An unplanned co-op board meeting

 

This is not the image of anyone on our co-op board.  All of our members are unhappy about what has gone on as of late.  Yet, like people who love pain, we keep on serving our small community.

Why do I say this?

Although I an "out" to the board, I am not generally out to the co-op as a whole.  I never appear as Marian while representing the co-op at board meetings.  So I generally change into Mario mode before going to co-op functions.  Last night, I had to leave the video off at an unplanned zoom meeting, so that I could strip off my makeup while attending a meeting.

Tomorrow will be worse.  We have a planned meeting to address concerns arising from an unpleasant maintenance rate hike.  One shareholder has forced this meeting, and we must deal with a potential shareholder rebellion.  Luckily, we're using zoom for this meeting - and can cut people off at will.  Finally, a benefit we gained from the Covid-19 pandemic.  But I'd rather have shareholders who are all happy....

My only free day this week....

 

As most of my readers know, I live most of my life as a female these days.  Yes, I'm legally male, but that isn't stopping me from enjoying most of the things that have been traditionally reserved for females.  And yet, there are still things that keep pulling me to spend more time as a male - such as romance.  For that reason, I have my daily calendar marked up with "Red" and "Green" days.  Today, I noticed that I have some "Red" events scheduled after I get home for two weeknight evenings, and have two completely "Red" days scheduled over the weekend.

A while back, Fran told me that her decision to "Out" herself to the world happened when she had a meeting that required her to present as a male, but showed up for that meeting as a female.  Since I want to control my "Outings", I've had to develop a good method of scheduling my time to retain that control. (This is part of why I was so pissed off at someone a couple of years ago.  But I won't bore you with that story now.)  I don't mind outing myself to people - there are people with whom I've outed myself, simply because I felt there was little risk in doing so.

For the next few days, my evenings are taken up by zoom meetings, dinner with a new friend, and time with RQS.  There's not much "Me Time" left.  Vicki said that's normal and OK - it's nice to know that you're spending time with someone again. The reason why one goes to meetups is that one needs to occupy empty time in one's schedule.  "Me Time" can be found by removing unneeded things from the schedule.

Right now, I have created "Me Time" by dropping weekend meetups from my schedule.  And weeknight meetups are next to come.  Yet, I will miss the meetups, as they served a purpose when I needed to be with people more than I do now....

Looking at new vacation options

Lately, I haven't been able to dedicate as much time as I used to for this blog.  So, I apologize if the quality of my entries has suffered a little bit.

- - - - - -

For a couple of months, I've been tracking the prices of several cruises.  The April ones on my list have barely moved, and I don't expect to see any significant price drops.  However, I expect to see movement in the cruises scheduled for the second half of the year.  So I will start pruning this list, so that I can have more room for other cruises I might want to take.

Recently, MSC has announced a group of 2023 sailings out of the Red Hook, Brooklyn cruise terminal. Normally, I would not consider traveling to Brooklyn for a cruise, given the headaches of getting to the terminal from where I live. However, MSC will match the loyalty status of customers from other cruise lines as a tool to get them to start cruising MSC.  Since I expect to graduate into NCL's Platinum loyalty level with my upcoming Hawaii cruise, why not consider doing the loyalty match sometime next spring, and seeing if I can take a cruise with a new line?

My vacation options are not limited to cruising.  I am also looking at doing another cross country trip by train.  My nephew lives in the Pacific Northwest, and I've been looking for excuses to visit both Seattle and Portland.  So this might be a trip that hits two birds with a single stone.  In the Fall, I could see myself taking a trip to Chicago, onward to New Orleans, then back home - all on Amtrak.  Each leg on Amtrak could be done in coach, and my big expenses would be food and lodging in the two cities.

Lastly, I have friends from my Texas zoom meetup that I have yet to meet in person.  This is the least likely of my trips, as I'd have to do more traveling as Mario than I would like.  Since I am not enamored of the climate in Texas in regard to being transgender, I am not sure whether I'd be safe there in Marian mode.  Hopefully, one (or two) of them will make it up to NYC for one of their vacations soon....

