The only reason we left the house was to move the car.

 

RQS lives on a street with Alternate Side of the Street parking.  When I arrived on Friday, I parked on the wrong side of the street for short term convenience, knowing that I'd have to move my car again if I wanted to stay over until Monday morning.  Well, Sunday came, and I planned to stay over.

Around 3:30 pm, we went out to move the car.  It was in front of the building next door, and I had to move it to an opposite side of the street.  (Her side is no parking on Monday/Thursday mornings, while the other side is no parking on Tuesday/Friday mornings.)  We got very lucky.  There was a good open spot right around the corner.  So, I parked there before we headed to the supermarket.

The area of Queens we were in borders Brooklyn, and this is one of many neighborhoods in NYC where per-consolidation street grids clash.  The bus route that RQS takes to the subway was established when trolleys ran between Brooklyn and Queens, and had to be changed slightly when some awkward intersections were taken off the street grid.  As a result, the main bus route that takes us to a key subway station makes a strange zig-zag before it crosses Myrtle Avenue.  For us, we didn't need to do the zig-zag, as we could walk along the path the road once took and cross Myrtle Avenue without problems, on our way to the supermarket.

The Ridgewood, Glendale and Bushwick neighborhoods are undergoing ethnic change.  Gone are the days when both Ridgewood and Glendale were German neighborhoods, although some traces of this still remain in a few stores which were founded during that era.  Now, the Spanish speaking community has moved into some of the blocks while others are being gentrified.  Gone are the days when one could rent a 2 bedroom apartment for under $2,000.  Given the going rate in RQS's area, I don't know how any newcomers can afford to live there.  But I digress.

We reached the supermarket and picked up some things to have with our leftovers meal that evening.  We had a sweet tooth for Ice Cream Sandwiches, so we picked up some Klondike Cookies & Cream.  Then, we picked up an apple pie before walking back to RQS's place.  Sadly, neither of these items were to our liking.  We prefer Fat Boy's Ice Cream Sandwiches to Klondike's.  And the apple pie was best left forgotten, the brand never to be purchased again.

Were the leftovers good?  Yes.  Was it worth staying over an extra night?  Of course.  But, do I wish I found a spot on the right side of the street on Friday?  YES!!!!  Both of us would rather have stayed in bed until evening.  But if we had done so, I would have had to leave for home that night.

Lunch with RQS's friend.

RQS and I haven't been to this restaurant in a while.  And it's always a treat going here.  This time, we went with RQS's friend, spending the better part of the afternoon with her.

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The day began with neither of us wanting to get out of bed.  It was cold the night before, and we were comfy under the covers when we woke up.  Our friend would be coming around 12:30 pm - 1 pm, and we didn't want to make her wait for us.  So both of rushed to get showered and dressed, and we were ready just as the friend got to RQS's door.

Our friend, let's call her J for now, arrived and we proceeded to chat for a few minutes before summoning an Uber.  One catch - the Uber arrived in less than a minute after summoning.  So RQS ended locking her door as J was getting into the car.  15 minutes later, we were at Zum Stammtisch and ready to feast.  However, we had to wait another 10 minutes for a table to be cleared for us before sitting down.

Once seated, we took our time to order, and then the food arrived.  I enjoyed some herring in cream before my jagerschnitzel arrived.  After lunch, we ordered dessert, and I had some warm strudel topped with ice cream.  No one rushed us, and we had time for a leisurely lunch and post meal discussion.  We then returned to RQS's apartment until J's friend came to pick her up.

What I didn't mention so far is that J is visually impaired, and that she uses Ubers to get around instead of Access-a-Ride (AAR).  I can't blame her, as AAR isn't that reliable.  (This is a well known issue among the visually impaired community.)  None of us wanted to take buses on a cold and blustery day, so we used Ubers to get to the restaurant.  On the whole, it was a very nice day, and I hope that the 3 of us can get together again soon. (And I hope we'll be able to tell J about my alter ego as well.)

