Lots to do, but doing little - another short entry.

 

Although the above picture has nothing to do with this entry, I like how the curtain looked in the theater in which it hangs, and wanted a chance to post this picture of the curtain....

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It may be the cold weather outside, it may be the work I do during the week, and it may be a need to recharge by doing nothing.  But by the time Saturday comes around, I feel drained and need to rest. So I'm glad that I didn't rush to hang out with FH for the day.

By the time I got out of bed, it was about 11 am.  And I had a choice to make.  Did I want to go out as Marian?  Or, did I want to switch over to Mario mode for the rest of the weekend?  Since I stalled by watching YouTube.videos on the Disney corporation, its theme parks, and Jim Henson productions, it took me a while to get showered, get dressed, go to the supermarket, and finally do some laundry. 

One thing that I know helps a lot is COFFEE.  Normally, when I get up in the morning, I try to drink at least 2 cups of coffee before starting work.  Today, I didn't start having any energy until I had my first cup - around 4 pm.  If it weren't for that, I never would have accomplished anything today AND I'd be in a rush to get home on Sunday, to be ready for work on Monday....

As I noted on top, I didn't have much to say today.   See you tomorrow.

I just have no energy anymore

 

I have so many things to take care of these days, but I have no energy to do them.  I wonder if it is my not getting enough sleep, or something else.

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Throughout the day, I was doing whatever I could to stay awake.  I was finding that my body wasn't liking the routine of sitting at my workstation for hours at a time.  So, 4:30 didn't come quick enough for me (and the rest of the people at the office). But I was still tired after I got home, and ended up napping a little after cooking a couple of hamburgers for dinner.

While this was going on, I was supposed to call CWS to chat and figure out when the next time was that we could get together.  That didn't happen.  Additionally, FH was pestering about getting together.  She hadn't seen me in a while, and I think she was trying to get a ride for some shopping she wanted to do.  (After making noises a couple of weeks ago about the Omicron variant making NYC too dangerous to visit, she wanted to walk around a mall on Long Island.)  I mentioned Omicron, and suggested just dinner somewhere, or meeting next week.  And she countered with a grocery shopping expedition at Trader Joe's.  She was a little upset that I didn't jump at seeing her, but I needed a day to myself to recharge - and that was my plan for the first day of a weekend.

Dealing with women was not the only thing I had to do.  I still need to call NCL in regard to missing Latitude Point credits.  I still want to contact a woman from OK Cupid who is not a match for me, but who could be a great friend.  (We've chatted before, but cultural issues would make romance impossible.)  Then, I still have tickets to a Darlene Love concert to buy.  None of the many things I wanted to accomplish after work got done.  And I have to deal with Laundry tomorrow.  AARGH!

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Although I can easily switch between Mario and Marian modes these days, I often wish I could stay in Marian mode longer than I do.  But then, I'd never be able to date.  I'm willing to make this compromise in order to have a chance at romance. And, I'm just as willing to split my time in each mode, so that I can have romance.  

The big question is: How much energy do I have left in life?

I chatted with a financial advisor, and it wasn't a good fit.

 

People who read my former blog may remember my favorite "Bedspread."  This display of cash is what my former girlfriend won on one of her casino visits.  But why do I show this picture again?  Well, I chatted with a financial advisor, and we weren't on the same track.

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I'm not knocking what this advisor proposed.  My ideas of what I want to do with my money after my demise are not yet firmed up.  Do I want to leave the bulk of my assets to a charitable trust (and associated charity) yet to be set up?  Or, do I want to leave the bulk of my assets to my niece and nephew?

This is not the place to discuss details of my financial situation.  But I will say that I have enough money to retire comfortably - if I'm careful with my money.  In addition to my 401(k) which has to be tapped by the time I'm 72, I am already drawing on a pension, and I hope to inherit some money in the future.  (I don't count on that inheritance, and would be just as happy if what was left to my brother and I were only good memories of my benefactor.)  

But I digress....

I have a idea of setting up a scholarship fund which couldn't be touched for 50-70 years.  In that time, money should double 5-7 times.  If the latter, my original bequest to the fund should be worth 128 times what it is today.  (Let's ignore inflation for a moment.)  The problem - who would want to manage a trust for 50-70 years without tapping into its funds?  How do I provide for the transfer of control, so that trustees have guidance to select who would replace them over the "compounding years" over this trust? With the amount of money this scholarship trust could generate, I could help lift a small island nation out of poverty by providing the skill sets they might need to bring high skill jobs to that nation.

I want to provide for my brother's kids.  My niece is starting to do well.  But my nephew has not yet gotten into the most productive years of his career.  How much money do I want to leave to the "kids?" This is another question that needs to be answered.

Until I've figured this stuff out, I may just have to stand pat and do almost nothing for a while....

Global Entry / Pre Check

 

A while back, I posted an entry which commented on a couple of options I was considering for a Hawaii cruise, and then mentioning my choice of Global Entry for TSA Trusted Traveler status.  Well, I dropped the hammer on a deal, and I should be saying "Aloha" to Hawaii sometime within the next 12-14 months.  Additionally, I have started the process of getting my Trusted Traveler number, so that I can get past airport security with as few hassles as possibles.  And therein lies a problem for many that I wish our government would resolve.

TSA Pre Check provides 99.9% of the benefits I would want when going to the airport.  Given that most of my airport experiences will be domestic in nature, I could save $15 by using this option.  Since this program is "designed" to pay for itself, there are many more places one can perform the in-person interview than available for Global entry.  Because of its supposed self funding, Pre Check interviews didn't stop during government shutdowns.   However, Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program that is not meant to be self funding, its interviews were halted during government shutdowns. Yet, this is not the big problem I have.  They do not have enough available interview slots to handle the demand for this variant of Trusted Traveler certification.

