A nothing much to say day....

Today was a day where I did a lot of nothing, except to relax....

There was only one thing on my docket today, and that was to being RQS back to the station.  Yes, I picked up a couple of books from the library, but I could have done that tomorrow.  As it stands, I'll still have to make another run out tomorrow, as I have to order some foreign currency from the bank.

With the above being said, I planned to go out as Marian after getting a couple of things done.  But then, I had some GI Tract issues, and rested for the remainder of the day.  Of course, I got nothing done.  But I will take care of things such as laundry tomorrow before I go out.

Soon, I'll have to start packing for my upcoming cruise.  Since this will be a long distance trip, I will need to be sure that I have enough clothing to put in the laundry onboard the ship.  (I'd hate to spend $9.00/load for a small load.)  Once my large suitcase is packed, I'll bring it to RQS's place, so that I can be ready the night before our trip.  Luckily, I have two weeks to get this task done.

Before then, I intend to spend as much time as possible in Marian mode, as I'll be stuck as Mario for two weeks straight....
 

By the time you read this, the first trial will be over.

 

By the time you read this, the first of the 4 Trump trials will be over and done with.  Will he be acquitted?  I hope not, as he is a danger to the Trans community.  Will there be a hung jury?  Possibly, but I hope not.  I'd hate to see this same case go to trial again.  Will he be convicted?  I hope so.  But I'm afraid that Trump will be out on bail while the verdict is appealed.  And if he loses on his appeals, will he spend any time in prison?

There are a lot of Trump trolls out there, who defend him with all the zealotry of typical cult members.  They can and will not see objective reality, as they have bought into his myth that "I alone, can fix things."  If this were true, why didn't the job get done done during his one term in office?  Trump is a con artist, a grifter who has bamboozled millions of people.  And the rest of the GOP are afraid of what his supporters will do.

You'll notice that the three great Abrahamic faiths all believe in the same god, even though he is worshiped differently in each of them.  All say to love thy neighbor and to treat strangers as you'd treat family.  And yet, all have been corrupted to have factions who will fight and kill to see that their version of god wins out.  To me, faith is the ability to test one's beliefs and act according to those tenets in spite of our natural instincts.  Cultism demands of individuals an unquestioned acceptance of dogma, and a willingness to fight to have that dogma rule everyone's behavior.  Doesn't MAGA sound like a cult to you?

As I wrote this entry, I watched Robert DeNiro hold a rally near where the Trump trial was being held. He rightfully noted that authoritarians gain their power by the use of fear - free people know not to worry about that fear and see the danger inherent in that fear.  Is it any wonder that the most used tactic of MAGA is to shout people down who don't agree with them?  They are like lambs being led to the slaughterhouse.  But it's hard to feel pity for them, as they willingly joined a cult, and are no longer receptive to arguments based on reality.  They are a danger to people like me, and all we can do is to see that their cult leader does some serious prison time, so that the cult leader comes out "tenderized" by the experience.

Sadly, if he is convicted, he will still get protection from the US Secret Service - even in a prison cell.  If it were up to me, he'd get a multi-cultural education from the Red, Blue, Letters and Numbers fraternal organizations,  (For those not familiar with the slang, Reds - Bloods, Blues - Crips, Numbers - MS-13, and Letters - Singaloa.)  The one thing I'd hate to see is him being protected by the Aryan Brotherhood, as I'd like to see him be the forced recipient of some masculine "love" from one of the aforementioned groups.

At least, the case will go to the jury tomorrow, and we'll likely to have had a verdict by the end of May......

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down

 

I can still remember the beautiful voice of Karen Carpenter singing a song with a line in the chorus going "Rainy days and Mondays always get me down."  And on Memorial Day, it was both a rainy day and a Monday.  But I wasn't as depressed as I could be, as I had company - RQS decided not to go home in the bad weather, and stayed over an extra night.

- - - - - -

What could be an old adage?  "We must be married.  We do nothing together."  In our case, we are so relaxed around each other, that we don't feel the need to rush out to find things to do.  Could this be a byproduct of getting old?  Maybe.  But I think it's more that we don't need to entertain each other all the time.

