Taking it easy....

 

Soon, RQS and I will be seeing this sight as we depart from New York on our Autumn cruise.  The big question I will be asking myself is: How much "Alone Time" will I need in this relationship?  I've found that I get tired of having the same people around me after a few days, and this was likely a factor for me in my breakup with XGFJ - I needed time apart from her more often than I told her.

I opened up with this thought, as I started to wonder how well RQS and I will get along on a 10 day cruise.  We will likely be OK, but I have minor worries about it.

- - - - - -

Today was a good day for me, though most of my plans went sour.  My niece and I were able to connect with each other via Zoom, and we were online for an hour chatting about things in general.  Now that I know that she prefers the use of one communications tool, we can schedule Zoom meetings at will and keep in touch.

My niece is glad that she's in England right now, and loves the early Autumn weather they are having.  Soon, winter will come, and she'll be flying back to the States with her husband.  (This assumes that her passport gets renewed before their trip. She has an expired US passport, and will need it renewed for her return.) I told her of my plans to visit sometime in the next couple of years (in Marian's female gender presentation) and she noted that I shouldn't have any problems with it when I visit.  This is a good thing, as I find it more comfortable for me to dress as Marian instead of Mario.

Although I ran my mouth at a mile a minute, we had a good chat.  Hopefully, we'll be doing it again soon.

- - - - - -

I was supposed to speak with my former student clinician for my speech therapy.  She has delivered her baby, and is up to her eyeballs taking care of her infant. So we haven't had much time to chat in a long while.  The same goes to a lesser extent for KM, a woman I used to work with at the document imaging firm.  Although I was supposed to speak with both women, it was just as well that I didn't - I was in the mood to be alone.  In many ways, I was like Greta Garbo in saying: "I want to be alone." 

As you can guess, being with people was the furthest thing from my mind today....

How empty the malls are.... (A quick post)

 

I was looking for a picture of the interior of the Hudson Valley Mall when I decided to post this entry.  Sadly, I couldn't find it in all the mess in my picture folder.  However, I was saddened by what I saw today in a local mall.

- - - - - -

After lunch with a former coworker, I decided to drive to Ulta Cosmetics in the Jefferson Valley Mall and pick up some Dermablend foundation.  When I got inside the mall, I became sad - almost no one was walking the mall, and more than half the storefronts were vacant.  I was in and out of Ulta in 5 minutes, and decided to kill some time before RQS's train arrived.  This might not have been the best thing to do, as I could see the signs of an obsolete mall - most storefronts were empty, and the on-site health club, Orange Fitness, was closed as well.  Only a handful of stores were open, and I was the sole focus of attention at Bath & Body Works, as I was the only customer in the store.  

30 years ago, this mall would have been crowded in the middle of the day.  Now that most retail shopping seems to be done online, there is no need for most of the malls that used to populate suburbia.  It's sad to see things change.  At least, I can get what I want and more on Amazon....

Counting down the days....

 

It's less than a week until we go on our cruise, and I'm getting a little nervous about this trip.  In the past, I'd be concerned about whether I'd get to the cruise terminal on time.  I'd be concerned about whether I'd be able to feel comfortable traveling with someone else in my cabin.  And I'd be concerned whether my travel companion would need too much of me to have a good time on the cruise.  (FCP wanted to see me in the casino occasionally while she gambled, and she gave me a Double Sawbuck ($20) that I ran up to $360 on one trip.  XGFJ wanted me to go swimming with her on the cruise line's private island, while I wanted to sit and read my books.)  This trip, I'll get to see how RQS and I get along, and how much she'll need of me while I try to relax.

This trip makes me a little more nervous than usual.  When I took my last cruise at Christmastime, I was worried that I might contract Covid-19 before the cruise.  The Omicron variant started to spread quickly, and what was supposed to be a maskless cruise changed into one where we were supposed to be wearing masks in all public places, save when one was eating or having a casual drink.  Even though I am vaccinated and double boosted, I still have concerns about having a positive test result.  Given the strange nature of Covid-19, one can be asymptomatic, test positive, and not go on the cruise.  Even worse, I could be symptomatic and have to quarantine at home.

