A nice way to end restaurant week.

 

RQS and I had only one thing on our docket today: A Restaurant Week dinner at Le Provençal Bistro,  I've eaten here before with Vicki, and loved the food.  This would be my first time here with RQS, and I knew she'd be impressed.

- - - - - -

We didn't get moving until late morning, and putzed around most of the day.  However, I had a phone call to make - I had to call the co-op board president and develop a game plan for our next meeting.  We have 4 applicants looking to buy apartments in our complex, and have to find the time to interview them all.  In addition, we have other issues that need discussion, and we have to fit everything into a 4 hour block.

Once done with the co-op business, my GI tract decided to act up.  Luckily, I still had enough time to get showered, made up, and dressed, so that we could make a 6 pm dining time.  Unlike RQS who decided to wear slacks, I decided to wear a nice casual sweater dress for dinner. We were able to get out the door by 5:15, leaving us enough time to fill the car up with gas, and still make it to Mamaroneck on time.  

Arriving at the restaurant at 6, it seemed to take forever to have our order taken. Service was slow and spotty, as I expect that one of the servers was not able to make it for the last day of Restaurant Week (an always busy time before Holiday Season).  However, this was balanced by the excellent food in front of us.  RQS had the Salmon Tartare, while I had the Garlic Sausage for appetizers, then both of us had Mussels for a main course, followed by chocolate mousse tarts for dessert.  Both of us would go back here again.  But the next time we do, it will be for a special dinner.

- - - - - -

When we got home, I behaved like a typical woman - I couldn't wait to take off my bra.  As I've mentioned before, I'm very comfortable in my female presentation, and have no problems going out in the NYC metropolitan area as a woman.  Hopefully, I'll be again able to travel the USA in the future as a woman, and go back to "Cruising Pretty" soon.

HVRW - Dinner and Lunch reservations (a short post)

 

I look terrible in this old picture  But I was having a good time eating out at a meetup.  Now that Hudson Valley Restaurant Week is near, I'm looking at going to 3 restaurants to enjoy nice meals.  The first 2 will be with Vicki, both places which have been around as long as this country has been around.  The other will be at a bistro where RQS and I can get some French Vittles.  (Why make French food sound fancy?  French people simply consider it proper dining.)

It would be nice if I could afford to eat at these places after restaurant week.  But it is a special deal offered only twice each year.  So, Vicki and I try out new places when we can.  If I can afford it, I may add another dinner to my choices, but this will stretch the budget a bit.  Dining at nice places isn't always affordable in the New York region.

- - - - -

Soon, I will need to pack for my next cruise.  It feels strange to have had so many cruises in one year.  And then, we will again be eating hearty for the better part of two weeks.  Hopefully, when I pass away, they will place a bucket of KFC, a sausage pizza from Frank Pepe's, a couple of Big Macs from McDonald's, and a few liters of Diet Coke to send me on my way to the afterlife.  😆😇💭 

 

Lunch and Dinner with friends (a short post)

When I woke up this morning, I had only two things on the docket: Lunch with CCS and Dinner with Vicki.  And both were scheduled for today due to the timing of the Jewish High Holy Days.

But first....

Lunch with CCS is usually after 1:30 pm, as CCS has her exercise class scheduled during "lunch hour". Today, it was scheduled for 2:30, as her exercise class was later than it usually is due to the Jewish holiday.  So, I had much more time than usual to get ready, and made it to the restaurant at the same time her was pulling into the restaurant's parking lot.

We didn't have that much to say today.  I talked a little about my travels, and she told me a little about her travels.  Both of us feel the same way about what's happening in the world these days, and both politics and world affairs came up - and we both see the signs of loudly creeping authoritarianism, understanding what they could mean if left unchecked.  Lunch ended, and we set a new date, then we were on our separate ways.  I then went to BJ's to do a little shopping, and then back to the house to rest before meeting Vicki for dinner.  

Vicki and I met in Mt. Kisco at Lefteris for dinner.  Both of us ordered the Greek Salad w. Chicken, Vicki polishing it off more quickly than I did.  Just as we were finishing our salads, another diner asked me when I thought of NYC's mayoral candidate, and we had a polite discussion with Vicki taking on more of the lead in talking.  This fellow didn't like what Mamdani stood for, and Vicki mentioned that Mamdani will be checked by the realities of NYC.  As for me, I support Mamdani for one reason only - he can't be controlled by the Orange Snowflake.  