As I look through online store websites, I occasionally find myself saying: "Would this look good on me?"  Just like a woman, don't you think?  Well, when we occasionally shop together, I've found that we have both asked this question of each other when shopping in-person and online.  Recently, I asked her to critique two garments I bought from Universal Standard, and she approved of them.  She's confident enough in herself to be comfortable with me as Marian, and I feel confident enough in her that I can be in between gender presentations in front of her, such as when I take off my wig at home (or some garments) and have that awkward, "Half Dressed" look about me.

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On Memorial Day, RQS and I rested most of the day, and went out just as it started to pour.  The heavy rains didn't last long, but our drive did - much of it while chatting with TCL about nothing worth remembering.  After a quick snack, we decided to drive a little more before going home for a while, then out for dinner.

To be safe, I tend to avoid places in Marian mode that usually see me as Mario, and avoid places in Mario mode that usually see me as Marian.  So, we went to a pizzeria that I usually go to as Marian and enjoyed a large pie (of which I ate too much).  After this, we had nothing to do, so we went home and were in for the night....

The lobster truck came, and we went....

 

RQS and I are fans of the Cousins Maine Lobster truck when it visits a nearby locale.  We always try to get a lobster roll when it's nearby - and today it was.

- - - - - -

Both of us got moving late today, and both of us put on our summer dresses.  RQS wore one she bought at Target (shown above) while I wore something I bought from Ellos a couple of years ago.  (Too bad they no longer sell this style, as RQS wanted one that's the same as what I wore.)  Given how comfortable the dress was, I decided to order one for myself to wear this summer while they still had it in stock.  But I digress....

The lobster truck was parked at the Broken Bow Brewery, and we got there in less than 45 minutes. When we arrived, RQS went to the truck to place the order while I picked up a couple of light brews for us to wash down the lobster.  There was a minor mishap (which I won't go into here) which caused RQS some concern.  But all was good by the time we sat down to eat our lobster - save for the seating.  By the time I got our beers, all the tables were occupied and we found ourselves eating while sitting in some uncomfortable chairs.

Hopefully, the truck will be again nearby when RQS is here next, as I could get used to eating lobster rolls on a regular basis....

Stormy Weather and its aftermath

 

When I was awakened the other morning, it sounded like golf ball sized hail was hitting my roof.  Yet, it also sounder like something was trying to pull the roof off of our building.  It was a sound that I've never heard before, and one I hope not to hear again.

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The other day, the weather report said that there was an area of severe weather heading from Texas and about to hit New York sometime in the overnight hours.  Well, the weather came, but just as the sun would normally come up.  As illustrated in the photo above, the winds were strong enough to blow a tree down and into our fence.  After the storm, we had to contract for emergency work to keep this now dead tree from damaging our building, but we will need to perform repair work on the fence as well.  (Thankfully, we completed work n the retaining wall last year.  I'd hate to see what could have happened if the wall wasn't in good shape.)

I eventually went outside to pick RQS up at the station, there was a big puddle of water near our dumpsters.  There was never this much water there before.  Looking closer, it seemed like Mother Nature had blown all of the leaves off the trees and deposited them in our driveway/parking lot.  When I reached my car, I had to take a few minutes to scoop leaves off my car before it could be driven.  As I drove to the station, I found a traffic light lying in the middle of a busy intersection.  The winds must have been very strong, since I've never seen this happen in my area.

Given that this is a holiday weekend and that there was a home day game at the Stadium, RQS's train was packed.  People were standing in the aisle.  And, befitting the day, the train was late.  Too bad that I couldn't have shown RQS the downed traffic light.  But I was very thankful that my building was structurally intact, and relatively unscathed, although I can't say this for the building next door, as it had water damage due to the storm.  Yes, the dumpster puddle still remained, as the fallen leaves were blocking the drain.  But that can be cleared with minor effort.  I just wonder what surprises will come next....

Slowly attacking the mess in my apartment

 

When I got up this morning, I knew I had to do something to start cleaning up the mess in my place.  It's been a long time since I've been able to have the cleaning lady come over, and for every 4 steps forward, I'm taking 3 steps back.  So, I figured that I'd dedicate an hour or two today for this task before RQS arrives.

