Packing for another cruise - again.

 

Yes, I will soon be on another cruise, and I'll be taking pictures - of the ship.  It's not that I don't want to get off the ship.  Instead, it's because there's nothing new for me to see at the ports when I leave the ship.

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Today, I took care of some business for the co-op, and then attended our monthly business meeting.  Ever since we got our new site representative, things have been running well.  Instead of our meetings running 4-5 hours with the old site manager, they now run 90 minutes or so and are almost a pleasure to attend.  When someone commented about a mistake this new fellow made, I noted that this would be the price we pay to train this person to do the job in the way we want the job done.

Once the co-op board meeting was done, I proceeded to do a couple of loads of laundry before the cruise.  I figure that I'll need clean sheets for when I get back, as well as clean clothes I can take with me on the cruise.  And yet, I still have to pack the fancy dress I want to wear, along with the shoes I'll be wearing with it on gala nights.  It'll be nice to gussy myself up again, as its been a while since I've felt pretty - being stuck in Mario mode for too long can be hard to bear at times.

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Do I think I'll be wearing everything I bring on the cruise?  No.  But I have the room in the suitcase, so why not bring a few things so that I have a few options when I'm on the ship.  While cruising, I hope that the have the "Inch of Gold" chains on sale, as I need to pick up some 24" gold and silver chains to use with some of the pendants I have bought recently.

Even if this cruise is not up to my standards, I think I'll have a good time.  Keep your fingers crossed for me....

Holiday Planning - a quick post

 

Holiday Season is here.  And this year, my plans were not as simple as they might have been in years past.  My niece and nephew will not be coming to New York this year, and this means that my brother will not be doing anything special for the holiday.  RQS has no family to visit, leaving my family and friends as her options for people with whom to share the holiday.  This meant that I had something special for us to do together, and find someone who was also alone on the holiday.

Our original plans were for RQS to come up to Croton, and we would find a nice place to eat on Christmas day.  However, most of the places we looked at were offering Christmas Eve dining, but not Christmas Day dining.  So we regrouped.  Instead of being in Croton, I'd go down to Queens and we'd have a special dinner in NYC, specifically a high-class Chinese restaurant. (We joked that we were becoming "Honorary Jews" for the day, as it is a custom for many Jews to eat Chinese food on this holiday.)  Though we had found such a restaurant, our plans changed again.  TCL had no place to be on Xmas, as she couldn't make plans early enough to afford visiting one of her offspring for the holiday.  So, RQS and I agreed to have a fancy Christmas Eve dinner at a local restaurant (with me presenting as Marian - I can't wait to get dressed up for this), and then visit TCL for a Chinese dinner on Christmas (with me presenting as Mario).

When will I get to see my brother?  Who knows?  But I expect that it may be after my next visit to RQS's place in Queens.....

Seeing work finally getting done

 

Several years ago, a former co-op board member reported that the retaining wall behind her building had failed, and that it needed repair.  We were in the middle of a financial crisis, as we were digging out from a heavy debt load and would have higher priorities until we refinanced the complex. This board member has since left the co-op, selling off al of her shares, and no longer has any interest in the complex.  However, the issue of the retaining wall remained.

Although we refinanced the co-op a year or two ago, gaining the funds to pay for this project, we hadn't been able to start it due to issues I am not at liberty to cover here.  This delay caused the repair work being done on the retaining wall to become a higher priority for us, and we were able to break through the log jam to solicit bids, approve a contractor and get work started.  A couple of weeks ago, we saw the delivery of materials needed to start work on this project.  I'd bet that the people whose parking spots were affected by the delivery of this material had their complaints, but I think they were also glad to see that work would finally be getting done on this project.  

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Getting this work done was one of my highest priorities, as I know what happens when infrastructure maintenance is deferred.  Too long of a delay will cause things to fall apart, causing repairs (or replacements) to become even more expensive.  Yes, I have been a voice for spending more money when many of the people in my complex (like myself) are living on fixed incomes.

Sooner or later, everyone has to take care of some form of deferred maintenance - to one's property, or to one's health.  I guess it's now the season the season to do this....

The effort to verify that a communication was legitimate.

 

As most of my readers know, I am of that age where I can start collecting Social Security benefits.  However, the path between applying for Social Security and collecting one's first benefits is fraught with risk.  In my case, it was verifying that a phone call and email came from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and nt from a scammer.

While I was on my recent Bermuda Cruise, I received both a phone call and an email from a person claiming to be from SSA, saying that I should call his office before December 7th in regard to my benefits.  Well, something seemed fishy, but I couldn't put a handle on it.  So I decided to wait until I returned from the cruise to start looking at things.

