Sooner or later, I'll get back to being awake in the morning.

Over the  past few weeks, I have been unable to get up early in the morning unless there is an absolute need to do so.  This is frustrating to me, as I have missed being able to do things with people who are out and about at earlier times of the day than I have been.  I just can't find the energy to get moving unless I have a social engagement planned for the day.

Today was a typical example of this pattern.  Although the alarm first woke me around 8:00, I "hit the snooze button" and didn't get moving until noon.  Then, I lallygagged until 5:00, when I was reminded that I had a Zoom meeting with my friends from Texas.  At that time, I got showered, dressed, put some laundry in the wash, and off I went to the supermarket to pick up some food. Around 7:30, I met with my Texas friends, and then killed some time before talking with RQS.  Just before I called RQS, I remembered that I had clothes in the dryer and brought them upstairs.  

As you can see, this was a typical day for me.  I didn't get as much done as I wanted.  But I got as much done as I needed.  At least, I can say that I spent part of the day in Marian Mode - it was the first time I've been out as Marian in almost a week.

 

Cruising issues

 

I don't want to belabor something that frustrated me today - billing issues from my doctor's office caused by the office sending paperwork to the wrong insurance company.  So I'll talk about something more pleasant, and deal with this issue tomorrow....

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The above cruise route has already been changed to deal with the problem at Skagway.  Many ships originally scheduled to port at Skagway are now going to other Alaskan ports due to multiple rock slides making it unsafe to use the Railroad Dock.  Hopefully, they will be able to stabilize the land above the dock before next year's cruise season.

Skagway is my favorite port in Alaska.  The White Pass & Yukon Railroad is a must for any Inside Passage trip.  And I'd like to take this train again, if I can find a way to get to Alaska on another cruise.  However, I had no intentions of taking this "2 bucket list trip" cruise, and coming back with Covid-19 as my souvenir. (I also did not want to pay a high price for airfare, given both the high cost and inconvenience of air travel this year.)  Now, with the Railroad Dock unavailable to most cruise ships, ships are either stopping at Haines or Icy Strait Point, or they are adding an extra Sea Day to their cruises.

Assuming all goes well with my current relationship, I expect that we will be in Alaska and/or Hawaii sometime in the next few years.  Will we take a repositioning cruise like the one in the route map at the top of this entry?  Will we take a Hawaii cruise (from the West Coast or from Oahu?)  Will we take an Alaska cruise (Inside Passage or Northbound/Southbound to/from Denali)?  RQS has never taken what I'd call a bucket list trip, and it would be nice to share one with her.

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Thinking about what is going right in my relationship with RQS makes me think about what went wrong in my previous long term relationship.  Strangely enough, learning the things that bothered XGFJ have made it possible not to make those mistakes with RQS.  All XGFJ needed to do was put me on the spot and make things clear.  Instead, she decided to take the "easy" way out and hint to me what her needs were - dooming the relationship via a lack of effective communication.  Yes, there are other issues I see in the rear view mirror. But I put the blame for our relationship's failure with a lack of effective communication - a mistake I intend to prevent myself or RQS from making in our current relationship.

Ikea

 

In one sense, if you visit one Ikea store, you've visited them all.  There is a winding path through the furniture showrooms, and it's all geared to lead you to an area geared for impulse buys before picking out the unassembled furniture (in boxes) from the warehouse side of the store.  

But first....

Last night, I sat down on a plastic chair that RQS had placed in front of her desktop computer.  Sooner or later, the chair was going to break under my weight (it was a flimsy piece of molded plastic), and it did in a spectacular fashion.  As I moved to get up from the seat, my shifting weight caused the rear legs of the chair to collapse and break off, causing me to land on the floor in an embarrassing way. At that point, RQS came over to help me up and I knew that we'd have to replace the chair today.

Morning came, and RQS had to go to her gym for her weekly round with her personal trainer.  When I picked her up, I knew the perfect place for us to go to get the replacement chair - Ikea.  So, it was off to Hicksville, and to do some chair shopping.  RQS was surprised to see how big the store was, and got some ideas of what she could do in her place.  After trying out a couple of chairs, we settled on one model - and purchased it.  And then we went for dinner at a seafood joint I knew in Lindenhurst.

Once finished with dinner, it was back to RQS's place to assemble the chair.  Assembly of most Ikea furniture is relatively straight forward.  One looks at pictures in sequence, and assembles the parts to look like the images on each page in sequence.  And that is what we did until RQS almost stripped the screw head because of a flaw in its manufacture.  To prevent damage to the remaining part of the hex screw head, I decided to use a pair of pliers to get the screw down as far as possible, then try to use the provided Allen wrench to tighten the screw the rest of the way.  Luckily, I was successful where RQS wasn't. Now, RQS has a solid chair she can sit on - at a very reasonable price.

Meatballs!

 

On Saturday, RQS found ourselves with not much to do save relax.  By the time we got moving, it was getting late and it was time to go and get something to eat.  So, I remembered a place that once had a Westport, CT outpost and figured that its Williamsburg site would be a perfect place to have a bite to eat. And RQS liked my idea....

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One of the things we have to deal with every week is choosing what and where to eat.  Since I was at RQS's place this weekend, we'd have the whole city from which to choose a restaurant to eat at.  Given that good "traditional" Italian restaurants seem to be a dime a dozen in NYC, it made sense to choose something a little different - such as The Meatball Shop.  

Williamsburg, Brooklyn is a great place to visit.  There are quite a few funky shops in this area of NYC that are well worth exploring.  And if this restaurant is a good example of what's in this part of town, it would be a crime for any tourist to miss going here.  As for me, I'm lucky that RQS and I can reach this part of town via a $2.75 subway ride, because we intend to explore it more often when the weather gets cooler.  The Meatball Shop (TMS) will be one of our go-to places in this exploration.

