The beginning of an interesting weekend

 

It was a very interesting weekend indeed!  At least, it was for me.  

I had told RQS that I'd pick her up at the train station in Marian mode.  Would she be shocked?  Or, would it be a non issue.  In a way, this was make or break time for us, as she needed to find out how she'd feel about seeing me in Marian mode.  So, it was with a little trepidation that I got ready for work on Friday. I wanted to look my best for when I met RQS in Marian mode for the first time.

The end of the work day approached, and I got ready to take a long weekend off.  At exactly 4:30 pm, I shut down my work station, grabbed my handbag, and out the door I went.  After taking care of a couple of things, such as filling up the gas tank, it was time to meet RQS.  She didn't recognize me at first, but she recognized the car.  And, she saw it was the same person inside - but she had to get used to me wearing a wig and speaking in a more feminine voice.

Once we got back to my place, I switched back into Mario mode for the rest of the evening.  We had passed our first test with me presenting as Marian, and I didn't want to overwhelm her.  There would be more to come over the weekend.

How things have changed

 

This is not a flattering picture of me.  But it is a reminder that I need to do something about my weight.

Why do I mention this?

First, I started going out in the world as Marian, knowing I was far from perfect.  It took a lot of internal energy to start going out in the world as Marian, and I was very scared to have people know about me where I live. Now, I don't care who sees me in either presentation.

Second, at the beginning of the pandemic, I was having problems with an ex girlfriend regarding meetup groups which she didn't want me attending.  Although she was able to blackball me from the one surviving group from that time, it really doesn't matter much anymore.  I don't have the time or energy to go to many of these functions any more.

Third, as much as I like having a job to keep me from getting too lethargic, I'm now at the point where I'm planning to retire for good.  It's a strange feeling for me, as I have almost never left a job on my own volition. The census was a job that I knew was going to end as soon as I took it.  I was laid off from most of my other jobs, as I either didn't perform up to standards, or that I was caught up in a purge - as happened at the bank I worked for 30 years.

Now that I have other things to do with my life, I may end up changing the frequency of published entries here, as I do not have enough to say for all of the 7 days of the week.  I'm out and about socially as Marian these days, and I am fully comfortable in the role of Marian.  There is not much new to me as Marian anymore, so I've been talking about other things than my life as Marian.  So to keep publishing new entries, I will be talking more about things going on in the world than what's going on in my life.  Hopefully, my readers will find this interesting....

Medicare - AARGH!

 

Turning 65 is a big pain!  Not only do I have to realize that I am an old person, but I have to change my insurance provider - and not by choice, but by effective mandate.  This is not as bad as it sounds, but it is a confusing mess.

- - - - - -

I always knew that I'd be going on Medicare, but am confused by all the options available to me.  So I registered for a traditional medicare plan (parts A&B) and drug coverage (part D).  But I have also looked into a supplement plan, even though that will cost me extra money.  Could I have gone with an "Advantage Plan" (part C) instead of the others?  Yes, but I have been told that there are issues going down that route.  So I'm buying time by leaving options available to me to choose from in the future.

But what has that to do with being transgender?  Virtually nothing.  One of the things about the transition process is that most of a life continues running as if a person was cisgender. About the only thing different for me is that my ID still has Mario's name on it, and that I still see my internist as Mario.  I can only imagine what will happen if I go towards medical transition.  That's a topic I don't want to think about right now, as I'm not sure if I'll ever go that far....

Connecting with friends

 

This is going to be another quick entry.

Over the past couple of nights, I have had 2 zoom meetings.  The first was with my ex-boss, a man who only knows me as Mario.  The other was with a woman who only knows me as Marian.  Normally, I would be energized by both zoom meetings, but I had no energy to really enjoy them.  This means that I couldn't wait to get off the zoom and do something else.

Once I leave my job, I will suggest to my ex-boss that we meet up for a lunch somewhere, as it will be nice to chat in person for a change.  Even though things will be very different from the last time we met in person, it will be a good thing to get back to normal - or, at least how we once thought of it.  Regarding the second person, if I weren't seeing RQS on a regular basis, I'd schedule a Chicago trip to see her for a long weekend.

