Furniture shopping - again...

 

Now that I know what I want, I have to figure out a way to get the furniture into my apartment, and get the older stuff out.  And I don't want to spend a lot of money doing this.

- - - - - -

I've been tracking the price of this sofa for a while.  The price has stayed relatively stable, as it is the store's top of the line brand for reclining sofas.  Having viewed this sofa several times as Marian, I couldn't go into any of these stores as Mario to make the deal.  So I went to a new outlet and met up with a new salesman as Mario - and he gave me the information I needed to do the deal, save one: I needed to have answers on how to get rid of the old sofa.  For this, I will need to make additional arrangements, such as calling a firm like Junkluggers to remove the old sofa.

One annoying thing I noticed was that the online price was $130 less than the in-person price for the sofa.  I'll bet that this will be negotiable with the salesperson when the time comes. Until then, I'll do my research on how to get rid of the old sofa and when to do so.  Ideally, I'll be able to get the town to dispose of it on bulk pickup day, and all I would need to do is get a couple of people to help me lug the old sofa out to the dumpster area.

Once I'm done with this, I have other things I need to do - such as buying a new coffee table. Hopefully, I'll find something I like soon.

Looking for lobsters, and we didn't find any.

 

The North American Lobster - a treat to many.  And yet, these animals were once so plentiful that they were fed to prisoners, slaves and apprentices during the American colonial era.  Today, they are considered a delicacy, and I only buy them when they are on sale.

Last night, RQS and I planned to go to the local ShopRite after seeing a movie to take advantage of a sale they were having.  Lobsters were on sale for $7.99/lb.  That meant that I could stock up on lobster, cook a couple for the two of us to eat that evening, and have the meat for lobster salad over the next day or so.  Unfortunately, this was a mistake.  Before we made it to the store, they were all sold out of live lobsters. But we didn't know this when we went to the store.

Arriving at the store, RQS went to pick up some things while I headed to the seafood department.  The fellow behind the counter told me the bad news when I asked for lobsters.  So, I picked up a tray of two partially cooked lobsters (with potatoes and corn) ready to be steamed to perfection.  At that time, an announcement came over the PA system - Lobsters were on sale for $7.99.  So I sent RQS over there to find out what was going on, since I was there already.  That's when we found out that all of the announcements were on a prerecorded loop, and that no one could stop them if a selected item was sold out.

We then went home to try the "heat and eat" lobster dinner, and were both impressed and disappointed at the same time.  The seasoning for the food was very good, and we plowed through the food quickly.  However, both the quantity of lobster and preparation instructions (tiny lobster, with no reheating information) took away from the enjoyment of the dish.  (RQS had to saute the lobster meat in the tails because it was underdone.)

Would we do this again?  Maybe, but only if I wanted to reheat everything in my oven, and not using a steamer for the lobster.

A trip to the sample sale

Sometimes, you get a bargain.  Sometimes, you don't.  Today's trip to Universal Standard's sample sale was mostly a waste of time.

- - - - - -

My plan for today was to get up and out of the house early, so that I could meet RQS at Universal Standard's sample sale.  I got showered and dressed, and out the door by noon to make it to the store by 2:00 pm.  However, my usual tardiness meant that I would not be able to pick up a snack on the way to the station, and I was lucky to know of a soda vending machine on the platform to get a soda. This was a wise choice, as the weather was warm and sticky, and not conducive to me wearing my wig. But I soldiered on anyway.

I made it into Grand Central around 1:30, and could have picked up something to eat downstairs.  Instead, I ended up deciding to see if there was a deli near the store, and got on the subway.  Although this was risky, I knew that I could hold out for a while.  And soon, I was in front of the store with 45 minutes to spare.  Now, it was time to find a deli, bodega, fast food outlet, or promising halal food cart. None of the nearby food carts had people waiting to order, so I took them off of my list.  There were no fast food outlets in my path, so I drew a line through that option.  Luckily, I was close enough to some of NYU's buildings that I stumbled into a small deli - and it was there I picked up a sandwich.  But I still had a problem.  Where do I eat?  There was nowhere to sit in the place, and it wasn't air conditioned.  Luckily, there was a bench outside, and it was dry enough to sit on it's edge and enjoy the sandwich I had just ordered.

When done with the sandwich, I walked over to the store.  To describe this place as a store leaves something to be desired.  Universal Standard hasn't had a traditional storefront since before Covid. Instead, it occasionally opens a pop-up store in the back room of its offices, where a freight elevator brings people up to that back room.  RQS had gotten a little lost getting out of the subway, and I waited for her to arrive at the ground floor of the building, sitting inside near the freight elevator.

RQS arrived, and we went up to the showroom.  It wasn't as crowded as the last time we were there, but it was still a sea of femininity there.  If it weren't as warm as it was, I'd have done what one woman did, and wore a bodysuit/unitard under her clothes to allow her to strip and not show her underwear while trying on clothes. (I may do that next time.)  Unfortunately, there was nothing special that caught my interest, although I did buy something small that I may talk about at a future date.  RQS found nothing, and we ended up going back to my place, enjoying the trip together for a change....

If you knew sushi, like I know sushi....

There is an old song that goes:

"If you knew Suzie,
 Like I know Suzie,
 Oh, Oh, Oh, What a gal..."

I rework that in my head, replacing "Suzie" with "Sushi", whenever I go out for sushi.  Today was one of those days I did just that.

- - - - - -

But first....

As has been happening lately, I didn't go to sleep when I wanted last night.  Knowing that I'd have a hard time waking up in time for lunch, I set multiple alarms on multiple devices to ensure that I'd be able to get ready and meet my friend with minimal delays. After showering, shaving, and making up my face, I decided to put my earrings in.  With q tolerable "struggle", I was able to do so without much effort.  This is important, as I don't want to go back to the piercing shop a third time.

