Baby needs a new pair of shoes!

 

As I've recently reported, I have just completed a Bermuda cruise as Mario.  Soon, I'll be returning as Marian, and I'll want to be wearing a pretty pair of shoes to go along with a little black dress on "dress to impress" night.  Both RQS and I want a picture of the two of us together, we me looking my finest for the evening.  And a pair of shoes like the one above would fit the bill perfectly.

Today, I expect UPS to deliver these shoes.  UPS sent me a notice that the shoes were delivered - but they were delivered to the wrong address.  Stuff like this happens, but I'm never happy when it does.  So I messaged UPS, and got someone at an overseas service area.  (Given that the name sounded Indian or Pakistani, I think this is a reasonable guess.) After 10 minutes, they started to send an alert out for a missing package.  While on the line, my neighbor came over with the shoes.  Yay!  But now, I had to tell UPS that the problem was resolved, and to ask the carrier to be more careful next time.  Another 10 minutes later, I got a call from UPS on my landline - and I explained the situation.  At this point, "no harm, no foul."

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I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but RQS's sister lives directly in the path of  Hurricane M(ilton).  So we were concerned that she'd be able to make it though the night, given where she lives.  We were in luck.  She made it through the night with minor damage to the house.  And RQS's other relatives in Florida are also OK.

Even though I was supposed to do laundry yesterday, I decided to do it today.  This way, all I have to do is hang up clean clothes when I'm done.  This weekend, I'll put much of my summer wardrobe into storage containers and stash it away until next year.  (I expect that we'll be taking at least one trip to somewhere warm before too long, and I don't want to hunt for warm weather clothing at that time.

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Normally, I might post something about game night.  But I think that would be an anticlimactic end to the day after all the above.

I did plenty of nothing, and nothing's plenty for me. (a short post)

 

It was the day after my flu/covid shots, and I didn't have much energy to do much of anything today.  Yes, I got things ready for me to get dressed after a shower, but that's as far as I got today.

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I have found that I need an extra push to get anything done lately.  If there is something scheduled for me to do outside of the apartment, I'll end up doing it - especially when Marian's presence is expected.  There is something that energizes me when I'm able to be out as Marian.

My original plans were to do some laundry in the morning, then go out and see a movie in the evening.  Obviously, neither of these things happened.  Instead, it was time to do two loads of laundry.  It's not the most exciting thing to do, but it has to get done before RQS arrives here.

While starting to get myself moving, I opened my large suitcase to unpack what's left inside of it. I found that one of the soda cans I had packed from my cruise had leaked, but I haven't found out what it leaked into.  I guess it'll all come out in the wash.

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Sometime over the next few days, I'll have to unpack my winter wardrobe.  In it are some long sleeved dresses that I wear as tunics over leggings.  Thinking of leggings, I just ordered 3 pairs from Universal Standard.  Hopefully, they will feel as nice as the one pair from them that I already own.

It's not something I want to do, but someone's got to do it.

 

Other than going out for my flu shot and for some food shopping, the high point of my day would be the co-op board meeting we held this evening.  This would be a longer than usual board meeting, as our goal would be to interview two prospective vendors before the main meeting started.

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Around noon, I went to the local CVS for my shots, then headed to Trader Joe's to do some food shopping.  Unlike my usual trips to TJ's, I broke the $70 barrier.  Mind you, I did this by buying some "expensive" olive oil, some packaged meals, and other items that quickly deplete the wallet - something very hard to do here.  Then I was homeward bound, as I had to get some food into the freezer before it started to thaw.

Sadly, there would be no way for me to go out presenting as Marian, as I had to be out as Mario until the board meeting ended.  So I killed some time, then started up the zoom meeting.  Although I got Zoom to work, I found that something was corrupted on my disk during two unplanned shutdowns that resulted in the equivalent of the "blue screen of death".  Although I don't think I have a virus, I'll have to check out things a bit more when I have the time.  But I digress....

