Running to Queens for a phone

 

RQS has been discombobulated this past week, all because of a medical issue.  And that has resulted in a sort of mental fog which has caused both forgetfulness and clumsiness which have been frustrating at least.  Yesterday was the culmination of a week where the brain fog cost us both time and money.... 

- - - - - -

Our plans for the day were to wake up at 6 am, so that we could get to RQS's neighborhood by 10 am.  This is where we were to pick up her phone at the store of a fellow who found it.  So, when the alarm woke me at 6, I fiddled around a little, and then prepared to go out for the day as Marian.  RQS followed suit, and by 8:15, we were out the door and headed for Queens.  Both of us were relatively silent, as we weren't fully awake yet.

Arriving in Queens, we had a minor disagreement (do not stress that word, it was a light difference of opinion) as to where we had to go.  Thankfully, we had Google Maps to guide us - the store we had to go to was on the other side of the subway station.  If we didn't follow directions, we'd have wasted a few minutes getting back to where we needed to go.  So I parked the car in front of the store, and RQS came back with her phone and all of her cards.

We had time to kill before lunch with friends.  So it was off to the bookstore to have some coffee and to buy a book or two.  On the way, we had to stop at an ATM and get some money.  Luckily, both the bank we needed and the bookstore were in the same neighborhood, and we didn't have to drive too far before being able to settle down with a cup of Joe.

Next, it was off to White Plains. We were lucky to get there when we did, as they were starting to reroute traffic for a St. Patty's Day celebration.  (Why they didn't wait until the next weekend befuddles me, as it would have been March 15th, and not March 8th.)  This eliminated the cheap 2-hour metered parking that we wanted, and forced us to use the "expensive" parking lot under the building the restaurant was housed in.  Once parked, we met our friends and had a great lunch.  I won't say too much about this couple, save that they are as ethnically mixed as RQS and I, and that we have similar feelings about the world.   

Finally, we were on our way home around 3:30.  After a quick drugstore visit, we were home for the night.  And even here, the fog still affected RQS, as she lost some stuff she'll need to replace tomorrow. Let's hope that the fog has completely lifted when she wakes up in the morning.

This is how my car puts on mileage

 

Lately, RQS has been dealing with a few health issues.  Several days ago, a specialist told her that she had to go to the emergency room as one of her tests came in at ridiculously high levels. She was discharged the same evening, with new scripts for new medicines.  Given this visit to the emergency room, she has not been her normal self - the feelings of helplessness and feeling ignored by the medical professionals came back and hit her hard.  

While in the ER, the doctors rescheduled an appointment to get her to another specialist 3 months earlier than originally scheduled.  During this visit, the doctor gave her advice on what she should be eating (for example, kill the carbs) and how much exercise she should be getting.  As an aside, the 2nd specialist suggested that she should find a replacement for specialist #1, as s/he didn't pay attention to her when she wanted to discuss how treatments for her first issue would interfere/intersect with treatments for the second issue.

As you can guess, RQS was not "all there" for the second half of the week.  So, when she came up to see me, she had a "comedy" of misfortunes occur.  First, her scarf got tangled in the wheel of her suitcase.  Thankfully, her Uber driver got it untangled and tossed everything in the trunk of the car.  As she was dropped off at the subway station, her cell phone fell out of her pocket.  Luckily, she had her ID, some money, and everything needed to come to Croton with her.  But she was totally out of sync with her normal self.  While RQS was on her way up, my ex-GF Patty told me that her sister's wake would be tonight.  If I were to have gone, I'd be dressing as Mario and driving to Fishkill to pay my respects.  This would have been an awkward introduction of Patty and RQS.  Luckily, I wasn't expected to pay my respects, as they were keeping everything small.  So, I dressed as Marian, and picked RQS up at the station.

There was no way I would take RQS straight to my place, as she was ravenously hungry.  So, it was off to the diner in Peekskill for dinner.  While there, she contacted Uber and sent in a request for help. Uber didn't respond quickly, so I thought of something after dinner - calling her phone to see if anyone had found it.  Someone did!  So we are meeting him at 10 am to pick the phone up and say thanks.  But this means that we have to get up at the crack of dawn to get showered and dressed, so that we could be in RQS's neighborhood around 9:30 am, and then mosey back to Westchester to see friends (with me in Marian mode) at 1 pm.

It took until 11 pm for RQS to fully relax (or, as much as she could under the circumstances).  Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, and I'm not looking forward to the drive....