For the most part, I am looking forward to this trip.  There's a part of me that wants to go to DC again, this time as Marian.  (I'd have to bring Mario's clothes with me, as I would likely have to treat her cousin and his wife to dinner - returning the favor they showed us on our last trip.)  Two people I know live in the DC area, and it would be nice to see them again as Marian.  Hopefully, we can do this next year, time and money permitting....

Although my cruise is a week away, I've already started packing

 

Getting ready for a cruise is always a pain.  However, I have taken New England/Eastern Canada cruises before at this time of year, and know that I'll need mostly long sleeve shirts, a couple of short sleeve shirts, a week's worth of trousers, and all the other things a guy might need.  (Yes, I'll be in male presentation for this trip.)

This is one of those trips where I have easier than my cruise partner, RQS.  She's digging out the clothes she wore last spring, while I can pick and choose any of the male garments I have in the closet and know they will be OK.  However, it'll be much easier for me to pack for my Hawaii cruise, as I have enough summer clothes (lightweight dresses, etc.) that I can choose from to wear in the Hawaiian climate.  Additionally, I have started to view YouTube videos on what to pack for a Hawaiian trip, and have learned a couple of things in advance of need.  (Thank you, RQS for the summer hat!  It will be a big help when I'm out in the sun....)

Luckily, I was able to install the ArriveCan app on my cell phone without any problems.  I'll have to update it with my Covid Test status within 3 days of my cruise's departure.  (I can only imagine what I'd have to deal with if I still cruised with FCP.  After she forgot her cruise documents on one of our cruises, I had to be extra careful to make sure that she remembered to print off her eDocs before cruising.)  RQS and I seem to be a better fit as traveling partners, as neither of us are making the travel mistakes that novice travelers would make, nor did we get each other upset when we encountered problems on out trip to Washington, DC.

As you can guess, I over pack, as I don't have to worry about weight limits when cruising out of New York.  However, I'll need to buy an electronic luggage scale before I take my Hawaii trip.  (And that's only one of the things I'll need to buy before that cruise.)  I only wonder if RQS will enjoy cruising after this first cruise together....

Thinking of things that were, things that are and things that could be.

The above picture was taken about 3 years ago - just before the beginning of the epidemic.  As much as I thought I had a decent female presentation, I realize that 50 years of testosterone have taken their toll on me.

Turning 65 makes me think that I must start losing weight by cutting back on caloric intake and by being more active. RQS has done so, and it shows.  She could gain a lot by one of the surgeries that FCP had - a skin reduction.  I hope that I can get to that point as well.  But once I do so, I will then consider partial facial feminization surgery (FFS).  According to one TG writer, having FFS on the lower face allows her to be seen as a female while wearing a wig, and as a male when the wig is off.  This is something I'd like to do if possible.

I have no plans to push RQS to accept any more than cosmetic changes to my appearance, save for those changes that make me more healthy.  If I get to the stage where partial FFS is an option for me, she will have a say in how far I go with it - if I go with it at all.  She's too good a person to risk losing for this dream of mine - especially when she is accepting me for who and what I am.

Eventually, RQS and I will need to discuss living arrangements.  But this assumes that we continue to get along as well as we do now.  Whatever place we live in must be near convenient mass transit, must have adequate parking for my car, and be appropriate for two people in their later years.  Most of all, this place must have enough room for 3 wardrobes - RQS's, Mario's and Mine.  Only one problem: Will we be able to find such a place at an affordable price?

Sooner or later, I'll get back to being awake in the morning.

Over the  past few weeks, I have been unable to get up early in the morning unless there is an absolute need to do so.  This is frustrating to me, as I have missed being able to do things with people who are out and about at earlier times of the day than I have been.  I just can't find the energy to get moving unless I have a social engagement planned for the day.

Today was a typical example of this pattern.  Although the alarm first woke me around 8:00, I "hit the snooze button" and didn't get moving until noon.  Then, I lallygagged until 5:00, when I was reminded that I had a Zoom meeting with my friends from Texas.  At that time, I got showered, dressed, put some laundry in the wash, and off I went to the supermarket to pick up some food. Around 7:30, I met with my Texas friends, and then killed some time before talking with RQS.  Just before I called RQS, I remembered that I had clothes in the dryer and brought them upstairs.  