Game Night w. "Short Vicki"

 

I had no energy today.  Although I woke up early for a bio-break, I got back under the covers until 11 am or so.  And then killed time until evening came.

But first....

My original plans were to take advantage of this gloomy day to do some laundry.  About the only productive task I took care of was to separate the laundry into two loads: Whites and Colors.  I simply didn't want to get dressed to do anything that would take me outside my apartment.

Eventually, 4 pm came around, and I received a message from Vicki #2 ("Short Vicki") suggesting that we get together for a "Paint and Sip" near her place.  I noted that I was going to my bi-weekly game night and volunteered to check if she could come along.  After checking with the hostess, I gave the thumbs up to Vicki, and then proceeded to get ready to leave the apartment.

It was raining when I left the apartment, and I was glad that I was wearing leggings under my dress. But I still had to eat.  So I decided to try out The Halal Guys in Yonkers.  This was a big mistake.  The food was not up to the same taste quality as the other Halal joint further up the road.  So I finished my plate and made a note NOT to go there again.

Although I got to game night a little before 8 pm, I wasn't late for any games.  The one game we played, I enjoyed, as it didn't require much brain power.  We chatted a bit after the game, and then we all left earlier than usual.  This was just as well, as I barely made it home in time for a much delayed bio-break.

At least, I knew my GI-Tract is working well....

We delivered bad news today

 

Now that it's public, I can talk about things a little more than I could in the past.  My co-op is going to have a significant maintenance hike, and none of us are happy about it.

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As much as I wanted to go out as Marian today, it made much more sense to go out as Mario, as I had a special co-op board meeting open to shareholders.  We planned to prepare shareholders for next year's rate hike, and introduce the new management company to our shareholders.  Things changed a little, as the new company didn't attend the meeting - and I think the co-op's attorney was happy about that.  

The meeting started at 6 m, and our board's president informed us about what was going on, giving us the low down before the old site representative and our shareholders arrived. All too soon, people started arriving, and we couldn't speak openly any more.

Once everyone was in the room, the co-op president opened the meeting, telling the attending shareholders about the rate increase.  And then, the soon to be ex site manager took over, telling attendees the story about how we got into this mess. (I won't go into details here, but I'd say that what we were told is partly truth and partly fiction.)  After that, the floor was open to questions from the audience.

One shareholder stood out - he kept dropping the name of one politician as if that fellow could do things for us.  He can't.  Insurance companies are free to set commercial rates and only issue policies to firms that meet their underwriting criteria.  Others had more reasonable questions, and we responded with what we knew - we're waiting for our mortgage holder to approve this policy, so that the forced coverage policy we have can be dropped, saving us money.

I was glad that the meeting was over by 8 pm.  There is more that I have to talk about with the co-op president, but I won't go into that here.

The study is over, and I have received my compensation

 

How many of you have been in an MRI machine?  How many of you have been "perfectly healthy" when going into an MRI machine for a brain scan?

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The official purpose of this study was to see how mental performance can be improved by playing games designed to exercise certain mental skill sets.  At the start of this study, I took a preliminary skills test, then drove to Queens to have my brain scanned.  

Going into an MRI requires that one's body be devoid of metals which could be dislodged by extreme magnetic fields.  So, I had to remove the studs from my ears beforehand, and then only wear a hospital gown when being slid into the machine.  Once one puts noise cancelling earmuffs on, one's head is locked into place.  Then one is slid into the machine, and the "fun"takes place for the next 15 minutes.  One can't scratch an itch, blow one's nose, or otherwise deal with minor discomforts while being bombarded by loud banging noises from outside.  Thank god that one must wear the earmuffs while in the MRI machine, as one would be deafened without them.

This took place 3 months ago, and I knew what to expect upon my return.  What I didn't expect is how I'd feel when coming out of the machine.   But I digress.  Around 12:45 pm, I left RQS's place and drove to the MRI center in Laurelton, Queens.  Arriving there at 1:30 pm, I walked across the street to get something to drink, and then entered the Radiation Center for my MRI.