In the above image, I have captured a list of Global Entry interview sites that have at least one slot open between January 15, 2022 through June 30, 2022.  Doesn't seem like much....  If the government had been smart, it would have treated Global Entry in the same way as it does Pre Check.  If anything, it would have been wise to combine the two programs, and do what is necessary to process as many people as possible, collect as much money as possible, and benefit both domestic and international travelers as much as possible.  Instead, I had to wait until June for an appointment at Newark airport.

If I change the filter to select sites that have at least 2 slots open, the list shrinks even further.  No wonder why people are upset at government. 

At least, I now have an appointment.  And I expect that I'll be taking a day off for this interview.  It could be much worse - it could be jury duty in Downtown Manhattan during the summer....

 

 

 

PS: They opened up a month's worth of extra appointment slots in NYC. (See above.)  So now, I have an earlier appointment (in May) at a place easier for me to get to (Bowling Green).

PPS: A spot opened up for 9:00 am this morning at JFK.  If it weren't for the snow, I might have gone for it.

My refrigerator overfloweth

 

One of the problems in living alone is that it's hard to get enough variety AND small enough quantities of food at a reasonable price.  Either one has to over stuff a refrigerator, or pay too much for the small quantities one needs.  For example, I only need a tiny bit of celery to make a decent tuna salad for sandwiches.  Yet, I always end up wasting food by buying too much to feed only one person.  

What makes things worse is that it's so hard to plan my meals.  I'm lucky that I can buy my lunches at the local supermarket and heat them up in a microwave oven.  But this is not the healthiest thing to do, as I will always end up eating more than I should.  In certain ways, this is a problem not unique to single people.  Most of us are on the go, and don't have the time to do any serious meal planning.  Given that my mother was a horrible cook, she was not the person from whom to learn either cooking or meal planning.  This is where I wish they gave "Home Economics" to both boys and girls when I was of school age.

Over time, I may get the hang of things.  But the one thing I am grateful for is the rotisserie chicken found at many supermarkets and warehouse clubs.  A whole chicken can easily be made into 3-4 meals. And the trick is making at least one of those meals a lunch.  Chicken Salad sandwiches are always a good way to use an "old" chicken.  And I've done this more than enough times over the years.

Well...  Enough for now.   The pork tenderloin that's been in the freezer (and just thawed out) is finally ready to eat.  It's enough meat for two people, but I can always use it tomorrow night - as long as I'm not cooking anything else....

I'll never eat at this diner again.

 

This is what a typical plate of Fish & Chips looks like.  Usually, the fish is a battered fillet of cod deep fried with French fries on the side.  It could be a full fillet, or "longish" pieces of the fillet.  Either way, the taste of the fish should be mild.

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But first....

I hadn't been out of the house since Friday night.  And I knew I had to go out to shop for groceries, so I could have lunches for the week.  So it was into the shower, where I decided to go out as Marian - first to a diner for a bite to eat, and then to the supermarket to pick up food.  

When I arrived at the diner, I noticed that it was relatively empty.  Gone were the (pre-covid) usual group of baked goods on display.  The menu no longer had items which required the work of a full kitchen staff.  Instead, it was limited to things that even a beginning short order cook could prepare.  Too bad that I didn't choose a simple burger and fries.  From what I could tell, they had run out of cod, and substituted another fish in its place.  And it didn't fit my idea of what fish and chips was supposed to be. So, I made the decision to avoid this place for a while, and see what happens when the pandemic ends.

After dinner, I decided to go to Stew Leonard's to pick up food.  Luckily, this time I had my recycled bags with me - and I was able to get in and out of the place quickly.  There's not much to say about a visit to Stew's, save that I usually spend too much there.

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As you can see, this was a weekend where I accomplished nothing.  And nothing was good enough for me.  Hopefully, I'll have more energy next weekend, as there are many things I need to do....

A visit to the Deli

 

Every morning that I go to work, I have a standing order at a deli I frequent.  It's a simple Bacon & Egg sandwich with a touch of salt and pepper.  And this deli does it well.  So I've never had a complaint about the place, save that its small size cannot handle the volume of customers it receives in the morning rush. However, this post is not about the deli (which is doing everything right).  Instead, it's about one person who came to the deli one day, and how a situation was handled.

As I write this entry, Westchester county expects that people will be masked up in public places.  The deli again has a sign up (since the beginning of Omicron) reminding people that masks are required upon entry to the store. I am usually grabbing a face mask out of my handbag as I approach the front door, and am greeted by staff - all wearing face masks.  Everyone in the place (including police officers from headquarters down the block) are properly masked. So it struck me funny when one woman entered the place.

My first reaction was, "I'll bet that this woman voted for Trump."  She wasn't wearing her mask, and the people behind the counter politely asked her to wear her mask.  This woman took the mask out of her handbag, and held it to her face - a totally useless and worthless gesture, as that would not protect us from virus particles that may come out in her breath.  She continued to hold it there, placing her order, then complaining about needing to wear her mask.  Rather than cause an incident (the policeman having gone back on duty, and no longer on site to help), this woman's order was rushed so that she could be out of the store as quickly as possible.

I am bothered by people who think that they have more rights than others.  There is a selfishness in these people that appalls me.  Getting fully vaccinated and boosted protects me.  But it protects others as well.  And it has been free to me.  Why should it bother me to take 30 minutes out of my life for each of 3 vaccinations, and to wear face masks to prevent the spread of disease?  Young men used to be drafted for military service, and expected to die for their country without enjoying the benefits of living an adult life here.  Is masking up, getting vaxxed and boosted to much to ask of our citizens?  Sadly, for some people, it is too much.  So sad....