Although I took it easy today, I had things to do.

 

A while back, I met this woman and scheduled a lunch together.  I had a weird feeling about her, as she was asking me a lot of questions that one usually doesn't ask in the early stages of a friendship.  Although we said we'd meet again, this never happened.  And I think that this was good luck for me, as something didn't feel right about her, making me glad that I had already frozen my credit report a few months beforehand.

Why do I mention this today?

I've been getting weird feelings about what is happening in this country.  Last night, I watched a clip from a senate hearing, where a Democratic senator asked one of the Orange Snowflake's loyalists: Given the President's actions in regard to Ukraine (as well as other actions), do you think the man holding that office is a Russian Asset?  Of course, the loyalist ducked answering the question.  In a way, we have our answer, and us transgender folk should be planning our lives accordingly, given Russia's feelings about the LGBTIQ community  My big question is - why aren't more people talking about this?

But onto other things....

This was a day where I didn't get out of bed until 11 am, and even then, didn't get moving until 1 pm.  So, I started to clean out some more stuff from behind the loveseat, and filled up a donation bag which can go to Green Drop on Saturday.  It's amazing how many garments I had stored that I no longer wear. So, out the door it goes.

And then, it was time to get showered and dressed to go to a meetup. I arrived at 6:30, and only 4 people had arrived.  By 6:45, we had a total of 10 people, including DS from the Yonkers gaming meetup.  When DS arrived, she mentioned that she couldn't deal with political talk, and for the most part, we didn't do so.  But then, someone made a mistake, and DS left quicker than a speeding bullet.  I mentioned to the ladies who were left that DS is very unhappy with her present job, and probably has to hear a lot of BS coming from her idiot boss about the orange snowflake.  We got quiet for a minute, as everyone realized what happened, and then we got to venting about the latest atrocity the snowflake has thought up.

Right now, I'm not so sure of what I should say to DS, as I want to apologize for not reading her correctly, and not steering others away from this topic.  It's a sick thing, what the snowflake is doing to this country, and I fear that things will get much worse before things get better....

I apologize for ranting too much

 

Lately, it seems to me, that I've been complaining about things going on in the world too much.  Yes, Our rights as transgender people are under attack, and our president is "owned" by Russia, and is doing Russia's bidding.  Yet, I am grateful to live in a state where I can come and go as my authentic self, without worry that I will be hassled by any law enforcement authority.

Yet, I've noticed something.  For reasons other than fear, I haven't been getting outside of my place enough and living an authentic life.  Could it be the weather?  (As I write this, it is raining outside.)  Could it be commitments I have that requires me to present as Mario?   (I had to go out as Mario in order to buy a new Mattress and Bed Frame last night.) Could it be anything else? (I did spend part of the day sorting out some of the containers behind my loveseat.) There have been so many things that I needed to do, that I have felt a little overwhelmed and have retreated into my comfort space.

One has to keep one's focus on what's important, so that can take care of the most important things first.  I may not have been doing that.  Yesterday, I worked around the house, possibly to avoid spending the money I knew I'd have to spend on new bedding.  It could be much worse.  My brother is putting in 50-60 hours each week in a job for which should only need 40. He also has to deal with fire department financials, managing the project of bringing the family homestead into a shape where we can raise the rent on the place, and to prepare financials for the house, so that I can get my taxes done.  And, to top it all off, he is flying out west to see my nephew for the weekend.

As you can see, there are other people who are under more stress than I am.  But I expect that we all will start to suffer if the orange snowflake does half the damage to America that he could be doing.  If you find yourself starting to be overwhelmed by fear and worry about the future, just remember these words that are applicable in almost every situation:

 

"This too, shall pass." 

 

The trick will be to keep one's perspective while it passes....

Stop the world! I want to get off.

 

It's hard to believe that our president started a war against everything America stands for.  The worst part of this is that we have a congress that's afraid to do its job.  As I write this entry, the Orange Snowflake has given his 5th SOTU Address - and it was as disgusting as expected.

Canada, Mexico, and China are victims of a trade war being started by the snowflake.  And this will result in higher prices paid for common goods by the American public. No one will win.  All this to either stroke the ego of a demented, malignant, senile narcissist, or to obey the orders coming from his Russian overlord.  Given what we know about the snowflake, it's likely that it's a little bit of both.

