going to Mavis.  So I had to plan out my day very carefully.

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This morning, the Route 9A Southbound traffic jam from Croton to Route 134 was much worse than usual for 7:20 am.  Cars were bunching up at the end of the bridge out of Croton, and I had to take side roads to bypass much of the jam.  Another jam was around Route 133, and I had to again reroute to side roads instead of getting stuck in traffic.  If I didn't know the alternative routes on side roads, I'd never have made it to work on time.  But I did lose my chance to have a cup of coffee before starting work.

At lunchtime, I received the following message from WDS:

Hello Dear Friend,

1. My brain may recover, but there are no promises. The pressure of the two hemorrhages between my cranium and brain has already killed a whole bunch of brain cells.

2. I'm staying at a house that I rent. No, please don't try to help me. I don't want to live forever, and I definitely don't want to survive as a vegetable. Quality of life is very important to me. Remember that I have had personal experience with that subject and that I understand it well.

3. No, thank you. I get tired easily, and I have to allocate my efforts to selected activities.

I appreciate your friendship and offer to help, but this is an end of life state. I must choose the right path for me at the right time. 

Hopefully when the time comes, he will have someone near him to keep him company as he starts his trip to the great unknown.  Also, I hope that he has someone lined up to inform his friends and family of his demise.

Next, I received a text from FH that something was wrong, and she wanted to talk this evening.  It seems like she wanted more time to talk with her friend, and asked me to come for dessert instead of a midday dinner.

After 8 hours of playing digital "Whack-a-Mole", I was tired and ready to go home.  Instead, I could only stop there long enough to clean myself up, change clothes, and then go to Mavis.  While at Mavis, I texted Vicki, and she picked me up for an unplanned dinner at Panera Bread.  So, at 7:30, I returned to Mavis with a hope that my car would be ready.

My hopes for a quiet car were dashed when I was told that the pipe at the end of the muffler (see bottom left photo) was about 5 inches too short.  It couldn't connect with the rest of the tailpipe.  So I ended up with a noisy car that will have to take me up to see a friend tomorrow.  At least, the fellow assures me that this will be fixed for good on Saturday morning.  Damn.  It would be the only day I could wake up late, and now I can't do so.  AARGH!

Tomorrow, I'll be meeting up with Maria #2 after work.  It'll be nice to catch up with her again.

Too tired to post much of anything

 

Getting up today at the sound of the alarm, I knew this was going to be a long day - and it was. Not only did I barely make it to work today, but being tired caught up with me.  If it weren't for a friendly face or two, I might have had more problems....

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Waking up, I normally read my emails, putz around a little bit, then get ready to go to work.  Well, all seemed to be going OK until I started out the door. Then I noticed that I was wearing my reading glasses, and not my "cosmetic" glasses.  (The latter are non correcting, and only serve to make my face look different enough for people not in the know not to connect Marian with Mario.)  So I went back upstairs and switched glasses.

Finally heading out the door for good, I managed to make it to the deli in time to pick up an egg sandwich on the way in to work. And I was still eating it when I encountered a traffic jam on Route 9a.  From what I heard, one lane of the stretch from Briarcliff Manor to Pleasantville was blocked due to an accident, causing a several mile traffic jam.  So I took side roads to the Taconic, and then missed my exit.  After doubling back to my exit, I barely made it into work on time - without having my needed cup of coffee to keep me awake.

Later in the morning, I found out that I screwed up a box of work yesterday, as I was typing too quickly for the system to keep up.  In short, I made too many proofing errors because I was trying to save some time. Luckily, the person who trained me offered some help, and I was able to repair things before it got to the customer.

Once I finally had my cups of coffee, I was alert for most of the day.  And I was sure NOT to take the shortcuts that almost got me in trouble.  But I knew that I would have to go to sleep early, as I was not in shape to go another day without enough rest. So, when I finally made it home, I was greeted by a pleasant surprise - a package containing two tops I need for my everyday work.

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I only wonder what tomorrow will bring....