I'll have what they're having - but should I?

It's been a long time since I've been to Katz's deli.  Almost everything they serve there is scrumptious. Too bad that the place is so far away for me.  It's been ages since I've had a really good pastrami sandwich, and I could go for one again.

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The older I get, the more I find that the less people know what they are talking about.  Recently, I met with a financial planner - and she gave me advice appropriate for a person with 10x my assets.  (I'm not knocking her.  But she overlooked one key thing, and that bothered me.)  Other people make the mistake of using anecdotal evidence instead of empirical evidence to form their opinions.  This wouldn't be so bad, save that most people want to reinforce their views of the world and not challenge them.  Of course, we have the conspiracy theorists who have a desperate need to "know" things that others don't know, so that they can share their "prophesies" to people who will listen.

Before you think that I'm ranting about people as a whole, I include myself in the group who feels they know more than they do.  For example, I didn't know how many people are caught crossing the border from Mexico this past year, nor did I know what is happening to them after apprehension by "La Migra".  We are all influenced by the media we watch (or do not watch), and I have been mostly influenced by media that leans towards the left.  Others are influenced by right leaning media, believing that their opinion issuers are telling the truth. Given what we now about January 6, 2001 and the Trump inspired insurrection, people like Hannity were trying to reach Trump to call off his rioters, while saying that it was a "peaceful protest" on their shows.  It's hard to know what resembles truth anymore without knowing the biases of the people delivering both news and opinions.

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Why am I concerned about all of this?

Recently, a school district has banned Maus, the graphic novel about the holocaust by Art Spiegelman. Although I have not read the book, I strongly support the need for youngsters to read it, so that they have an idea of how to understand what went on in the 1930's.  In itself, I'm concerned about the "right's" attempt to sanitize history for its ends.  But I'm even more shocked when someone posted a picture of Nazi book burning, noting that these books came from the Institute for Sexology. Seems like Fascists of any era like to deny people from the LGBTIQ communities their rights to even exist - something that should worry us all.

The Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute of Sexology) was way ahead of its time.  Sadly, the challenges it faced are the same issues we face today - people who need simplistic explanation for what's wrong in their lives will sacrifice the lives of others for a false certainty of "truth".  Like the Jews and their millennia of  being dispersed, Transgender people have a lot to worry about when persecution takes place.  It is up to us to prepare for a future where we are at great risk.  And in this case, I will not have what they're having - I will have an objective truth....

 

The Snow Cometh - and Goeth

 

The above image was taken after a snowfall that took place several years ago.  The snowfall we're expecting tomorrow (as I write this) could be minimal or be a blizzard.  Either way, I'm placing my bets on us getting between 4" and 9" of the white stuff by nightfall tomorrow. If I were to fully transition, you'd see me out shoveling snow in an outfit similar to what I'll be wearing as a male: warm, layered clothing with a hat and gloves.  And this brings up an important point.  Transition is not a cure all.  It only helps to deal with the many issues we suffer in regard to our gender.

I am not looking forward to cleaning the snow from around my car (and off my car) when the snow stops. My car is usually parked in a spot where I am required to move it when the plows come.  This usually means that I must get out of my comfy jammies and then work up a sweat shoveling snow. This is a task that I relish less and less each coming year. And as I get older, this task will take an ever increasing toll on me.

However, the snow relieved me of a social obligation that I allowed myself to get into.  I don't mind seeing FH now and then, but I'm not always in the mood to see her when she wants.  I remember her comparing herself with MWL, trying to look as she (FH) would be the better recipient of my time. Neither of these women would be good mates for me.  But they both would be good activity partners now and then.

Right now, I'm focusing on CWS and RQS.  Both women are good ladies, but they each have things that could turn out to be deal breakers. And if it weren't for the snow, I'd be able to see at least one of them over the weekend.  Instead, I'll have to try to keep in contact with them by phone.  I just wonder how each will react when I eventually tell them about my bi-gendered nature....

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The next morning/afternoon....

When I finally woke up (I couldn't get to sleep until 4 am or so), I looked out my window and the snow didn't look so bad.  Although I have to get dressed to clear off the car, it looks like I will not need to do much work to get my spot cleared out.

The weekend comes awfully quickly....

 

As I write this, they are predicting either 1"-3" of snow to 9"12" of snow.  No, I shouldn't have written this forecast as 1"-12" of snow, as they do not know which way the storm will track.  If it tracks away from the coast, we'll get 1"-3" of the white stuff on the ground.  If it tracks toward the coastline, we'll get the 9"-12" that will cause a lot of problems on Eastern Long Island.

In some ways, this storm will be a blessing to me.  Although I will not be able to see CWS or RQS, I will not be able to see FH as well, freeing me up to get back to work on cleaning up my apartment.  It will also give me the opportunity to sleep later than usual, and finally make a decision on whether I should stay at my present job, or move on with my life.

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A while back, I mentioned my friend WDS.  Well, he's recovering from an ailment he had last year, and is slowly regaining facilities that he had before his ailment struck him.  Today, I wrote him, and he was up to me visiting him - but I would need to stay elsewhere.  Neither of the two extra rooms in the house he rents is furnished.  And that's OK with me, as I'd have my feminine wardrobe with me so I could see YGM.

WDS asked me about what has been going on in my life, and the impression I get from him is that leaving my job would be no great risk for me.  He may be right.  So I plan to write to an out of state headhunter over the weekend, and see if they have remote work available.  If so, I could go back into my old line of work, and never need to leave the house to get a job done.  Wish me luck....

It's almost time for me to go - a quick post

 

This is a quick post....