Keeping in contact these days has become much harder for me than it was in the past. I never had a job that sucked as much energy out of me as this job does. Yet, this lack of energy forces me to make hard decisions regarding who I really want to see.  And maybe, that's the one benefit I'm getting from this exhausting job....

Cruise Affordability

 

The other day, I discussed potential cruises with RQS.  We had found an Alaska 9 day cruise for a reasonably cheap price ($799 pp/double occupancy, excluding fees/taxes) that RQS was interested in taking.  Since I didn't want to do Alaska this year, I made a simple suggestion - look at the excursion package prices.  That was enough to get her to realize that 2022 wasn't the time to go to Alaska.

One thing I've learned about cruising is that shore excursions can easily double the price of a cruise. I could have easily busted my budget on my last cruise if I took ALL the excursion options available to me. Instead, I chose the option that allowed me to see parts of a city that I've never visited before.  But what happens on a cruise where ALL the ports have desired excursions?

Alaska and Hawaii cruises are known for their expensive excursions.  One takes these excursions to experience things that have no equivalents anywhere else.  Alaska has glaciers.  Hawaii has volcanoes. This is a simplistic explanation of the states' uniqueness.  And this uniqueness is why both states are on many peoples bucket lists.  Where else can you take a bus to see a glacier from a port city?  Where else can you get to an active volcano from a port city?  Both states are isolated and expensive to reach.  So they will be expensive places to visit.

If I wanted to cruise on the cheap, I'd stay in the Caribbean for my cruises.  Once you've seen an island with a fort, an island with a pristine beach, and an island with a tourist oriented shopping area, they all seem the same.  The specific details may be different for each island, but not enough is different to make any island stand out for long.  So, once a person has sailed the 3 Caribbean areas (West, South, and East), there is not much new to see.  Instead, a Caribbean cruise is a series of beach days that takes place on different islands.

Over time, a cruiser may decide to stay on the boat and avoid Caribbean shore excursions altogether.  The ship has become its own destination.  For me, that is how I afford many of my cruises.  When I think of my former cruise partner, she complained that we don't go on any shore excursions.  I'm not going into the reasons why I didn't go on excursions with her, save that there were none that made sense for us to go on.  Once one has cruised the same route (or a similar route) several times, one has already done the excursions worth doing.  The boat is now the destination, and not the Caribbean islands.

I monitor cruise prices all the time for trips I might want to take.  There are price points that one must set, where when prices fall below them, it's time to consider buying a ticket.  This was the case for my most recent winter cruise.  The cruise line effectively made me an office I couldn't refuse.  This is how I afford my trips....

When one gets tired, one can slip up....

 

I remember how Fran was when she told me about how she decided to come "out" to the world.  She couldn't keep her male and female persona separate enough to avoid having the wrong person see her in the wrong presentation.  Today, I made a smaller version of the same mistake.  Although my mistake is not "fatal" it is a potential problem, as I emailed some paperwork to my doctor's office from my "Marian" account.  This will likely cause a few questions if the receptionist asks the wrong questions.

However, I am not too worried about a worst case scenario.  It will only be a little bit of embarrassment at first, then life will go on.  But this makes me wonder how many of us let our guard down a bit too far when we are tired.  When I used to cruise with FCP, I'd occasionally slip up and use the wrong voice when tired or overly relaxed.  The wrong voice can spoil any presentation in less than a second.  So, sending an email from the wrong account is a relatively minor thing to let happen.  Doctors are supposed to keep secrets, and I expect that the people in his office can be trusted to do the same.

A quick note about someone convicted of a minor crime or two.

 

How many of you have listened to the "Alice's Restaurant Massacree?"  

Arlo Guthrie's most famous song was written about a real life incident in his life.  There was a real life Alice who ran a restaurant near Stockbridge, MA and there was an incident where Arlo did have to clean up a mess of garbage.  He did clean up the mess talked about in his tune.

