If it weren't for things to do, I wouldn't get up - A short post.

 

Being a biological male, I have to deal with a problem.  Once one no longer has to go to work, one loses a reason to get up in the morning.  In my case, I could stay in bed for days at a time, if I didn't schedule things to justify getting up sometime during the day.  One of the things I try to do when I'm up is to think about future travel plans, as they give me a reason to keep getting up.

Lately, I've been trying to book as much travel as possible into my schedule, so that I always have something real to look forward to. Three trips are already scheduled for the year, and I am looking to schedule one or two more trips.  So far, I have trips to DC, California, and Bermuda planned, and may book a trip to the Bahamas by the end of the year.

The California and Bermuda trips will consist of 7 day cruises, and be on cruise lines (Princess and NCL) that I have both sailed on before and enjoyed very much.  However, if I book the Bahamas cruise, it will be on a new line, MSC, and I have heard mixed things about this cruise line.  The things that most people complain about are the uninspired food offerings. If I take this trip, it will likely be without RQS, as I'm not sure if she'd be ready to gamble more money on a trip she might not enjoy. As for me, it will be an opportunity to travel as Marian and relax a bit.

Right now, the Bahamas cruise is only something that keeps my mind busy.  And even if I never take that trip, it's a pleasant diversion....

Valentine's Day Cards - a short post

 

A while back, I lost a Valentine's Day card I had bought for XGFJ.  (No, it was not the card above.) So I ended up buying her another card, relatively neutral in sentiment, as I wasn't sure about our relationship at the time.  Later on, I found that this was a problem for her, given things said by my former cruise partner in an angry exchange of words. So, my original card was lost in the mess on my desk until recently.

The other day, I decided to look for this card, as I would be spending Valentine's day with RQS, and thought that the card I originally bought for XGFJ would be perfect for RQS.  I found this card, intact and ready to be used.  (I'm glad that I didn't write anything in the card, as I would have had to go and find something I liked just as much.)  

Would you use an unused Valentine's Day card if you bought it for use with a former love, but now use it with a current love?  It's certainly not an engagement ring which should be sized for a woman's fingers.  So, is this being cheap?  Or, is this being frugal?

Insurance Bills - I hate dealing with them.

 

The other day, I got a bill for services (Lab Tests) rendered in December.  Normally, this would not be a problem, save for one thing - the cost.  Knowing that Medicare (Parts A & B) plus my supplemental policy (Part N) should pay for all but my first $200 in expenses, I had to make some calls.

My first call was to the Lab Test company.  After going through automated response hell, I got a response that said: "Your insurance carrier has questions about the bill before it can make payment."  Well, I know that Medicare should have no questions, nor should my supplemental carrier.  So my next call would be to Medicare.

It took me much less time to reach a human at Medicare than expected.  After explaining my problem, the human at the other end found out that no bill was presented to them!  Finally, I had an idea what the problem might be - the bill was sent to the wrong carrier.  Now, it was back to the Lab Test company for more information.

I make my third call, and figure out how to get to a human at the lab test company.  A woman answered, and told me that they sent the bill to the insurance company with whom my former employer used to insure their employees.  (Although I had coverage with them, I used my Obamacare coverage, as it provided better benefits between January and July, when I started on Medicare  This had to be a factor in why other lab test bills got screwed up.)  I gave this woman my insurance information, and waited for her to pick up on the line again - and then, the line disconnected.  

Now, I was a bit upset because at least an hour of my time was wasted on this problem.  But I was calm when I reached another person at the lab test firm.  He told me that the woman from my previous call got the insurance number wrong when she refiled the bill for payment, and I would have to make yet another call the next day to get this problem fixed.  AARGH!

