Almost an incident in NYC

 

The other day, when RQS and I were in the city, I noticed a fellow totally lost due to no circumstance of his own control.  I noticed that he was about to walk into traffic in the middle of the street, and no one was there to prevent that.  If the man were sighted, this would not have been an issue as he would have been able to see potential oncoming traffic and act accordingly. But being blind, he had no idea of which direction he was heading, no sense of where the intersection was, and no way to get to his destination without help.  Unlike many New Yorkers, I quickly got him out of oncoming traffic, and helped steer him in the right direction.  (No, I was not going to walk him to his destination several blocks away - RQS and I were in the mood for Tipsy Scoop.  But we did point him in the right direction and wished him the best.)  

This almost incident got me thinking about how hard it must be for a handicapped person to get around NYC safely without assistance.  For example, the subway system does not have any protection to insure that a person doesn't fall off a platform by accident (or by malicious intent).  Many of the paths inside the subway system are totally confusing to a sighted person, and without sight, impossible to navigate. Even with sight, a wheelchair bound person can have major problems - especially if a single elevator in an "Accessable" subway station fails.  That person may not be able to make it in or out of the subway, making it impossible to reach a destination.

Currently, the NYC Subway operates with an exception to the Americans with Disabilities act - they only have to retrofit stations for accessibility when the station is renovated.  And I don't have a problem with that.  The MTA couldn't afford the money, nor the headaches, of making every station ADA compliant.  To really make the system accessible, more than one elevator or ramp for each platform or mezzanine would be installed for redundancy purposes, so that a failure with one would not prevent a handicapped person from using the station.  But this only helps the sighted.  What about the deaf and blind? To make things worse, there are some stations which can not be retrofitted, no matted what the cost.  Some of the worst of these stations are in Lower Manhattan - the Wall Street station platform of the 7th Avenue line is too narrow for any renovation.  What can be done there?

It's gotten so bad, that it starts to make sense to replace the existing underground network with elevated lines using modern designs.  But I know that will not happen - at least not in my lifetime.. 

Cleaning up the mess

 

If you think this mess in my bedroom is bad, you should have seen my living room!  But after 2 1/2 years of losing my 2 best friends, and 2 years of pandemic, there's a lot of mess to clean up in my life.  Getting my transgender identity in order is only part of that cleanup.

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Something I now say to any woman I want to get serious with is both that I enjoy dressing in women's clothes and that I go to work as a woman.  I play down the transgender part of my identity, as I am more than willing to live my life in both masculine and feminine roles in order to have a healthy romance.  Although it has cost me a relationship or two, I have found over the years that some women are open minded enough to take a chance with me.

A while back, FL gave me some advice, to not focus on what I would rather have been born as, but to focus on my wardrobe simply as a kink I enjoy.  And I've taken this advice.  Right now, RQS remains curious and unafraid of her possible feelings.  That's a good thing.  Unlike FL, we have progressed tolerably slowly, but steadily.  She knows what she's getting in me, and she knows the risks of a relationship with me.  That's a good thing.

As I gradually clean up the mess in my apartment, I'm gradually cleaning up the mess in my life.  I no longer think of what I lost over the past 2 1/2 years on a daily basis.  Instead, it comes up when I feel a little lonely, and have nothing better to distract me.  Cleaning up my place has taken on a new urgency, as I want RQS to visit my place for a change.  I hope that she doesn't get shocked when she sees how I live....

I'm getting more than my share of tail these days....

 

If you think I was talking about sex by the title of this entry, you'd be greatly mistaken.  I was referencing the presence of a cat who is persistent in his desire to get petted. Ever since my first visit to RQS's apartment, this cat has made his presence known.  He will get between us all the time.  No, it's not a desire to keep us apart.  Instead, it is a desire to get pleasantly scratched and petted.  And we know he's happy when his purring is loud enough to be heard from the next room.

One can tell that RQS loves her cats by the nature of the throw on her sofa.  The fictional title of a book woven into the throw (A tale of two kitties) says it all. Unlike some people I know, RQS does not spoil her cats. It's hard to do so with her cats - they love hopping in and out of boxes, and will often be found sleeping on her bed and on her sofa. There is no need to provide extra stimulation for these cats, as they have a lot of area to cover in RQS's railroad flat.

Unfortunately, it's taking a long time for her other cat to warm up to me.  That cat is very protective of her space, and will get upset when I come near it.  Yet, even this cat is warming up to me, as it will rub itself on me when I'm not in a position to pet her like a "normal" cat.  Even with this, I feel that the cat may still consider me a threat, as I will hiss back at her when she hisses at me.  It takes time for an animal to learn that a new human is not a threat, and I'm willing to give her that time.

Lobster!

 

The other day, I turned RQS on to a food truck that travels around the NYC area, serving wonderful lobster to anyone near their 3 food trucks.  So we planned a day that centers around decadent food.  First, I'd pick up a wholesome, decadent meal from the lobster truck in Bayside, Queens. And after our late lunch, we'd make our way to Tipsy Scoop for some booze infused ice cream.