I think it'll soon be time for me to leave my job.  The only question will be if it is on my steam or theirs.  The long and short of it is that my allergy is disruptive.  In a normal age, no one would care.  But in the age of Covid, any sneeze is suspect.

Assuming I leave, it'll be nice to be able to sleep late again.

Persistance in memory

 

Many of us have phone numbers in our heads that we will never forget. A number like 212-PE6-5000 will never be forgotten, as this was the oldest continually used business number in New York City.  In my case, other numbers often come to mind, such as the phone number of the church I attended as a child. Recently, a number from the past started coming up, and I couldn't be sure of why I knew the number.  So I did a reverse lookup on the number, and I found that it was the phone number used by the company my wife used to work for - over a quarter of a century ago.  Even though the firm has moved out of its original area code region, they have kept this number so that long standing customers could easily reach them in their "new" digs.

This got me to thinking: What causes us to retrieve fragments of memories from "archival storage" and bring them into "working storage", and yet not be usable for much?  In my case, I think it was an unplanned visit to a restaurant with my late wife's name that triggered recall of her former corporation's phone number.  This number was the one I'd call during lunch hours, as it was the only one that would be answered by a human in this period. So, combined with a "successful" first date with a new lady, my subconscious mind may have been trying to signal its comfort with the new lady.  Only a good shrink can say for sure....

There are so many things we file away in our memories, never (or very rarely) to be used again. For example, the phone number of the church I once attended brings back memories of their property before a medical office building was constructed on their former parking lot.  My wife's corporate number brings back memories of her and that of the buildings that made up the factory where she worked.  (She was part of office administration, but had to deal with all the headaches of NOT being part of the family that ran the business.)  Yet, not all phone numbers are easily retrievable for me.  For example, I can't remember any of the office numbers I used at work.  Yet, I can easily recall the number of my tax preparer, a number which I would only use once or twice each year.

So what makes some memories retrievable and what prevents them from being retrievable.  In my case, I think it is the importance the people connected to that number mean to me.  I can not remember the land line number of my late wife's old apartment, as she moved into my place shortly after we met. Yet, I can remember her office number, as I was calling that number once or twice each day while she was at work.  In the case of the church's phone number, I could use it to reach my mom while she worked at the church.

Sadly, I think that 212-PE6-5000 will never be as useful as it was in its heyday.  As for the other numbers, all they do is bring back old memories.

Catching up on little things

 

This is a wonderful work of stained glass from the Tiffany studio.  It's a damned shame that there is little demand for art like this today.  Other than viewing the Temple of Dendur, this one work made my day at the museum. It was been a long time since I've been to the Met, and even longer since I was there as Mario.  

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But I'm not in the mood to rehash yesterday's trip into NYC.  Instead, I'm looking to catch up on little things that I may have missed over the past few posts.

1. As much as I think CWS's complications may get in the way of us having a serious relationship, she surprised me today with one her responses - that she should have time to get together on weekends soon. (I won't go into details here, but it was a pleasant surprise.)

2. Today, I finally sent the card to FCP's son and daughter in law, saying Congratulations for a happy event that recently happened in their family.  In a week, FCP should receive an e-card to say "Congratulations!" as well.  There is one more happy event to come, and after that, I'll be done with that chapter of life.  At least, her son doesn't hold the grudge she holds.

3. Occasionally, I've joked with the ex-girlfriend in regard to her meetups.  After all the fighting we once did in regard to meetups in the Hudson Valley, I've had a little fun making jokes when I find out she has attended meetups in Westchester (and points South). One of my better jokes say, that at her rate, she'll be attending Florida based meetups soon.  (No, I'm not going to say more about this.)

4. I'm still dealing with NCL in regard to properly crediting my Latitudes points for my recent cruise. One day, I may write a full post in regard to their web site, and with their customer service areas, as their site is not the most friendly web site around.

5. Tax filing data still keeps coming to me.  Today, it was the information for my shares in the co-op. Tomorrow, who knows?  But everything should be available by month end.  Like last year (and the year before), I'll be emailing paperwork to my accountant.  Like a good doctor, a good tax pro is hard to find, and one switches from old to new very reluctantly.  And I hope not to switch for a while yet....

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As I said - these are all little things.  There are big things to come....

 

 

PS:  The NCL issue was resolved, but not the way I wanted it.  The offer was not valid for "Sailaway" cabins.   At least, I finally found the right department to which I should send an inquiry.

I went to temple today, and I'm not even Jewish

 

I made a joke with several of my friends that it's been a couple of years since I've been to temple, so I decided to go today.  What I included in the message was a picture of the Temple of Dendur at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met).

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Earlier this week, I made arrangements to meet RQS at the Met for an afternoon of wandering around the museum.  This was going to be a fun day, as she hadn't been to the Met in years, and I hadn't visited since before the pandemic.  And one could easily spot some of the changes made at the Met if one had visited it before, such as the elimination of a public dining area.  More importantly, if an exhibit required that people enter a small space, that space was closed off to prevent people from contaminating each other within a small space.  

After 3 hours at the museum, we were both getting tired of walking around the museum, so off we went to the Nom Wah Tea Parlor.  This was my first time back there in 2 years, and the place felt a little bit more airy - as if a table or two had been removed.  So we sat down and enjoyed a nice Dim Sum dinner, exposing RQS to new tastes in Chinese food.  And all too soon, it was time to leave.

This was a nice day out, but I'm a little leery about telling her about my bi-gendered nature.  Yet, it's something I'll have to do soon.  

Keep your fingers crossed.