We didn't go to The Automat.

 

Years ago, when I used to work in the NYC suburbs, I wanted to go to the last Automat to eat.  Sadly, by the time I had the time to do so, the last Automat had closed down.  Today, RQS and I were supposed to go into NYC and see "The Automat", a documentary about the Horn & Hardart Automat restaurants that used to dot New York City and Philadelphia. Unfortunately, the cold and raw weather, we ended up going to a local restaurant for dinner.  (We'll try to see this movie next weekend.)

RQS is warming up to the idea of having a bi-gendered boyfriend.  But then, she is also a person who could not find a traditional place in life, and has had to find her own non-traditional path.  Although I will not go into any details, RQS went to a good school and couldn't be part of any of the usual social groups because of her unique situation. Like me, she was a square peg that couldn't fit into a round hole.  Luckily this gave her time to study and figure out what she wanted to do with her life.  And from what I can tell, she was likely good at what she did during her career.  Yet, in the end, Covid brought an end to it.

Being with RQS is easy at this stage of getting to know each other.  I've already told her about my falling-outs with both XGFJ and FCP, and she hasn't yet run away.  Maybe, just maybe, I may have found a keeper....

Seeing a friend who will soon be doing a trip I want to take.

 

I had dinner with one of my friends tonight.  She has only seen me as Marian, and we discussed what is going on in our lives.   And she's about to take the transatlantic crossing that I want to take sometime in the next 5 years.  

Most of my readers may be unaware of this, but the Queen Mary 2 is the last of the great ocean liners.  There is an important difference between ocean liners and cruise ships: Ocean Liners are designed to cross the Atlantic quickly with maximum comfort possible.  Cruise ships are mostly floating barges meant to be destinations in their own right.  When the QM2 is eventually retired, Cunard may use a hybrid ship to make its transatlantic crossings.  But it will be a sad day when this last ship in its category makes its last run.

If possible, I want to take this trip in a female presentation. It will be more pleasurable for me to get dressed to the nines (as only a woman can) for formal nights on this ship.  And for this, I can use my friend as a sounding board.  Ideally, I'll be able to travel as Marian all around Great Britain and Ireland, and return to the USA in style.  

- - - - - -

Making the above trip requires time and money - something we discussed as well.  My friend asked me if I'd be willing to work at her business, and I said I might be interested in doing so - especially since I'd be able to do so as Marian.  If this comes to pass, I'll let my readers know what happens....

At these prices, I might as well buy premium

 

This is the posted price of gas at a Southern California filling station.  You'll note that there is not much difference in the prices of the three grades of gas.  And I expect prices to go even higher before they peak.

- - - - - -

The war between Russia and Ukraine is hurting people the world over.  Ukrainians are getting killed, Russians are suffering due to economic sanctions imposed by the West.  And the West is hurting because of its over dependence on Russian resources. I am constantly reminded of a line repeated often in the movie The Dead Don't Die - "This is not going to end well."  The joke is that Adam Driver's character has been able to read the whole script (unlike Bill Murray), and he already knows the ending to the film they are acting in.  Sadly, what's happening in Ukraine is not going to end well, and it is not a joke.  Nor is the financial inflation which is being made worse by material shortages resulting from this war.

When I first started feeling comfortable going out as Marian, I used to drive all over the place, not worrying about the price of gas.  Now, I am concerned about the price of gas, and for the electricity that will power my air conditioners this summer. I'm no longer concerned about having new frocks to wear on a cruise.  Instead, I'm more concerned that the people I work with will be able to pay their bills.  We've only seen the tip of the iceberg, and high gas prices are only the beginning.

