I figure that I'd take a break from my usual posts to wish all my readers a happy turkey day. I'll be spending the day with RQS, and we will be going out for our holiday dinner with me presenting as a female. It'll be nice to spend our first major holiday together in the way I feel most comfortable.
Day 8: Back in New York.
Our ship reached New York Harbor early, and appeared to be hanging out until it could be escorted to the pier. As I expected, the ship was cleared to sail into port around 3 am, and we missed the sight of seeing the Statue of Liberty being lit up at night. Unfortunately, RQS was disappointed by this, as we woke up at 4 am for a bio break and noticed we were about to dock.
We packed our bags, and then made it to the buffet. It was hard to believe that it was the first week of November, and the weather forecast was for NYC to be in the mid 70’s. So, eating at the buffet was pleasant, as we were able to score an outdoor table without problems. When our color was called, we disembarked and entered the terminal. Both of us had a hard time finding our luggage, but I was very fortunate that I had attached a Tile tag to help me find my luggage. One click, and I was able to find the bag without problems. RQS had a harder time, as she had no tag and had to ask for help. Once we got our bags, it was off to the customs area. Unlike past trips, they now use bio recognition to identify us, and all we had to do was look into a video screen for us to be okayed to leave the terminal.
Exiting the terminal, we crossed the street and encountered a limo driver. He was willing to take us to RQS’s place for a price ⅓ of what he’d charge on a weekday. He was making no money, and wanted to make a few dollars before going home, and we benefited from his misfortune. RQS made sure that this man got a generous tip when we arrived at her place.
Day 7: Sea Day.
RQS and I awoke to bright sunshine, setting our clocks back an hour as we entered American waters. It feels strange, as we will be setting our clocks back again tonight due to the switch to Eastern Standard Time. As a result, we ended up rising sooner than usual, and reached the buffet while breakfast was being served on both sides of the ship.
After breakfast, it was off to the onboard store to see what “junk” was included in their $10 sale. (This is a good way to burn off any cruise credits one may have received for booking the cruise.) There wasn’t much of value here. There was the usual t-shirts, the usual cheap costume jewelry, and other things that one could get for $5 on Amazon.
I’ve sailed on at least 4 NCL ships so far: the Gem, the Joy, the Escape and the Breakaway. The Gem is a mid size ship for this fleet, and the ship I have cruised on most. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles found on the larger ships, but it has an intimate feel that is lacking on the larger ships. The Escape and the Joy are among the larger ships in NCL’s fleet, Breakaway plus ships. The Joy has all the bells and whistles one could want, including an on board go-cart ride and a pair of multi-story water slides. Its size is impressive, and I am amazed at how many people the ship can handle on a single cruise. Last is the NCL Breakaway itself. It is smaller than the Joy, but is still a large ship. Although it doesn’t have the go-carts, it has almost all of the bells and whistles of the Joy, while retaining a semblance to NCL’s past ships.
When I last sailed on the Gen in December, the photography store was still selling some small cameras in addition to the usual collection of on-ship photographs taken by the ship’s photographers. On the Breakaway and Joy, one could find a few SD memory cards, but no cameras. People now use their cell phones to capture images, and no longer buy small, special purpose cameras when cell phones can easily perform the same function. The newer ships are geared to sell more profitable products such as jewelry, high end watches and both duty free liquor and cigarettes. Even then, I found it impossible to buy a liter of amaretto, and had to settle for the last bottle of Grand Marnier.
Each iteration of ship classes has their pluses and minuses. I am a fan of NCL’s “Jewel” class of ships. Others are fans of the Breakaway and Breakaway Plus classes of ships. However, NCL has decided to go with a smaller, more intimate ship with their Prima class. This is not a ship I plan to take any time soon, as cruises on newer ships tend to be more expensive than those on older ships. Yet, if I see a great bargain, I’ll take a cruise on the Prima and see if the criticisms of Vloggers I watch are true. Until then, I’ll keep my mind open about this ship.
Day 6: Halifax, NS.
This is our last port day, and we awakened around 10 am local time. Although my watch is set to “Greenwich Village Mean Time” (my way of saying Eastern Time), my cell phone reads Atlantic Savings Time. When we cross back into American waters tomorrow, we will be back in Eastern Daylight time, and then when we get home, we will set our clocks back another hour for “Standard” time. This setting of the clocks is a big pain in the ass.
