Game night, and I wasn't initially in the mood.

 

Although the above game is often played at game night, tonight was not the night for it.  Instead, we played a card collection game which I do poorly at, but enjoy the company of the crew at our Host & Hostess's house.

- - - - - -

But first....

The weather was crappy again today, and this meant that the driveway work originally scheduled for Tuesday and rescheduled for Friday won't be done until next week.  AARGH!  That means I will need to visit my brother and leave my car at his place for a week.  Considering that I only trust him to drive the car AND that I hate giving up my keys to anyone, I will feel a little bit naked and vulnerable when my brother drops me off at RQS's place on Saturday.

Around 5:00, I started to get ready for game night.  It would likely be the last time I would be presenting as Marian for the better part of a week.  But once ready, I sped to Yonkers (I was late as usual) and made it for the second game of the night.  Because the weather would likely be a little chilly, I decided to wear a flowing tunic top over leggings - the first visible female garments other than dresses and shoes that I've worn since early Spring.  Given the humidity, I should have stuck to  one of my dresses.  At least I know I have to start rotating my clothes for the season soon.

Was I glad to get out of the house?  Yes.  I needed somewhere other than my apartment to be in for part of the night.  But I'm also sad that I will need to present as Mario as soon as Saturday comes.

Game Night - Finally, an evening out as Marian!

 

Now that I'm back in New York, I can finally get back outside as Marian.  Yay!  I was starting to get very tired of wearing trousers....

- - - - - -

This morning, I woke up early and took it easy most of the day.  While relaxing, I received a message from the president of the co-op, asking me to move some money from our savings account to our operating account.  This will allow us to start a property improvement that our resident shareholders will notice.  However, I had to instruct the site representative about the scheduling of this work, as I didn't want to take the risk that my building's work would be delayed until I was away.  Luckily, I was able to get this fixed.  Rank does have its privileges.

While thinking of the co-op, I've had a problem sending messages to the co-op's board members.  One member's email address changed. Yet, my system had continued to send email to her old address.  It took me an hour to resolve this Gmail problem, and I did it the brute force way - I deleted her entry in my address book, edited the email list, and did all sorts of things until I got it working right.  Yay!

- - - - - -

Shortly after visiting the bank to transfer co-op money, I got some lunch from Mickey D's and sat down at my computer for a while.  I paid some bills and sorted out paperwork needed to get my dad's birth certificate.  Unfortunately, I had a GI Tract issue which required some cleanup.  I found out that I hated the mop I was using, and decided to replace it when I had the chance.

A little later, I drove to Game Night, and had a good time.  Today was different than usual - I was on the winning team for the two games I had the chance to play.  All too soon, the night had to end.  But I had one more stop to make - the supermarket.  And that's where I bought a new mop, as well as some food which we could eat over the weekend.

All in all, it was a good day, in spite of the mess I had to clean up.

If it weren't for game night, I wouldn't have even bothered getting dressed today.

 

The rainy weather has made me a bit lethargic, and I had a hard time getting moving today.  There were two things on my docket that required me to get dressed, one being laundry, and the other being game night.  So, I figured that I could take care of a couple of things while doing laundry and caused a minor issue for myself.

RQS was originally scheduled to go home on Sunday.  Fathom Events scheduled a 2-night revival of Lawrence of Arabia for Sunday and Monday at selected theaters.  I bought tickets for Sunday evening. But that creates a conflict between the time RQS expected to be home and the time she'd be in the theater.  So I asked her if she could stay another night.

The other task that I took care of was removing the nail polish from my fingernails.  I figure that I'll need to present as a male when I meet with the sleep doctor on Monday, as well as an appointment I have later in the evening for a research study.  Given that I want to look my best when I meet RQS in the city for dinner on Tuesday evening, I'll likely schedule a Mani-Pedi for the morning.

Luckily, I had only one load of laundry to take care of.  The one problem is that I usually do my sheets along with the rest of my colored laundry.  This means that I'll have to inspect the fitted sheet to make sure that nothing got caught in it while in the dryer.  That I can do in the morning when I fold the laundry in advance of RQS's arrival.