When I returned from my cruise, I decided to try and find out whether the communications I had received were legitimate.  First, I decided to check communications on the ssa.gov secure website, but I found nothing.  This didn't give me a good feeling.  Next, I looked at the email to see if the sender's address was spoofed in some way - and there was no evidence of whether this came from SSA or not, as the sender had a "do not reply" return address.  Things were not looking good to say the least.  But something said that I had to do more research.

A few days later, I decided to call the number I had received, and find out what might be going on.  The announcement on the line said SSA, so I dialed the extension.  A person answered, and wanted my SS number before proceeding any further - something I would not give.  After a minute, the fellow gave me the number of the Peekskill office (which I could verify) to call and verify his number.  The next day, I called a different SSA number (1-800-772-1213) to get information.  Although it took 45 minutes to reach a human, I was finally able to verify that the original communication was legitimate.  What a relief.  Now to contact this fellow, finally knowing he was a legitimate contact.

 

 

PS: I spoke with the man today, and the reason for his call was that I could collect survivor benefits on my late wife's account for 4 months, then switch over to collecting benefits on my account when I'm 66 1/2.  It's a nice way to get an extra $2,700 pre-tax.  It's too bad that I didn't file to collect as a survivor on my late wife's account a year ago.  It'd have been nice to have an extra $10k+ in my bank.  But then, why be greedy?  I'm treating this as one of the last things my late wife can give me.  And, like 27 years ago, I am treating myself to a cruise with this money....

????????

I didn't know what to write about when I started this entry.  Do I write about what went on in my life this weekend?  Do I write some commentary about what is going on in the world? Or, do I choose a topic at random and pontificate on it?  After a full day of thought, I had few ideas, so here goes....

1. I recently received a call from an old friend.  Although we both had said that if we reached the age of 60 without a partner, that we'd consider having a relationship.  As readers of this blog know, I am very happy with RQS as a partner, as we are alike in so many ways.  And I consider myself lucky that we didn't get together, as she is a train wreck of a person.

This friend knows I am transgender, and talked about a conspiracy to take children who question their sexual identity and treat them as either trans or gay/lesbian.  Although there may be some people who have this as an agenda, most trans people (and most schools) would never consider doing this.  At most, we'd want to have the child see a qualified psychotherapist for evaluation before anything else is done.

Our conversation morphed into talking about "Welfare Cheats", as if there was a moral problem with most of the people collecting social benefits.  She then started to think with her feelings and not her mind when she said that we should put unskilled people to work babysitting working folks' kids.  I countered with a single question: Would she want someone who us unvetted, unskilled, and otherwise unsuited to babysit children to be responsible for her child's welfare in any way?  The last thing I'd want to see is a person prone to violence in charge of my child.  Yes, people who have this philosophy will often backtrack and make exceptions for the flaws in their plans.  But in the end, they do not have well thought out positions.

2. RQS and I were looking for a place to have a fancy dinner on Christmas day.  It's amazing how few fine dining places are open on Christmas vs. Thanksgiving.  So I joked with my friend Vicki that RQS and I will become honorary Jews for Xmas and eat Chinese!  Vicki chuckled.....   She knew why Jews tend to go to Chinese places on Xmas - "Safe Treyf!"  (i.e. Non kosher food that is tasty, that doesn't look like the forbidden food it is.)

3. This morning, I received a call from UPS to ask me about a claim I filed regarding an item they claimed was delivered, but did not show up at my door until the following day.  As I was getting home (and prepared to make a return phone call to UPS), I met the UPS delivery guy in the hallway.  We chatted for a minute, and I explained what happened.  He confirmed my suspicion that UPS often uses USPS for last mile service (claiming the item has been delivered to my door when it wasn't) and that holiday season extra hires often do not know the routes and deliver goods to the wrong addresses. I was willing to confirm what happened on paper, and he said that I did the right thing.

4. I'm still trying to think of what to get RQS for a surprise Xmas gift.  She already knows the "big" item she is getting.  But I want to surprise her with something else.  (Any ideas?)

5. Now that my ears are pierced, I'm finding that I want to buy coordinated sets of earrings and necklaces w. pendant.  However, I'm finding that I end up doubling much of the expense, as I need to buy a longer chain for the pendant, so that it hits at the right place on my neck.

6. Every time I think of my upcoming cruise, I find that I missed something I should be packing. Today, I figured that I should pack a swimsuit, as I'll be in the Bahamas, and might want to take a dip in the hot tub. Will I end up doing this?  I'm not sure, as I don't want to wear my new falsies into the hot tub.  But I don't want to bring my older, ill fitting pool-safe falsies to stuff in my swimsuit's cups.

