Life is strange

 

During 2020-2021, I let my apartment go to waste while I did my best to take care of myself.  The above image is typical of me - during one of the few chances I had to get to a meetup, I let myself have a little fun.

Why do I mention this?  Well, being transgender got in the way of my last relationship, and my former cruise partner (FCP) sent my (now) ex girlfriend a note that should have been forwarded to me without opening.  Of course, curiosity got the better of her, and the rest is history.  FCP is no longer a friend, and the ex is just an ex - we only have simple communications, and not that of people who were once intimate partners.

There has been a great upside to this.  If the ex and I had not broken up, I would never have been in the position to meet RQS.  And for that, I am very grateful.  She accepts me for who and what I am, something that my most recent ex couldn't do. Although it takes some effort for us to talk about uncomfortable things, we know we need to do so in order to have a solid relationship.  So far, all the signs are still green for us, and I hope that they stay this way.

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I see one of my flaws getting in the way of things, and that is something we've already talked about.  As much as I dislike my job, I am hesitant to leave it.  I know that there isn't much of a chance that I'll find another job at my age, and that leaving means that I'll have to solely live off of my nest egg.  RQS is already retired, and she seems to be doing well in retirement.  She has taken up new hobbies (read: artistic pursuits) as well as doing the exercises needed to improve her body and her health.  And she'd like for me to do something similar when I retire - if only to have me around as long as possible.

Hopefully, I will retire sooner than later, as I've already committed myself to do so with my Hawaii cruise later this year.  It's too bad that RQS will be unable to go with me....

Sometimes, even buying something as simple as a bar of soap can be a pain

 

As I often do these days, this is going to be a quick post.

One of the things I have found out is that Fels Naptha soap is both a great stain remover AND that it is a great soap for travelers to pack.  However, most people are not comfortable with this soap, and it has gone out of style in most areas.

Most people who know me know that I pick up weird bits of information.  And I plan to do a bit more traveling in the near future.  This means that I might need to launder some garments in the sink if I'm on a long trip, such as a Panama Canal cruise.  Given that only one of the cruise lines I've traveled on equips their ships with washers/dryers available to the cruisers, I figure that I'll need a bar of this soap when I take a long cruise.

There is a problem with my plan.  It's almost impossible to find this soap in most stores, and it sells out quickly on Amazon.  So I'll have to keep my eyes open, and buy it when I see it available.

They don't make it simple....

 

A few weeks ago, I turned 65.  Switching over my insurance plans is a pain in the ass.  For example, I have a membership number with CVS/Caremark, which I've used to order medications from the mail order pharmacy.  Unfortunately, CVS/Caremark couples one's insurance plan to one's membership so tightly, that the only way to go to a new insurance company is to get a new membership number.  Something is very wrong with the design of Caremark's system, as a membership number should be tied to an individual, and not first to the insurance company.

All I wanted to do is to tell Caremark that Fidelis Care is no longer my insurance company of record for prescriptions, and to point to Silver Scripts in its stead.  There seems to be no way to do this.  (Please tell me if I'm wrong.)  So I had to open another email account just to allow Caremark and Silver Scripts to talk to each other, with me as the covered insured party.  Sadly, Caremark dropped the ball to do this.  So now, I will lose ALL my prescription history, and have to have my doctor start writing new scripts from scratch.  Ouch!

As you can guess, I'm pissed.  I'll be even more so if someone shows me a way that this could have been done.  It's almost enough to go postal, but with legalized cannabis, there are better ways to find relaxation and relief. 😁  

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