Regarding his visit to Whitehall Street, less is known from other sources, save that the building still exists in mutilated form. Arlo Guthrie has stated that much of the film "Alice's Restaurant" is based on real events.  I can only imagine what he went through at that time in his life.

- - - - - -

Why do I bring this up?  Well, I have been listening to his tune on a regular basis while I do my work at the office.  The simple pace of the tune distracts me enough from what I'm doing to make doing my job more bearable.

So, if you want to deal with a highly repetitive task, I suggest finding a tune which matches the pace of the work you are doing, and then playing it in the background for a while.

This past heat wave was dengerous!

 

This will be a short post about two LONG days.

RQS and I had plans for Saturday,  First we'd get up, do some car shopping, buy a new fan, then go into NYC to see an Off Broadway play.  Well, we got up late, and proceeded over to Walmart to buy the fan.  And then we descended into the hell of 95° heat and high humidity....

My car has problems with hot weather and slow traffic.  We made the mistake of trying to drive to Pelham to catch a train into NYC from that station, as it has more service than the stations I usually travel from.  Well, After navigating around a few traffic jams and turning off the car to avoid overheating, we reached Palham station.  And then we found out that the train had lost power, and nothing was moving on the line.  So our next thought was to take the subway.  We put the kibosh on this option, as they were busing people between stations to accommodate construction work going on.  At this point, we abandoned thought of using our tickets, and decided to go out to eat in Westchester.

On our way up to Kalbi House (a Korean restaurant on Central Avenue), I called Vicki to suggest that we get together for coffee after our dinner.  Now that our plans were complete, we made it to dinner and spent too much for decent food.  (The food was good, but the tastes were not memorable.  Something was missing from all the dishes, and we couldn't put a handle on it.)  From there, we went to meet Vicki and the "fun" began.

Vicki and Sue got along well until Vicki got into dominant preacher mode.  At that point, she started rubbing me the wrong way.  Although I have issues with my weight, I don't need someone preaching to me what I must do to lose weight.  What works for her may not work for me.  This was the first time that I raised my voice with her, and hurt her feelings.  Although I won't go into the details, it took me a while talking with RQS to process what I felt at that time.

- - - - - -

The next day had us going back to RQS's place.  It was almost as hot as the day before, and we had to deal with even more traffic jams.  This time, I was breaking a few traffic laws to get the car moving and keep the temperature under control.  I was lucky to get the car over the Whitestone Bridge, where we stopped at a local fast food joint to cool off, and let the car cool off as well.

Luckily, we made it to RQS's place without incident, and I stayed there until sunset when it was "cooler" outside.  I then drove home, bypassing most of the traffic jams I might have hit, and made it home without incident.

- - - - - -

Next weekend, it will be Marian who meets RQS at the station.  Keep your fingers crossed that she reacts well to seeing me in this presentation.

I'm now a trusted traveler!

 

 
Today was a rare day that I took off from work because I needed a full day to take care of things.  My visit to Customs and Border Protection for my Trusted Traveler Number required me to be in Lower Manhattan at noon for a 30 minute "Interview".

Although this was a day I'd have rather spent in Marian mode, my interview required that I look like the name on my official documents AND my meeting with RQS could not have went well had I not been in Mario mode.  My worry - I wouldn't find a packing spot at the local train station.  But I needn't have worried.- the pandemic's effect at the local train station's parking lot made it very easy for me to get a decent parking spot.  Unfortunately, it cost me more to park the car than for a one way senior ticket to NYC.

I arrived at the Global Entry center (at the former Customs House) a few minutes early, and was impressed by how they left much of the structure alone in areas controlled by TSA/CBP.  When I reached the area for my interview, the interview area looked like it was designed for a modern building, yet fit perfectly in the space.  (DMV should only look this open and functional.)  The interviewer took my fingerprints (same equipment I used at the census) and asked me one question: "Do I still work at 'xxxx'?" and I answered yes.  That was it.  My number was activated, and I was free to meet RQS at Grand Central.