Years ago, the snowflake started his association with questionable business partners when he sold condominiums without caring who he sold them to.  This provided an opportunity for the Russian mob to launder money via real estate.  Although he may have been obeying all applicable laws at the time, it may have made him a "Useful Idiot" in the eyes of the Kremlin.  Over the years, he stopped building new structures, and simply made his money by licensing his name to these developments.

This man's record in Atlantic City showed how he could extract money out of failing businesses, as the banks felt that keeping his trademark name valuable was more in their best interests than shutting down his bankrupt casinos.  (How a casino could go bankrupt, I'll never know.  This is one of the rare businesses that have an effective license to print money.  Or, at least, coin money by issuing chips (known as "checks" in the trade) and selling them to customers to gamble at their tables.

By the time he was done with Atlantic City, he likely was owned by Russia and its mob.  Personal bankruptcy means nothing to this cast of characters - if you owe then, you'd better pay up by whatever means possible.  Given his stupidity and his greed, he was the perfect tool to be used to advance Russia's aims in the US.  And his being elected to the presidency twice gave Russia what it needed to destroy America from within.

Right now, I have to figure out how to insulate my 401k from the destruction t be caused by his trade war. I have to find an investment which is NOT dollar denominated, and will hold its value while the stock market tanks.  Bonds are likely not the answer, as soon we will likely start to experience severe inflation caused by the debt he'll need to issue.  

By the time you read this, I expect the public will almost be ready to riot.  Will it happen in "Blue States?"  No.  It'll happen in the "Red States" when people start realizing they've been duped.  It'll be interesting to see how the clowns in DC will try to keep things under control....

Neither of us wanted to brave the cold.

 

Senator John Blutarsky.  The fictional character had more to say for him than the excuse for a man running this country now.  The current president reeks of corruption, ineptitude, narcissism, and treason; while the future Senator Blutarsky dealt a blow to corruption at his college before moving on to politics. 

But why do I reference a great bit of comedic fiction in today's post?

This weekend, I picked RQS up at the station, had dinner out, and then spent the rest of the weekend (for the most part) relaxing inside.  Although we took a drive on Saturday to pick up ingredients to cook some French Onion Soup (with a slight variant or two from Julia Child's recipe), we stayed comfortably warm inside my apartment.

What does one do when one stays inside?  For the most part, it was watch TV and read books.  I've learned that I have to avoid over-watching the news as of late, as I'm getting sick each time I see President Musk and his lackey, Trump, destroy my nation from within.  I've read the outline of what they're doing in history books, and I don't like how the story ends up.  So, I've had to remind RQS that we need to watch more videos of people clearing up the mess around abandoned houses.  (We tend to enjoy videos from Midlife Stockman, as they tend to be the most relaxing.)  

Sunday came, and I could have gone to church.  I was conscious early enough to have done so.  Instead, I decided to drift back to sleep for another 3 hours.  By the time noon came, we had a decision to make.  Do we go outside in the cold, or do I make the warm, filling and tasty onion soup.  The soup won out, of course.  So, I sliced up 6 onions, then cooked them in my new Dutch Oven.  (I bought a cheap one, just for the onion soup.  If I like cooking with one, I may buy one of a better quality later on.)  Although I burnt some of the onions while cooking and scraped out the residue before continuing with the preparation, the soup came out OK.  This was the highlight of the weekend - something which allowed us to relax, and not fall prey to the fear the snowflake wants us to feel.

Why do I mention fear?

Supposedly, the snowflake has been intimidating GOP congressmen and senators with death threats.  (This was reported in a YouTube video, where one Democratic congressperson mentioned this to their constituents.)  If this is true, and I have no evidence of this, it's another step towards authoritarianism.  We have to counter this by first remembering FDR's great words (from another context): "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."  By refusing to surrender any of our rights, and having others do the same, we can defeat this monster.  If not, we might as well remember the fictional Rick Blaine's dilemma in regard to the "Letters of Transit", and make appropriate choices.

I gor my first mystery box of the year

 

This picture does not do the contents of my latest Universal Standard Mystery Box justice. Hanging these dresses on cheap coat hangers, and not put on a body makes all of them look lifeless.  However, they feel great.  And one of them I had planned to purchase the next time that their dresses go on sale.

- - - - - -

I stumbled onto the Universal Standard brand a few years ago, and I found that their goods were of higher quality than I was finding in the plus size stores I was shopping in at the time.  Two of the three plus size stores are now gone, with their brands absorbed into the "Full Beauty" group.  This leaves me with only the Lane Bryant stores and various online merchants such as Ulla Popken where I've made my online purchases over the years.  Universal Standard is one of these online stores.