Around 4:30 pm, I showered, and went downstairs to do laundry as Mario.  This was the more convenient way to be out of the apartment when my face had yet to be made up.  But when almost ready to go out for the evening, I had switched into Marian mode. Though I started doing the Laundry at 5:00 pm, I wasn't able to get out of the apartment until 7:10 pm. This meant that I'd be in Yonkers after the first game had started.  Even so, I drove down, and found that only an abbreviated portion of the group was in attendance.  I got into a couple of games, and left before the hostess returned with her dog.  (Just as well - he is ready to bite anyone who isn't family.)  On the way home, I chatted with RQS, and picked up some stuff for dinner to be eaten tomorrow or Saturday.

I was glad to finally be back at home by midnight, as I couldn't wait to strip and get comfortable again.

 

 

Rain, Rain, Go Away.... (a short post)

 

Unlike the other day, I decided not bothering getting dressed and going out in the rain when I had no real plans for the day.  If it had been dry, I might have put on my exercise dress, applied some blush and lipstick, then gone outside for a 20 minute walk.  Unfortunately, this was not the case.

- - - - - -

This week, it looks like we'll have a total of 7 consecutive rainy days before we see the sun again.  Luckily, RQS will be here for one of these days before she goes home again.  And after one day, I'll be taking the train into NYC, so that we can enjoy a fancy dinner during NYC's Restaurant Week.  

I'll admit that I find it easier to have RQS come to see me, than it is for me to see her.  Yet, because we can get into my car, we have more options regarding what we can do when the weather is bad.  If we are in Queens, we must wait at the bus stop for (up to) 20 minutes before a bus comes, or walk 1/4 mile to the closest subway station, climb up 4-5 flights of steps, and wait outside for (up to) 15 minutes before the train arrives.  Contrast this with a 200 foot walk to my car, and we have many more comfortable options up here.

- - - - - -

Tomorrow is Game Night, and I'm hoping for better weather.  Specifically, I'm hoping that we only have a drizzle in the evening, as I don't want to bother with an umbrella.  But if I need to bring one, I will....

Another Game Night

 

I had two things on the docket: Having lunch with my friend from the census, then going to Game Night later on in the evening.  Given my energy level as of late, I'd have rather skipped both.  But I'm glad I didn't do so....

- - - - - -

In hot weather, I get very uncomfortable wearing my wigs.  As a transgender person, the male hormones that flowed through my body for years have poisoned the hair follicles on my head.  In short, my male pattern baldness has forced me to wear wigs when presenting as female.  So I try to stay in air conditioned comfort during the summer.  Today, I was able to do so.

Waking up way before the alarm sounded, I knew that I would need to fall asleep early, or to take a nap sometime during the afternoon.  So I decided to get up and take care of some things before getting showered, made up, and dressed to go out for lunch at a nearby Mexican restaurant suggested by my friend.

When I arrived at the restaurant, it had its normal lunch crowd.  So, I took a seat and waited for my friend.  She texted me to tell me that she was going to be late - she had forgotten to put in her contact lenses, and had to go back inside the house to take care of things.  After 5-10 minutes, my friend arrived.  I told her all about my Norway cruise, and our plans to visit Alaska next year.  She then told me all about her trip to Vegas to celebrate her son's 21st birthday, as well as how gambling comps have paid for some of the cruises she has taken and for spectacular rooms in hotels - one of which was a suite with a pool table in it.  (Hopefully, my friend won't mind me saying this much about her.)  All too soon, lunch ended and we made plans for next month.

I went home for a while, and then got ready for game night.  This was a time I could have easily have stayed home and caught up on my sleep.  Instead, I rushed down to Yonkers and was late for the first game of the night.  (It was only designed for 4 players, and I would have been the 5th.)  So I waited until the next game was played, and enjoyed that.  Things started to break up around 10:00 pm, and I couldn't wait to get home to sleep - and I was out within 1 1/2 hours.