When I got home I had a decision to make: How will I present for the weekend with RQS?  As Marian or as Mario?  It'll be nice to stay in dresses while I'm able to do so comfortably.

A long day where I don't feel I accomplished much. (a short post)

 

Tonight, I'm too tired to say much.  Yet, I did have a long day in spite of things..

But first....

I had a doctor's visit scheduled for mid morning.  If I could have, I'd have skipped it.  But if I stop going, I know my health will get worse.  So I tolerate the bad news to keep myself functioning as best I can.

After this, I had a zoom meeting with my niece.  Neither of us had much to talk about other than current American events - and that gets tiring after a while.

Given that I had dinner with Vicki scheduled for the evening, I got things ready, so that I could go out as Marian.  And then, I tried to take a 2 hour nap, after which, I didn't feel rested.  So I put on my makeup and got dressed, then off I went to the Japanese restaurant to have dinner.

Dinner with Vicki wasn't bad.  Neither of us could finish what we ordered, so I let her take home the leftovers.  We chatted about personal relationships, my cruise, and her friend who may need her to visit.  Once done, it was off to the stores for more shopping.

Eventually, I made it home, stored what I bought, and finally got to relax.   Not really much to say, other than a list of things I did without much context.  One thing of note: RQS's complaint letter to JetBlue got the attention of a mucky muck in corporate, and I got the message on my voicemail.  So I forwarded it to her, so that she can call them back in the morning.

An afternoon with Vicki

 

Although I dropped RQS off at the train station today, I don't have much to say about it except that she will return in a coupe of days.  Instead, my focus will be on the time I spent with Vicki nd my thoughts about that lunch date.

- - - - - - 

Once I dropped RQS off at the station, I killed a little time before Vicki came to pick me up for our lunch date.  The first thing on our docket was a stop at J.Jill to return two garments that she mail ordered but didn't want to keep. So it was off to the Westchester mall in White Plains.  Vicki thought she could get in and out of the mall within 20 minutes, and not get charged the $4 for parking.  (She's losing a sense of time, now that she's not working. But that's something that gradually happens to retirees.)  Neither of us saw anything we were interested in the mall, both of us feeling a sense of sterility about the place.  Hardly anyone was there, and neither of us wanted to spend any more time there than we had to.

Vicki was in a mood today, taking control of the conversation when I wanted to explain my feelings.  She has stronger feelings about my exes and my late wife than I do - and she is likely projecting her feelings about her past relationships onto mine in this conversation.  Later on, she mentioned that she sees me as being authentic in my living life as a woman. She noted that for me, it's not putting on an act like Drag performers.  It is truly wanting to be seen and treated as a woman.  She disagrees with me about the things I need to do (partial facial feminization surgery, FFS), noting that my face isn't strongly as masculine as I feel it is.

After lunch, we drove back to Croton (with a stop at the Blue Pig for ice cream), and she dropped me off at my apartment.  Shortly afterward, I went to Walmart in search of pillow protectors and pillowcases for a new pillow I bought the other day.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find the pillow protectors and will need to buy them from Amazon.  At least, this wasn't a totally wasted trip.  

 

 

 

 

 

A trip to Daryl's House with Vicki

 

Daryl Hall (of Hall and Oates) owns a music venue in Pawling, NY that was once occupied by the Towne Crier Cafe (now in Beacon, NY).  Tonight, one of Vicki's favorite performers, Martin Sexton, performed there, and we went up for dinner and a show.

- - - - - -

My day started with me starting to write an entry for my cruise related blog.  Although experienced travelers would have packing for a cruise down to a science, inexperienced travelers might need guidance.  This entry is meant to give those people some of the guidance they need.  While writing this entry, I decided to catch up on laundry, and put 3 loads through the washer and dryer.  By the time the laundry was done, I turned off the computer, brought the laundry upstairs, and then proceeded to get ready to meet Vicki at her place.

Given how warm it was today, I decided to wear the dress above.  I figured that the less I wore, the less oppressive this weather would be for me.  Even this would make me feel like I was wearing too much due to the heat and humidity outside.  But I digress.  Leaving my apartment at 4:45 pm, I knew that I'd make it to Vicki's place by 5:00 pm.  Yet, Vicki was expecting me to be a little late, and we didn't start our journey to Pawling for another 10 minutes.