Before Covid, Universal Standard had one store in lower Manhattan.  After Covid, they had both trunk sales and on-premises sample sales, from which I have bought many garments.  But my favorite deals tended to be the Mystery Boxes, where one garment could be worth the price of the box.  In this case, all 3 dresses look like they will be keepers.

With this being said, I am hoping that they will resume sample sales in their new DUMBO location.  Yes, getting to DUMBO is much less convenient than getting to the southern part of midtown.  But it's worth it to be able to try on clothes and get steep discounts at the same time.

Thoughts about a friend and her husband

 

I had lunch with a friend the other day, and noticed that she may be a little divorced from an objective reality.  A society needs objective rules to function, even if it means that some actions automatically give the wrong person the benefit of the doubt in legal issues.

My friend has been married for over 25 years.  She has been with this man through thick and thin.  One of the trouble spots in their relationship was when he was stopped by a cop and charged with a DWI (Driving While Intoxicated).  This caused him to lose his license for 3 years, and for my friend to drive him to and from work, all while going to work herself.  At that time, she told me that she'd divorce him if he ever was stopped for DWI again.  (Most of their property is in her name alone.)  She wasn't going to judge him - if he was out drinking and needed a ride, she'd pick him up - no questions asked.

Normally, when someone gets his/her license back and that person stays clean, there is no problem.  Things go back to a new normal, and the person has learned from his/her error.  (Or, that's the way things aught to be.)  Yet, there are some lingering consequences to a DWI that most Americans don't bump into until they travel to foreign lands....

Cruising has become my main way of recharging my batteries.  This friend would love to go on an Alaskan cruise with her husband.  But there is one problem - his DWI.  Canada considers a DWI to be a felony, and will not (in general) let Americans even travel through their country if they have a DWI. So, how does this affect my friend and her husband?  As I mentioned to her, her husband would have to apply for an exemption in advance of cruising through Canada,  For most people, this would not be a problem.  They recognize that laws are laws, and each nation has a right to set its own standards for how people are expected to behave and who is admitted to that country or not. . 

Most people consider that DWI and DUI (Driving Under the Influence) standards have to be objectively applied.  If a person drives while over the blood alcohol limit, he/she is considered to cause an accident if one occurs.  (The accident would not have occurred had the DWI driver not been on the road.)  My friend objects to this, as she claims that her husband drives safely - even after a few drinks. 

Unfortunately, my friend will not be able to take the Alaskan cruise that she and her husband would like to go on.  He would refuse to apply for an exemption to be able to travel through Canada.  She supports him, as she believes that the objective standard noted above shouldn't apply to someone like her husband.  Sadly, their pride gets in the way of reality - sometimes, one has to admit that one has been wrong, in order to overcome the penalties of doing wrong.

Attending a meetup

 

It's been years since I belonged to this meetup group.  The woman who sponsored it had gotten divorced, closed her restaurant, and moved out of state. However, I try to maintain membership in some meetup groups which have mid-week get togethers.

 

This past Thursday, I was able to attend a meetup with a group whose meetings are usually on weekends.  Like some of the meetups I've attended over the past year, this one was a trivia/dining get together at The Bayou in Mt. Vernon.  Prior to Covid, I would usually be at this restaurant several times each year.  But now, this was the first time I've been here since my former cruise partner and I had the spat that ended our friendship 5 1/2 years ago.

 

Parking in Mt. Vernon is always a headache.  Luckily, I was able to find a spot one block over from the restaurant. I was the first to arrive.  So, I killed time until another person came in and recognized me.  And then, we waited for the meetup's host to arrive.  The host arrived, and we got seated before the trivia contest started.  When asked for a name for our trivia team, one lady suggested the Bayou Babes.  It was nice to be considered one of the girls.

 

By 10 pm, trivia was over with, and I was on my way home.  I'm glad I didn't cancel this meeting.....

 

I got a call the other night about DCD

 

When I "sold" my old Honda Civic to DCD, I gave him a car in almost perfect repair.  A year or two ago, I replaced the car's exhaust system, and the car was running as quiet as when the car was first in my possession.  The other night, I found out how badly DCD is treating his car, and it made me sad.  He is not responsible enough to drive a car, much less own one.

