A visit to the doctor's office

 

Normally, I feel very tired when I get to work.  Once the initial jolt of caffeine has worn off, I start dragging for most of the rest of the day.  Today, I ended up breaking my routine, as I took a half day off from work for a doctor's visit.

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This was my first doctor visit using my new insurance.  Hopefully, I won't have any problems with it.  With my Medicare supplement (Part-G), I only need to pay $20 for a doctor's visit.  So I may end up spending less money (for a while) on Medicare than I did on my former Obamacare plan.  While there, I told my doc NOT to change prescriptions yet, as I had to get things straightened up with CVS/Caremark.  I've had a membership number for several years, and now it looks like I'll have to reregister for mail order prescription service - and may need to use another email address for this new prescription drug insurance provider.  AARGH!

Once done with the doctor, I had to change back into Marian mode for the rest of the day.  I was so tired by the time I got home, that I crashed after a quick dinner.

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One of these days, I hope to be able to go to the doctor's office in Marian mode, as I now do with my dentist.  Considering that this doctor is of Pakistani descent, I doubt that he'd feel comfortable seeing me as anything other than Mario.  So I'll have to wait until he retires to do so with a younger doctor....

Politics - Another word for many flesh eating insects

 

Lately, there have been a lot of storm clouds in the sky for us transgender folk.  Now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, the lunatic right is well on the way to eliminating same sex marriage, as well as the ability of transgender people to get both appropriate medical treatment and to have their gender recognized by law.

Many of us will always stand out as transgender, and that might not be a bad thing in "normal" times.  But in these times, we might be safer if we could live in the closet and quietly work to subvert the power of America's right wing.  This is far from an ideal situation, as we should not have to go into hiding to survive.

I am reminded of Central Europe in the early 1930's.  Germany quickly went from a democratic nation with religious freedom to an authoritarian nation with no religious freedom.  The nation was ruled by a man with a personality cult - something we have been temporarily able to stop for a while.  But we are not out of the woods.  The party that Trump led still wants power for the sake of power.  It has no real governing philosophy.

Right now, I am totally disgusted by the GOP, as they have let political cockroaches take hold of the party.  And, like cockroaches, they are hard to keep at bay.  I only wish we had the political bug spray needed to rid the GOP of this cancer that could kill democracy in our nation.

Another quick post... Cleaning up my apartment

 

 

It seems that every weekend that RQS comes up here, we take the time out for an hour to do some cleaning in my apartment.  We both figure that with someone else around, we will achieve progress on our goals of getting our places straightened up.

But first....

We have developed a routine that we both find comfortable.  Since I go to work dressed as a female, RQS has accepted that I will pick her up dressed as I do in the office.  From there, we often will go out to dinner, and then home to decompress.  The next day, I will don Mario's clothing and then take care of whatever things we need to do for the next couple of days.  In a way, she is getting a taste of forbidden fruit in a safe way.  And I will joke that if we visit Provincetown, MA, that I have to go in female mode, as it wouldn't be natural to see a male kissing a woman there.  (I know there are straight people in P'town, but it is a cute joke.)  Too bad we won't get there this summer....

This Saturday, we ended up tackling the mess in my kitchen.  There is still a long way to go.  And I think the next step in this process will be to start culling things I no longer need and donate them to a local charity to do some good.  Hopefully, I'll create some open working space to do some serious cooking soon....

RIP - Neighborhood Hofbrau House

 

Joseph Huber's Hofbrau.  May it rest in peace.

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This past weekend, RQS and I went to Mamaroneck to eat.  While there, we passed by an old building which had been closed up as long as I can remember - and that is a long time, as I started working in that era in 1984. (It was open when I started working in the area, but closed soon afterwards.)   I was very surprised to find that there were two people working inside, turning this long dormant neighborhood bar into a social club.

We walked in and chatted with the fellows doing the work, and found that they were taking the stained glass windows down, ostensibly for health reasons.  Although this may be true, I feel that the windows do not reflect the atmosphere they want in their new business. Luckily, they know the value of the stained glass windows, and will be preserving them for the future.

I wish the new owners well in their ventures....

The following are 4 of my shots of the place.