Now, driving to Pawling during rush hour is rarely a pleasant drive.  If one takes the most commonly used routes from Vicki's house, one would drive to Route 684, then follow Route 22 North to Pawling.  One problem - traffic along this stretch of road moves very slow during rush hour.  So, Vicki consulted Google for directions (I feel that she depends on Google too much for my taste), and it took us through back roads to get near Pawling.  Given how remote this area is, I would not consider returning via this road at night.

On our way there, we discussed many things - with Vicki trying to take control of the conversation when I was discussing will making.  I didn't need any advice on how to make a will.  Instead, I simply needed to figure out what I want to have done with my assets when I pass away.  I wasn't venting. All I was doing was to state where my mind was at, and she went into problem solving mode.  Thankfully, I have her as a friend and not as a spouse. 

We reached Pawling at 6:00 pm, and were seated 1 table away from the stage.  I ordered the fried calamari appetizer and a huge pork chop for dinner - and I'd order both again the next time we are there.  Dinner was over for us around 7:00 pm, and we killed an hour before Martin Sexton came on stage.  Both of us enjoyed his performance of Beatle songs (his latest album covered the entire Abbey Road album), and I found it interesting that Vicki enjoyed some Beatle music.  (Long story here, which I'm not in the mood to cover now.)  After a break, he performed a set of his own music, and the show was over by 10:00 pm.

For our return, Vicki knew that the easiest way home was the most direct way home.  I was home by 11:00 pm and ready to call it a night.
 

 

Lunch with RQS and Vicki (a short post)

 

RQS and I were in the type of mood, where if we didn't have to go out for lunch with a friend, we would have stayed home and rested.  So, we were both relatively quiet and relaxed as we drove to Mt. Kisco to have lunch with Vicki.

- - - - - -

We met Vicki at our usual Greek restaurant, and sat down to eat.  Service was slow.  But, when one considers that we arrived at 2:30 pm, we had no complaints.  Catching up on things, Vicki mentioned that one of her dogs wasn't doing well and that she was going to take it to its breeder's vet - as s/he would have the full health background of the dog.  (There may be a genetic link to the dog's problems.  But that's another story.)

When RQS went for a bio-break, Vicki mentioned that going on 5 cruises in one year is nuts.  But, it's not her monkeys and not her circus.  I didn't take it as anything, but I noted this comment later when RQS and I got home.  For 2 people whose age averages 70 who are childless, what should one do with her money? RQS had never been able to travel much before meeting me, and Covid got in the way of my travel before I met her.  So why not spend our money on experiences while we are still healthy and able to do so?

- - - - - -

I wonder.  Is Vicki projecting her lack of travel into her comment? 

Zooming with my niece & Dinner with Vicki

 

My niece and I try to chat with each other via Zoom, as we live in separate time zones, separate nations, and separate continents.  She, like me, is wary of what is happening in the USA, and is worried about what will happen when she and her husband visit the US this month to see her brother compete in a sporting event.  So today's chat had American politics as a dominant theme, instead of what we prefer talking about.  

To deal with her visit to the US, she has deleted virtually all of her emails which reference US politics, as well as removing any social media from her phone.  She isn't too worried about her husband's phone, as he doesn't use social media.  However, she is concerned about him, simply because of the current xenophobic attitude of the regime currently in power.  

I discussed the conversation I had with her dad regarding how he treats her mom, as well as the conversation her mom had with me.  But I did not go into details, as I didn't want to make her a middle person.  However, I suggested that she keep tabs on her dad, as he is going through a lot of stress these days.  She is also being careful not to be caught in the middle of her dad and mom, as no one wins in these situations.

Hopefully, she and her hubby will have a pleasant visit to the US. 

- - - - - -

A few hours later, Vicki picked me up to go to eat at one of the Hudson Valley Restaurant Week (HVRW) restaurants.  Coordinating our schedules isn't always easy.  But now that she's semi-retired (she'll work if a good job comes her way), she has much more freedom to schedule things like HVRW dinners than in the past.

Today, we went to a new restaurant, Saint George, in Hastings.  I wanted to love this place, as it had the ambience and service that I would normally rave about.  However, the Beef Bourguignon left a lot to be desired, as it was presented as if it were a Shepard's Pie - and tasted the same.  This was not the French dish I was expecting.  And it caused both Vicki and I to give the place a "Thumbs  Down".  Maybe, if one of us had ordered something different, we'd have had a different opinion of the place.  But for now, we'll skip this place and go to other places in the area.