There is not much to say about the rest of the day, save that we went to a new "Lobster Truck" not affiliated with the brand we enjoy so much.  This was the biggest mistake of the day - the lobster roll was not satisfying, and both of us wanted to enjoy something else.  And that we did - we went to an ice cream shop where they had wine flavored ice cream....  YUM!

How many of you remember Screen Savers?

 

This is a quick entry regarding technology. 

Years ago, it was a big thing to have "Flying Toasters" for a screen saver.  The old vacuum tube monitors of the day needed tools such these to help prevent an image from getting burnt into the tube's phosphors when screens were in idle mode.  Sometimes they were fun to watch.  In the case of the "Opus and Bill" screen saver, it spoofed the Flying Toasters put out by a competitor's program.

Lately, I found the above mouse pad and it triggered fond memories of the era of the screen saver.  Too bad that most people now to put up static images when their machine is locked.  I miss the individuality some people showed with their screen savers....

Normalcy

 

What is normal?  For a trans person, it is being about living a normal life for the gender for which one identifies.  This means that after a period of transition, a trans person will live an uneventful life in issues of gender, save for those issues specific those people of that gender.

Once one has transitioned, all of the other issues in a person's life still go on.  The issue of gender dysphoria has been removed, but all other issues remain.  If one is prone to anger, one will still get angry quickly after transition. If one is warm and affectionate, this personality trait will still remain after one shifts to a new gender identity and presentation.  If one has family problems, they will still remain after transition.  In short, transition is not a be all and end all.

Why am I noting this?

For the past 15 months, I've been working at a job as Marian that I've grown to abhor.  It's not the job itself, but what I've let it do to my life.  I no longer have the energy to read in the way I once did.  I no longer have the time to prepare my own "healthy" meals.  And I no longer have the time to keep up with my friends.  This is not a normal I like to live.  Yet, it is the normal that many of us are forced to suffer for much of their lives.

Lately, I have identified a date for which I will be submitting my resignation, so that I have a chance of enjoying a summer spending time with RQS.  I will miss the extra money I get from working my job.  But I will be able to get back to a normal that I enjoyed more than the normal I have now....

By the time I got to try it on, it was sold out.

 

I was trying to find this dress at Lane Bryant, so that I could try it on and make a decision whether to buy it or not. Although the blue dress is in stock, the dress above is not.  This means that I may end up buying a different dress from Avenue in a similar color, or buy this dress in a different color.

It's just as well that they didn't have this dress in stock.  If it had been, I might have bought it on an impulse.  Over a quarter century since my late wife died, I understand the allure of shopping for new clothes.  It's fun to decorate yourself in new ways - something most men do not understand.  Although I can say no to most impulse purchases, there are a few items that shout "Buy Me!" that are very hard to resist.  And I've been lucky NOT to fall prey to too many of these purchase opportunities.

Given that my closets are overflowing with clothes, I think I got lucky in NOT being able to buy this dress....

- - - - - -

On other matters, the son of someone I know just earned his medical degree.  Congratulations!   Too bad that I will forever be on the outs with his mom.  Yet, when I was coming home from the store tonight, I asked myself - what did I like about this woman?  And the one answer that came up was that I thought that she accepted me as I am.  Yes, I ruined our friendship.  But in her angry attacks over the past 2 1/2 years, I found out what she really thought of me.  We didn't have that much in common.  But I liked her anyway.

- - - - - - 

Going to Lane Bryant, I had an hour long chat with TCL.  Towards the end, I told her of a conversation I had with FH, documented in a prior entry.  TCL agrees with me about FH - and I didn't even tell TCL who I was talking about.  Sadly for FH, she will never understand why I didn't jump at the opportunity to be her "Plus 1" for a wedding she's attending next weekend.  I can't imagine having to get dressed up to go to a party where I know no one but my partner and put my relationship with RQS at risk.

Thinking of RQS, I mentioned our minor problems in Washington, DC.  TCL realized that we passed an early test of whether a relationship is good or not.  We were able to deal with a situation of moderate stress and work together well to resolve a problem.  I still keep my fingers crossed each time we may encounter another situation that could cause us some grief.  Hopefully, we'll keep passing these tests as time goes on....