RQS and I had no plans for the day, save to get off the ship and explore the Pier 21 Museum. (Pier 21 is Canada’s answer to America’s Ellis Island, and Canada dealt with many of the same immigration issues as we did South of the border.) So we got dressed, had “breakfast”, and off the ship by 12:30 pm. This gave us the time to make the museum by 1:00 pm and participate in a guided tour.
After the museum, we decided to walk the shore front and get our walking in. After we got to a group of kiosks selling food, we decided to have some ice cream before turning back to the ship. But first, it was a chance to see a ship under restoration and to see some kids playing on a sculpture meant to look like a ocean wave.
Once on the ship, we had a late lunch, then rested before dinner. Sadly, our choice of dinner venue was a mistake. On NCL’s larger ships, there are 3 main complementary dining rooms. And we chose the one we in which we last had a pleasant meal. Not only did we get ignored after ordering our iced teas, but we had to speak with another person on the staff to get our iced teas. And then, we had to ask for spoons to stir sugar in our teas - something that was a running joke between us on our last cruise. Fortunately, the rest of the meal went OK, as our server was supervised by his next in command.
Day 5: Saint John, NB.
RQS and I didn’t have any plans for the day, as there is not that much to see in this city. The Reversing Falls may be nice to visit, but they are not worth the time and effort spent to get there. The excursion to see the Bay of Fundy tidal area is not worth the price. So what is there to do in this city? That was the question we asked before doing anything today.
When we finally got moving, we decided to have a late breakfast and then go out for a walk. Our decision was to head towards the Reversing Falls, but we changed our mind when we found that we’d have to walk another 1.5 miles from where we were after a mile of walking. So we headed back to ship, with a detour to a local coffee shop and the candy store next door to it.
On our way back to the ship, we found where the St. John Police Museum is (we missed it on our last visit), but decided not to visit because we wanted to return to the ship a little bit early. (Hopefully, we’ll make the time to go there on our next visit to this city.) It was nice to be able to get back onboard the ship without waiting for a ride on a tender boat. And, it was even nicer to get comfortable and rest before our 3rd visit to a specialty restaurant on this trip.
Day 4: Bar Harbor, ME.
We didn’t have to get up early today, so we didn’t. Yet, we were up by 8:00 am, and were having breakfast by 9:30 am. This made it possible for us to get off the ship by 10:30 am, and start walking around Bar Harbor. Unlike tendering at Newport, the cruise line hired a charter boat to ferry passengers from the ship to the pier and back. That gave us at least 4 boats in tender service to move people, and it didn’t take long to get to shore.
This was RQS’s first time in the area in years, and she was happy to follow my lead in walking around town. Once on shore, we took some pictures of the harbor, then went to a local book store to spend some money. Next, it was a search for two stores, one of which always has wallets on sale - where we both replaced our wallets for new ones. The other store was where I bought (as Marian) a scarf which I have yet to wear - it was packaged as a knot, and looks better as a knot than it does as a scarf. (Sooner or later, I will untangle the knot and wear the scarf. Until then, I like how the scarf was packaged for transit, and will keep it that way.)
After walking through town we looked for a place to eat. Most of the good joints were closed for the season, and we made the mistake of going into a joint where we should have ordered burgers and beers, not chowder and tacos. That was a waste of money and time. But, when most of the good joints are closed, one takes what she can get.
Then, it was back to the ship, to prepare for our next day’s journeys.
Day 3: Portland, ME.
After a good sleep, we awoke and took our time getting ready for the day. Unlike Newport, where the ship arrived in port at 6:00 am, our Portland arrival was scheduled for 11:00 am. This gave us a reasonable time to explore the port. Better yet, this was not a tender port. We could walk off the ship, and go directly to the shops or restaurants we wanted to go to without delay.
Once done with a quick but hearty breakfast, it was off the ship and on to a narrow gauge train ride. The Maine Narrow Gauge tourist railroad didn’t go far, but it had some scenic views of Casco Bay. While on the train, we met up with a couple we dined with on the ship last night, as well as meeting a young woman and her dog. (She was not on our ship. Instead, she was a tourist from Florida who was working remotely.) It’s too bad that a bridge has been out of commission for years, as it would have been nice if the train ride could have crossed the water and continued its path on the mainland.
Next, it was off to find a place where we could have a good lobster roll. RQS and I didn’t want to go back to last month’s restaurant, as we were very unhappy with the food served there. This time, we found a little place on a pier that both serves food and delivers seafood to other operations, This place, Luke’s is a gem that has been family operated for 3 generations, and well worth going to when in the Portland area. I noted to RQS that I suffered a little sticker shock when looking at the price of lobster rolls. The lobsters from the Cousins Maine Lobster truck come from the same region, taste just as good, and are several dollars cheaper. Although neither of us had any complaints about the restaurant, we realized how lucky we are to have a good food truck visit our area from time to time.