At noon, I drove into Croton to meet my friend from the census.  We try to meet at least once each month to catch up on things, and today, we met at a sushi joint in town. The conversation flowed like water.  All too soon, it was time to go home - and none too soon, as I had GI Tract issues.  When done, I drove to Target to buy a bathroom / shower shelf, so that all my bath needs could be in an easy to reach place.

And then, it was time to go home.  I got on Route 133, and less than a mile from the Saw Mill River parkway was the site of a multi car accident blocking the road.  Instead of waiting for things to clear up, I drove back to the Saw Mill parkway, taking a wide detour to get home.  Given that it is raining as I write this, I'm going to close out this entry because I doubt anything more of consideration will happen tonight.

I woke up late today, and did nothing of note.

 

I didn't want to get up today.  I was comfortable in bed and didn't want to get up - until I needed to take a bio-break.  That's when I looked at my watch to find that Mickey was getting held up!

- - - - - - 

At last night's board meeting, we were frustrated by three no-shows at our zoom meeting.  Luckily, the fourth vendor gave a good presentation.  Although we need to interview more vendors, we feel good about this one.  That's enough said on that issue - I don't want to say whether I'd award him the contract, nor do I want to say what he was bidding on. 

This morning, I received an email from our managing agent, apologizing for the problem.  Since the email came from the new fellow, I am not going to jump on his back too much.  But this apology made me reconsider the wording I'd use on the meeting minutes, and I edited them before, and reword the paragraph so that the new site representative would not suffer too much from his mistake.

- - - - - -

Afterward, I ended up doing a lot of nothing, and this was just as well.  The Broadway play I was thinking of seeing was sold out, and I no longer had a good reason to make it into NYC.  Although I could have gone to the furniture store to buy the sofa I wanted, I decided not to leave my apartment. Do I regret doing nothing?  Yes and no.  It would be nice if I had a better reason to get up in the morning. This is a problem with retirement, and one I deal with on a regular basis.  And this is why I used to attend as many meetups as possible - I like human companionship, and it gives me a reason to rise and shine in the morning....

Caves

 

The Crystal Caves of Bermuda - a tourist destination that I want to see.  The drawback to visiting this place is (for me) the steps to reach the place - 88 steps.  This is the equivalent of walking down and up 5-6 flights of stairs.  For someone overweight with knee problems, this is not something that is done quickly. But it is doable.

Why do I mention this?

RQS and I are going to visit Bermuda in the near future.  Given the conservatism of Bermuda, I will not be traveling as my authentic self.  But I digress.  RQS doesn't know whether she will feel comfortable inside of the cave.  So I suggested that we try something out closer to home, in order to find out whether she'd like to visit this place.  (It's also an excuse to get away for a day or two, instead of hanging out in the usual places.)

- - - - - -

The nearest caverns similar to what we'd visit in Bermuda are found in Upstate New York.  The most famous of these are Howe Caverns.  Although I've been here before, I wouldn't mind visiting the place again.  And it is an ideal place to take RQS before our trip, as we might get to see the leaves start to change on our way up.  From what I can tell from my pictures of Howe Caverns, it will be a very different experience from Bermuda's Crystal Caves for RQS.  In New York, one walks through a narrow path, then reaches a small boat on which one reaches the far point of the tour.  In Bermuda, it looks like a walking path has been floated on a subterranean lake, where claustrophobiacs may only have their discomfort triggered by the ceiling height in the caves.

Will RQS feel comfortable in the caves?  Who knows yet?

We wouldn't make this a one day trip. This way, if RQS didn't like going through the cavern, we would stop at the New York State Museum in Albany on the way home.  It is a good museum, and well worth visiting when one's in the area.  From there, we could drive down either side of the Hudson and enjoy the sights along the way back to Croton. 

 

Taking care of business (part 3)

 

A week ago, electricians came to the apartment to remediate issues caused by the aluminum wiring in my apartment complex.  Not dealing with this issue would increase the possibility of a fire, and our insurance would not cover us until this work is complete.  Today was the second visit from the electricians .  However, this visit was to deal with outlets behind my bed and dressers that couldn't be reached on their first visit.  To get to these outlets, I had to dump lots of stuff into bins and boxes to get it out of the way (to be sorted out later), so that the furniture could be moved to access the outlets.

In the process of moving furniture, I found a lot of stuff that had fallen behind the dressers and bed that was too hard to get at in normal circumstances.  Once things are back to normal, I will sort through everything I put into bins and boxes to determine what stuff to keep and what stuff to trash.  This is something that everyone should do every few years, and it's been almost 30 years since I've done this because furniture movement is a daunting task for me these days.

- - - - - -

The electricians were supposed to be here at 9:00 am.  By 9:30, I was getting concerned that something was screwed up, as I had no notice of any problem.  So I did two things in parallel: Write an email to the co-op's managing agent to notify them of the problem, and to call them immediately afterward.  Obviously, I got someone's attention, as within 15 minutes, I found out that the electricians would be here within a few minutes.

When the electricians arrived, they were apologetic - they had come off of an emergency call (the electric had gone out in half of a person's house in White Plains), and couldn't make it back to me on time.  They were also surprised to find out that I hadn't been notified of the problem, as I would have been less anxious and annoyed at having to wait longer than expected.  Within 30 minutes, they had finished work on all 3 of my remaining outlets, furniture was back in place, and I was able to relax and take a nap.

- - - - - -

What I haven't mentioned about today was that I didn't get much sleep the night before.  So, when TCL called to tell me that she wasn't feeling well and couldn't do lunch today, I was a bit happy that this happened.  We can schedule lunch for when I'm more rested and awake....