After I filled out my paperwork, I went to relieve myself.  And this is where I started to sour on this day, as the sink was clogged and half filled with water.  Although I reported this to staff, it was not fixed by the time I left the place about 1 1/4 hours later.  When I was called for the MRI, I was told to get into a hospital gown - which wasn't there.  It took another 15 minutes to find some new gowns for me to wear. Only then, did I start to get ready to enter the MRI again.

About 10 minutes later, I was slid into the MRI machine and again bombarded with noise for 15 minutes.  This time, my time in the MRI felt like it was quicker than the first time around.  When I was slid out of the machine, I had a hard time sitting up without help, as I had no leverage to sit up properly.  Once in position, I was able to get off the table without help, but my balance was off - I stumbled like a drunk for a minute, and then was perfectly OK.  Weird!  

When I went out to the changing area, there was someone about to change into her hospital gown where my clothes were stored.  So I asked her to hold on for a minute while I fetched my clothes.  And then I got dressed to go home.  As I left the place for the last time, I felt a little sad - I was done with the study, but free to go.

An hour and a half later, I was home.  It'll be nice to use the compensation I received when I decide what to do with it....

I am sickened by petty politics

 

Sarah McBride.  The first transwoman elected to congress.  And the GOP scum is trying to make her life miserable by denying her the right to go to the women's room to relieve herself.  There is no end to the GOP's cruelty.

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Why do I bring up Sarah's name and not the name(s) of the human garbage who'd denied this woman a basic right?  The answer is simple.  The people elected to control DC for the next 2-4 years do not even deserve to be recognized as humans.  So why identify them by name, when they deserve only to be recognized as animals that squeal, bleat, and make noises which have little meaning for people with even a single iota of humanity.

As you can guess, I am angry.  There is nothing I can do about it, save to request that people in GOP districts write to their congress critters and tell them to squash this attempt to dehumanize trans people. I live in one of these districts, and will be writing my congress critter shortly.  Please do the same before this woman is victimized by her own "colleagues" for petty political reasons.

It was the end of a weekend, and a long search for a parking spot.

 

All too soon, Monday came and we had to drive down from Croton to RQS's place.  The storage area in my car had stuff from a prior weekend's visit to BJ's that had to get to her apartment.

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Neither of us wanted to get up early today.  But we knew that if we didn't get moving by noon - 1 pm, we'd never get the chance to both stop at Trader Joe's and find a good parking spot.  (Her area of NYC has alternate side of the street parking, and I didn't want to leave her at 7:45 am to avoid parking tickets.) Traffic moved fast, until we reached the bridges.  Both the Whitestone and Throggs Neck bridges were backed up due to lane closures, and it took us more time than usual to get into Queens from the Bronx.

Once in Queens, we had no trouble making it to Trader Joe's for a shopping run.  I picked up some candy for early Xmas gifts, while RQS stocked up on needed goods. Next, we were off to RQS's place where we stopped to unload my car and get stuff into her apartment. And then, the fun began.  When hunting for a parking spot, one has to zig-zag through the streets until an acceptable spot is found.  Today, I had to find a spot on the Westbound side of the street - and this took longer than expected.  First, I made my usual loop down the street for two blocks until I could reverse direction on an adjacent street and continue my search.  After completing most of the first loop through the neighborhood, we encountered a problem: Two ambulances blocked the street for an emergency call, when they had open space to park their vehicles.  I was pissed to say the least - especially when none of the personnel seemed in a hurry to do what they came to do.

After a few minutes, both the car behind me and I backed up, going the wrong way on a one way street, escaping the defacto dead end street.  We were lucky to have done so when we did, as there was a bus about to come up the street, and we would have been boxed in by it.  Yet, we escaped the blockage, and circled through the neighborhood until we found a spot 3 blocks away from RQS's place.

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After dinner, I had to sign on for a closing session for the study in which I participated.  While RQS kept busy in one room, I took the test to see how my skills may have improved via directed game play. I feel a little strange, as my part in this study is almost over.  Tomorrow will be my MRI in Queens, and then it's over.