Now that were done with the restaurant, it was time to go back to the ship and rest for a while before going to the specialty restaurant on the ship. We had booked dinner at the on ship steakhouse when we embarked on this cruise. And we looked forward to having this meal from the time this cruise was booked.
As expected, dinner at the steakhouse was very good. We ordered differently than we normally would, and we were impressed with the lamb chops and filet mignon. NCL’s specialty restaurants never cease to impress me with their quality and service. Too bad that we can’t eat this well on a regular basis. But then, RQS and I would be sharing our own unique zip code….
Day 2: Newport, RI.
I found it hard to believe that I awoke at 6 am, and didn’t fall back to sleep. The motion sensor nightlight worked like a charm, and RQS was glad that I brought it along for the trip. After showering and dressing, we had a quick breakfast and got on the tender boat to Newport.
It seemed to take forever to get to Newport, as there were more people trying to get to Newport than the tenders could deliver to the landing in a rapid manner. Once there, we decided not to go to the Breakers. Instead, we decided to walk around town and go into a chocolate shop. Yum! Both of us picked up some stuff to spike our blood sugar levels later on.
Once we returned to the ship, we rested before dinner. Tonight, it was the main dining room, where we were seated with other people. It would have been nice to be able to chat with the older couple who were sitting next to us. Unfortunately, the band playing in the background was too loud to shout over, and we had to make do with understanding snippets of chat around the table.
When dinner was done, we relaxed a little, and then went to a show in the main theater. It was an NCL production of modern ballroom dancing that could be best described as random modern tunes organized for dancing without a meaningless plot from a Hollywood musical or Broadway play. Would I have paid to see this performance? No! Although the performers did a great job, it is not the type of performance I’d gravitate to. At least, RQS enjoyed this show more than she did watching Flashdance on our prior cruise.
Day 1: Embarkation Day.
I had installed and set up both Uber and Lyft applications on my cell phone, but couldn’t summon a driver. So, I left this task up to RQS. Unlike our last trek to the cruise terminal, this ride was pleasant - even though we went through the bowels of Maspeth before reaching the Midtown Tunnel.
Unlike our last cruise, the embarkation process went more smoothly than expected. There were no long lines. Instead, after a brief delay at security (which I expected), it was over to the check in counter, where we picked up our cruise cards within 5 minutes of passing the security checkpoint. At this time, they had just opened up the 3rd gangway to the ship, and we got onboard without waiting on any line. Once onboard, I looked to my left, and there was the muster station. We checked in before even proceeding to our room.
We got to our room a few minutes early, and were greeted by our steward, Ed. He is an overly nice fellow who aimed to please. However, he misinterpreted a request of ours, an easy thing to do when English is not one’s native language. We wanted our mini bar emptied of all items, so that we could keep our water containers cold until we disembarked. Instead, he put those items that NCL charges for on the desk, not realizing that we wanted them removed from the room. This was taken care of when we returned from lunch.
Our cruise package included 2 specialty meals. However, because of my loyalty status, we were to receive 2 extra specialty meals. But I didn’t know how that would be done. This was question was resolved when we looked at a card left on the desk. It had the coupons for 2 specialty meals. So we hoofed it down to the reservations desk, where we set up specialty restaurant reservations for the week.
After a little rest, it was time for dinner. And off to the seafood restaurant we went. By the time we got out of there, we were both stuffed. I was glad that we didn’t go for steak today, or we’d see our stomachs explode before we hit the bed.
Day 0: Travel to Queens.
Normally, I drive to RQS’s place and park my car in her neighborhood. This week, it was not the case, as I couldn’t leave my car on a city street due to alternate side of the street parking that takes place during weekdays. So, I called a cab to the station, and had a one way chat with a cabbie which had a bone to pick with Uber and Lyft for not having to follow any regulations for passenger rides.
When I arrived at Croton Harmon, I found that I had just missed a train to the city, and had to kill time before a local train arrived. The train ride was uneventful, but I realized that I had nothing to eat before getting on the train. So I stopper into the food court at Grand Central to pick up a quick bite to eat, then hump my bag and CPAP machine onto the subway. In the post-Covid Grand Central, there are few places to have a seat, even to eat something from one of the food vendors still open. Everything is geared to standing up at a high table, to keep people from lingering. Luckily, I found a ‘handicapped table’ which I used while quickly eating a sandwich.