- - - - - -

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I know that my doctor's office must have something to do with this. (Minor, compared with the computer and data entry screw-ups from before.)  A while back, I asked her to see that all bills get presented first to Medicare when I turned 65.  Obviously, I think she didn't contact the lab test company - and that their records never got updated. Yet, I could be wrong about this.  I'm left feeling that America needs to scrap the system we now have and go to a single payer system.  Is this a panacea?  No.  We will have just as many problems with a monolithic health care system as we do with a system run by oligopolies.  But its complexities won't drive people away from getting health care. And that's something I am strongly in favor of.

A friend invited me to a Broadway play.

 

Recently, I got together with Vicki #2 to have a bite to eat, and a drink to go with it.  It was nice to see her again, as we hadn't gotten together in months.  I said that if she ever had a mid week break in her routine, that she should call me, so that we could get together.  That call came the other day....

Although Vicki has seen me once as Mario (I was with XGFJ at the time), she knows me as Marian, and that's the way I always go to see her.  It's pleasant to get together with a person who knows and accepts my authentic self, and I was pleasantly surprised when Vicki invited me to see a Broadway play.  At the time I'm writing this entry, Broadway theaters are having a half price sale, and she was able to snag orchestra tickets for $80.  Since this was in my price range, I said 'Yes' and we proceeded to set a time and place to meet.

I wouldn't have chosen this play.  But I'm always open to new experiences if they do not take me too far from my comfort zone.  So I'll reserve judgement until I've had the chance to see the play.

Deciding how to get dressed can be hard for me - A short post.

 

For most people, it's easy to figure out how to get dressed for the day.  For me, things are a little more complicated.  First, I need to make sure of which gender presentation is expected of me that day. And only then can I make the next decision - what to wear.  Most of the time, this is a simple process.  If the day involves foul weather, strenuous work, or otherwise requires the presence of Mario, I dress as a male.  However, if the day allows or requires Marian's presence, I dress as a female. And then, I try to figure out what a cisgender female would likely wear that day.

Normally, I keep track of my future presentations by color coding entries in my online calendar.  But this doesn't always work for me, as I have to allow for days where I present as Marian for part of the day, then Mario for the other part of the day. So far, I don't recall many days where I start the day as Marian, switch to Mario, and then back to Marian.  But I'm pretty sure that I have had to do this switch on occasion.

As Marian, I try to wear dresses as often as possible.  RQS says that I'm more of a girly girl than she is.  In response, I remind her that she will always be the cisgender female in the relationship.  (Yes, I use other words.  But I use them to reinforce her femininity and  the idea that I can and will not compete with her true femininity.)  So far, she is comfortable with this.  But sometimes, I wonder....

I am now well insured - A short post

 

Could you imagine what these two people would have done with proper travel insurance?  Neither of these two people expected to be diverted to Oz, when they expected to land in Kansas.  Mind you, I'd rather be in Oz than in Kansas as it is more likely to find a "Rainbow Flag" in Oz, than in Kansas.  😀

- - - - - -

I'm lucky that I thought to have my Alexa unit send me reminders today.  RQS and I did not have travel insurance in effect for our upcoming Bermuda cruise, and we declined insurance on the California Coast  cruise we just booked.  So we figured that it was time to buy a yearly travel insurance policy than to pay for a policy each time we cruise or take a long distance trip. And both of us took care of this task today.

Now that I had taken care of this task, it was time to pay some bills.  Luckily, I had enough money in the bank to cover my bills and some to spare.  Given that I'll be taking a trip to DC and a California cruise before the end of Spring, I now have to think of moving money around to conveniently pay for my trips from a single bank account.  (I hate draining savings accounts, but realize that I need to do so to afford some of the trips I want to take.)

- - - - - -

Once done with bill paying, it was time to go out and try to get some Tuesday swag from T-Mobile.  Unfortunately, they had run out of umbrellas, so I had to settle for a pair of gloves.  Just as I was done with T-Mobile, the president of my co-op called, and we discussed a zoom meeting to be held with the owner of the management company the co-op uses.  