NDC (as i called her in a prior post) called me right after I put a load of clothes in the dryer. She told me the story of how DCD screwed up the exhaust system on his car, making it sound like a convention of Harley Davidson motorcycles driving on the open road.  He lost his temper, sped through her complex, hitting a speed bump and making the exhaust system worthless.  But this wasn't all. He is now homeless and lives out of the car.  The other day, he ran out of gas, leaving his car in the middle of the street.  NDC lent him her charge card to buy a gas can and to fill his car.  But he dawdled enough, that she worried that he absconded both with the car and her charge card.  She was almost ready to call the police when he returned. NDC was livid.  DCD's car was still in the middle of the street a couple of hours after DCD called her for help.

DCD had medical appointments the following day, as part of making preparations for his upcoming cancer surgery and chemotherapy.  Without a car, he won't make it to those appointments. I expect that without the right help, he will die alone in his car - if he even gets to keep the car.  As for me, I don't want the car back when he dies - it will cost me more to fix it than it is worth.  At least, he and those around him will be out of their misery.

 

 

I don't know what to make of this

 

I don't know what to make of this.  When I first saw the video on the Jimmy Kimmel Show, I thought it was one of Kimmel's jokes.  However, this image (and others) comes from an Orange Snowflake post on "Truth" Social.  It wasn't until I looked it up this morning (by the time you read this, two weeks will have passed) that I found that it was a real post.  As some people in the hood might say: "This Honky is Nuts!"

- - - - - -

As much as I'd like to see the Israeli settlers kicked out of the West Bank, and Palestinian Gazans moved there, I could only justify a temporary US occupation of the land until the Israelis and Palestinians have learned to live in peace, and then Gaza could be turned into a co-dominium (yes, there are lands jointly ruled by two countries) owned by both nations run for the betterment of both.

The Middle East needs a two-state solution to the conflict, but one where both sides can live without fearing the other.  This is possible.  Most people want to get on with their lives, and don't give a damn if "the other" also does well.  Northern Ireland has proven that an intractable problem can have a peaceful resolution - Protestants and Catholics now live in peace.  And, in a recent election, a Sinn Féin member has been elected to run Northern Ireland.  So peace is possible in the Holy Land - as long as outsiders stop stirring things up. 

Sadly, we are scheduled to have a little over 46 months of this clown being in office.  Hopefully, we can recover our nation from the rubble he's turning it in to....

 

Ever have a day that you had no energy to do anything?

 

Today, even waking up felt like an effort.  Although I might have gained consciousness around 9 am, I wasn't out of my bed until 11 am.  And the lethargy lasted throughout the day and into the night.  What caused this, I don't know.  I wasn't feeling sad.  I wasn't feeling upset.  And I wasn't in a bad mood.  I simply had no energy to get out of bed, save to eat and for bio-breaks.

By the time I had any energy, it was after dark, and I found myself with little to eat, save for a couple of frozen meals.  (There's much more to eat in the ice box, but I didn't want to take the time to thaw anything out, or put things on the stove to be cooked.)  If I had showered and dressed, I'd have gone to Burger King for Whopper Wednesday - I was in the mood for burgers, and I didn't even have any frozen White Castle sliders available. 

Late in the afternoon, I sat down on my sofa and fell asleep again, only becoming semi-conscious when a documentary about the construction and first sailing of one of the cruise ships I've been on.  After nuking and eating a couple of these frozen dishes, I became fully awake - around 9 pm.  AARGH!  Could today's lethargy be caused by my blood sugar level?  I think I'll have to start testing this again when I notice some symptoms when waking up.

So what should I do with the rest of my evening?  I think I'll end up folding some laundry, and get ready to go back to bed again.... 

I don't know about you, but it's time to get those "letters of transit" ready.

 

As I write this, the Orange Snowflake's DOJ refused to sign an arrest warrant against Rep. Cory Mills for an alleged assault. It seems like the DOJ is now thoroughly politicized, so that justice is being denied to people based on their alleged assailant's political party.  Justice is now transactional, and far from blind.

What does this mean for the transgender community?

I am lucky to be able to go stealth and leave this country.  I am working on getting a second passport, and possibly a third one as well.  But what about the rest of us?  The minute the economy sours, I expect that the snowflake will try to distract us from the damage he is causing to this country.  Since he has no current justification to round up transgender people, he has started to go after the illegal aliens (I won't call them "undocumented immigrants", no matter how I feel about letting more of them in to the US to do the work native born Americans won't do.) For the most part, his record of expelling these people is far from what he promised before the election.  So, he has a ready made excuse to restrict the freedoms of all Americans to facilitate his crackdown on those at the margins of society.

But what's next?