 

Game Night - first time in a while (a short post)

 

Today's post is not about Baseball.  Instead, it is about my first visit to Yonkers Game Night in almost 2 months.

- - - - - -

 

A little while back, Lane Bryant sent me a coupon which gave me a $20 discount on anything I purchased.  Well, the above photo shows me in a dress I bought with that coupon.  (I'm sorry it's a horrible picture, but I was using a selfie stick with a non-functional switch to click the shutter control on the phone's camera.)  Given that I liked how the dress looked and felt, I decided to wear it to game night.

I drove to Yonkers and decided to pick up some snacks to contribute to the bounty available for the guests.  So I went into the local CVS and picked up a bag of pretzels, and that's where the "fun" came in.  One of the two self-service checkout stations wasn't working, and a staff member was trying to get the one working machines to process a refund/return (I don't know which), causing the line to back up.  Although there was someone behind the counter that could open up a register, he didn't - until I opened up my big mouth and complained about him, the problem in front of the line, and the ten people behind me.  At that point, I may have made a few people upset (I was in front of the newly opened register, and out the door before anyone had a chance to think), but I was now able to go to game night.

When I got to their house, the hostess said that there were some "Birthday Donuts" for me, and wanted to hear about my trip to Norway.  I kept it reasonably short, and then we started to play some games - which I lost as usual.  But it was a good ending to my evening....

Game Night and a lost earring - a short post

 

The other day, I ended up going to game night.  Since I wanted to wear jewelry, I decided to wear the earrings given to me by the couple who host game nights twice each month.  Well, I had a hard time getting the post into my ear, but thought I succeeded in doing it right.

Obviously, I did it wrong, as the post wasn't locked into the notch that keeps the earring in place.  So, when I was playing games, the earring fell out without me noticing it.  When I got home, I noticed it was missing, and thought about calling game night's hosts to see if they found the earring there.  I wasn't going to tell them that it was the second time I lost this earring.  Instead, I decided to order a replacement pair of earrings.

This morning, I got a text asking me about an earring they found.  And yes, it was mine!  So I didn't need to place an order.  However, Karma played its' game with me, as I lost (or didn't receive) the replacements I ordered from Amazon.  

At least, I'll have a set of earrings I care about....

Game Night after a long day doing little. (a short post)

Another day, and the only reasons I got out of bed were: (1) to do laundry before RQS gets here tomorrow, and (2) to go to Game Night in Yonkers.  And that's about the only thing I did today, save for writing this blog entry.

- - - - - -

Although I woke up early, I really began my day around 3 pm.  (I spent much of the time watching TV and killing time.)  Once I got out of the bedroom, I started taking care of things, such as doing some of the laundry that was in the hamper since I got home from my cruise.  (I was starting to run low on underwear, so I knew that I had to finally take care of this task.)  While my laundry was in the washer (and dryer), I got ready to go out for the evening as Marian. When I was ready to go out, I almost forgot that I had clothes in the dryer.  So, I brought them upstairs before going out to play games.

I arrived in Yonkers around 8 pm, and hung out until the second round of games started.  Of course, I did poorly in comparison to the others.  But then, I go to Game nights for the connections to people, and not for the games themselves.

On the way home, I called RQS, and we chatted for the better part of an hour.  It'll be nice to see her in person tomorrow.

A visit to Universal Standard, and then to Game Night

 

I try to go to game night every night our hosts invite us in to their home.  Sadly, I found out something about two of our regulars that I almost wish I didn't know.

But first....

A few days ago, I registered for an in-person shopping visit to Universal Standard.  Having been there for sample sales, I was prepared for almost anything.  Would the place be organized mayhem, such as it is when they hold a sample sale?  Or, would the place look like a normal store, with a little bit of everything to try on.  Today, things were much better than expected, as I was greeted with a glass of Proseco, and then the stylist asked me what I was looking for (mostly dresses).

When I go to Universal Standard's sample sales, I wear a unitard, over which I wear a shirtdress as a duster.  This way, I can take off the top layer and be able to try on clothes without other women seeing that I am wearing falsies.  I could have avoided the headaches of doing so today, as I had a dressing room all to myself.  Given this unexpected luxury, I stripped off the unitard, and got dressed in several of the outfits selected for me.  (I wish I could have taken pictures of me in each outfit.)