I could go on and on with my thoughts.  But I figure that my readers might be interested in the random thoughts going through my head these days.

 

 

Spending a musical weekend in Westchester

 

 

 

Last weekend, RQS and I spent a musical together.   Specifically, our main events were all musical in nature.  First, it was the Women's Chorus of Westchester on Friday night, followed by Postmodern Jukebox on Saturday night.  And in both cases, I was able to spend the full day as Marian!

But first....

Although RQS is comfortable with me presenting as Marian, the choice of which mode I'd be in for the day was already bade for me by attending this concert.  Many people from the Yonkers Game Night group were there to hear one of our members sing as part of the chorus.  So, after a futile attempt to straighten up the apartment before RQS arrived, I got showered and dressed early, as RQS was taking an early train up to Croton.

After RQS arrived, we had a hard decision to make - what do we want to eat?  We decided to eat out, and had a pleasant, but forgettable meal at a local Mexican restaurant.  Though the place was comfortable and quiet, the food missed the mark.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good enough to remember well.  (In fact, it took me a minute or two to remember this meal.)  And then we killed a little time before going to the church where the concert was being held.

It took a while for us to find a parking spot in downtown Ossining, but we did find one "close" to the church.  Too bad that it was a walk uphill that exhausted RQS a little.  (I can't say that I wasn't feeling a little winded myself on the hill.)  When we arrived at the church, I had to use Mario's name for the tickets - but that wasn't much of an issue, as most people don't give much of a damn about things around here if people are acting nicely.  Once seated, the rest of our crew came, and we were invited over for New Year's Eve with the gang.  Then, the concert started.

I can't say much about how good or bad these ladies sounded.  They did some of the obligatory seasonal music, such as "The Song of the Bells".  Yet I was a little miffed when the mistress of ceremonies announced "Silver Bells" as if it was a hit sung by Bing Crosby.  (Crosby did "White Christmas" while Bob Hope did the famous version of "Silver Bells" after Crosby turned it into a minor hit - another example of how Hope was getting screwed by Crosby in films.  But I digress.)  Shortly afterward came an original piece (or, so I think) regarding the Holiday Roller Coaster of Food.  Too bad that someone doesn't record this song - it would make a good addition to the Christmas canon of songs.  Towards the end of the night was a song that proclaimed the chorus's solidarity with Israel - which I could accept, given that Hanukkah would soon be here.

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The next day, we lazed around until it was time to go to see Postmodern Jukebox in Peekskill.  I can't say too much about the songs sung at this performance, as I didn't recognize half of them.  But I did recognize their version of "It's all about the Bass" and loved this version of the tune.  What I will say is that all of the vocalists had great sets of pipes, and that I would gladly see them again - especially if they were singing more of the classic standards.

 

Why didn't I say more about PMJ?  Well, by the time we got there, I was ready to take a nap and could barely stay conscious enough to enjoy the show.  And that I did.

 

I'll be going on another cruise soon - this time as Marian!

 

By the time you read this, I'll have already packed for my cruise. It's a simple 7-day run from NYC to the Bahamas via Port Canaveral.

I'm not much of a fan of visiting Port Canaveral, as it is only a restocking stop for the ship gussied up as a place worth visiting.  If one wants to go to Orlando's theme parks, one has to take an overpriced shuttle to reach them AND pay for a 1-day pass which will only be used for less than half of a day.

Given the relative cheap price for me to take a solo cruise, I figure that I'd try out MSC as a cruise line.  Even if I like this cruise, I don't intend on cruising on the line that often, as they do not yet have any West Coast / Alaska cruises which would make it worthwhile to use them for special vacations.  Yes, I could have tried them out for our Norway cruise next year.  But I didn't want to risk having a bad cruise with RQS taking money out of her savings account to finance her trip.

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I've been told that MSC's basic drink package works on their private island.  This means that I'll be able to have a beer or two while there and not worry about getting nicked when back on the ship.  (Some cruise lines' private islands do not honor the onboard drink package when on some of their private islands.)  Since I don't drink much, this is not much of an issue for me.  But it might be for some of my readers.

For those who cruise often, MSC is an outlier in the way it does things.  For example, it doesn't attach your credit card information to your cruise card account before embarkation.  Instead, it requires that the cruiser to register his/her card shortly after embarkation.  To make things worse, since the line is headquartered in Switzerland, one should bring a credit card that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees, as one might get nicked extra service charges on every shipboard debit made to one's account.  (The big 3 "American" cruise lines all use American banks. so one doesn't have to worry about these fees when one is onboard the ship.)

I'll miss RQS on this cruise.  But it'll be nice to travel as Marian again, and will be even nicer to see her when I get back to NYC....