Instead of attacking messes on the table, I decided to attack the mess in my dresser drawers.  I figured that I might be able to clear out a drawer or two in the process, and make space for some of the new clothes that I bought at Flax.  So, after an hour, I found that I had one large contractor bag to go to the dumpster, as well as a shredder that I thought was working when it wasn't.

One idea that is working well for me is that if I haven't used something in a long while and that I am not likely to use it,  be sure to throw it out.  To facilitate that, I started taking an old post office box used to drop off a large quantity of held mail, and turning it into a garbage pail with the use of a large garbage bag.  If I can't justify keeping the item, I turn to the side and unceremoniously drop it in the bag for disposal.  It's a lot easier to toss items when the process takes up less mental processing space.

I can't say that I'm anywhere near seeing a light at the end of a tunnel.  But I can say that I found space for the clothes I bought from Flax, as well as the two dresses I bought from Universal standard.

- - - - - -

 

Thinking of dresses and things....

Last night, I decided to wear the above dress out.  As much as I hated the countless number of buttons I had to button up, I liked how I felt in the dress.  RQS said I should keep the dress, and I will do so.

She also said I should keep the above jumpsuit, and I will wear it once I have a lightweight buttoned top I could wear with it, so that my shoulders could be covered most of the time. 
 

The other day, I saw that this dress was on sale.  Given that I like the cut of this dress more than a similar one sold by Universal Standard, I bought two of them and should receive them tomorrow.  Too bad that I don't have any journeys scheduled where I will be out and about for a week or two as Marian.  But when I do, this dress will be with me if I'm in a warm weather climate.

Now, to prune more items that I don't love from my wardrobe....

Another lunch with RO

 

Around 30 years ago, my late wife and I found the above book at Barnes and Noble.  Living reasonably close to the city as we did, we'd make regular pilgrimages to Manhattan's Chinatown and the one that was developing in Flushing to get a good Dim Sum meal.  If there was a good Chinese Restaurant, we'd move heaven and earth to get there.

 

At the time this book was published, we had several definitions for the quality of Chinese restaurants:

• Local - The food was edible, but we wouldn't go out of town for it.
• Acceptable - The food was decent, and worth going one or two towns over to dine in the place.
• Good - The place was an hour or more away, and well worth the effort to eat there. (I miss The Little Bear near Woodstock, NY.)
  
• Very Good - The place was outside the region, and a must visit when in the area. (Empress of China - San Francisco, CA)
  
• Excellent - The place is on the other side of the globe, and a bucket list must visit.

Needless to say, we never had the chance to get to the last category of restaurants.  My wife had a friend where she worked who could tell us great places to eat when in China.  But she died before I had accumulated enough money to take this kind of bucket list trip.

 

 

I'm still willing to go to the ends of the earth for a good meal.  And today, I had the chance to revisit Qin Dynasty in Parsippany, NJ.  Qin Dynasty is an unassuming place sited in front of the Red Roof Inn on Route 46.  There is nothing special to recommend this place, other than it was a convenient midpoint for RO and I to get together.

 

RO and I have eaten at this place several times before, and we always have several plates of Dim Sum.  Today, we tried one of the dinner dishes along with our usual order of Dim Sum.  And it was up to the quality of the joints I often visit in Manhattan.  I can also say the same for their Dim Sum - it's good, and worth eating when in the area.  But I wouldn't schedule a special drive to get to this place, as RQS and I know better places for Dim Sum closer to home.

 

Yet, you might ask: Why do I recommend this place?

 

The answer is simple.  There are few enough decent places which have a wide variety of Dim Sum on their menus, and this is one of them.  One can find the standard offerings such as Shu Mai, Pork Buns, and soup dumplings.  But this place also has things such as duck filled dumplings and peanut filled dumplings. And I usually try to order something new at every meal.

 

Luckily, I can go to Aberdeen in White Plains, NY and have a good variety of tasty dishes there.  But if I'm near Parsippany, I'll try to visit Qin Dynasty.