Eating the sandwich was the smartest thing I could have done. I took the subway to Bleeker street, where I could connect with the M train going out to Queens. This was a big mistake, as there were no (or few) M trains running this afternoon. (I had checked service outages before making this route decision.) So, after waiting more than 30 minutes, I bailed and went back to Union Square to catch another train to RQS’s neighborhood.
The whole trip took 4 hours, for what would normally be a 2 hour trip. I was both hungry and tired before I got to RQS’s place, and after a little rest, we went to eat. Shortly after dinner, we went to bed early, in anticipation of the trip to come.
Harpo Marx - The strong, SILENT type. Although he could talk in real life, he fell into gold when he stopped talking in his act, and started doing visual gags on stage, then screen. If you haven't done so, I suggest that you get a copy of Harpo Speaks, then read it. You may find that you'll be wishing you could have met this man in real life.
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Why do I mention Harpo? He was a man who did a lot of traveling in his life, 99% of it via surface level methods available in his era. In my case, I prefer NOT to travel by air. Instead, I like to travel by land and sea, Amtrak and Cruising being my favorite ways to go places.
Right now, there is a glut of people wanting to make cruise videos, thinking that people will be interested in amateur ship tours, images of plated food, and rehashed news about the cruise industry. That is not what I plan to write about. Instead, I will write about travel by land and sea, telling my readers how to determine which offerings will give people the best bang per buck, as well as ways to minimize headaches and maximize pleasure while traveling.
I thought of this idea when I realized that my girlfriend had never cruised before, and would be leaning on my experience to get the most enjoyment from this experience. Given how popular cruising has become, I see a niche market in the idea of "Cruising for Dummies". But after that, what else? Riding the rails (via Amtrak) is also a way to chill out. So why not discuss how to avoid air travel as much as possible, and enjoy the world of surface level travel?
So, if you see me mentioning a new blog, please feel free to say hello. But don't be in a rush. I'll have nothing posted for a few weeks at best.
Although the fellow on the left will tell you that "you no foola me, there ain't no sanity clause", while ripping up a contract, I like well written contracts. Specifically, I like to have insurance for whenever I cruise, as I've heard of too many situations where travel insurance is needed.
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By the end of this year, I'll have made at least 4 cruises in a 365 day period. As a result, I would have done much better had I bought a yearly travel policy from a firm such as Allianz Travel Insurance. Each time I took a cruise, I bought a travel insurance policy valid for only that single cruise. Policies sold by firms like Allianz tend to have yearly terms, and pay for themselves after 2-3 trips. In my case, buying this insurance when I booked my Hawaii cruise would have made sense, as the cruise line's insurance for that one trip costs me the same as if I bought the yearly policy from Allianz.
Although I don't think I'll be traveling as much in 2023 as I will do by the end of 2022, I'm leaning towards buying a yearly policy when I book my next cruise. This way, I don't have to worry about which policy to buy: the cruise line's policy or that from a travel agent. Instead, I'll have already made that decision, and be in a position to save once I've passed the 2 trip mark.
Given that RQS and I are already talking 2023 trips, it makes sense for me to start my insurance shopping now. What do you think?
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Lately, I've been buying things such as auto-on, rechargeable motion sensitive night lights, a cruise power strip (no surge protection), a clear sling bag (for use at Pearl Harbor), and a selfie stick (for taking pictures of me on my upcoming trip.). I would never have bothered buying much of this stuff had I not been planning on a trip to Hawaii. Given that I will likely be doing more travel in retirement than I did beforehand, I will be fleshing out an appropriate travel kit, something that can last me from 2 to 20 days as needed.
I understand how easy it was for my wife to become a spending addict. Click on an item you want, and "by magic" it appears by your door. You do not handle "real money". Instead, you authorize a debit to your account (which you must fund), and lose the tactile feedback that paying with cash provides. It is much easier to know that you are spending too much when you both see and feel less cash in your wallet.
Part of my spending spree has been to replace both a 20" carry-on suitcase and a 28" suitcase. It cost 75% more than I planned, but I wanted to get something that would last a decade or two. I'm grateful to be able to do this, as I have a decent amount of money in my bank account from 40 years in the work force. (If I didn't also have a good 401k and pension, I'd be in very bad shape right now.) But this spending can't last. Right now, my 401k is down 30% from its high point, and the yearly distribution I was planning on taking may need to be reduced. I want to preserve as much capital as possible for now, and still want to enjoy living my current life of leisure.
