I inherited a dust collector. (And wish I didn't.)

 

As many of you already know, I scheduled a trip to California this past April to see my uncle, but he passed away 10 days before my arrival.  This weekend, I visited my brother to say hello and came back with the above "dust collector".

But first....

We had been waiting several days for notice that RQS's prescription had made it to the drug store.  Given all of the hassles RQS had at the hospital shortly before Thanksgiving, it made sense for her to pick up the prescription during 2024.  This would allow her to avoid the headache of getting this expensive prescription renewed by a new doctor shortly into the new year, when she'd be under time pressure to both get the prescription renewed and to pick it up.  This notice came two days after Christmas, so we scheduled our visit to RQS's neighborhood over the weekend.

It was strange driving to RQS's place on a Saturday, when there were none of the usual traffic jams that are normally endured while heading towards her place.  If we had choices, we would not have been on the roads, as the fog was so thick that one could barely see well enough to drive.  Yet, we made it to RQS's place, and took care of multiple pharmacy visits.

Next, it was off to see my brother.  It was good to see him, although things are not going well between him and my sister in law.  I won't go into details here, but I will say that he has a strained relationship with his wife that he may be making worse.  As soon as we got there, it was off to a seafood joint that my brother picked out.  Both of us picked the twin lobster dish, while RQS had the lobster roll.  All of us were filled to the gills by the time we left.

When we got back to my brother's house, I gave him a gag gift for Christmas.  This gift was a novelty takeoff on a "Magic 8 Ball", where one could get an answer of "Yes", "No", or "Maybe" by reading the message at the bottom of the ball.  My gift was a "Magic 6 Ball" that I found on Woot.com.  Unlike the 8-Ball, the 6-Ball produces only useless answers.  It'll make for a curious paperweight.  He asked me to hold on for a minute while he went inside the house to pick up something for me.  He returned with a statue that my uncle won for his work in TV.  Now, I have a dust collector that I can not sell, nor wish to give away.  However, I would have rather had the chance to meet him one last time, and to know him better....

You snooze, you lose... (a short post)

 

One of the problems I have is procrastination.  It's a common problem, but one which have caused me to lose out on taking a 401k distribution in 2024.  It's not as much of a big deal as it sounds - I don't need the money right away, but I wanted to get the distribution made in 2024 for tax reasons.  Instead, my delay has likely caused the distribution into tax year 2025.

There are several things going on that I want to take care of in 2025.  One of them is getting a tooth implant, replacing a molar that I lost over a decade ago.  This will help me with chewing, as I put too much wear and tear on one side of my mouth.  Then, I'd like to do some apartment remodeling, specifically in the bathroom, where I want to replace the toilet, vanity (and sink), and medicine cabinet (with electric outlet).  Although I could take this money out of my savings account, I chose to take it out of my 401k.  This way, I can keep my already taxed funds at an acceptable level.

Strangely enough, not having anything to do while RQS is here encouraged me to start finding places for some of the mess in my apartment.  Clothes are migrating back into my closet, replacement furniture is arriving over the weekend, and I'm seeing some results from my minimal labor.  Yet, I have to fight the inclination to put things off, so that I can keep up momentum.  This is the hardest thing to do.

Soon, I'll get back to finding an electrolysist. I still want to clear off the beard from my face once and for all. I'm tired of dealing with shaving on a daily basis.  This is one of the important things I want to do in the new year....   

We'll see what happens during the new year....

There are many levels of paperwork to be dealt with.

 

As I might have mentioned, I am in the process of getting a second passport.  With the lunacy going on in the USA, it would be foolish of any trans person not to have an escape route out of the USA if the worst were to happen.  (Given the similarities of 2024's USA to 1932's Germany, it's not as far fetched as many middle of the road Americans might think.)  To do this, in my case, one has to have a grandparent born in a particular country, then prove that you have a right to citizenship via "Overseas Births".  This means the following:

1. Get a copy of one's grandparent's birth certificate from the country of origin.
   (My brother mailed away to the appropriate people, and got a certified copy of this document.)
   