Italian Direction / Jewish DIrection?

 

Tonight, I was joking with RQS about going to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Brooklyn Museum from both "Jewish" and "Italian" directions.  As you can see in the picture above, there is a sculpture with the letters "O" and "Y" that reads "YO" and "OY", depending on the place from where you are looking at the sculpture.  This led to a discussion of how hard it is to get to places in the outer NYC boroughs without changing trains in Manhattan.

Both of us want to visit the museum and the garden when the weather is nice.  But we don't want to deal with the headaches of getting there.  So, we'll pass on this trip for the near future, as it will be in the low 90's this coming weekend.

- - - - - -

The two of us are planning on meeting up with each other after my Global Entry interview later in the week.  We wanted to go and meet in Chinatown for Dim Sum, but we'd miss getting the senior/off peak fare on the way back to Croton.  Originally, this was supposed to be the first time she'd see me in Marian Mode.  But we decided to see an off-Broadway play over the weekend, and this meant going back into NYC for the day.  The last thing I want to do is go in the subway, then walk 1/3 mile to the theater when the weather is over 80 degrees.  So we'll take care of that issue the following weekend.

- - - - - -

As you can see, NYC is going to be an important part of our lives, as RQS doesn't drive.  I'll always be the person behind the wheel (unlike my time with Ex-GF-M, where she demanded that she'd do all the driving).  I don't mind this at all - I just wish parking was easier to find where she lives.

On that note, I'll sign off for the evening, and write some more tomorrow....

NYC Subway Musicians

 

One of the things that made my trips underground bearable were the subway musicians who played at major subway stations.  Most of the people I've enjoyed listening to were located either at Grand Central Station or at the Times Square Station.  Sometimes, I'd even find musicians at 34th st/Penn Station and at 14th st/Union Square.  Most of the people who performed with the MTA's "Music Under New York" banner behind them were vetted by the MTA and were often worth spending a few minutes as pert of their audiences.

Why do I bring up the subway?  Well, later on in the week, I will be traveling to Downtown Manhattan to get my Global Entry interview.  Assuming all goes as expected, I will likely have my trusted traveler number that I can use for the next 5 years.  And this will be a trip I'll be taking in Mario Mode. 😒  

Once I get my Trusted Traveler Number, I will be contacting Kim (of Traveling Transgender) for advice on how to travel and "Fly Pretty".  No doubt, she'll have a lot of advice for a person who hasn't been on a plane for a decade.  (And I don't miss being on that plane either!)  Ideally, my first flight will be to Hawaii, with me wearing my breast forms, wig, and other feminine accoutrements.  Hopefully, I'll be able to breeze through security with my big tote in hand and spend the next 12+ hours in peace.

- - - - - -

Recently, RQS took a trip where she had to fly South for a weekend.  She texted me before the plane was about to take off saying:

Family of 5 behind me, 1 baby, 1 pre-school, 1 about 5, not speaking English, baby crying. Mom changed him on board, now he's tantrumming. Ugh! 

I responded:

Laudinum would help.

Laudanum is a tincture of opium containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight. Laudanum is prepared by dissolving extracts from the opium poppy in alcohol. Reddish-brown and extremely bitter, laudanum contains several opium alkaloids, including morphine and codeine

Help a lot I'd say. :-)

(I should have added: "Just a spoonful of sugar helps the poison go down....")

This is a typical example of my humor.  And RQS enjoys it.  There is something about my morbid sense of humor that she finds attractive.  What it is I don't know.  But I'll take any laughs I can get....

 

 

Random thoughts on a weekend day

I usually take care of shopping for the week on weekends.  When I'm at RQS's place I usually go to the supermarket on my way home.  This way, I'm able to pick up lunches for several days.  If I haven't done my laundry, Sunday is the day it gets done.  This weekend, I got a little bit done, but didn't have energy for anything else.