 

 

PS: We may be seeing Martin Sexton in June.  I wonder whether she will like his cover of the Beatles' Abbey Road album. (Unlike me, she is not a Beatles' fan.  I wish I could have been in Vegas to see Cheap Trick cover the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album about 20 years ago.  It was a better performance than I expect Martin Sexton's performance will be.)

 

The other day I had a conversation....

 

The other day, I had a chat with Vicki.  She noted that she didn't know when I was going over the top or whether I was being serious.  To tell the truth, I tend to do thought experiments where I take off the limits imposed by social taboos.  And people do not know what to make of me because of this.

An example of my way of thinking is allowing the public, not the politicians, to decide between two extremes of dealing with our border problems, ending political paralysis on this issue:

1. Should we increase the budgets of both border control and asylum judiciary areas, so that we can both police the border humanely and process asylum claims quickly.
   
   ---- OR ----
   
   
2.  Issue "2-legged hunting permits", and let gun happy nuts shoot bullets at illegals trying to cross the border, firing from the American side at targets on the Mexican side.
   

In short, should we force the public to make a simple choice between humane treatment of people and inhumane treatment of people.

The conversation veered into many areas, and I posed some topics that most people would consider taboo, such as:

1. Given how poorly educated the American public is, require people to have completed a high school education to gain the right to vote.  (There are many problems with this, but remember - this is a only a thought experiment.)
   
   
2. Denying people who are too poor to raise children the ability to procreate until they can show enough earning capacity to properly take care of a child.
   
   
3. Allowing prisoners the ability to vote in general elections.
   
   
4. Public executions of illegal aliens who have committed felonies.
   
   
5. Guardrails for both the 1st Amendment and 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution.
   

There were more items on this list, but the difference between me and Vicki is a recognition that Democracy might not be the best solution for a country in certain circumstances.  I recognize that even freedom of speech may not be an absolute right.  For example, the nation of El Salvador has committed many human rights abuses in order to wrest control of the country from the gangs that previously terrorized the country.  Its popular leader is a dictator who has successfully put most of the nation's gang members into prison or forced them into exile.  My question is: How much freedom is too much freedom?  (Please note that I believe in Jeffersonian Democracy, but with the guardrails developed by Alexander Hamilton.)  Vicki can't get over the idea that certain freedoms should be checked, if only to prevent an autocrat from taking power - as Trump did on January 20th.

So I have a question:  If a well informed and well educated public is needed for a functioning democracy, how much freedom has to be taken away from people to force them to be well educated?  Sadly, I keep getting reminded of Juvenal's 6th satire:

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

--- OR ---

 

Who's watching the watchmen?

If I had a better answer to this question than to trust that an educated public would do the job, I'd have solved one of the major political problems that keep perplexing us thousands of years after the question was first posed....

Lunch and Dinner, or: Where are the police when you need them?

 

I had two things on the docket for today.  But the thing of most interest today was an accident that almost happened.

- - - - -

I woke up around 9 am, not having much sleep last night.  So I took my time getting ready to go out to see Vicki for a late lunch.  But first, I had to shovel out the snow around my car.  That involved getting dressed as Mario, clearing the show off the car, and shoveling a clear path to the plowed section of the driveway.  Luckily, the snow wasn't too heavy, and I was able to get this done in 20 minutes.

After a brief stop for breakfast, I went home to shower and get dressed as Marian.  And then, it was off to Mt. Kisco to meet Vicki for lunch.  Arriving at the restaurant, I found that the meters weren't working today, as it was a Federal holiday.  Even though I was glad to see Vicki, I really wasn't in the mood to talk politics, as there's nothing we could do to avoid the upcoming 4 year disaster.

Once done with lunch, I drove over to Route 684, and was about to make a "California Stop" at the light for a right turn on red, so that I could get on the highway.  There was a police car to my left and an idiot that sped up along the shoulder and almost hit me as I was starting to make a right turn onto the highway.  (If I had started movement to the entrance ramp even 1 second earlier, my car would have been totaled.)  As I made my turn, the police car turned across traffic, sped past me, then pulled the idiot over before he got on the highway.  Boy, was I relieved!  The idiot was about to get what he rightly deserved - a very expensive ticket!