The first vendor came online, and we had a polite conversation for the next 45 minutes.  Will we use this vendor again?  Maybe.  We've worked with them before, but one person there gives me a bad feeling about this vendor, given that his inattention to his job caused us a little grief in the past.  The second vendor fared a bit better, but we're not sold on them yet - we'd be taking a sideways step with technology, and our only gain would be to get rid of our current vendor.  Yet, we spent the better part of an hour and a half talking with this vendor.  So who knows what our answer will be?

Next came the session with our current managing agent.  We are not happy with the answers this fellow gives us, as I feel he is helping his manager to cover something up.  (I wish I had left the zoom recorder on like I usually do.  But I am only human, and was tired going into the meeting.)  Hopefully, he'll be able to supply us with the information we need by the time our next meeting comes around. 

It was an exhausting day, even though I didn't spend much time doing anything, save for the board meeting.  And that was more than enough for me....

The day after the cruise - back to reality

 

It's 10 pm and I'm back to reality.  There are two baskets of laundry waiting to be put into the washer, a bed to be straightened out before I go to sleep, and a dress to hang up for its next wearing.  I'm home, and I wish I were already on my next cruise.

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Although I woke up early after a short sleep, I didn't bother to get moving until noon.  There were clothes in a laundry basket left unfolded since before the cruise that had to be taken care of.  Of course, I was doing this on an empty stomach, as there was no fresh food in the house to eat.  About the only things I had to eat at home other than dried pasta and bottled tomato sauce were packages of instant oatmeal.  And that sated my hunger for a while.

Later on, I decided to get dressed and go out as Marian.  Once I showered, shaved and made up my face, I noticed one thing - I couldn't find the belt I normally wear with the dress I was wearing.  So, I knew what I had to do - shop!  This meant that I'd drive out to Paramus to see what Lane Bryant had lying around.  About 45 minutes later, I was in the store and carrying a bag with 2 belts and a necklace. 

Now that I spent most of my my discretionary money, I decided to have some dinner at a local diner. I chose the seafood over pasta - and I was stuffed!  I was lucky that the meal I ordered didn't include dessert, as I'd have to take it home in a pooch pouch.  And then, I was finally on my way home for the night with a quick stop at the supermarket to put something in the ice box.

Reality wasn't bad to me today - it's nice to sleep in my own bed again.

Bermuda Cruise 2024 #1 - Disembarkation Day (10/06/24)

 

This morning, we returned to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Here's the best view I could get of the ship before we got on the ferry at Red Hook.  But first....

Begrudgingly, RQS and I got up at 5:30 am in order to be out of our cabin by 7:30 am.  So, both of us finished repacking our carry-on bags, got showered and dressed, then headed off to the main dining room for our last breakfast on the ship.  After 7 days, we finally have the knack of getting what we want from the ship, and we'll miss ship life for a while.  Once done with breakfast, it was time to wait for a while, as our disembarkation group was not scheduled to be called until 9:45 am or so.

Having cruised with MSC before, I knew that we could wait in the "handicapped waiting area" across from the main dining room.  RQS and I asked if we could wait there instead of going to the theater and dealing with stairs, and then going back to the other end of the ship to leave it for the last time.  We were told we were welcome to wait in this area, and RQS was able to catch up on her reading for an hour and a half. 

Finally, our boarding group was called and we proceeded into the cruise terminal.  Compared with the task of finding our bags in the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, doing this in Brooklyn was easy, as luggage is scattered over a larger area and is easier to find. Once I located our luggage, it was off to US Customs' stations to be processed, and then we were free to leave the terminal.

Once out of the terminal, we figured that we'd skip the headache of dealing with getting an Uber at the pier. Instead, we'd deal with the headache of cars getting in and out of the cruise terminal area by taking the ferry to the Atlantic Avenue/Brooklyn Bridge park (Pier 6) and getting our Uber outside of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal area.  After waiting 45 minutes for the ferry to come, we took the ferry to its next stop, got off, and summoned an Uber.  The car arrived just 5 minutes later - we likely saved the driver at least 15 minutes (each way) by picking us up a mile away from the pier, saving us $30 as well!