The first of these outfits was a white shirt with linen pants with a stretch waistband in aqua..  If the shirt were a little longer, I might have bought this outfit.  But, if my "tucking" comes undone, I don't want my pants to give away what genitalia I possess.  (I still may consider it in the future, but not right now.)  Next was a Polo shirtdress in "Botanic" (think of a rich forest green).  It looked and felt good on me.   But I didn't feel like dropping $138 for this dress right now.  After this came two items that wouldn't work on me, and I didn't bother trying on.  And then came the button-up shirt dresses I had problems with. Although the stylist (read: saleslady) said most of what she selected looked good on me, I felt that 2 of the 3 shirtdresses ranged from "not worth buying" (due to bad button design) to "acceptable as a gift" (I'd wear it if I got one as a gift, but wouldn't buy it) to "I'd buy it if I had extra money to spend".  The last of these dresses had the right length for me to wear as a dress alone, and could be worn with leggings, or worn as a duster.  What surprised me was that a jumpsuit looked nice on me.  I'd  still want to wear a shirt of jacket as a topper.  But I'm thinking of going for it.  Sadly, I had to leave without buying anything.  So, I returned home to rest a little before going back out to game night.

- - - - - - 

Game night was nothing special - even though I didn't get the chance to play anything.  There were only 6 people there (including myself), as 2 of the other regulars didn't show up.  I found out over a chat that went on at the game table, that one regular didn't like another regular because she learns new games slowly.  (This fellow is a hard core gamer who likes being the center of attention, and he doesn't get along that well with people who aren't as aggressive as he is in game play.)   Although I don't have problems with him, I now wonder what he says about me behind my back.  But that's another story.

I started to have a good time when the hostess and her son came back from his weekly Chess tournament.  Today, he got beat by someone more skilled than he is.  But he is learning quickly.  First, I chatted with the hostess for a while about things in general.  Then, I chatted with the son about chess.  I told him that I used to be decent as a kid, but I'm a terrible player 50 years later.  It'll be fun to relearn the game from him.

While at game night, Vicki sent me a message.  She'd like to go to the Flax Designs warehouse sale, where they are cleaning out inventory in what they call a "Barn Sale".  Although it will take over 3 hours (each way) to get there and back, the sale prices can't be beat.  So I said Yes to Vicki and offered the chance to have RQS come with us.  (RQS said no, so we'll shift our weekend plans by a day or so that weekend.)

It looks like I'll be doing even more shopping soon!

 

 

Game night - a short post

 

Although it was a perfect day to go outside and test drive some cars, I ended up staying indoors until it was time to go to game night.  

- - - - - -

One thing I've noticed at game night is that the people there always refer to me as SHE.  That's very important, as they know I'm transgender.  Whether or not I go for radical surgical alterations to my body or not is a minor issue with this group of friends.  People there are comfortable with the idea of being transgender, and just accept me as a normal person.

Even with being accepted, being the oldest person in the room does make me feel odd at times.  I am not good at games that require a lot of strategical thought - I might be more of a tactician than a strategist.  But I enjoy going there because I enjoy the company of younger people.  And that's something that will likely keep my mind active as I get older.

- - - - - -

With all of the above being said, I had a troublesome thought come to mind.  What would happen when people who only know Mario meet people who only know Marian?  I'd no longer be around.  But I'd hate to see people freaked out because I lived on both sides of the gender coin.

A nice weekend with RQS - a quick post

 

This weekend was a "half and half" weekend in more ways than one.  Although she came up on Thursday to spend the evening with me at game night, we drove down to her place on Saturday to spend the rest of the weekend in the city.  This was a nice change of pace.

But first....