There are many people who advocate for America to be directly involved in this war.  That would be a mistake.  The last thing we need is for two nuclear powers to be officially "at war" with each other.  It is better that we and the Russians participate in a "Phony War", such as America did between 1939 and 1941.  The powers that be understood the need to switch over to military production.  But our government had to officially stay neutral until Germany or Japan declared war on us.  We were able to supply the UK with munitions, and circumvent rules of neutrality by allowing the UK to pickup warplanes they owned, but which we couldn't ship outside the US.  (We parked the planes at the border for the British to pull them safely into Canada without American assistance.)  This is the type of tactic we need to use to avoid starting World War 3.

Right now, I'm almost glad that my relationship with XGFJ ended when it did.  The cost of driving to her place would be excessive with today's gas prices.  Hopefully, she's getting "cheaper" gas where she lives than I am.  But that isn't much of a comfort these days.  Tonight, I paid $4.29/gal for gas.  A few miles away, the price has broken the $5.00 barrier.  Yet, it is already much worse in some areas.  In Gorda, CA, the price of gas has broken the $7.50 barrier. Soon, America will be paying European prices for gas - and we won't know how to cope.

As for me, I'm going to hunker down and hope for the best.  Hopefully, that best will happen soon.

On the fence

 

I've discussed my situation at work more than often enough.  As much as I can use the money (my 401k dropped by 10% in the latest downturn), I could also use the time that being unemployed would return to my life.  And this is what I'm on the fence about.

- - - - - -

When I started off to work, everything was going smoothly - as if everyone was taking off from work, leaving the roads free for me.  I was wide awake, and alert - and was this way throughout the day.  I'll bet that my boss was surprised that I made the quota of work she set for me the day before.

I don't care that much that I would be let go by the job.  But I do care that I am not leaving on my own terms. I like being able to go to work as Marian, but I don't enjoy what I have to deal with to do so (and I'm referring to the work at the office, and not about the process of getting made up.)  

When I talk to people, most say that I should leave this job before it eats me up.  But I'm on the fence.  And I have been since I took this job over a year ago.

I'm looking at another position that I will likely be interviewed for.  But if I get this job, it might get in the way of me taking my Hawaii cruise later this year.  Do I want to let this happen?  Again, I'm on the fence about this.

So much fence sitting, and so little happening.  It could be worse....

 

I might be leaving the job soon - a short post

 

 

Believe it or not, I might be exiting my job soon....

As much as I enjoy going to work as Marian, it can not make up for the fact that I have one of the most boring jobs in the world.  I do what I can do to stay awake, but I have not been able to keep up the pace of work needed to make my boss happy.  So the first signs of being set up to be forced out are there - an open quota for the most tedious work I have ever done.

Will I be sad if I have to go?  A little.  I like being able to leave by my own choice.  But I won't miss having to get up by 6 am to get to work by 8.  I will miss the extra money the job brings in.  And in this age of $5+ gasoline, every extra dollar counts.

Today, I got half of the things on my checklist done.

 

Today's post is a quick one.

Lately, I've been chatting a lot with RQS, and she's enjoying my mouth run as if it is Niagara Falls.  This is a good sign, as she knows about my life as Marian and is intrigued about it.  So I tend to budget time for these phone calls towards the end of the evening, so that I can get other things done....

Tonight, I had to rush home to make it to a Zoom Webinar to train us in the specifics of Fair Housing Laws that co-op boards must obey in Westchester county.  As expected, they covered the limitations put up on co-op boards to insure that every possible tenant has a fair opportunity to rent/sublet/buy an apartment in Westchester.  Unfortunately, they provide too much protection for the tenant, and not enough for the property owner.  And that is a major annoyance to most of the co-op boards in this state.

When the meeting ended, I got on the line with RQS, and chatted for the better part of 2 hours.  This reminds me of the early days of dating my late wife.  It's not love yet.  And it's not at the state where I think about her every day.  But it's a good start.

But why did I mention my checklist?