We arrived at RQS's place at 11:30 am, and it was time to call my brother to pick me up.  He arrived at 12:30 pm, and I was on my way home with a stop at my brother's house to have lunch.  Around 3:00 pm, I was on my way home, and got there in a little over an hour.  Once I brought my bags upstairs, it was time to fall out for a couple of hours, as I needed some well earned rest....

Bermuda Cruise 2024 #1 - Sea Day #5 (10/05/24)

 

RQS and I decided to get up late today, as this would be our last day on the ship. We didn't get moving until 10 am, and made it to the main dining room for brunch.  Instead of my usual breakfast, I decided to start with Buccatini with Clam Sauce.  As would be expected with an Italian cruise line, this dish was yummy!  If you cruise MSC in the future, try to have this dish at least once on your cruise, as you won't be disappointed.  However, if you are asked to share a table, think twice.  There are a large number of Asians who will keep to themselves if seated with Occidentals.

After brunch, it was back to the cabin to pack.  I put all my dirty clothes in my large suitcase, with the plan to unload everything into the washing machine once I get home.  RQS took a little more time, as she has yet to perfect a routine for dealing with end-of-cruise packing that can be used on 7-day cruises.  After a little rest, it was back to the buffet for one last lunch before going back to the cabin to finish packing. Once finished, it was time to rest again.  I don't know what caused us to be tired today, as we had more than enough sleep last night.  And then it was time for dinner.

It was our last trip to the main dining room, and it was Italian night.  The staff greeted the diners by singing some song as diners walked to their tables.  The tables were decked out in the colors of the Italian flag, while the wait staff wore vests and ties with the same colors.  All the highlighted foods would be found in a typical Italian restaurant, and I chose the Veal Osso Buco.  Yum!  I'll be sure to diet after the cruise ends - I feel bloated from all the tasty food we ate on board.

One thing of note: Our new table mates next to us noted that the NCL Joy made it to Bermuda the day we left, and was still in port as of Friday.  I wonder what changed with the weather forecast....?

Finally, it was time to go back to our cabin, and put our luggage outside. The next time we see these bags will be on the pier tomorrow morning.  I'll be glad to go home tomorrow, but also be sad to see this cruise end.

Bermuda Cruise 2024 #1 - Sea Day #4 (10/04/24)

The started without us waking up for breakfast.  In fact, we woke up late enough for our room steward to skip making up the room.  That was OK for us, as we both needed our sleep.

When we finally got up and dressed, it was off to the MDR for lunch.  Today, I chose the Conch Fritters, the Linguini in Clam sauce, and Lemon Sorbet.  This time, I feel I made perfect choices.  The fritters were tasty, the perfect amount of clam sauce was sticking to the pasta, and the sorbet was a great follow up to the meal.  One problem - service was very slow, and I felt a little naked with the waiters holding on to my cruise card for as long as they did.  (Why couldn't they capture charging information while at the table, so that one doesn't need to surrender the card needed to get back into one's cabin?)  At least, I had my card back along with my sodas by the time the main course came.

Next, it was off to the theater where we saw Lucien Fuller perform his juggling act.  My feelings about this show are mixed.  He is a good juggler, but his patter went on way too long.  But then, how many things can you juggle on a cruise whip without taking any real risks to one's self or others?

Later on, it was back to the theater to see Ken Boyd again.  This time, he was funnier than before, and made jokes with clean racial humor.  To give an example that most of my readers would understand, he was joking that all groups had a "call and response" group of phrases that everyone knew.  First, he mentioned a couple of Black call and responses which came out of the African-American churches.  And then he gave a White example by saying "Sweet Caroline", with the audience responding "Bam, Bam, Bam."  It was a funny and tasteful routine which left us wanting more.