Lately, I haven't had much energy to do much of anything.  But I had enough to get dressed and meet RQS at the train station in Marian mode.  From there, we were off to Lefteris Gyro, as we'd be heading towards Yonkers for game night.  Once done with dinner, we drove over to game night where RQS was warmly welcomed.  (I think that the host and hostess approve of my choice of girlfriend.😊)  We were in time for 2 games, and both of us did poorly - and had fun doing so.

On Friday, I had to return to Mario mode, so that I could test drive a car.  I'm very surprised that Buick has a compact SUV in my price range. Even though it has a 3 cylinder engine, the car had a bit of pep for a small car.  The way the car performed justified my visit to the dealership.

Saturday came, and we woke up late.  Instead of risking not getting a parking spot at her house, we skipped test drives of 2 other brands/models, and saved time by going directly to Ridgewood.  And this was a good thing, as after a bit of food shopping in her neighborhood, it took 15 minutes to find a parking spot.

Sunday was a sleepy day for us.  And the only reason for getting dressed was a visit to the local Bodega.  While out, we checked the alternate side of the street parking rules that applied to my car.  I could stay overnight!  Yay!  So that's just what I did.  It was nice to have an extra night with RQS.....

A telling of tales for the New Year

 

As usual, publication of journal entries in this blog is a little behind the times.   By the time you read this, 2 weeks will have passed, and I will have gone through an appointment with my GP, gotten a colonoscopy, and have had my teeth X-Rayed.  And those are only things that I know will happen over the next couple of weeks.

- - - - - -

When this weekend began, RQS came up on a crowded train from NYC.  Instead of eating what I had at home, we proceeded to the local diner as I was in Mario mode for the day  And this was a wise choice, as both of us had leftovers we could bring home to eat later on.  The manager and a long time waitress both noted that it was a long while since I've eaten there, and I mentioned that I had been traveling, spending half my time in Queens these days.  The last thing I was going to mention was that I spend more than half my time as Marian, and didn't want to "out" myself to them.

- - - - - -

Saturday came, and neither of us wanted to get out of the house.  And we didn't do much, save to make a shopping run as it was getting dark.  RQS needed a few things she could get at Walmart or Target, and I needed an excuse to take a drive.  So, off to Poughkeepsie we went, and then back home for the night.

But Sunday, New Year's Eve, was a different story.  I decided to let RQS stay in bad while I went to Church for the first and only time this year.  It was nice to reconnect with the rituals of my past, even though my late mother might have had another heart attack had she seen me in church wearing a nice dress and being addressed as Marian.  After church, it was off to Homestyle Desserts to pick up a cheesecake for the folks from Game Night and to pick up some cookies for RQS's friends, who we'd plan to meet the following day. About $85 later, I returned home to relax with RQS before going to Yonkers.

Not knowing what type of food we'd be eating, I decided to nuke some pre-made offerings from Trader Joe's for us to eat.  This wasn't needed, as there was much more than enough food to eat at our friends' place.  Strangely enough, most of us didn't end up playing any games.  The night was mostly spent by us talking with a few friends until shortly after midnight when we drove home slowly and carefully, making sure to avoid the amateur drunk drivers expected on the road this evening.

- - - - - -

New Year's Day came, and neither of us had any energy.  When RQS was looking for excuses not to go and visit her friend, I suggested that she had a GI Tract issue similar to that I often have (for real).  And this made it possible for her to sleep the day away until it was again dark outside.  The only reason I even bothered to get dressed was so that I could bring home a hot pizza for us to eat.  And then, it was back in my jammies for the evening....

Getting things done at the last moment

 

One more day to go before my cruise, and I figure that I've left too much undone.  Last minute bill paying has yet to be done, and I have yet to visit a nail salon for a Mani-Pedi.  Tomorrow will be the last day that I'll have the chance to take care of these things, so I'd better have a game plan set up to make sure that all of my tasks are completed on time.