Next, I killed time at Starbucks before going to the meetup for dinner. Unfortunately, most of the people who reserved a place at dinner bailed without notice, and only 3 of us were there for dinner.  By the time I finished my cheeseburger, I was stuffed.  I couldn't eat another bite. 

On the way home, my brother and I chatted about the house we rent out.  Now that the tenants are gone, there are some improvements we may make.  Will it cost money?  Yes.  But we should recoup our money relatively quickly.  And then he got to talking about what should happen when my sister in law passes (hopefully, she will go first).  It makes sense for him to sell his homestead at that time due to the $500k tax exclusion he'd have that year, then take some of his capital gains to buy me out.  He'd live in the family homestead for a few years, and then repeat the process to get more tax free money out of his home equity.  

It was a good day.  But it certainly didn't go as I expected. 

- - - - - -

On other matters....

Sadly, the Orange Snowflake has been inaugurated, and he has already made some anti-transgender statements.  Hopefully, my readers who have needed to get their gender marker on their personal IDs updated, have already done so before today.  I think it will be at least 4 years before people will be able to do this for Federally issued documents again.

I was still feeling ill enough to cancel lunch plans with Vicki (a short post)

 

I almost thought I'd be well enough to have lunch with Vicki today.  But a laughing fit while watching TV with RQS proved me wrong.  So, I reluctantly put off lunch - and wisely so.

But first....

For the past few days, I've been kept awake by my unpredictable coughs waking me up as I was about to fall asleep.  It's amazing that I've been able to stay awake during the daytime lately.  Yet, I digress.  RQS got up an hour later than I did, and we started watching YouTube videos.  One of which was a video by Gabriel Iglesias ("Fluffy") talking about a "Racist Gift Basket."  And I ended up laughing so hard that my cough was triggered continuously, and I almost choked.  At this point, I decided to text Vicki to tell her that I couldn't make it to dinner.

Around 2 pm, Idropped RQS off at the train station, then picked up a slice of pizza as I was hungry.  After leaving a message for Vicki on her phone, she was finally able to get back to me to confirm receipt of my messages.  Then, I ended up going home for the rest of the day.  

At least, I'll be seeing my GP tomorrow.

Dentist, n. A prestidigitator who, putting metal into your mouth, pulls coins out of your pocket.

 

For those not familiar with Ambrose Bierce, he was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book The Devil's Dictionary was named one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration.  Sadly, his memory is largely lost to most people's memories, as the world never likes to remember the cynics who describe our world so well. But why did I use one of Bierce's quotes for the title of this entry?  The answer is simple.  I went to the dentist today, and my wallet is much lighter because of it.

- - - - - -

Earlier in the week, I had tentatively arranged lunch with Vicki for today.  However, I was feeling so tired, that I wouldn't have had the energy to meet with her, go to the dentist, do some shopping, and then go to game night.  Luckily, neither of us connected with each other on time, and lunch was rescheduled for next week.

This meant that I would have a bit more time to sleep.  Even though the dental hygienist called me at 10 am, suggesting I switch my appointment to 11 am, I said "no" and took advantage of the extra 2 hours of needed sleep.  Around 1 pm, I got showered, dressed, and made up, and was at the dentist by 2 pm.  An hour later, I left the office $300 lighter. (I'm not complaining.  He does great work, and is worth every cent I pay for services.)

- - - - - -

In my texting with Vicki, she made one assumption that is false - I go to the dentist in Mario mode.  I haven't done so in a while.  Eventually, when my current GP retires, I may look for a new doctor who I can visit in Marian mode, taking one less place off the list of places I must visit as Mario.  It'd be nice to be able to dispose of most of my male clothing....

Vicki's Finger

 

The Fickle Finger of Fate.  Showing this award from the old Laugh In show makes sense today, as my day ended up being dedicated to how the fickle finger of fate affected Vicki's finger.

- - - - - -

A while back, some idiot driver totaled Vicki's car, and caused one of her fingers to get broken.  One problem - the finger didn't heal properly, and she now has a minor disability: the warped finger that can not bend.  Several months later, virtually nothing could be done to improve function, but something could be done to improve her hand's appearance. Today was the day that her out-patient operation was scheduled to fix the finger as best as could be done.

Even though I was already awake, my alarms got me moving and into the shower before 9 am.  I had just toweled myself off when Vicki called to make sure that I was up and moving.  (I asked her to do this yesterday.)  As a result of this preparation, I picked her up at 10 am, and dropped her off at 10:20.  Now, it was time for breakfast....