   
2. Get a copy of the birth certificate that shows one's parent qualified to be a citizen via overseas birthright.  (I was charged to take care of this.)
   
   
3. Get a copy of my birth certificate, showing my father (or mother) was my parent by blood. 
   (This would show that I qualify for citizenship via Overseas Birth.)
   

Steps 1 & 3 didn't take much time.  However, Step 2 took 14 weeks, as New York City and New York State had to be involved with this process.  Now that I have proof of my lineage, I can proceed to the next step - beginning the process of filing paperwork to get citizenship via overseas birth.

- - - - - -

Italy, Ireland, and the United Kingdom are 3 countries which allow for citizenship via overseas births.  However, the UK only provides for patrilineal overseas birth citizenship.  Yet, having an Irish passport allows one to BOTH reside in the European Union and the United Kingdom, as Ireland and the UK have treaties that were in effect before the EU was established.  From what I understand, Germany and Russia also have forms of overseas birth citizenship, but I won't comment on them here.

I also may qualify for a third passport based on my mother's lineage.  If I were to get that, I could travel (and possibly live) anywhere in the British Commonwealth.    Right now, I am focused on getting my 2nd passport based on my father's lineage, as it gives me the most freedom to travel if needed....

Keep your fingers crossed.

Boxing Day - Game night with RQS

 

It was the day after Christmas. And all through the house, every creature was stirring. Yes, even my mouse. (Computer mouse, that is.)  After a busy Christmas day, the last thing we wanted to do was get moving early in the day.

I got out of bed around 9:30 am, and started feeling a little nauseous. By the time 10 am came along, I was ready to throw up, and made my way to the sink to do just that.  As much as this sounds like I was getting sick, I feel that I was reacting to a surplus of sugar in my system from the cookies I ate late the night before.  No matter what the cause was, I avoided eating anything until 2 pm.  And then, I only ate some dry toast to deal with the lack of food in my stomach.

Around 4:00, we started to nuke some food in the microwave.  I heated up a frozen meal without problems.  But when RQS started to heat up her food, the microwave made some weird noises and shut off.  She then ended up warming up her food on the stove.  Something had to be wrong with the circuitry in the microwave, as it would keep beeping if we closed the door.  So we left the door open, and made it a point to buy a new microwave before the day was out.

At 5 pm, we left for the appliance store to get a new microwave.  We got there a little after 6 pm, and were ignored for more than 15 minutes until I got the sales manager himself to ring up the sale.  At least, we got a staff member to haul the new microwave to the car - it's nice to play the "little old lady" card.  They wouldn't have helped a man bring the microwave unit to his car....

We stopped for a fast food dinner, and then went to game night.  It was nice to have RQS with me while we played our game.  Although I had played the game once before, I let the host explain the game to RQS. But she wasn't getting the hang of the game due to its  operational complexity.  Yet, we both had fun, and look forward to the next game night.

Christmas Day - Post Mortem

 

I hope all of my readers have had a very Happy Holiday season.  As you can see, this is how I looked on Christmas Eve.  What you can't see are my stockings falling to my knees because I didn't since the waist of the false garter stockings high enough.  (I also don't like how the dress is sitting in this picture, but that's another issue that can be handled by Photoshop.)

RQS and I didn't get moving until 3:00 pm, as we knew we could make a 5:00 pm dinner on Christmas Eve.  This would be the best dinner so far of the holiday season, as we also has a 5:00 pm dinner in New Jersey with TCL.  Today, we had to be out the door by 3:15 pm to make it to TCL's place by 4:45 pm, and we just made it in time.

After a few minutes of waiting, the three of us made it to a Chinese Restaurant in Mahwah.  Unlike the past times we were at this place, service was slow and sloppy.  At least, the food was decent.  Mind you, I'd have gotten much better food in NYC, but one takes what one can get in suburbia.  Both RQS and I felt that the quality of food and service has gone down a notch, and we will likely hunt for another place to eat next year.

Following dinner, we went back to TCL's place, where we had some tea and cookies.  To say that her place had a strong cat odor would be putting it mildly - I'd bet that her two male cats had been marking territory, and that TCL had grown insensitive to the odor.  (I'm glad that I don't have to take care of cats any longer.)