This afternoon, I had a couple of tasks to take care of, and only dealt with one of them.  And that was taking a duplicate Amazon delivery to the UPS store for a return credit.  (See previous post for more information.)  The other task, left undone was to go to the nail salon for a Mani-Pedi.  That, along with getting some cash for the cruise and doing some last minute packing must be done as early as possible, as I'll need to be fully rested before an early morning trip to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

Once done with UPS, I went home and took a nap.  I had forgotten about the chicken in the refrigerator, and ended up stopping at Mickey D's on my way to Game Night.  Although I was late, they made way for me to join in a game, and I did well for a change.  But I was there for one reason - to give two kids their Xmas presents.  And both loved what I bought.  The hostess then brought out a gift for me - a nice bracelet with phosphorescent beads.  Although a little small, I was able to wear it - and may do so on my upcoming cruise.

On the way home, I chatted with RQS.  We're still making our arrangements for next weekend, as we're going to a concert that Sunday night.  Then, the next weekend will be the holiday - and I can't wait to get dressed to the nines with her again....

A trip to NYC and a temporarily lost handbag

 

My plan for today was to first go shopping at Universal Standard's sample sale, meet RQS at Grand Central to take the same train into Croton-Harmon, and then go to the one game night being held by my friends in Yonkers.  And everything on the checklist was accomplished, but with some drama while in Croton....

- - - - - -

When I got dressed, I figuratively flipped a coin to determine whether I'd be wearing a dress to Universal Standard, or wearing a unitard (body suit) under a duster.  The dress would be more convenient for taking a bio-break, while the unitard would be more convenient for shopping at Universal Standard.  I chose the unitard, as I wanted to be able to try on clothing without having to strip down to my bra and panties, possibly exposing that I was born in a male body.  And this would be a wise choice.

Before I got to Universal Standard, I stopped by Metro North's lost-and-found office in the vain hope that the backpack I misplaced a month ago was found and in their custody. From there, it was on to the subway to reach the store.  Upon entering the store, I noticed that two 20-30 y/o women were trying on garments, one of them in a unitard like me, and the other stripping down to her bra and panties to try on clothes.  Neither of them was uncomfortable with my presence, and both of them were handing me garments to try on.  There were 3 dresses I was interested in, and the 2 ladies said that I looked great in the black dresses (1 of which I would wear as a duster, which I did later on).  However, US's signature dress, their Geneva dress (a dress with an asymmetrical hemline) looked good on me, but the color was terrible for me.  So I made a note that in the future, to try one of these dresses in a color that looks good on me.

Next, it was off to Grand Central where I met RQS for the trip to Croton.  I killed some time before she arrived, and we took an early train home. And that's where the fun began.  Arriving at my apartment, we carried several bags upstairs, and the handbag containing RQS's phone was misplaced.  We attempted to ring her phone, but we couldn't hear it.  So both of us worried about going on our cruise without normal documents.  I was willing to drive to Albany to get a replacement state issued photo ID card, and willing to do a round trip to her place to get her birth certificate - the minimum documentation needed for a closed loop cruise from NYC.

After a break for dinner, we went back home.  Before entering the door, I looked around, and found her bag sitting where I often place my bag.  I rang her phone, and neither of us heard it.  Then she took her phone out, and I rang it again.  This time, we heard the ring.  So, we were both very relieved.  At this point, we were very late for game night, and decided to drop by just to chat - and that's what we did.  It was nice to see the gang again, and I hope to see them one more time before the holidays.

It's a holiday weekend!

 

I'm not sure if my readers have noticed this, but I usually am a couple of weeks behind in my published posts.  The reason for this is that I don't want to give away my current location when I travel.  By doing this, I can always play catch-up with my posts when I return.  Hopefully, this explains why I gave this entry its title.

- - - - - -

Some quick thoughts on how I expect things to go:

RQS is coming up later today, and my place is a mess.  That's OK for now, but I have to clean it up a little before she gets here.  I'm not sure of how I plan to dress when she arrives.  But if I'm wearing trousers, it may be a surprise for her.

Sometime this weekend, we will be going to either Shoprite or Stew Leonard's to buy some live lobsters while they are on sale. My refrigerator is already filled to the gills, and I don't know where I'll put the lobsters while I'm waiting for the water to boil in which I'll cook them.  