My original aim was to get to McD's around 10:30, and order some stuff from the breakfast menu.  However, they had already switched over to their lunch/dinner menu by the time I got there.  Since I wanted something with eggs and sausage, I went to the bagel shop down the road for my late breakfast.  Given what I ate, I think I got lucky - a simple sausage and egg sandwich on a poppy bagel with a large coffee and a 16 oz OJ cost me less than what I'd have spent at McD's and tasted better than McD's offerings.

Next, it was off to Danbury to kill some time.  When I received a text that Vicki would be going into surgery, I figured that it was time to get ready to drive back to Mt. Kisco.  So I got in my car, and was at the out-patient center by 1 pm.  And then I had to wait for almost 2 hours. as it took much longer than anyone expected for Vicki to get out of recovery and get dressed to leave the out-patient center.

Vicki was famished, so the two of us went for lunch. 45 minutes later, we were on the way home for the day....

The Sleep Test Results are in!

 

Today ended up being the last day I was going to present as Marian for a while.  So I made the most of it when Vicki mentioned that she wanted to talk about something serious, but not critical.  Instead of laying around the apartment and doing nothing, I told Vicki that I'd meet her at 5 pm, and we could get a bite to eat.

Although I started getting ready around 3 pm, I was late getting out of the house, and barely made it to Lefteris Gyro on time to meet Vicki.  (The food is healthy, plentiful, and reasonably priced.  What more can you ask of a restaurant.  When I arrived, Vicki was already waiting for me at the table.  I almost didn't recognize Vicki at first, as she had her hair scrunched to the back of her head, exposing the area which alopecia has taken its toll.  (I made sure NOT to say anything about this.)  And then we got into our conversation.

I'm not going to say much about the conversation, save that it was related to health issues.  I mentioned that I got a call from the sleep doctor's office today telling me that I have severe sleep apnea, that I'd be getting a new CPAP machine and put on a regular schedule of new supplies.  YAY!  The only problem is that it will take 2 weeks to get approved by my insurance, and another 2 weeks before it arrives.  AARGH!  The way things are going, it will arrive when I'm away on another trip.

On my way home, I called RQS, and found that she was having trouble with printing a luggage tag for our upcoming cruise.  Since I couldn't solve the problem from a moving car, I suggested that she contact MSC to figure out what was wrong - and she now has a luggage tag for her suitcase.  Next, I stopped at the bank to deposit a check, then onward to home.

Arriving at my house, I met a new resident - a nice woman raising a child on her own.  Although I don't want to get her in trouble, I figured that I should ask our managing agent for information to find out if she's an approved resident.  Then, it was doing the last load of laundry before my trip.  

I can't wait to get on the ship!

 

 

 

PS: I received test results from the lab several weeks after the sleep test.  They confirmed what I already knew - I need my CPAP machine!

An unplanned dinner with RQS and Vicki

 

Food - Our lives revolve around its consumption, simply because we need to eat now and then. Today, I texted Vicki, and the end result was a nice meal for the 3 of us (and ice cream afterwards).

- - - - - -

RQS and I didn't want to deal with the hot weather.  But we had to go out to pick up some items for the bathroom at Walmart.  So I got dressed in the dress I bought at Universal Standard on Thursday and the two of us headed over to Mohegan Lake. where the two of us planned to get a quick snack, then shop before going to meet Vicki at Lefteris Gyro.  

Of course things didn't work out the way we expected.  We were very hungry when we reached Mickey D's, and were surprised to find the place was closed - the place had lost all power, and couldn't serve any customers.  This meant we had to get our snack elsewhere, and that meant driving over to Taco Bell.  Driving there, I realized that we wouldn't be shopping at Walmart, as we wouldn't have enough time to be sure to meet Vicki at 6:00 pm.  Instead, we drove straight to Mt. Kisco, where we spent our time shopping at Target for the things we planned to get elsewhere.  By doing this, we made it to the restaurant at 6:00 pm, and were on time for dinner.