Most of the time, I have a 20 item checklist, and only do about 1/3 of those items. Today, I broke the 50% level, and had enough time to start filling out an application for employment with New York State. Assuming that I get the job, I expect that I'll be in the workforce for another 2 years or so.  But I will need time to take a Hawaii cruise at year end - and I won't cancel that to work for the state.

I plan to add this application to tomorrow's checklist, as I don't plan on finishing the application tonight. Many things stay on the checklist in one form or another, as I neither complete them, nor get movement towards completing them.  Yet, there's one task that I must give a higher priority - cleaning the apartment.  Not only do I need my cleaning lady back doing her magic, but I want this place clean enough to have people over again. 

Keep your fingers crossed for me....

Another weekend down....

 

 

If it weren't for the previously scheduled lunch with CWS, the need to do a week's worth of laundry, and the need to get a few lunches to eat at work, I wouldn't have left my apartment for any reason this weekend until I had to leave for work on Monday.  

- - - - - -

Given that musicians are touring again, I noticed that The Zombies were performing at 3 venues in the NYC region.  One date is good for both RQS and I, but the venue isn't that great.  (There is no assigned seating, and sometimes everyone has to stand for a performance - something my 64 y/o legs will not permit.)  Another is on a day before an activity for which I need to be in NYC early in the morning. And the last date may be the only date I could make - but this requires other things to have been taken care of.  One way or another, I hope to see them perform, as this may be the last time they tour the USA.

Things like dates, concerts, and game nights get me out of the house these days.  But not much else seems to motivate me.  It's nice that I've gone beyond thrill of being out as Marian in a public setting.  Instead, I just feel more comfortable in my own skin when I'm out as Marian.  And I'm looking to settle down with someone who can accept me both as Mario and as Marian.  Yet, I've disabled my OK Cupid profile.  If things don't work out with either CWS or RQS, I will need to take a break from dating as I am becoming jaded.

It's nice to have activity partners.  But it's even nicer to have found someone with whom one has a deep emotional connection.  Maybe, just maybe, I'll be lucky this time with both types of person.

What a fine mess!

 

As I write this, my bedroom is in a state of total chaos.  I've been going through several boxes in which I've dumped stuff over the past two years, and have been tossing things into a garbage bag.  However, this leaves me with a mess that I still must sort through before I can get the place back in order, have my cleaning lady return, and have people over to my apartment.  (Note: I made this mess on top of a linen chest, and hope to have it cleaned off tonight.)

The first year of the pandemic was a horrible one.  Yet, I was able to go to work as Marian for the first time.  The second year was better, as I was able to get out and about, meeting people along the way.  Through dating, I was able to meet a couple of nice people with whom I am still friends.  But depression got the better part of me, as exhibited by my apartment, and it's been taking me a long time to get any traction on cleaning things up.

A quarter of a century ago, one girlfriend helped me clean up the mess that accumulated while my wife was ill.  I can't ask anyone for help with this mess today - and I wouldn't do so if I could.  This is going to be a big project, and one that will take me a long time to finish. I've been trying to do a little bit of cleaning every day.  But, given this image of my mess, you can see that it can be overwhelming.  So I'm trying to take my project management experience and use it at home - break up the work into little pieces, schedule it, and then perform the tasks.

I just wonder - How many more people were like me, and let their residences go to hell during the pandemic....?

Nails

 

It's been a long while since I've gotten a mani-pedi.  And if things go the way I want this weekend, I will finally be able to do so.  All too often, I've had to deal with the headache of switching back to Mario Mode, and this prevented me from getting my nails done.

- - - - - -

The other day, I was talking with my new travel partner, and we got to talking about people we will meet on our next trip. My new partner wants to catch up with a cousin, while I want to catch up with a friend from Fantasia Fair.  When I contacted this friend, she said that she will appear in "Mermaid Mode".  I have no objections to that, as it will give my partner an idea of what has to be dealt with when being with me.  It's going to be interesting, to say the least.