As you can see, this was a typical day for me.  I didn't get as much done as I wanted.  But I got as much done as I needed.  At least, I can say that I spent part of the day in Marian Mode - it was the first time I've been out as Marian in almost a week.

 

Cruising issues

 

I don't want to belabor something that frustrated me today - billing issues from my doctor's office caused by the office sending paperwork to the wrong insurance company.  So I'll talk about something more pleasant, and deal with this issue tomorrow....

- - - - - -

 

The above cruise route has already been changed to deal with the problem at Skagway.  Many ships originally scheduled to port at Skagway are now going to other Alaskan ports due to multiple rock slides making it unsafe to use the Railroad Dock.  Hopefully, they will be able to stabilize the land above the dock before next year's cruise season.

Skagway is my favorite port in Alaska.  The White Pass & Yukon Railroad is a must for any Inside Passage trip.  And I'd like to take this train again, if I can find a way to get to Alaska on another cruise.  However, I had no intentions of taking this "2 bucket list trip" cruise, and coming back with Covid-19 as my souvenir. (I also did not want to pay a high price for airfare, given both the high cost and inconvenience of air travel this year.)  Now, with the Railroad Dock unavailable to most cruise ships, ships are either stopping at Haines or Icy Strait Point, or they are adding an extra Sea Day to their cruises.

Assuming all goes well with my current relationship, I expect that we will be in Alaska and/or Hawaii sometime in the next few years.  Will we take a repositioning cruise like the one in the route map at the top of this entry?  Will we take a Hawaii cruise (from the West Coast or from Oahu?)  Will we take an Alaska cruise (Inside Passage or Northbound/Southbound to/from Denali)?  RQS has never taken what I'd call a bucket list trip, and it would be nice to share one with her.

- - - - - -

Thinking about what is going right in my relationship with RQS makes me think about what went wrong in my previous long term relationship.  Strangely enough, learning the things that bothered XGFJ have made it possible not to make those mistakes with RQS.  All XGFJ needed to do was put me on the spot and make things clear.  Instead, she decided to take the "easy" way out and hint to me what her needs were - dooming the relationship via a lack of effective communication.  Yes, there are other issues I see in the rear view mirror. But I put the blame for our relationship's failure with a lack of effective communication - a mistake I intend to prevent myself or RQS from making in our current relationship.

Ikea

 

In one sense, if you visit one Ikea store, you've visited them all.  There is a winding path through the furniture showrooms, and it's all geared to lead you to an area geared for impulse buys before picking out the unassembled furniture (in boxes) from the warehouse side of the store.  

But first....

Last night, I sat down on a plastic chair that RQS had placed in front of her desktop computer.  Sooner or later, the chair was going to break under my weight (it was a flimsy piece of molded plastic), and it did in a spectacular fashion.  As I moved to get up from the seat, my shifting weight caused the rear legs of the chair to collapse and break off, causing me to land on the floor in an embarrassing way. At that point, RQS came over to help me up and I knew that we'd have to replace the chair today.

Morning came, and RQS had to go to her gym for her weekly round with her personal trainer.  When I picked her up, I knew the perfect place for us to go to get the replacement chair - Ikea.  So, it was off to Hicksville, and to do some chair shopping.  RQS was surprised to see how big the store was, and got some ideas of what she could do in her place.  After trying out a couple of chairs, we settled on one model - and purchased it.  And then we went for dinner at a seafood joint I knew in Lindenhurst.

Once finished with dinner, it was back to RQS's place to assemble the chair.  Assembly of most Ikea furniture is relatively straight forward.  One looks at pictures in sequence, and assembles the parts to look like the images on each page in sequence.  And that is what we did until RQS almost stripped the screw head because of a flaw in its manufacture.  To prevent damage to the remaining part of the hex screw head, I decided to use a pair of pliers to get the screw down as far as possible, then try to use the provided Allen wrench to tighten the screw the rest of the way.  Luckily, I was successful where RQS wasn't. Now, RQS has a solid chair she can sit on - at a very reasonable price.