Upon entering the restaurant, I missed Vicki, as she was in a corner on the left and I was focusing on the right.  After that minor snafu, we settled down to enjoy a good dinner. One of the things I noted was that Vicki was dressed much more casually than in the past. Post-exercise wear for some has a look like wearing PJ's.  Yet, she should be proud of all the weight she has lost to be able to look good in this clothing.  As for me, I'll stick with my dresses, as they hide parts of my body that I want to de-emphasize. Although I knew I was going to come home with leftovers, I didn't know how much I'd be bringing home!  Conversation flowed naturally, as Vicki, RQS and I were all relaxed with each of us having something to share and to take home from the conversation.  (This isn't always the case, given the occasional imbalances we have to talk about certain subjects.) 

All too soon, it was time to brave the weather and make it down to Ben & Jerry's for dessert - Ice Cream.  Although there are a few B&J's ice cream shops scattered over the country, this is the only one I know that's close to the New York City area.  Even more surprising, this would be the first time I've stopped here in over 40 years of living here.  So I knew that I was in for a treat.  One glitch - when moving a table out to seat the three of us, my sundae fell on the floor and had to be replaced.

As we left the ice cream shop, the heavens started to open up,  Even though we were avoiding the heat and rain during the day, we were able to make a good day out of something that could have been crappy.  In the end, this was the big advantage of being outside of NYC this weekend.  

 

I could have done much more today than to have dinner with Vicki

 

OK, I was home for most of the day and didn't do much.  Yet, I did start unpacking, I did make appointments to get together with friends, and I did get together with Vicki for dinner.  But, the apartment is still an unmitigated mess, and RQS will be coming up on Thursday.  There are simply not enough hours in the day, nor is there enough energy in me to straighten up my mess.

When RQS comes up here this weekend, one of the things we will be doing is to shop for a new refrigerator for her apartment.  (That reminds me - call up warranty service for my ice box.)  Her landlord is unwilling to replace it.  And being in a rent stabilized apartment, she is loath to trigger any ill feelings between her and the landlord.

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I'm finding that I didn't back up all my Norway photos to Google Photos.  This is a minor thing to take care of, as I have the photos both on my phone and on my PC.  Now, I have to transfer the videos from main storage in the old (broken) phone.  At least, RQS has a "full" set of photos from this trip.

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Around 4:30, I got showered and dressed to go see Vicki for dinner.  Compared to what she was a few years ago, she looks emaciated!  But I'm not going to tell her that, as she's at the right weight for her age.  She notices that I gained a couple of pounds while I was on the cruise.  At least, I knew that in advance.

As you can see, I'm all over the place today.  I'm simply getting back into my normal routine, and I am taking time to get used to a "normal" routine again.

Dinner with Vicki and RQS

 

This is not where we ate the other day.  But I'd have loved to eat here, just for the outdoor ambiance. Vicki, RQS and I agreed to meet at one of our usual go-to places, Lefteris Gyro for a dependable good meal.

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RQS and I had been car shopping all day when a woman who I met in Marian mode called.  I made the mistake of answering the phone in Mario mode, and then RQS came on the line and fouled things up a little.  I'll bet that this spooked the woman who could have become a friend before I had the chance to mention my TG nature.  When I called her back later on, I found that her voice mail response hadn't been updated since 2021.  

Around 7 pm, we met at Lefteris, and  had a good meal.  Vicki may have been a little surprised to see me in Mario mode, but that was because I had been in Mario mode to do car shopping. Our conversation got a little animated (not in a nasty way), as Vicki and I both have strong opinions and needed to express them as part of our conversation.  Of course, this might have disturbed a couple at the table next to us (they were giving Vicki weird looks), but it didn't matter to us.  We ended up being the last people to leave the place, and we left a good tip to make up for taking up a table for over 2 hours.

On the whole, it was a nice way to finish up the day, and I'd like to do this again soon....

I'm going to get really fat if I don't watch out

 

Today, I ended up having two meals out with friends.  How I did that, I don't know.  But I did enjoy both meals along with the company I had.

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If it weren't for the fact that today would be the only time this month that I could see my friend from the census without problems, I would have preferred to stay in and relax for the day.  I hadn't gotten enough sleep last night, and the alarms only got me going around 11:00 am for a 12:30 pm lunch.  This ended up being perfect for me, as I arrived at the Italian joint in town and found my friend just sitting down to wait for me to arrive.