Yes, I've written about being tired many times before.  And I will likely do so again.  But I've noticed that when I don't have much at stake, I tend to do nothing - not forcing myself to gt up to do any of the things I need to do.  Is it old age, is it depression, or is it something else?  The root of my lethargy is a big concern to me, as I feel that as I approach traditional retirement age that I need to understand more about my health.

- - - - - -

Years ago, I could ride a bicycle all day, covering 50 miles without much thought other than the time it would take to do so.  Today, I couldn't even pedal a bicycle up the small hill that I live on.  Much of this can be explained by the weight I've put on over the years.  But that's not the only factor.  I never learned how to eat healthy, nor did I develop a taste for "healthy" things to eat.

One of the things I can do to help myself is to get outdoors more often.  Before I took my current job, I had no problem finding time to do this - even in the worst days of the pandemic.  Now, it's much harder for me.  I figure that things will get better once I finally retire for good, as I will both have no excuses not to get out and I will have the time (and energy) to do so when my body is ready to do so.

- - - - - -

In chatting with my brother for a few minutes, he mentioned that an operation he just had is healing nicely.  Hopefully, he'll still be glad that he took care of this when he has to go to work.  In many ways, he's in the same position I'm in - he can't ask a family member for help.  In his case, he'd prefer to ask a friend for help.  In my case, I'd need to ask a friend for help.  This will become more of a problem as we get older, as there will be fewer people around that we can ask for help when we need it.

- - - - - -

I could go on and on about little things.  But I'm not in the mood for regurgitating little things.  So, I'll end this entry here....

A pleasant addiction.

 

I am a YouTube addict.  But I am not one who goes for simple entertainment most of the time.  Instead, I look for videos that cover new facts, new ideas, and new experiences.  For example, many of the videos I've been viewing lately have been the topic of travel - specifically, travel on land and on water.  Air travel may be interesting, but there are fewer things that hold my interest involving that mode of transit.

RQS has introduced me to one of the videos she likes to view: Simon's Cat.  The creator of this video series has nailed the actions of a cat, and has brought out the humor of having a cat around the house.  (Did I mention that RQS owns two cats of her own?)   When I need a chuckle, I sometimes look for the latest episode of this cat.

FCP used to watch videos from Dr. Pimple Popper, Sandra Lee.  Sometimes, I've watched these videos out of some primitive brain area curiosity.  I find it amazing how bad these growths have become before they go to this famous dermatologist for help.  Thankfully, I have never needed her services.

It's hard to believe that this business has evolved from a money losing home for meaningless videos to a money making home for user provided content of varying value.  If you want to find out how to adjust the "hidden" settings on a CPAP machine, you'll find it there.  If you want to find out how to replace the control unit for an air conditioner, you'll find it there.  And I'll bet that you'll find videos of almost every surgical procedure if you look hard enough.  (That might be a stretch, but one never knows....)

The most interesting thing about YouTube is how democratic it tends to be.  Almost anybody can put up a video, and it will get promoted if the creator's videos: (1) Get a lot of hits on the video, (2) The viewers of the video watch it for a long time, and that the viewers tend to watch the ads that go along with the video.  Once you reach a certain number of viewers and you have monetized the video channel, you can get a cut of their ad revenue.  It's amazing how much money one can earn by having a popular video on a popular channel.

Given my interests in trains and cruising, I'm tempted to create a channel called "One if by land, Two if by sea."  But it will likely be a dud....

Time in my life

 

Tonight, RQS and I were discussing how tired I get after a full day of work.  My exhaustion makes it impossible for me to take care of things during the week.  If it needs energy, I am not able to respond the way I used to after a full day of work as a computer technologist.  I only get one day during the week to get things done, with almost nothing done during the week.  AARGH!   I can't wait to retire for good, and that will take place soon.  I have a date set, but won't announce it until I have handed in my paperwork.

There is a part of me that keeps looking for new dresses to wear.  I was very surprised to see this dress on Avenue's site, as it is all cotton, and not polyester as their usual wont.  Will I buy this dress?  Possibly, but I have several similar dresses in my wardrobe that would make this a superfluous purchase.  Do I want to waste money?  Probably not.  Only time will tell.