Meatballs!

 

On Saturday, RQS found ourselves with not much to do save relax.  By the time we got moving, it was getting late and it was time to go and get something to eat.  So, I remembered a place that once had a Westport, CT outpost and figured that its Williamsburg site would be a perfect place to have a bite to eat. And RQS liked my idea....

- - - - - -

One of the things we have to deal with every week is choosing what and where to eat.  Since I was at RQS's place this weekend, we'd have the whole city from which to choose a restaurant to eat at.  Given that good "traditional" Italian restaurants seem to be a dime a dozen in NYC, it made sense to choose something a little different - such as The Meatball Shop.  

Williamsburg, Brooklyn is a great place to visit.  There are quite a few funky shops in this area of NYC that are well worth exploring.  And if this restaurant is a good example of what's in this part of town, it would be a crime for any tourist to miss going here.  As for me, I'm lucky that RQS and I can reach this part of town via a $2.75 subway ride, because we intend to explore it more often when the weather gets cooler.  The Meatball Shop (TMS) will be one of our go-to places in this exploration.

Now, I should say a little about TMS.  It does not look like a typical Italian restaurant - because it isn't.  Many types of meatballs are on the menu, and pasta can be served with them.  But the menu is not "Italian".  We had the pork meatballs, but could just as easily chosen, beef, chicken, or some other type on the menu.  If the other types are half as tasty as the meatballs we ate, we'll each gain a dress size or two by the time New Year comes along.

After dinner, we walked along Bedford avenue and found a cute little book store to explore - Spoonbill and Sugartown Books.  Sadly the store was closing at 9:00 pm - not giving us enough time to browse.  However, we will be back there again, as it had books that I will never find at your local neighborhood chain bookstore.

All too early, it was time to go back to RQS's place.  But one last place beckoned us - 16 Handles ice cream shop.  The ice cream was good, but expensive.  Don't go there if you are expecting Carvel.  Although everything is soft serve, it is yummy, but a little too expensive for my taste.  (We spent $32 for 2 medium/large cups, and RQS said - OUCH!)  I can only imagine how my sugar levels must have spiked after that dessert!

Once we finished our ice cream, it was time to return to RQS's place for the evening.  We were both glad that there was no repair work scheduled for the subway line we used to get back home....

A place I want to get back to soon....

 

Peggy's Cove, NS.  Although I wouldn't want to live there, I'd like to visit there every few years.  It's a place that one can take many interesting photographs, and it's a place that never seems to change much over the years.

- - - - - -

The first time I was in Peggy's Cove was when I was a child.  It didn't impress me much then, as little makes an impression on a young child.  However, I later made it there with my late wife, and we both enjoyed making this the highlight of our Nova Scotia vacation.  I'll always remember an incident that happened in one of the hotels we stayed at in our travels - the warm water shut off unexpectedly while I was in the shower, I yelled "F**k!", and she came to my aid not knowing whether I was in need or not.  Although there are more details I don't mention to this story, it is the most memorable part of this trip.

The next time I was in Peggy's Cove was on a cruise with my former cruise partner (FCP).  She didn't come with me on this excursion.  But I was sure to get some pictures while there.  This visit impressed me more than my previous two visits, as I became aware of the rocky ground the town sat upon, and wondered how people get their water and deal with sanitary issues.  (I never did think like an average person.)  And still, I couldn't get the beauty of the place out of my mind.

So this time, I hope that RQS appreciates Peggy's Cove as much as I do.  Although I'll be in Mario Mode this time, it won't be much of an issue when I'm with her.

A trip to RQS's place

 

I'm looking forward to this weekend.  Although I will be in Mario mode all weekend, I look forward to being with RQS.  As I've asked before, is this too good to last?  I don't know the answer, and don't want to know right now.

The logistics of getting to see RQS is always a challenge. Getting to and staying over RQS's place is an issue.  If I drive, I hate trying to find a parking spot in her neighborhood.  (It would be even worse, if I drove down during the week, as her neighborhood has alternate side of the street parking.)  If I take mass transit, I have to leave my car in a public parking area which is empty at night.  And then, I have to take Metro North into NYC, then the subway to RQS's place.  AARGH!  But she's worth it.