Last week, FH suggested that we get together this weekend.  I never confirmed anything with her, and the way I feel, I'll be too tired to do much of anything.  After I came home from Game night, it took me an hour to fall asleep, and then I woke up twice - resulting in an interrupted sleep.  I woke up 30 minutes late, then rushed to do all my morning routines so that I could make it to work "on time".  Luckily, I was only a few minutes late, and I was able to stay awake enough to do my job.

Right now, I have weekend plans that haven't been confirmed.  Will I see FH?  I'm not sure.  Will I see CWS?  I hope so.  I'd like to see her now and then until I know what's going to happen with RQS.  Given my transgender nature, it pays to have a (non roached) backup....

It's nice to know that some governments are giving citizens a tax break

 

Tax free if you want it - just go out and get one!

😁

 

Being serious, you will likely read this entry 2 weeks after I wrote it.  A lot of things could happen in those 2 weeks.  Yet, as I write this, Russia has not been able to conquer Ukraine as quickly as once thought.  And that's a good thing.  Given Russia's attitudes towards the LGBT population, we don't need the Russians to expand their territory to satisfy Putin's ego.

When I read the headline on a Newsweek article I read on the phone this morning, I had to laugh - what government in the middle of a war would have the time to consider the tax implications of enemy military equipment captured in battle?  But to be serious, I am concerned about what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen in Ukraine.  

A coworker of someone I know has family in Ukraine.  Her mother is safe with her brother in upstate New York.  But her father is near the Polish border. He's in the middle of the area from which refugees are fleeing into Poland.  Hopefully, he will survive the next few weeks.  Another person I know (she used to go to our game nights) also comes from Ukraine.  I should check on her to see if her family is OK.  I'll bet that most of us know at least one person who has family in the conflict area.  Hopefully, their family members will all be safe....

 

 

 

I'm planning a trip

 

The other day, I decided NOT to take a 5 day cruise to Bermuda.  If all goes right and I have some spare cash, I may still book a cruise to New England & Canada later this year.  It'll be nice to have been able to take 3 cruises in less than a year.  But right now, It'll be even nicer to visit DC again.

If I remember my trips, the last time I traveled to DC, I was in Marian Mode when my car started to warn me that it wanted to break down.  I was lucky to make it to the hotel with my car still running, and even more lucky that I could change back to Mario before AAA came to check out my car and replace my battery.  This was not my favorite trip, as the weather was bad every day I was there that weekend.

Sometime in the near future, I will make another trip to DC.  This time, it will be in Mario Mode, as I'll have a friend with me that knows me only as Mario.  (This is not the time to spring Marian on my friend.) When we get there, my first place to visit will be the above building.  No, it's not because there is a lot of interesting things there.  Instead, it will be to pay my respects to a man who died more than a century before I was born, and who never set foot in America while he was alive.

After I visit this building, almost everything is open on my schedule.  I plan to reach out to someone I met at Fantasia Fair a while back, and see her and her wife while in Mario mode.  (I've seen her in Boy mode, so it shouldn't be a shock.)  As for my friend, we may go to a cousin's house for dinner.  Who knows?  But I think we will quickly book up an evening or two if everything goes right.  (Maybe I can try to squeeze in a 3rd night of dinner out with Meg and her wife?  That might be too much to ask..  But I will send a message....)

This will be the first time since childhood that I'll be in DC in male presentation.  Strange!!!!

Dating issues

 

I can still remember the days when I was getting to know my late wife.  These were the fun days in our relationship, where the future was wide open for the two of us.  After she died, forming relationships became much more complicated, especially with my transgender nature now being a factor.  And still, I would love to be like the girl in the picture above, save another woman sitting across from me. My most recent ex-girlfriend didn't understand this.  Although I am comfortable in both gender presentations, my generation looks at people like me with a strange gaze.  People like me confuse many people, and often make them feel uncomfortable.