Now, I should say a little about TMS.  It does not look like a typical Italian restaurant - because it isn't.  Many types of meatballs are on the menu, and pasta can be served with them.  But the menu is not "Italian".  We had the pork meatballs, but could just as easily chosen, beef, chicken, or some other type on the menu.  If the other types are half as tasty as the meatballs we ate, we'll each gain a dress size or two by the time New Year comes along.

After dinner, we walked along Bedford avenue and found a cute little book store to explore - Spoonbill and Sugartown Books.  Sadly the store was closing at 9:00 pm - not giving us enough time to browse.  However, we will be back there again, as it had books that I will never find at your local neighborhood chain bookstore.

All too early, it was time to go back to RQS's place.  But one last place beckoned us - 16 Handles ice cream shop.  The ice cream was good, but expensive.  Don't go there if you are expecting Carvel.  Although everything is soft serve, it is yummy, but a little too expensive for my taste.  (We spent $32 for 2 medium/large cups, and RQS said - OUCH!)  I can only imagine how my sugar levels must have spiked after that dessert!

Once we finished our ice cream, it was time to return to RQS's place for the evening.  We were both glad that there was no repair work scheduled for the subway line we used to get back home....

A place I want to get back to soon....

 

Peggy's Cove, NS.  Although I wouldn't want to live there, I'd like to visit there every few years.  It's a place that one can take many interesting photographs, and it's a place that never seems to change much over the years.

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The first time I was in Peggy's Cove was when I was a child.  It didn't impress me much then, as little makes an impression on a young child.  However, I later made it there with my late wife, and we both enjoyed making this the highlight of our Nova Scotia vacation.  I'll always remember an incident that happened in one of the hotels we stayed at in our travels - the warm water shut off unexpectedly while I was in the shower, I yelled "F**k!", and she came to my aid not knowing whether I was in need or not.  Although there are more details I don't mention to this story, it is the most memorable part of this trip.

The next time I was in Peggy's Cove was on a cruise with my former cruise partner (FCP).  She didn't come with me on this excursion.  But I was sure to get some pictures while there.  This visit impressed me more than my previous two visits, as I became aware of the rocky ground the town sat upon, and wondered how people get their water and deal with sanitary issues.  (I never did think like an average person.)  And still, I couldn't get the beauty of the place out of my mind.

So this time, I hope that RQS appreciates Peggy's Cove as much as I do.  Although I'll be in Mario Mode this time, it won't be much of an issue when I'm with her.

A trip to RQS's place

 

I'm looking forward to this weekend.  Although I will be in Mario mode all weekend, I look forward to being with RQS.  As I've asked before, is this too good to last?  I don't know the answer, and don't want to know right now.

The logistics of getting to see RQS is always a challenge. Getting to and staying over RQS's place is an issue.  If I drive, I hate trying to find a parking spot in her neighborhood.  (It would be even worse, if I drove down during the week, as her neighborhood has alternate side of the street parking.)  If I take mass transit, I have to leave my car in a public parking area which is empty at night.  And then, I have to take Metro North into NYC, then the subway to RQS's place.  AARGH!  But she's worth it.

- - - - - -

I shouldn't look at the negative side of things, and I try not to.  There are some advantages to being with RQS - such as being able to explore NYC at will.  This is something that most suburbanites do not take advantage of.  Like most suburbanites who live near a big city, the headaches of going into the city often outweigh the perceived benefits of being there.  And this is even more true when the city is the cultural and economic capital of the country.

New York City, is a place like few other world class cities.  Unlike London and Paris, it is not a political capital.  Instead, it is "only" an economic and cultural capital. Vicki and I used to go into NYC to catch an Off-Broadway (or Broadway) play or two on a regular basis.  It is also a foodie capital as well.  Where else in the USA can one eat a different ethnic food style every day?  About the only food one can't get here is authentic Haggis, as we have a thing against organ meats in this country.  But then, I'd rather enjoy myself and go to Stillwell and Surf on July 4th to enjoy Hot Dogs with Joey Chestnut.

Unfortunately, given NYC's subway system, "you can't get there from here" in many of the outer boroughs.  So it's hard to explore one borough from another, unless one is going to/from Manhattan.  And this is why it will take me 2+ hours to reach RQS today, when I can drive there in an hour (in good traffic).  But she's worth it....

Almost too late to play any games

 

 

Today was a do-nothing kind of day.  And yet, I knew that if I didn't go to play games, I'd be disappointing people who expected me to come to play games.  So I went.  

But first....

I've been quite a bit of an insomniac as of late, not going to sleep until the wee ours of the morning.  This is not good if one wants to live a "normal" life, nor is it good if one wants to take care of things best taken care of in the daytime.  For example, RQS and I are both night owls (to one degree or another), and love to sleep late.  But if we sleep too late, we run the risk of not being to do as many of the things we want to do.

The other night, I couldn't get any sleep because the frame on my CPAP mask broke. Unfortunately, I couldn't find parts from another mask to build a working mask that I could use to safely get some sleep. So I ended up going to sleep around 8:00 am.  Last night, it wasn't much better.  And, tonight, I feel that I will still have problems going to sleep.  So I knew that I had to take it easy during the day before going out to game night.

It's very easy to become a couch potato when one lives on a non-standard sleep schedule.  This is why I fought the instinct to stay home, and chose to go to game night today - albeit 45 minutes late.  Luckily, I was able to get in 1 game (Sushi Go!) and won.

Maybe next time, I'll arrive early for a change....