I'm tempted to take a drive up to the New York State Museum (an exhibit is pictured above) over the weekend.  Saturday may be the best day for this long drive, as we can take our time going up to Albany and coming back to Westchester county in the evening.  Unlike my last long drive to the North Country, I plan on avoiding speed traps by taking slower routes on this trip.

Sunday may be a day spent nearby, where we may go to see a movie.  The third movie in the Equalizer series interests me, only because of its leading star.  With that being said, I'm not sure if I want to see another "action" film.

And Monday, RQS and I will be going to Yonkers to spend the day with the Game Night crowd.  RQS is usually busy on Thursdays, and would rarely see these people   But she was there once, and enjoyed being with these people.  So she's thinking of making them a dessert this weekend.  At least, it will not require the use of my oven....

- - - - - -

As you can tell, I didn't have much to say about my life today, save for my plans for the weekend.  Later on, I'll find out whether things went according to plan....

I didn't really want to go to game night, but I made myself do so.

 

My mind has been on overload lately.  First, it was the tile wall in the bathroom failing. Next, it was scheduling repair work on the wall to begin over the weekend.  And then, it was being told that the electricians will start their work replacing electrical outlets next week.  So, in addition to my regularly scheduled social appointments both as Marian and as Mario, I have to appear as Mario when the handyman is here on the weekend, and when the electrician is working in my apartment.  AARGH!!!  (At least, I can get in some Marian time when I go to my dentist.)

- - - - - -

Since I wanted to leave tomorrow open for last minute tasks, I spent today working slowly on cutting down on the clutter in the apartment, and then doing some laundry.  By the time I was done, I was not really in the mood to go to play games.  But, given that it'd be another 4 weeks before I'd get the chance to be with this group again, I forced myself to get showered and dressed, then out the door as Marian.

As usual, I got to Yonkers a bit late and missed the first game.  Then I got involved in the second game of the night, and did tolerably well until the very end of the game.  Yet, I had fun.  Sadly, there was some bad news.  The host/hostess' new dog (a 5 y/o rescue) bit one of the guests and had to be kept away from the group.  I'll bet that this dog may have been abused once and has yet to unlearn coping behavior, as none of the rescue dogs my dad adopted (including one that was abused) ever drew blood after living with my dad.  (Yes, this may be flawed reasoning, but it reflects my feelings on the matter.)

I would have liked to have participated in more conversation and less game playing tonight.  But I can't always get what I want.  At least, RQS and I had a nice chat on my way home, and we set our game plan for the weekend....

Game night and seeing an old friend - a short post.

 

My friend was up from Florida this week, but neither of us had the time to get together on our own.  She is blissfully ignorant of politics, and had no idea of how the governor of her state is hurting transgender youth.  Once I mentioned things as they are in the real world, she was a little upset.   But then, most people prefer to tune politics out of their lives, as they don't see the value of knowing what's going on behind closed doors leading to smoke filled rooms. I'm not out to knock this friend, as she has a warm and loving heart.  What I am out to say is that she made it to game night, and I had the first chance to see her in several years.

Tonight's game lasted way too long, and I tuned out long before the game was over.  There were way too many things to keep track of in this game, and my mind wasn't up to it - especially with two strong minded fellows "arguing" about the rules of the game.  I was only going through the motions, so that I'd have a pleasant evening - which I did.

After game night was over, I chatted outside with my friend and caught up on things.  She knows I'm trans, and it doesn't bother her.  If I weren't attached, I could see the two of us traveling together.  But, I am, and want to keep it that way.  All too soon, we had to part.  She had to drive back to Connecticut, where she was staying until the weekend, and I had to drive back to my apartment.  On the way home, I caught up with RQS on our nightly phone call.  It'll be nice to see her again, and I hope that nothing gets in the way of doing so....

Finally, the first chance to go out en-femme in 2 weeks.

 

It's been a while since I've been able to go out as Marian.  The logistics of my most recent vacation in California made it impossible for me to switch back and forth between male and female gender presentations.  Now that I've been home for a couple of days, I can finally go out as Marian and interact with the world as my authentic self.