Wig Shopping

 

There are several keys to a good feminine presentation, and I've worked on making all of them top notch.  (Now, if only I could get my weight under control, so that I can go back to wearing Size-18W clothes.) The 3 I am most concerned with are:

1. Voice
2. Hair Style (Natural Hair or Wigs)
3. Appropriate Clothing

I have discussed all of these items in prior entries.  Today, I want to discuss wigs again.

- - - - - -

Wig shopping can be hit or miss.  For one's first wig, an inexpensive mail order wig will suffice until one gets serious about making an acceptable feminine presentation.  Once one is ready to graduate on to better wigs, it makes sense to go to a wig store and ask for help.  You will pay for the assistance in the price of the wig, but it is worth it to get something that fits and that is in a color and style that works with one's face and body.

In my case, I have settled on two different wigs.  One is from Raquel Welch, and the other from Jon Renau.  Both wigs are in a large cap, and they are very comfortable.  I will be switching between a darker shade of wig used for the cold months and a slightly lighter shade used for the warmer months. My problem is that each wig costs about $300-$350, and it's hard to find them on sale when both my color and size are on sale.

Many companies selling wigs are simply intermediaries.  They will take the order, send it to the manufacturer, and take a cut for the sale when it is shipped.  Others maintain their own inventory. In both cases, I have found that my preferred size and color is out of stock more often than it is in stock.  So I've decided to buy 2 wigs at a time, so that I always have a spare to use.

I'm not going to give my readers a list of reputable online wig stores.  My advice. is to ask around and see what people say about each store.  Someone I used to know swore by the inexpensive wigs she got from China.  But then, I would never trust these wigs, as there is too much risk that I'd be wasting my money.  It is better to take your time and find a couple of online stores you can trust than to take a risk on a fly by night outfit.  If possible, stay friendly with a brick and mortar store as well.  They can be quite helpful in a pinch....

A weekend without RQS

 

No, this is not bad news.  RQS is going to fly South to see a friend.  As for me, I'll be able to take care of things that I normally wouldn't do because we'd be keeping each other company over the weekend.

- - - - - -

I've been putting off shopping for a car for a while.  This will be a good weekend to go to several dealers and take some test drives.  With over 180,000 miles on my car, I need to make sure that I have reliable transportation - especially when I drive all over the place in my feminine presentation, but carry ID in my male name.  The last time I had a problem, it was midnight and I was able to change into male clothes before AAA came to tow my car.  I don't ever want that experience again.

There are people I've wanted to see for a long while. And now that I have a girlfriend plus a job that sucks the life out of me, I have even less time to see these people.  So, I might just try to see one or two of them over the next few days.  Since I may be in Mario mode, it will likely be with people who know me in both modes, unless I change into Marian mode after car shopping.

Even with this, the 20 at 20 deal is on this weekend.  I want to get in to NYC to see one of these off-Broadway shows.  So what do I do?  I may need a weekend to rest from the activities I schedule for this weekend....

Planning Trips

 

Today's post will be a short one.  I don't have too much to say, and not enough time for a thought piece.

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Lately, I've been prioritizing my future travels. Given that I will be going to Hawaii later this year, I am thinking of the trips I will take next year and the years after that.  One of the trips I want to take is a Panama Canal cruise.  I'm making a lot of effort to insure that the Canal cruise goes through the old locks, as it will be much more interesting.  If the canal IS the destination, then I want maximum value from a trip through the canal.  It is important that I take this trip next year, as I want to visit my (now) 88 year old uncle in California.

One of the issues I will have on future travels is going through an airport and flying on a plane.  I hate going through security, and have lined everything up to get a trusted traveler number via Global Entry.  But this doesn't do much for sitting on a plane with my large size, nor does it deal with the issues of baggage.  I still fear the headaches of flying later this year, and will avoid airports and flying as much as possible in the future.

All things considered, it is better for me to be thinking of the future than of my most recent past....