- - - - - -

I shouldn't look at the negative side of things, and I try not to.  There are some advantages to being with RQS - such as being able to explore NYC at will.  This is something that most suburbanites do not take advantage of.  Like most suburbanites who live near a big city, the headaches of going into the city often outweigh the perceived benefits of being there.  And this is even more true when the city is the cultural and economic capital of the country.

New York City, is a place like few other world class cities.  Unlike London and Paris, it is not a political capital.  Instead, it is "only" an economic and cultural capital. Vicki and I used to go into NYC to catch an Off-Broadway (or Broadway) play or two on a regular basis.  It is also a foodie capital as well.  Where else in the USA can one eat a different ethnic food style every day?  About the only food one can't get here is authentic Haggis, as we have a thing against organ meats in this country.  But then, I'd rather enjoy myself and go to Stillwell and Surf on July 4th to enjoy Hot Dogs with Joey Chestnut.

Unfortunately, given NYC's subway system, "you can't get there from here" in many of the outer boroughs.  So it's hard to explore one borough from another, unless one is going to/from Manhattan.  And this is why it will take me 2+ hours to reach RQS today, when I can drive there in an hour (in good traffic).  But she's worth it....

Almost too late to play any games

 

 

Today was a do-nothing kind of day.  And yet, I knew that if I didn't go to play games, I'd be disappointing people who expected me to come to play games.  So I went.  

But first....

I've been quite a bit of an insomniac as of late, not going to sleep until the wee ours of the morning.  This is not good if one wants to live a "normal" life, nor is it good if one wants to take care of things best taken care of in the daytime.  For example, RQS and I are both night owls (to one degree or another), and love to sleep late.  But if we sleep too late, we run the risk of not being to do as many of the things we want to do.

The other night, I couldn't get any sleep because the frame on my CPAP mask broke. Unfortunately, I couldn't find parts from another mask to build a working mask that I could use to safely get some sleep. So I ended up going to sleep around 8:00 am.  Last night, it wasn't much better.  And, tonight, I feel that I will still have problems going to sleep.  So I knew that I had to take it easy during the day before going out to game night.

It's very easy to become a couch potato when one lives on a non-standard sleep schedule.  This is why I fought the instinct to stay home, and chose to go to game night today - albeit 45 minutes late.  Luckily, I was able to get in 1 game (Sushi Go!) and won.

Maybe next time, I'll arrive early for a change....

It's been a long time since I've seen this friend.

 

For the life of me, I can't seem to find a picture of me with RO at a formerly local Italian Restaurant.  This may be just as well for now.  But it would have been nice to give my readers an idea to why I wanted her as a friend, and not as a lover.

We haven't seen each other in years, as the pandemic got in the way of us getting together.  Now that she's living in the Poconos full time, we can't make a quick decision to get together after work.  After a little bit of planning, we set today for our get together; and I chose the restaurant at a mid way point for both of us.

I didn't get moving until noon, and took my time getting ready to get showered, made up and dressed. It was a good thing that I left a little wiggle room in my departure time, as traffic could be unpredictable when dealing with the Bear Mountain Bridge.  Today, it was just that, as it took forever to get to the bridge.  But once I reached Seven Lakes Drive, it was a pleasant drive through Harriman State Park to get to Sloatsburg.  And from there, it was a hop, skip and a jump to NJ 287 which took me to Parsippany.  

In the past, the trip from Mahwah to Parsippany would take forever, as Route 287 had not been built between Boonton and Mahwah.  Since the route was completed, it was a 30 minute drive to reach my final destination from the NY/NJ state line.  Not knowing that RO would be on time, I brought along a book that I could read if she got stuck in traffic.  Luckily, she reached the restaurant at the same time as I did.

RO knows me as Marian, even though she has seen me as Mario a couple of times.  It is much easier for her to think of me as Marian, and that's the way I arrived at the restaurant.  Our talked flowed like water, and both of us enjoyed some of the best Italian food I've ever been served.  (I had the Lasagna, and it was an 11 on a scale of 10!)  All too soon, it was time to go home, and I took the overland route instead of going through the park.