 

PS: If you're interested in another part of real estate history, read this: 

The Skinny House of Mamaroneck

A quick post on 2 unusual vehicles

 

The other day, RQS and I went for dinner in Mamaroneck, NY.  On the way there, we caught a glimpse of this three wheeled vehicle.  Is it a car?  Is it a motorcycle?  This is the problem that many DMV's across the United States have when they register vehicles like this - there is no national standard for motorcycles, and the licensing needed to drive them.

When I first heard about American 3 wheeled cars, Elio Motors was developing a small gas powered vehicle.  I had the pleasure of sitting in a prototype of this vehicle in 2016, and they were dealing with the problems of unfamiliarity with 3 wheeled cars, the problems of creating a new category of vehicle (to eliminate headaches such as wearing helmets in an enclosed vehicle), manufacturing these vehicles, and sales/service - something usually done by franchised stores.  At the price of roughly $7,000, I'd have took a gamble and bought one for an in-town station car.  Today, their target for an electric vehicle is $14,000. And I have no interest in dealing with the headaches of electric cars at this time.

Although I mentioned my loose familiarity with this type of vehicle to RQS, our conversation shifted to other, more interesting topics.  After dinner, we again saw this vehicle, and another nearby.

Again, RQS asked: "What is it?"  And I had to mention that it is another cross between a car and a motorcycle.  Based on the helmet I saw in the vehicle, I have a feeling that New York still considers this to be a 3 wheeled motorcycle, and requires that all riding in wear helmets.

Have you seen vehicles like this?  If so, let me know what you think.

Quickie - A rude awakening

 

One of the headaches I'm dealing with is switching insurance from an Obamacare plan to Medicare (with all its pieces).  And I'm seeing that there are more levels to this onion than I knew....

In the past, all I'd need to do to change insurance companies is to show my new card to each service provider.  Now, I have to make sure that all the secondary components (Parts B, D and G) are paid for and are in sync.  This may be the easy part of things.  Getting all providers to switch over the card (issues with Part D, drug coverage) is something else.  I've just fount that Caremark has no ability for me to make this change online.  Therefore, I might have to open up a new Caremark account (with new email address) AND get my doctor to write new prescriptions for everything I need.  AARGH!

Why did I have a rude awakening?

In the past, I paid $50 for a 3 month supply of test strips.  Without coverage (remember, Caremark does not have my new plan on file yet), the same strips cost $350.  AARGH!  No wonder why poor people go without.  Our system is designed to rip off people by default.

As you can guess, I now support single payer health care.  This will never happen here, but it is a nice dream....

The Hawaii Cruise is on!

 

Above is an image of the Pride of America (POA).  This is the only major American flagged and staffed cruise ship that I expect to be on.  (I'm excluding river cruising, as those vessels are smaller and cater to a different type of traveler.)  POA replaced another ship that was built in 1951 (SS Independence) which had outlived its usefulness, but was living on simply because of the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886. 

The Hawaiian cruise I'll be taking will be on POA.  I'll be able to spend the better part of 11 days in Hawaii, instead of the 4 or 5 I could spend on a foreign flagged vessel.  But I'll pay twice as much for a POA inside cabin for half as much time at sea on a foreign flagged vessel.  Is it worth the extra cost?  Everyone I know who has taken this cruise says "Yes!"  And it is this cruise that I wanted to take before the pandemic, a cruise that a former girlfriend from a more than two decades ago would have been on.  Could you imagine what she would have said if she saw me as Marian on this cruise?

Right now, I intend to take this cruise in Marian mode.  I feel much more comfortable in a dress than I do in a pair of shorts.  Hawaii is the place where a woman wearing a brightly colored floral dress blends in with most other women.  So I fully expect that women will see me as a fat woman, and not a man in a dress.  Yet, this trip may get cancelled - but not because of anything I do.  NCL is cancelling cruises for some POA cruisers, so that can serve those who actually get to sail with all the attention they would normally get on a normally staffed ship.  NCL is offering generous compensation for those people affected by these cancellations, and I won't cry much if this happens.  Not only would my $8500 be refunded to my credit card, but I'd receive future cruise credit (FCC) as well.

Keep your fingers crossed.  I'll have a lot to say about it as we get closer to sailing date.