Next, was a call to my brother.  After my wife died, a girlfriend and I packed up place settings for 28 people. (My wife always wanted to have a gathering for her once large family, and bought way too many place settings.)  I told my brother that I'd drop down to see him later in the week, and pick up a few place settings that I can eventually use in my apartment.  These place settings (and other things like Gravy Bowls) may never get used.  But I think I'd like the option of using some of the place settings that my late wife spent so much money to buy, while giving the rest to a charity that I know well..

Now if only I can find a way to get rid of the stuff in the downstairs storage compartment, I'd feel a little better about bringing these place settings home.

 

A relatively quiet weekend with RQS

This weekend, RQS and I decided to go to the Eastville Comedy Club to see Janeane Garafalo.  RQS had gotten free tickets to the comedy club the week before, and we planned our weekend around meeting in NYC, then proceeding to Westchester for the next few nights.

As usual, I decided to park at Croton-Harmon for two reasons - I was leery of being late for a train, and there would be twice as many trains taking us home than would be if I parked at Cortlandt.  So, I caught a local train into the city, and made it to the restaurant a little bit earlier than expected.  RQS was comfortable with me meeting her in Marian Mode, and we ate out before the show at one of our favorite Indian restaurants, Ghandi Cafe, on Bleecker street. 

Around 6:45, we paid the bill and went to the subway for our trip to Brooklyn.  Luckily, the comedy club was in Downtown Brooklyn, a short distance from where RQS used to work.  We reached the place at 7:30, and sat down to wait for the comedy to begin.  The crowd came in, but the air conditioning didn't come on until the MC started with his gags.  So I wished I could have waited in another area until the room cooled down - which was 20 minutes into the show.  

Going to a comedy club is hit and miss at best for me.  I've found that most comics aren't that funny, and this Friday's performers confirmed my belief.  The MC was funny, but the second comedian lingered too long on a sexual act.  Then Janeane Garafalo came on, and we were bored by her rambling.  At least, she warned the audience about it before she started.  (As an aside, I had a short, pleasant exchange of words with her before I took a bio-break.)  It was a shame that I missed half of the next comedian's set, as he was the funniest of all.  At least the fifth person on stage was relatively funny, and we left for home after she finished her set.

The trip to Croton was uneventful, and we were both glad to go to bed - even if I had a hard time sleeping (as usual).

- - - - - -

Saturday came, and we were both very tired.  This was a day that I had planned to go to the bank, drop off a couple of donation bags, and then pick up some food for dinner at Uncle Giuseppe's.  By the time we got home, we weren't in the mood to do much.  But we cooked dinner and found some something lacking - there was no flavor in the sausage I had bought.  Given that a home cooked meal can be hit or miss, I'd call this meal as not even hitting the target.  Next time, I'll plan better.

- - - - - -

Sunday found us without energy.  However, we finally got all the financial details worked out for our California cruise and booked it.  (I'll bet that the travel agent thought we weren't serious about using his services until we booked with him.  He may have been burnt too many times by too many people comparison shopping, and wasting his time.)  Given that the only reason we are going to LA will be to see my uncle, we feel that using an Uber to get to a restaurant may be the best use of our money.

When the evening came, RQS suggested that I get dressed as Marian, and we went out for ribs.  Although RQS suggested Boston Market, thinking of the last time we wanted ribs and got an order of chicken instead, I suggested a nearby Chinese Buffet - and she loved the idea.  Two or three plates later, we were both sated, and ready for the bill.  She thought we had spent more for this meal than on Boston Market, I corrected her - we only spent $5 more (before tip), and got much more value in return.

- - - - - -

Monday came, and RQS had to go home.  I wasn't in the mood to go out as Marian on a rainy day, so I got dressed as Mario and reluctantly took RQS to the station to go home.  Arriving home, RQS said that her cats wouldn't leave her alone until they were fed - and that they both wanted her attention, as they probably missed her over the weekend....