The snowflake has announced a "Golden Visa" program that would lead to citizenship.  Instead of upper middle class investors plunking down $100k-$200k in fees, plus another $800k-$1m to get a visa, he plans on selling one for $5m.  I guess he's trying to attract the Russian oligarchs he has become indebted to over the years.  

Yet, this is not the worst idea he has had.  He has changed our foreign policy to favor Russia, and refuses to acknowledge that Russia is the aggressor in the Ukraine war.  At least, the French president had the cajones to keep correcting the snowflake as he spouted out lies in a recent presser.  Now, the snowflake is making sure that the reporter pool excludes all who would ask him serious questions.  Hopefully, the foreign press will do the job ours won't do and force him into uncomfortable positions where the truth is spoken and he looks like an ass for defending his lies.

Am I saying that we should run away?  Far from it.  Some of us will have to lay low and hope for the best.  Others will be able to leave this country, and move to places where the rights of transgenders are respected.  Sadly, this will leave a large number of people who are vulnerable to this monster who is in office right now.  

Considering that Elon Musk reportedly told the snowflake that he would not support the snowflake unless Vance was made Vice President, one has to wonder - Who is really in charge of the government and the snowflake's cult?  The fact that the snowflake went after us first makes a lot of sense, considering that Musk has a transgender daughter and no relationship with her.  Could the snowflake merely be a puppet of Musk, as Musk can't ever be president by law?  Inquiring minds want to know.
 

Last night, I had a disagreement with my brother.

 

My brother and I had a stiff disagreement last night, and it got me to thinking that we should sell the rental property we jointly own.  He is overworked, over-tasked, and overwhelmed.  And all I was asking him to do was to take care of the financials for the property, so that I can get my taxes done by April 15th.  Today, he called to apologize for getting upset, and I gracefully accepted the apology.  (I won't tell him that he triggered my emotional walls to go up and prepare for the absolute worst to happen.)

- - - - - - 

We are in the process of getting the house ready for another rental.  Recently, we were told that we need a new hot water installed.  This will cost about $3,000 or so, excluding permits. When the permits were filed for, we encountered another problem - our dad had converted the house from oil to gas heat.  But the paperwork wasn't marked as complete in the town offices, and we have more headaches because of things that happened years ago.

 

The work was done, but it appears that the final inspection wasn't taken care of.  So, my brother is contacting the plumbing firm that took care of the boiler install years ago, and we hope to get this resolved without spending too much money.  Once this is done, the new permit for the hot water heater could be issued, and we could finally be done with some of the work that's needed for the house.

- - - - - -

Looking at work we need to take care of , I feel that we need to replace windows in the basement, followed by installing a half-bath in the basement.  This way, we can up the rent and recover what we put into the house this year.

Right now, I have the money in my bank accounts to fund the work on my own if needed.  But that's not how things work.  My brother has to find ways of financing his home maintenance as well as financing his share of this house's maintenance.  This makes me glad that I only have to worry about my co-op board responsibilities, leaving general financing issues to a party of others.

I'm glad that I never bought a townhouse or detached home....

 

 

 

 

Sometimes, it's too much of a bother to present as Marian (a short post)

 

Yesterday, we spent some time straightening out the apartment.  One of the things i did was to find a "new" blanket in my cedar chest and put it on my bed, along with a "new" mattress pad.  This meant that I'll have to restock with new ones later on - especially when the "new" blanket has been sitting in the chest for years, and is suffering from a form of dry rot (found this morning).

But this is not what I intended to talk about today....

I wasn't in the mood to spend the time to shave and apply makeup just to go to Walmart.  If I were a cisgender female, this wouldn't be an issue for me.  However, I am trans, and do not look that much like a female without makeup.  So, I figured it was time for Mario to make an appearance.

Walmart is only 15 minutes from my place.  Both RQS and I were able to get showered and dressed quickly, so that we could make it to Walmart and to the local grocery store before 7:30 pm.  (We were thinking of doing some laundry when the machines weren't busy.)  I was glad not to make myself up, as I would have hated to clean off the makeup after 2 hours out of the house.

Did we get around to doing laundry?  No.  But we did get out of the house for a couple of hours.

My paperwork is almost ready

 

As I've mentioned before, I am in the process of getting a second passport.  It's not just because I want to reconnect with the nation of my grandmother's birth, but it's also due to politics in the USA.