This was a day where I dominated the conversation, describing what happened on my most recent cruise. Hopefully, I did it in a way that kept her interest, as I'm pretty sure that she will never sail with MSC. While Carnival is described as the Walmart of cruise lines, catering to the "value oriented" customer, I described MSC as the bastard offspring between Target and K-Mart. From Target, MSC gets the glitz that attracts people to cruise with them.  And from K-Mart, MSC gets the low quality that causes people to say "Never Again!"  People attracted to MSC do not want the Carnival cruise experience, but want a subset of the experiences one can get on other, higher priced, cruise lines. Eventually, lunch had to end, and I proceeded home.  Originally, I was going to go to Jersey and do some shopping.   But I felt that I should put my leftovers in the refrigerator before going out.  As a result, I never bothered to go out until I met Vicki for dinner at Lefteris Gyro.

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I met Vicki just after she was done with her exercise class, and she was famished.  This time, Vicki would be the one carrying leftovers home.  Vicki listened to me describing the cruise, knowing that neither of us would likely cruise MSC in the future based on my most recent experience.  Yet, I felt this was a shame, as with a little more attention to the quality of the experience and less on nickel-dimeing the cruiser, they'd have product good enough to seriously make a run at grabbing market share from the big-3 American based cruise line corporations (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian).  Vicki told me about her retirement plans (which I won't go into here) and chatted about things going on with her and her husband.  All I will say about that is that he will go more than the extra mile for her.

All too soon, dinner had to end and we had to go our own ways.  Not to worry.  I'll see her again when I have my colonoscopy next week....

 

Synchronization

 

After spending the weekend (mostly) as Mario, I finally got a chance to go out in the world as Marian.  First, RQS and I went for pedicures,.  And later, Vicki and I went out for dinner.  This doesn't sound like much, but....

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RQS has noted that by the end of the weekend, we are totally in sync with each other, and that it is hard to part.  Our arrivals at the other's house begin with a greeting, and then a period of synchronization with each other after being apart for the better part of a week.  By the end of the weekend, it seems like we can almost always have a good read on what the other is thinking and work seamlessly together.  Yet, RQS noted that I was several steps ahead of her yesterday when I shifted our pedicures into today.  Once she realized that I had to be in Mario mode to buy the sofa, all was OK.  But she would have liked a better clarification of what I was doing, to understand the whys and wherefores before things start to happen.  Today, with incomplete information from her, I realized which nail salon she wanted to go to, and made sure we went there before she had to go home.

Later on, I dropped RQS off at the train station and killed some time at BJ's before proceeding to Vicki's house.  I got there a few minutes early and texted Vicki of this, saying not to rush.  But when she got home, she wondered - did she give me the right time?  I told her that I was there early, and texted her to say she didn't need to rush.  And then, we headed off to Lefteris Gyro.

Both of us ordered the Greek Salad with Chicken - and both of us feasted.  Unlike most meals, she finished first.  She was famished!  We chatted about many things.  But when I told her about what is going on with our board and our managing agent, she started saying what to do, instead of listening to find out what was really going on.  Eventually, she caught on, seeing that our slow progress on some projects depended on one person - and understanding why things are the way they are.  (Vicki is one of the people I use for reality checks, and I know she can keep a confidence.) 

Once dinner was over, I drove Vicki home and fell out early.... 

Lunch with a friend from the Census

 

Not getting enough sleep has become a habit with me, and my body keeps waking me up with the sun, only to have me hit the virtual snooze bar to rest another hour or so.  But today was different.  As much as I didn't want to get up today, I ended up doing so as I had a lunch date scheduled with a friend I met while working at the census bureau and I didn't want to disappoint her.

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My friend, CCS, is a member of Mensa, and her world intersected with mine in more than one way. When we met at the Mexican restaurant down the hill, she sent greetings from some I dated a long time ago.  (There wasn't much chemistry between me and the woman I dated.  She lived on Manhattan's West Side and I lived where I live now.  Dating her would be a headache that neither of us needed, as I was starting to come out as trans at the time. I just wonder how my name came up at CCS's out of town conference.) And then, we got down to ordering lunch....

Over lunch, we chatted about many things: my travel plans, her insurance issues, politics, and life in general.  She's the type of friend who accepts me for who and what I am.  And I am grateful to have this friendship.  CCS and Vicki will be the people I'm most likely to call when I finally get around to scheduling another colonoscopy, as these are the two friends who have volunteered to drive me on the day of my procedure.

All too soon, we had to part.  My next stop was to fill my car up at the local gas station.  I was glad that I was wearing a short, comfortable dress, as the weather was hot.  Given how hot it was today, I made the decision to be in Marian more tomorrow when I pick RQS up at the station.