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Last night, I met up with a transgender person for dinner. If I weren't lucky enough to have been employed by a top-10 bank for 30 years, I might not have had the discretionary cash to afford this dinner. I also might not have had the cash to have afforded the voice training, laser treatment and second wardrobe I need to go about in the world as Marian, some of that wardrobe coming from Amazon itself. I only wonder what my late wife would have thought of the way I live my life today.
I don't know how much I should say about my friend SR, so I'll leave things as generic as possible. Like me, SR is transgender. Unlike me, she has had "the operation" and lives full time as a female. Given where we are in life, she is young enough to be my daughter (that is, if I lived in Tennessee 😀) But each of us has a point of view that complements where the other is in our transgender journeys.
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It's hard arranging to meet SR, as she lives in NYC but does not take mass transit, while I live in Westchester, and use mass transit as much as possible. So, Manhattan's Chinatown was the best possible compromise, even though the restaurant (Wo Hop) left much to be desired. Wo Hop is the kind of place that caters to tourists, and to people who'd be satisfied by a 1960's suburban New York version of what was called "Chinese Food." (I'm more a fan of places like Ping's, just across the street.) I got to the restaurant before SR, but we went down the steps together.
SR is a person who leans to the right politically. So I knew to couch my language in a way where I could acknowledge the valid points that the Conservatives make without dismissing any of the valid points made by Liberals. Yet, for the most part, we understood where each other was coming from, and I explained how I look at the world these days: Jeffersonian at heart, and Hamiltonian by mind. Strangely enough, we talked about sexuality, and she mentioned things best left unsaid here.
All too soon it was time to leave. the meter was about to run out for SR's car, and I had to get home early enough to chat with RQS. Before we parted, SR invited us to her party being held next year. I'm not sure that RQS and I will attend, as it is being held on the same day as RQS's wedding anniversary.
No, I'm not yet ready to show a picture of me dressed as Mario. But this is as close as I'll get for now.
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My friends in Texas would love to see a picture of my "Boyfriend." So I figured that I'd start playing with GIMP and try to overlay an image of RQS with an image of me (as Marian) to be able to show these friends what my boyfriend looks like. Both RQS and my friend Maria say that I've done a great job. But there is a flaw that I can't avoid - The two images look like they could be that of siblings! Yet,it is good enough that I want to get a print made, frame it, and put it on my wall.
I'm not yet ready to show this picture to anyone other than to friends who know me in both modes. Yet, I'll be looking for ways to adjust this image to make Mario's image look less like Marian's sibling than it already does. Until then, I'll be careful of to whom I show this picture, when I show them the picture, and how I show them the picture. It'll be nice to be able to produce a picture of a boyfriend if called for.
I'd like to know: How well do you think I did on my first attempt at photo editing?
I will be taking a solo cruise later this year. However, I have a small problem. A couple of my friends asked me to show a picture of my "boyfriend". Since I am into women, and not men, this is a hard picture to set up. RQS and I were talking about this the other day, and I said that I should Photoshop a picture of myself in Marian mode with a picture of myself in Mario mode, creating a picture of me with my boyfriend.
There is a picture of me and RQS I might use as a basis for editing. But I am not an expert at using Photoshop (or, GIMP, in my case) to create good photo fakes. So it will take a while to do this. (Too bad that I don't have a good friend who can do these edits for me.) Even if I were to do this, I see some potential issues with the two pictures I'm most likely to use for this project.
Hopefully, I'll figure out a good way to solve this problem, so that I have pictures of myself with a "boyfriend" that I can show others. Any good ideas of how best to edit two pictures of my different gender presentations together?
I don't know much about the above "vehicle", but it can be yours for only $950. It seats 1 person, does not look like it is street legal, and I don't know how it's powered. But, for $950, you can have a well worn "golf cart" built for 1.
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RQS and I passed by this contraption today, and we are just as mystified about its use as we are about its owner. What was it used for? Does it work? How far can it go? There was a open parking spot across the street from RQS's place, just i front of this contraption, but I wasn't able to move my car to take that spot in time. After letting a couple of MTA buses go by, I circled the block and double parked while RQS and I loaded some charitable donations into the trunk (and back seat) of my car. Once the car was fully loaded, it was off to the Salvation Army to make our donation.