- - - - - - 

I've said many times that the Orange Snowflake is a threat to us all.  First, he has targeted transgenders.  Now, he's going after many of the Federal workers which help keep this nation running smoothly.  As I like to describe it, he's on his 2025 revenge tour for his loss in 2020.  He is not as popular as he once was, and the polling over the past few weeks shows a precipitous drop in public approval.  

So what does this mean?

If history is my guide, he will use political persecution as a means of distracting the public from the greater evil he is trying to hide.  As for me, I intend to have an exit plan, just in case things get much worse than they are now.

Right now, I am following this guide from one of the nations that I qualify for overseas birth citizenship:

Documents relating to the applicant (unless stated, originals must be submitted):

• Completed, signed and witnessed application form (see list of witnesses at 1 above)
• Original civil birth certificate (showing parental details)
• Original civil marriage certificate (if applicable) OR other change of name document (if applicable)
• Photocopy of current state-issued photographic ID document (i.e. passport, drivers licence, national identity card) certified as a true copy of the original by application form witness
• 2 separate original proofs of address
• 4 colour photographs (2 of which to be witnessed) – do not attach these to the application form
• Documents relating to the xxxxx Citizen parent (unless stated, originals must be submitted):

Original civil birth certificate of xxxxx Citizen parent (showing parental details)

• Original civil marriage certificate of xxxxx Citizen parent (if applicable) OR other change of name document (if applicable)
• Photocopy of current state-issued photographic ID document (i.e. passport, drivers license, national identity card) certified as a true copy of the original by a professional from the list of witnesses OR original civil death certificate (if applicable)
• Documents relating to the grandparent born in xxxxx (unless stated, originals must be submitted):

Original civil birth certificate of xxxxx born grandparent (showing parental details)

Original civil marriage certificate of xxxxx born grandparent (if applicable) OR other change of name document (if applicable)

Photocopy of current state-issued photographic ID document (i.e. passport, drivers licence, national identity card) certified as a true copy of the original by a professional from the list of witnesses

OR

Original civil death certificate (if applicable)

 

All I need to do right now is get a copy of my grandmother's death certificate, get my proofs of address, pay my application fee, get the application form notarized, and send it in.   Right now, they are processing applications sent in during November.  So if all goes right, I'll be sending in my paperwork in March and getting my second passport around my birthday.  It won't be as dramatic as getting the Letters of Transit in the movie, Casablanca.  But it will have just as good a result for me, if things go very sour here....

I'm dying to ask this person a question

 

No, I am not talking about asking this character any questions.   He is the one making war against us transgender people.  However, I know someone who supported him once, and I would love to find out how she's doing, and what this war means to her....

- - - - - -

A while back, I met this acquaintance in Brooklyn.  Although we've met several times before, this was the first time in years that I've been to Downtown Brooklyn.  It was cold (like today) and it was dark.  But it was before the 2024 election, and this person was a supporter of the Orange Snowflake - even though she is a post-op trans-woman.

 

Neither of us had problems being able to talk with someone with different views.  Yet, I always wondered what would happen to trans folk, if the Snowflake was elected - especially, knowing the radical Christianist Nationalists he owes big time for their votes.  Within a few days of the election, we had our answer - the Snowflake has tried to erase transgenders from society, even having the gall to take the T off of the LGBT at Stonewall National Historic Site.

I do not know in which state my acquaintance was born, but I have a strong feeling that it will be hard for her to renew her passport when the time comes.  How will she feel that she is under attack from the very man she supported for president?  Will this be the first of many things that could be denied her because she is caught in the middle of a culture war?

Sooner or later, I will reach out to her and try to get together.  Right now, I sent a text message saying hello.  It's hard to hate people without reason, and most GOP'ers have a sense of ethics.  Sadly, as 1930's history has proven, it is easy for some people to develop a cult and cause people to ignore their own inner compasses for the sake of group loyalty and out of fear of being persecuted.

How would you feel in her size-13W shoes?

How do you talk to a friend named Maria....

 

I've known my friend Maria for almost as long as I've lived in my apartment.  We worked together near the beginning of our careers, and we've kept in contact with each other through the loss of my wife, her divorce, and the loss of her second husband.  Neither of us has been available when the other has been free, and that's a plus for a good friendship.  I'm probably the only person who can say that she slept in my bed every night for several months, and there was nothing immoral about it.  (I lent her a folding cot with thick mattress, as her ex-husband stole all of the bedroom furniture in the house.  My 'bed' was over 35 miles away when she slept in it.)