Recently, I have had "the conversation" with a woman I've dated (I would now do this before any relationship started to become serious), and she hasn't run away from me yet.  Can I say that she is truly comfortable with me in Marian Mode?  No.  She has yet to see me in person as Marian.  And I wouldn't bet on anything until she does.

As much as I am not sleeping around, I figure that I have to move forward with my life.  A couple of weeks ago, FCP sent me a message with a picture of her grandson.  Even though she still made a big deal about my stupid actions of the past, she brought up the ex-girlfriend.  Along with another comment made at the ex-girlfriend's son's wedding, I got to wondering - does she want me to restore a broken relationship with my ex, so that FCP can forgive vicariously?  Who knows?  But I feel I can reasonably assume that what passed between me and my ex in 2020 makes it almost impossible for us to be intimate again - in any meaning.  (Maybe, the next time FCP reads this blog, she can send me a private message?  Nah, this would mean that she wants to figure out how to build a bridge to replace one which was burnt to cinders....)  

Right now, RQS and CWS are at the top of my list.  And I've deactivated my OK Cupid account, so that I can focus my efforts on women with whom I have a good shot of sharing a good future.  RQS is in the lead, and we're enjoying each other's company.  As I said, I will not "Roach" these women.  So I'll have to be very careful to stay friends with one until I'm absolutely sure that I'm in a solid relationship.

I have decided NOT to take that cruise after all

 

My cruise partner and I just got sticker shock looking at how much taxes and port fees added to the rack rate for the cruise we were planning to take.  For a 5 day cruise to Bermuda, we were looking at a $450 pp cabin price, expecting $200 pp added in other costs.  Well, these costs were even more than that, and the cheapest price for the cabin we wanted would have set us back over $900 pp. Add in another $75 pp for gratuities, and we're nearing $1,000 pp. OUCH!  There goes that vacation plan....

Both of us still want to take a mini vacation.  Given that neither of us have been in DC for a while, that might be our next trip.  If we do this trip, we will see her cousin, and I will be traveling solely as Mario.  It'll be strange taking a vacation as Mario for a change.  But it will be worth it to have someone to travel with....

I'm thinking of a cruise

There is one important difference between this cruise and one scheduled earlier in the year - the price. In April, this cruise has a lower single supplement than a cruise taken later in the year.  My feeling is that the cruise lines expect that both demand and capacity will increase sometime this summer, and that they will be able to charge more for the same cruise itineraries they are selling today. 

I plan to do a quick run to Bermuda to get away from New York for a while. Unfortunately, I will likely not be able to take a cheaper cruise, as I expect to be working until my 65th birthday.  So, it'll be something like this cruise I'll be taking later in the year - just before I take my Hawaiian cruise.

Once I finish my Hawaiian cruise, I'm looking at taking some (mostly) land based vacations where I can travel about as Marian - for purposes of seeing places I've never been, and not just for the purpose of going out and about as Marian.  Since my niece now lives overseas with her husband, it'll be nice to see Great Britain (and Ireland) for the first time.

Will I have someone traveling with me?  Maybe.  It would have been nice for things to have worked out with one ex-girlfriend.  Since they didn't, they freed me up to make different choices than I would have made if the relationship had survived.  If I didn't screw things up with my former cruise partner, I'd never be thinking of taking a long vacation in Great Britain, returning home on the Queen Mary II. So, in a way, things may be working out for the best after all....

Introducing someone to a YouTube personality

 

Years ago, America was introduced to Julia Child by her long running series on PBS, "The French Chef". At that time, only a limited number of "experts" (and I'll give her credit for becoming one) could command a television audience due to the limited number of outlets that could carry a show at a given time.  Today, things are much different because of internet video streaming technology.

Before my kerfuffle with my former cruise partner (FCP), she made me aware of an internet personality who had just been given a cable network series - Dr. Pimple Popper.  It's hard to believe that a network would host her show, much less that people will pay $1.99/month for "All Access" videos.  Yet, this woman gets her audience.  Our curious nature makes it hard to turn away from the "grotesque", and her presence is charismatic.  (It's good to know that she is a highly qualified dermatologist.)

