The start of a long weekend doing nothing much.

 

If you're expecting a lot of "Sturm und Drang" from me and RQS this weekend, you'd be mistaken.  We still keep getting along better than either of us would have expected.

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We were very tired when we got to bed Friday night and we got up late the next morning.  This wasn't a problem, as neither of us had much of anything to do, save a little bit of shopping.  RQS and I wanted to stop by Bed Bath and Beyond, Christmas Tree Shops, and Trader Joe's.  So, it was off to lower county.  Both of us did some serious damage to our credit cards before returning home.

RQS and I had an interesting conversation regarding transgenderism, intersex, and gender preference.  I find it very interesting that she is open to new ideas in this area, unlike many women I've dated in the past.  And so far, she has not run away.  Although I don't think she'll do that many things with me in Marian mode, I don't think she'll run away from me either.

When we got back home, RQS suggested that she stay another night, and have me drive her home in the morning  - and I said, "Yes!" without need for thought....

Another quick post - The public hearings have begun

The above illustrates what I think of Trump and his disaster of a presidency.  Although some good things came of it, the damage he did to public comity was akin to pouring gasoline onto a flame. Today was the first of the televised hearings of the January 6th committee. This started the process of demonstrating to the public that Trump was responsible for the Capitol Hill riots.

At this point, I have to note that I was not watching the public testimony on June 9th.  Instead, I read the online commentary, as I was at game night enjoying myself.  Given what happened that day, I can't see myself watching scenes from the riot without getting sick.  If one drinks the MAGA Kool-Aid, then what one sees will be what the former president wanted one to see - loyal Americans fighting to take back their government.  If doesn't drink the Kool-Aid, then one sees an insurrection in progress on January 6th.  Either way, this is not an event that can be allowed to happen again.

Hopefully, I'll be able to watch future presentations where the violence is downplayed.  It is important that we watch things like this, as our republic will die if our public ceases to be aware of what is going on in society from the viewpoint of an objective observer.

Cruising to new ports

 

One cruise destination I have done more than once is New England and the Canadian Maritime provinces.  Given that this route usually runs from New York to Halifax, NS, there is not much new to see on this route.  Yes, some cruises stop at one or more of these ports: Newport, RI; Boston, MA; Portland, ME; and Bar Harbor, ME.  But these are all places I have visited before as Marian and as Mario.  The basic New England/Canada 7 day cruise has become boring to me.  

When I saw a 16 day cruise with these ports, my eyes perked up (as did the rest of me):

• Halifax, NS (Canada)
• Sydney, NS (Canada)
• Nuuk, (Greenland)
• Nanortalik, (Greenland)
• Qaqortoq, (Greenland)
• St. John's, NL (Canada)

Not only were there 5 new ports for me, but the single port I wanted to visit again was on the list as well.  Although this cruise would not add any points to my NCL status (this cruise is on Princess), it would be unique.  The only way I'd have a chance of getting to the last 5 ports would be on a pair of (25 and 36 day) cruises being sailed by Holland America next year. 

Given that there is no single supplement at the time I write, I could take this cruise for under $2000.  If I were to take this cruise, should I go as Mario or Marian?  What do you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Quick Post - Scheduling dinner at a halfway point

 

Years ago, I dated RO, but dropped her for the same reason I dropped MWL - their hips were out of proportion to the rest of their bodies.  It would be hard for me to get turned on by a woman with those hips, and I didn't want to make the same mistake I made with Ex-GF-M.  However, we have remained good friends and have tried to get together now and then.  (FYI: RO is someone who knows me as Marian, has seen me as Mario, but relates to me as a female.)

Covid-19 put an end to getting together.  No one was going anywhere, and both she and her hubby did their lock down in the Poconos home.  Now that things have opened up again, we have decided to get together again, this time at a restaurant halfway between the two of us.  Since I'll be leaving straight from work, I'll have to fight rush hour traffic to see her.

It'll be nice to get together again.  And I'll be sure to wear a nice dress the day we meet again....  

Some credit cards are not worth keeping

 

The other day, I decided to buy a new dress from the Avenue's site.  Given that an all cotton dress is a rarity on this company's site these days, I decided to jump on one in a color I liked.  I placed the order, and nothing happened.  When I say nothing, I mean nothing.  The original default credit card option I used was no longer on the site from what I could tell (I was tired and could have missed things), and the order was never placed, with no error or warning being given to me.

Some of you might be thinking that I logged on to a scam site. But this was the site I've saved in my bookmarks, and have used many times in the past.  So, what happened?  After looking around, I didn't see their card listed in approved payment methods.  Although the current site's server sends out web pages which reference their store credit card, it wasn't available for me to use.

What do I think happened?

Given the declining profit of  of store cards, I feel that the in-house card was quietly phased out.  I could very easily be wrong about this.  But when I redid the order and decided to buy two dresses of the same style, I noticed that the store card option was no longer listed in the payment options.  Could this be related to Visa/Master Card/Discover/American Express all offering cash back cards?  It could be, as store cards do not offer the same value in rewards as major credit cards do, and they can only be used in one company's operations.

I wonder when my other store cards will bite the dust....

 

 

PS: The order was placed, and I did receive the dress.   I must have been extremely tired when I placed that order.

Thai Food - Yum!

 

 

One thing I love about being in New York City is that there are some wonderful restaurants in the outer boroughs.  Chachawan, in Ridgewood Queens, is one of those restaurants.  After having some good, but bland, Korean food the week before, it was a pleasure to go to this local joint for a Saturday evening dinner.

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When I'm with RQS, we try to find local restaurants in her neighborhood which have promise.  This restaurant is quickly becoming one of one of our favorites. She had a curry while I had the Three Flavors Duck.  Compared with the duck we had last weekend, this was wonderful.  I'd make the effort to go to this restaurant even if RQS weren't in the picture - it is that good.

A nice thing about New York City is that each neighborhood has at least one "go to" restaurant.  Ridgewood has several - including one of my favorites, Zum Stammtisch.  This restaurant has been in the neighborhood for 50 years, and I have been going there for 40 of those years.  When RQS and I finally get there, we will be taking a bus to reach the restaurant - it doesn't make sense to give up a good parking spot once you have found one.

Obviously, with easy access to Manhattan, it will be a while before we have completed our Ridgewood food safari. This is good, as there are no nearby Dim Sum joints like the Nom Wah Tea Parlor. But then, New York City is known for being a dining oasis....

Dinner with a friend

 

Last night, I had dinner with a friend from the meetup group whose meetings I irregularly attend.  She's a nice woman, about 30 years old, and not sure of what direction to take in life.  Sadly, she has a similar lack of charisma to me, and I think it is her mode of speech that makes me think she's lonely.

So what can make a good person repel people without bad habits or bad intent? This has been a question that I've asked of myself over the years, and I don't have a good answer.  But I know that I feel much more confident when presenting as Marian.  This might be because I have less social history as Marian, and less history of being rejected by people.  Our experiences add up over the years and influence how we express ourselves.  We learn to be timid or assertive from the body languages and spoken languages of our parents, coupled with the experiences we endure as we grow up. It's hard to undo these "lessons", as they force us to repeat these unproductive expressions of body language and of spoken language.

Luckily, being trans and expressing ourselves in our identified gender starts to liberate us.  We learn how to communicate in new ways and learning a new gender body language makes it easier for us to feel more confident and relaxed.  No, transition does not solve our problems.  But it gives us a tool to help us on our way to dealing with those problems effectively.  If it weren't for the fact that I want romance in my life more than transition, I'd be rushing down my path of transition because of the freedom I'm experiencing as Marian....