Hopefully, we'll be able to get together much sooner than last time.  Until then, we'll keep in touch.  It'll be nice if RO & Husband gets the chance to meet RQS and I for dinner one day....

Am I dreaming? If so, don't wake me.

 

Lately, I've been writing about the mundane things in life.  After a transgender person gets the courage to go out and about in the world, one's day to day experiences return to being just everyday experiences. Some of these experiences are social, and others are related to the configuration of one's body.  Once these experiences have become common enough, one doesn't think about them much.

Although RQS thinks of me as her boyfriend who likes to dress funny (and I'm comfortable with being this way), she also sees me as someone that she can share typical "girly" experiences with - such as going for a mani-pedi.  After getting used to seeing me present as a female, she has gotten very comfortable with me this way and will occasionally show me subtle public displays of affection.

RQS wants me to keep my male body configuration, and only use prosthetics to create my feminine body shape.  (She doesn't mind me getting electrolysis to remove my facial and body hair.  It's going the next step that bothers her.)  And I can live with that to have a good romantic relationship.  So far, things are going much better than expected.  RQS has suggested that the two of us get made up by a professional, then dress to the nines, and go out somewhere fancy.  This will not happen until after we get back from our cruise.  

Could this be a dream?  If so, I don't want to wake up.

Preparing for 2 cruises and looking forward to #3 (and maybe #4).

 

Towards the end of my tenure at the bank, FCP invited me to take a cruise with her, traveling as Marian.  It was a interesting experience, as I was outside of my comfort zone.  This would be the first of several cruises I would be taking as Marian, and something that accelerated my growth as Marian.

- - - - - -

Lately, I've been preparing for a cruise (as Mario) with RQS this fall, as well as preparing for a solo Hawaii Cruise (as Marian) later this year. To feel comfortable in the warm Hawaiian weather this winter, I've bought some informal dresses I could wear while there and look forward to wearing them on the cruise.

Assuming that all goes well on the first cruise, RQS and I may choose to take another cruise in the spring.  The main issue we think we'll have with this cruise will not be on the cruise itself.  It will be with her cats.  Will she have enough caregivers visiting often enough to feed her cats, clean their litter boxes, and show them some affection while we're gone?  This problem is one I dealt with after my cat died over 10 years ago by not adopting a new pet.  So I don't say anything negative about her cats, as I understand how they become family during their short lives.

I've been half-heartedly trying to convince RQS to take a specific Panama Canal cruise (a full transit through the historic locks) this coming spring, as it might be a last golden opportunity to see my uncle while he's alive. It's been fun trying to find ways to make this cruise into a more affordable reality (time and money), and it's something I should be able to afford next year.  RQS's issue with this is finding cat caregivers for the better part of 3 weeks, and I'm not sure if my brother (and his wife) are up to the task.  Luckily, this cruise will be offered for the 2024 season, and I may have a second opportunity to take this cruise. Hopefully, RQS and I will be able to do it together.

If we can't do the Panama Canal cruise due to RQS's time/cat caregiver constraints, we may take a 11 day Caribbean cruise.  This would be the second time I'd be in the area as Mario, and it wouldn't be as much fun as traveling as Marian.  Let's see what happens next.

Lots of clutter in 2 apartments

 

Both RQS and I have clutter from other people that resides in our apartments.  My clutter comes from artifacts of both my family, of my late wife and her family. RQS's clutter has similar sources, but more of them.  And we have taken it upon ourselves to help each other clean up the messes which define our apartments.

In our generation, possessions were handed down from generation to generation.  We expected our children to live in spaces bigger than the generations before them.  My late wife preserved the engraved crystal her parents and grandparents used on special occasions. Others preserved expensive place settings used (if ever) for these occasions. And I don't intend to get started on tchotchkes such as Hummel figurines. The baby boomers as a whole seem to believe in accumulating "stuff" to be handed on to future generations - even if it has no demonstrated value or use.