All in all, it was a nice day.  Yet, I'm glad that Christmas is over until next year.

Christmas Eve

 

The day started off by our need to do some laundry before going out for the evening. There were two baskets that needed to be taken care of, and I didn't want to let this task slide any longer.  So, I got dressed and started down the stairs with the two baskets.  And then....  OOPS!  I tripped and dropped the baskets,  I was lucky not to take a fall myself.  But I had to sort out my laundry before continuing on to the laundry room.

About two hours later, my laundry was done, and I was able to get dressed in my new sweater dress.  Originally, I planned to wear tights to cover my legs,  But, RQS was wearing stockings attached to garters.  So I decided to wear my mock garter stockings to keep up with her "Girly Game", as well as a matching bra and panties.  Both of us were concerned about how cold we'd feel when we went outside.  As for me, I felt a little vulnerable, as I was wearing less on my lower body than I usually wear and felt as if I was wearing almost nothing under my dress.

Shortly before 5, we arrived at the restaurant (Peter Pratt's Inn), and enjoyed a hearty meal.  RQS ordered seafood themed dishes (mussels, then scallops), while I ordered duck themed dishes (duck quesadilla, then duck two ways). We both finished our meals with Caramel Cheesecake, and felt wonderfully sated without feeling stuffed. In short, we had a great meal.

Next, we were off to Ossining for Christmas Eve services at the local church.  This is becoming a routine for us, as this was the second year that we have been able to be there on Christmas Eve.  It was nice to be able to connect with my past memories.  RQS enjoyed the service, and might want to go to an occasional service during the rest of the year.

Once the service was over, it was time to go home.  After midnight, we decided to open our gifts.  RQS was happy with my gifts.  And I was pleasantly surprised by RQS's gifts - in addition to a men's watch (which could go with my feminine wardrobe), she gave me a nice assortment of sexy lingerie.  (I guess we're both upping each other's "Girly Game" as our relationship progresses.)  Then it was off to bed for the night.

Now that the holidays are over, I can catch up on my posts.

 

RQS usually comes to my place on Friday afternoons and goes back home on Mondays.  If I go to her place, I'll usually arrive on a Friday, and leave on a Sunday or Monday depending on which side of the street I was able to park.  This holiday season is different.  RQS came up on a Friday, and will not leave here (with one exception) until after holiday season ends.  So I'll be catching up with occasional posts which describe what happened....

- - - - - -

The weekend before Christmas followed our usual pattern.  RQS arrived on Friday, and we ended up going out to a Chinese restaurant in Mohegan Lake.  (It was a choice between having Mexican for the 3rd time that week, or having something different.  Different won out.)  Once we were finished with dinner, we drove home for the evening.

Saturday came, and we ended up taking care of a couple of errands before driving to Ikea.  I wanted to replace a chest of drawers which is gradually falling apart with a cheap, but tolerably solid unit.  This would allow me to port clothing from one chest to the new chest, allowing RQS to be able to store more of her clothes at my place.  This would make it easier for her to stay for longer periods of time, when she has nothing much to do at her place.

Why did we go on Saturday, and not Sunday?  Bergen county, New Jersey has "Blue Laws" which limit the types of business which can be conducted on Sundays.  Furniture sales is not one of the permitted business activities.  So, we had to make it to Ikea on Saturday.  Otherwise, we would have to wait until after Christmas to check out the chest.  Once there, we wandered through the store until we found the chest in which I was interested.  RQS mentioned that I wasn't sure of the chest's dimensions, and convinced me that I should wait until I was sure of the measurements of the chest.  (I had previously measured the chest, but lost my confidence in my measurements, given that I had done this over a month ago.)  So, we browsed the store and bought a couple of things before leaving.  Just before we checked out our goods, we looked at the packaging for the unassembled chest - each of the two boxes weighed more than I wanted to lift into the car.  This meant that I would order the chest, and let someone else deliver the packages to my apartment.

Although we talked about stopping by Lane Bryant while in the neighborhood, holiday shopping traffic in Paramus scuttled this plan, and we went home for the night....