Maria knows me both as Mario and as Marian, and is comfortable with me in both presentations.  She leans to the right politically, while I lean to the left.  And yet, she finds what is going on in DC these days very disturbing.  So, when I started discussing politics, she didn't challenge me on the facts - she knew that the Orange Snowflake is up to no good.

The real reason for us getting together was to have lunch - we haven't been able to do so in months.  The secondary reason was to have some paperwork notarized.  Over lunch, I found out that her two grand-kids are living at home again, and that the eldest has already entered puberty.  (If I ever go through that experience again, it will be because of estrogen, not testosterone, like my first puberty.  But I digress.)  The younger of the two grand-kids is still cute.  I can only imagine what it will be like when this child enters puberty.  As you can guess, when a grandmother is raising her grandchildren, it takes a lot of energy out of a person, leaving little left for her volunteer work and for her social life.

Lunch lasted over 2 hours, and at the end, she notarized some of the documents I'll need to apply for my second passport.  And then, we left Cold Spring to go our separate ways....

- - - - - -

I had no energy when I got home, and it was all I could to so that 2 loads of laundry could get done.  By the time it was done, I had decided to blow off game night for a change.  I never do this.  But with RQS coming up tomorrow, I wanted to be ready for her arrival in the afternoon.

Later in the evening, RQS and I got into a long discussion about my brother, the family homestead, and interactions with  both friends and family.  I mentioned my friend Nan from the AOL Widows/Widowers chat room (long disbanded) and a wish to visit her in the "North Country"  RQS was up for it (she wanted some new photo opportunities), so I sent a DM to Nan to see if it would be OK.  Hopefully, she will be up for visitors, as I know that people in their 80's don't have a lot of life in front of them....

Waiting for a washer/dryer set.

 

This was the day I dreaded - a morning rush to get RQS to her pottery class, followed by a lot of waiting in a "cold" house for a washer and dryer to be delivered and installed.

- - - - - -

RQS and I set our alarms to get us up and moving at the ungodly hour (for us) of 8 am.  I was the first one in the shower, and I was ready to go out by 9 am.  However, we didn't need to be at the pottery studio until 10 am.  So that gave us 30 minutes to kill.

I was glad to be able to drive RQS to the studio - I'd have never found it on my own without Google Maps.  But I did take the slow route to Long Island afterwards, as I had a lot of time to kill.  When I arrived in my old neighborhood, I started shopping for a doorbell. Although I saw one in the local hardware store, the price wasn't as good as I wanted for an inexpensive piece of Chinese crap.  (I wanted something inexpensive, but didn't have a cheap look or feel to it.)  So, I'll bring up the idea with my brother that we should buy something a little bit better when the place is ready to be rented out.

Arriving at the old homestead at 11:30, I set things up and began my wait.  This was not going to be a day where being out as Marian would be practical, especially with the possibility that my brother may stop by if installation runs late.  Fortunately, we had a table and chair available for me, and I proceeded to make myself at home for a while.

 

The delivery truck came a little bit before 2 pm, and then the "fun" began.  It was interesting to see how 2 people could "comfortably" carry a washer and a dryer up and down steps without a hand truck, then install the appliances in the basement.  Within 30 minutes, everything was set up, and I was ready to go home.

Next, I'll have to find some time to be around when the hot water heater is installed....

I didn't originally plan to be at RQS's place today (a short post)

 

Normally, I might try to put more effort into a topic for a post.  Today is very different.  We have a washer/dryer set being delivered to the family homestead, and I have to be around the house tomorrow waiting for the delivery.  Given that I didn't want to risk being late for the delivery, I decided to drive RQS home and stay at her place for the night.

- - - - - -

I would usually drop RQS off at the station on Mondays, and I would have the rest of the week to myself.  Not this week.  I packed up minimal supplies (my CPAP machine, a change of clothes, and the computer I'm writing this post on) and drove to RQS's place.  We arrived around 2 pm, and I easily found a spot within eyesight of her building's front door.

Given the frigid weather outside, neither of us wanted to go out for dinner.  So, it was Chinese delivery.  What Chippies are to the UK, "Chinese" joints are to the US - ubiquitous in almost every town.  None of them serve the exact same food, as their offerings are not as standardized as a McDonald's.  But they will serve a typical set of food selections that will fill you up for at least 59 minutes.  (As the old canard goes: Eat Chinese food, and in 60 minutes, you'll be hungry again.)

For the most part, it was a nothing-burger of a day.  Tomorrow, on the other hand, will be a rush, followed up by a lot of waiting.