Yesterday, I was supposed to go out with my meetup group to see another session of Drag Queen Bingo. After taking care of a couple of things, I decided not to go - using GI Tract issues as my excuse.  The one problem was that this was true - I didn't want to need to rush to a toilet and find out that I had to wait for it.  As it was, I got home, and barely made it to the toilet before soiling myself.  (I guess that I picked up a mild bug towards the end of the cruise.)

Today, things were better.  I was able to meet one of my friends from the Census and have a leisurely lunch.  Again, my GI Tract acted up a little bit.  But this time, I had a minute or two to spare.  After I was done, I ran down to Micro Center to pick up some Sugru (to repair a fraying power wire on my CPAP machine) and a 30 watt USB-C power plug for use in rapid charging my cell phone.  Although one of the people from my game night meetup was having game night at his house, I had to bug out - I didn't trust my GI Tract.

It was nice to be able to finally go out as Marian.  But this weekend, it will be several days in Mario mode again....

A "Half and Half" day

 

I hate having to dress as Mario and then change into Marian (or, vice-versa).  Today was one of those days that I had to see the doctor in the morning, and then change into Marian before going to game night in Yonkers.  So, I had to partially make myself ready for the day to see my doctor. And then, I had to finish the job after I was home....

- - - - - -

My doctor has been looking for a way to get my blood pressure where he'd like it to be for several years now.  And today was a day that I knew he'd likely hector me a little about exercise and losing weight. What I didn't expect was that he ran a little bit late before seeing me, and that we'd be talking about vacations - specifically, him thinking of taking the same Hawaii cruise that I took.  The good news for the day was that the new medicine I am taking did what it was supposed to do with my blood pressure. This made him comfortable telling me to come back in a little over 2 months this time - something that I didn't expect.

Once done with the doctor, I picked up an egg sandwich at the local deli.  However, there was a minor mishap.  Just after I placed my order, a mob of teenagers came in to place their lunch orders (the high school is less than a block away) and that created confusion at the deli.  I was given the wrong order, and had to go back to the deli to get the right order.  Luckily, they didn't hand my sandwich to someone else.

I then went home and relaxed for a while before getting dressed as Marian for game night.  Luckily, I made it there early enough for me to play in the single game the group played this evening.  Although I didn't win, I wasn't in last place.  And that was a miracle for me.  When things broke up, I mentioned to the hostess that I finally have pierced ears, and will soon be able to wear the earrings that they gave me a few years ago.

- - - - - -

On the way home, I chatted with RQS and we discussed our plans for the next few weeks.  Yes, we will be quite busy going back and forth between our apartments.  But it will be fun....

Be careful when performing aftercare on a new ear piercing

 

Be careful when performing aftercare on a newly pierced ear.  If the stud is lose, it can easily be lost - and I did just that.

But first....

This would be my first weekend away from my home (Read: I would be at RQS's place) and would need to perform my 2x-3x daily aftercare routine in a new setting.. I didn't think too much of this, as the stud was loosely applied to its backing, so that I'd have room to clean the area around the piercing and move the stud a little bit to help with healing.

At my place, I'd usually sit at my computer desk and perform the aftercare ritual there. However, at RQS's place, I'd be standing by her sink to perform the ritual. And this is where and when the stud popped out.  All of a sudden, the stud was propelled forward by the backing and fell into the sink.  Damn!  If I had blocked the drain, I'd have never lost the stud.  Now, I'd need a new stud to keep the hole open.

The next morning, RQS and I went to a local jewelry shop, and I had new studs put in.  OUCH!  The woman was not delicate with what she was doing, and my ears would feel irritated for a few days.  The backing to the studs were on tight, and I knew aftercare would be harder to perform for the next month or so.

I can't wait until I can wear normal earrings for the first time.  Yes, I'll need to keep the studs in until then.  But I can't wait to show my friends at game night that I can now wear the earrings that they gave me one Christmas.

So...

Be careful when getting your ears pierced.  You will need to perform aftercare, and it'd be a shame to go what I went through if you aren't careful when doing it....