Before I go on much longer, I must note that many of the old stand by donation shops are no longer in business. Most of the Goodwill shops are gone around here, as well as the Salvation Army shops. So we had to make phone calls to find an available store open for donations. And we found one in Elmont, NY.
Traveling from Glendale (Queens county) to Elmont (Nassau County) is a relatively quick trip as long as there is no traffic on the parkways. We made it to the Salvation Army in roughly 40 minutes, and pulled into the parking lot. About 15 minutes later, we left with most of her stuff out of the car, with only the arts and crafts stuff bound for the dumpster. At that point, we took a "scenic" drive through Nassau County, making an Arby's in East Meadow our turn around point. (BTW: We both had a strong hankering for thinly shaved roast beef sandwiches, and it was sated!)
About an hour later, we were back at RQS's house, where I dropped her off. And then, it was off to fight rush hour traffic on my way home.
This weekend, I drove down to RQS's place to drop off the large suitcase that I'll be taking with me on our upcoming cruise. And this gave us the ability to explore Lower Manhattan - specifically, visiting the SS Lilac, a US Lighthouse Tender that was in service from 1933 to 1972, then going to Ping's Seafood for some tasty Chinese food.
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When RQS mentioned that she wanted to visit the SS Lilac during OHNY weekend, I said OK. When she mentioned where the ship was docked, I knew I had to suggest a side trip:
More tomorrow....
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I find it hard to believe that RQS is interested in taking another cruise so soon after our first cruise together. As much as a late season cruise along the above route seems appealing, I'm not sure of whether this would be the best use of a second cruise together in a short time. But at a rate of roughly $75/night pp, the price is almost too good to pass up.
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Most people would look at cruises in different regions at this time of year. But this cruise was priced so low, that we didn't want to pass it up. So we booked it, and will have taken a second Eastern Canada / New England cruise by the time you read this post.
If this cruise is offered again next year, I will strongly suggest that we go somewhere else. One can easily get bored with a destination if one is there too often. However, since this cruise goes to Newport, RI and Bar Harbor, ME, I feel that we will be able to explore new places when visiting these ports. For example, Newport has a group of mansions that are worth visiting. Bar Harbor has both good restaurants and a National Park. I've been to both places before, and will enjoy visiting them again.
If it weren't for RQS's cats, we'd likely be taking a different cruise in a different region. But, we can only do so much without imposing too much on our friends and family. Until the last cat has passed away, we will only be able to go away for 7 days at a time. This is a minor issue that we will need to deal with for a few years at most.
This is going to be a short post, as I don't have that much to say today. RQS and I will soon be going on another cruise, and I'll be dropping my big bag off at her place. This will make it possible for me to travel to RQS's place the day before our cruise, and then catch an Uber together to the cruise terminal the next morning.
Packing luggage for male or female modes is still an art for me. I usually pack way too much stuff, and have gotten away with it because I've been traveling on cruise ships or on Amtrak for the past decade. Somehow, I will need to learn how to pack much lighter if I want to do more traveling, as I don't want to get hit with overweight luggage fees when flying on vacation. Because I am a heavy person, my clothing weighs more than the average person, and I need larger bags to carry the same number of garments.
Losing weight has never been easy for me, and I wish I had never met Ex-GF-M - if only because my food addiction would never have been triggered on a daily basis. I had lost 70 pounds in a short period of time, and gained them back when with her. Those pounds have stayed on long since we broke up, and I have to start eating more fruit and vegetables if I'm going to have a shot at weight loss.
But enough of that.
We all have to deal with the baggage from our past. I have to deal with the memories of things I said to my late wife out of ignorance. I have to deal with memories of hurting a best friend because I said too much about her life. And I have to deal with memories of many more things than I want to discuss here. This is the baggage I'll always have with me.
One thing that my former therapist taught me is that I have to learn how to forgive myself for my screw ups. I can ask others for forgiveness, but it often can't be given. In the case of the former friend I used to talk about too much in my blogs, she couldn't deal with the pain from her past. Now, she demands to be in control of people and things, as she fears being hurt by the ones she loves most. Because of things we have said, neither of us trusts each other, and there is no way to rebuild any semblance of a friendship. So sad.
In order to move forward in life, one had to drop off baggage in the proper places to move forward. In the literal sense, I am dropping off a bag at her place, so that I can go on a cruise with her. In the case of my former friend, I have had to accept the fact that I screwed up, forgive myself, and move forward to new friendships.
Hopefully, my future will be better than the past I left behind....
This is the book that I've been reading lately. Unfortunately, I have no more renewals left on the book. It means that I'm suppos...