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About a year ago, I found out about Cousins Maine Lobster from a site I stumbled into online. It took me a while to meet up with one of their food trucks.  When I finally did, it was nirvana.  I've never had lobster that tasted this good - and I've had many tasty crustaceans in my time.  Yes, it's a matter of cooking technique that does the trick.  But I've cooked many a tasty lobster.  They are doing something right that I do wrong.

The booze infused ice cream is nothing new to me.  I was introduced to it by an ice cream shop in Beacon, NY.  Although I know the ice cream maker that produces their booze infused ice cream, this firm does not list it on their site. (I'll bet that it's because of our alcohol laws in both the United States and in New York State.)  And then I heard of Tipsy Scoop.  When I first heard of them, they had a limited distribution which would have forced me to travel to Astoria to pick up a pint to go.  Now, I can pick up a pint in a specialty market 20 minutes away from me, and still have it in a condition to be served by the time I get it into my freezer.

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Luckily, the lobster trucks are not limited to New York City suburbs anymore, nor is the distribution of Tipsy Scoop ice cream. If you can find them, I highly recommend these products....

 

 

 

The Mystery Box has arrived!

 

I was supposed to have a doctor's appointment today.  However, the doctor took off for vacation, and I never received a call to change my appointment.  Yet, I enjoyed being able to sleep late and relax.

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The Mystery Box I ordered from Universal Standard finally came in the mail.  As usual, there were some out of season items in the shipment - there were two items with turtlenecks.  However, there were 3 dresses I could wear now, two of them likely to stay in my wardrobe. Given that I am not a cisgender woman, I have to be careful in how I dress.  I don't want to be seen as a man in a dress.  I would rather be seen as a homely woman in that same dress.  So I am careful to choose dresses that draw attention to parts of the body I like, and hide parts of the body that I don't like.

I'm not sure if I'll wear either of the two wrap dresses from the box that often.  But I will consider it IF I wear a statement necklace.  It took me a while to figure out how to work one of the belt ties, and it will be an ongoing pain each time I wear either of these dresses.  (FYI: The belt from the left side of the dress goes through a hole on the right side of the dress, so that one can tie the two sides together for a safe fit.  Given that I don't have a woman's hips, I'm not sure whether I wasted my money.  But the wrap dresses from the "Dresses" shipment look much better than the shirt dress I received in the "Miscellaneous Items" shipment.

Do I feel that I wasted some money?  Yes.  But, as usual, there is usually enough in the box to make the gamble worth the money I spend on the box.  And I think the same holds true for this shipment....

Waking up late....

 

It's been years since I've taken the Staten Island Ferry and catch this view.  But I was reminded of it today, as I was able to wake up late for a change, and go to a doctor's appointment instead of going to work first thing in the morning.

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Now that I'm about to go on Medicare, this will be one of the last appointments covered by my Obamacare policy.  And I'm not so sure of how I feel about that.  Medicare is not as efficient as care given to the under 65 set.  For example, where I would get yearly physicals from my doctor, he is only allowed to give me "wellness checks"  In short, he has to schedule each needed test on different days, as he is only allowed to test for one ailment at a time.  Although I will have some redundant coverage from work, it isn't that great - my doctor is not on my company's plan.  (That's why I kept my Obamacare policy.)

Once I am done with the doctor, I will be going to work.  That means I will be changing from Mario Mode to Marian Mode in mid morning.  Of course, I will be staying in this mode all day....

Now, if only I had a GP that I could feel comfortable going to as Marian....

Taxes

April 15th comes awful quick these days.  If you're not careful, you might just miss it.  Yet, it's hard to believe that most people didn't have to pay income taxes a little over 100 years ago; our government raised most of its funds via tariffs and customs duties.  Now, tax day is a day that many people dread.  In my case, I have to over withhold through the year on money I earn so that I can make up for under withholding on my pension.  Although I can afford to pay estimated taxes throughout the year, I prefer to pay them up front and not have to worry about finding money to pay taxes at tax time.

If you think I have it bad, I know someone who has sold a house and is now renting.  Although this person has owned a share of the home for over 30 years, a divorce and property settlement may trigger the payment of more taxes than this person would want to pay.  (As if we ever want to pay taxes.)  Thankfully, this person can shelter a $250,000 gain from the sale, but what about this person's share of the gains that must be shared with an ex-spouse?  I know that my brother and I will be paying capital gains on any gains we have from selling our family homestead, as neither of us have lived in the house for years.

Others have it even worse.  My niece is an American citizen living in the United Kingdom.  She has to file taxes to two governments.  Luckily, the United States allows people to exclude a certain percentage of overseas income from double taxation. (I don't remember the figures or the mechanisms.)  But if she had as large income, she'd be going broke giving money to two governments.  (I want to find out what my brother had to do for her this year - he could provide me with an education on this topic.)  Luckily for UK subjects, they don't get taxed by the UK for income earned overseas.

At least, I only have to give New York under $200 this year.  I'd rather owe NYS  than owe the Federal government, as NYS takes forever to send out refunds....