I have gotten interested in Cruising videos lately, and I've turned RQS on to channels such as "Tips for Travelers", "Emma Cruises", and "La Lido Loca". She now understands what has been occupying my time when I get home and why I know a lot about the current state of cruising.  The authors of these video logs have become mini personalities in their own right, and have fans coming up to them on cruises to say hello.

One of my friends has asked for a little help in setting up a video log channel of her own.  If I decide to help, I will likely have to develop my own mini channel to see what it's like, then help her in setting up her channel.  It would be very interesting to see what would happen if I brought this blog into the video world - albeit in a small way.  But I doubt I'll do this, as I don't have that much to say anymore.

Missing a play

 

Casual readers of this blog know that I love to attend theater performances, especially when in Marian Mode.  Last night, I was scheduled to see a performance of an Off-Broadway play and missed it due to subway maintenance.

- - - - - -

A while back, Vicki said that she was going to get her hair colored and trimmed.  Since she was going to be out of the house, I suggested we get together for lunch - which we did.  The one thing she wasn't expecting in her conscious mind was to see me in Mario mode.  But then, she wasn't connecting the dots between us getting together and RQS and I getting together.  However, she realized which mode I was traveling in today, and we had lunch a few minutes later than planned.

After lunch, I drove to RQS's place, where I had to hunt about 15-20 minutes to find a parking spot near her house.  We killed a little time before leaving the house.  However, we made one mistake - we ate dinner in Queens instead of Manhattan.   Had we done this, we'd have made the theater on time because we could have taken alternate routes into the city.  But I digress.  Once we finished dinner, we dropped off her leftovers at her apartment, and then headed to the subway.  Sadly, the train we needed wasn't running, and it didn't make sense for use to hoof it into Manhattan to do anything else.

When I left RQS's place, I made a quick run to Wegmans to pick up some lunches for the rest of the week, and then home to relax....

It looks like I have a new cruise partner

 

Ever since I had my dust up with my former cruise partner (FCP), I've not been in a position to cruise with anybody.  This has been good for me, as it forced me to learn how to better depend on myself instead of leaning on FCP to take care of certain things.  (In fairness to her, she always enjoyed getting a good deal.  And I hope she's continued to travel, albeit alone, meeting new people along the way.)  If we were still friends, she'd make sure that she would be driving me to the airport for my upcoming Hawaii cruise.  But there are times I'm very glad that I can make my arrangements without regard to someone else's preferences - my Hawaii cruise transportation being an issue I prefer to deal with myself.

Recently, I met someone who likes to travel, who knows about Marian and Mario, and who is willing to come along for the trip.  My new friend will pay their own expenses, and should be fun to travel with.  Unlike FCP, who'd spend most of her "At Sea" days in the casino, my new travel partner is not a gambler, and enjoys my company.  Hopefully, the trip we are looking to book comes off and that we have a good time of it.  It'd be nice to again have someone who is there to share a travel experience with me.

- - - - - -

Right now, I'm playing a YouTube video narrated by a fellow specializing in cruising.  He is talking about 2022 cruises (this was recorded in 2021) and the headaches of cruising with pandemic related uncertainties and pandemic related limitations.  So far, his predictions for 2022 seem to be proven true.  It's interesting to see how current reality compares with expectations we had throughout the early days of the pandemic for what might happen in its end days.

This cruise will be on a new ship for me (Norwegian Joy)..  Unlike the Norwegian Gem, this ship is more of a resort for younger people - it has a laser tag area, a go cart track, and other diversions geared for the younger generation.  But, like another new Norwegian ship, one can still have a mellow experience if one wants.  And I do want this at my age.

Unlike my last cruise, I will be traveling as Mario.  This doesn't mean I won't be traveling as Marian in the future.  It simply means that I want to find out more about the port I'm going to without getting strange looks (or worse) when I'm on foreign soil....