Right now, I am trying to being my apartment into a shape where I can have friends over to visit. RQS is good for me in this area.  And I know I'll have to pay her back this winter by helping her clear out the mess in her place.  By the time we are done, I figure that we'll have an idea of what our long term relationship will look like.  And that's a good thing....

Fireworks!

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

- - - - - -

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

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

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

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

A letter from a friend.

 

In 2019, I went on a solo cruise, leaving both FCP and XGFJ at home.  This was one of my most enjoyable cruises, as I did not have to care about what someone else was doing.  I didn't have to deal with FCP wanting to be the center of attention, and I didn't have to care about XGFJ dragging me out to do things I wasn't interested in at the time.  This cruise was all about me and my relaxation, and I enjoyed all the days I was on the cruise.

On the cruise, I met two people I wanted to keep in touch with.  One fell by the wayside.  The other, I'm still in contact with today.  This person (who I'll call CLK) lives in Canada, and we haven't seen each other since that cruise.  After Covid travel restrictions were relaxed, she passed through the NYC area on her way to/from a cruise.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to connect with each other then.  And today, I received a response to an email I wrote a couple of days ago.

CLK has been busy with her career, and is busy taking care of her aging parents.  Before Covid hit, she was scheduled to take a Panama Canal cruise on my favorite NCL ship.  Sadly, her mom had some ailments which caused CLK to cancel her cruise, and then Covid struck.  Things became hectic for CLK, as being a caregiver took up the past 2 years of her life outside of her full time job, and she had some issues of her own.

It's always a pleasure to receive a letter from CLK, as it allows us to keep in contact - and hopefully, meet up with each other again.  She now has a cruise scheduled with her family scheduled for later this year, and has a moonlighting gig as well.  I'm rooting for her and her family, as her mom is dealing with health issues typical of someone born 80-90 years ago.  I hope that next time I receive an email, that some of her mom's issues have been successfully dealt with.  But until then, I'll just wait for her next email....

I won't go into details, but....

 

In the past, I found out that one of my acquaintances' children is a member of the LGBT community.  Thinking little of this, I put it into the back of my mind.  Today, I found out that this girl (for now) is identifying as a male, prefers to use he, him, and his pronouns, and goes to a LGBT group affiliated with the LGBT center I used to volunteer at.

It's going to be hard for me (at first) getting used to using the new pronouns, as this youth is already going through a female puberty.  S/he has already developed breasts, and is at an age where puberty blockers should be used if  s/he doesn't want to develop other female characteristics, such as widened hips.  But, should I tell the parents what to look out for?  I'm of mixed mind, as I don't want to get involved unless I am asked to get involved.

Right now, the parents may think that she is going through a phase that she'll grow out of.  I hope they are right.  If not, I know this youth will be loved whatever gender s/he identifies as being....

I finally decided to take a small risk.

 

As I mentioned before, I will be taking a Hawaii cruise later this year. I have already booked my excursions, and have an idea of what my travel arrangements will be like.  (At best, they will suck big time. But the price is right.) The one thing I've been hemming and hawing about is whether I'd submit a bid to upgrade my inside cabin to a balcony cabin.

Some of you might say that taking the risk of spending $220 to upgrade my cabin is worth the money.  However, a bit of thought went into choosing the cabin location, and an upgrade is like buying a pig in a poke. One doesn't know the quality of what one is getting until the deal is complete.  I don't want to be in a position where I traded a good room for something less acceptable if I had known what I was buying. However, spending $220 to get a good cabin which I'd have spent another $1600+ more is worth the risk I would be taking.  

After more hemming and hawing, I made a decision to bid on the upgrade.  Given that the ship is still sailing at 40%-50% of capacity, there should be a decent number of balcony cabins that would otherwise go unoccupied.  So, if I snag a good cabin, it's a win-win for both the cruise line and me.  I get a better deal on a better cabin than I would have gotten when I made my reservation, and the cruise line gets extra money from me for the same level of service.  If they don't accept my bid, I will be in a good cabin.  And, if they do accept the bid, I will be in a balcony cabin enjoying a cool ocean breeze when sailing between the islands.

One thing I can say - I'll be sure to take lots of pictures....