Paperwork - I'll probably need to get more official copies

 

As my readers know, I've been preparing to file the paperwork to get a second passport.  It's nice to know that because of my genealogical heritage, I qualify for a citizenship via birthright.  If I recall correctly, even the Nazis didn't stop Jews with foreign passports from returning to their homelands.  They simply wanted Nazi held territory "Judenfrei." 

Even though we haven't had any official pogroms yet, the USA has killed people simply because of their ethnicity.  (Just ask any African-American or Native American/Indian about how their ancestors were killed by "White" Americans.)  Given this administration in power, I don't trust that it will be stopped before they put transgender people in prison camps - we're already seeing people deported to Salvadoran prisons without due process.  

With these considerations before me, I will file my citizenship (overseas birth) registration, and hope to have my second citizenship before year end.  But this is not the only paperwork I have to take care of.  Right now, I must deal with unclaimed funds for both my parents' estates. Since I don't have originals of either death certificate, I'm planning on sending photocopies, as New York isn't asking for official copies of these documents.  (This is where I may need to take the time to get official copies of these documents.)  Unfortunately, I have no idea of how much my brother and I will receive, as New York doesn't list the amount to be claimed on their site.  And this is not the last bit of paperwork to be filed.  I have to find several savings bonds bought by my late wife and then file for their redemption.  Once this is done, the important paperwork that needs to be done will be done.

Thankfully, I have my friend Maria that I can ask to notarize documents for me.  If I can, I'll finally get to introduce RQS to Maria when RQS is next here.   But that will be on a busy weekend, as Vicki, RQS and I will be going to the Flax Barn Sale for some discount shopping.  I'll bet that by then, I'll have even more paperwork to deal with.

   

A meetup at a new fast food / ice cream shop.

This is the way I remember this corner of a local strip mall.  Subway never does well in most of its locations, and whatever was next to Subway was long gone before the Google Street View photo car came by.  Now, these two storefronts have been combined into a single outlet selling Nathan's hot dogs, Arthur Treacher's seafood (as part of Nathan's) and Mister Softee ice cream.  When I signed up for a meetup at this place, I knew not to expect anything of high quality - I'd have a slightly higher range of food offerings than the local Mickey D's to choose from, and forget just as fast.

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Today, I decided to get up late and then watch some TV for a while.  Around 4:00 pm, I decided to get showered and dressed to go to the meetup.  While getting ready to shave my face before applying makeup, my rotary shaver's head unit wouldn't lock in place making it useless.  Thankfully, I had another shaver in the carry-on I had on my recent cruise, so I shaved with that instead.  (I'll receive a replacement head unit from Amazon tomorrow, so the travel shaver can go back in the carry-on.)

Around 5:00 pm, I drove to Yorktown and found DS waiting.  We placed our orders as others attending the meetup came in.  One woman who I met at another meetup struck up a conversation and I can tell that she was focusing a lot on what I had to say, and not with the others at our table,  (If I were presenting as Mario, I'd assume she wanted me to ask her out due to the way she was touching me in animated conversation.)  After we finished what passed for dinner, DS left early while the rest of us had some ice cream.

At 7:30 pm, the rest of us left the place, and I went to Walmart to pick up some makeup tools (brushes, powder, etc.) so that I can leave a second, full makeup kit at RQS's place.  It'll be a while until I finish filling the kit.  But once it's ready, I'll start making regular trips to RQS's place in Marian mode.

I'm finally home for a while (a short post)

 

After a week away from home, what do I say?  I needed to get away, but I didn't feel as free as I did a year ago.  And all of this is because of the evil orange snowflake causing havoc in DC.  Even on a ship with a TV News station with middle-of-the-road bias, I still couldn't escape hearing about what damage this clown is doing to America.  AARGH!!!!

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When RQS and I got back to her place, we relaxed for a while, and tried to avoid any YouTube video which would drone on and on about the Snowflake and his illegal actions.  And even then, Saturday Night Live did what I expected - they made fun of his latest actions.  Luckily (and this is rare for me), I fell asleep before Weekend Update, finally disconnecting from the world for a while.

This morning, I woke up early and started editing both this blog and my travel related blog.  Work I needed to do on this blog was relatively quick.  However, it took me several hours to get the other blog entry into a shape where it can be published.  Hopefully, my review will prove useful to cruisers who wish to take a similar itinerary with MSC in the future.

Given that we expected rain throughout the day, I decided to go home early, so that I can rest for a bit before attempting to do anything of value.  Although I got home by 2 pm, I didn't get around to doing anything until 6:00 pm.  And even then, I didn't do much. 

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Soon, I'll be going on another cruise, this time to New England and Canada.  Will I be willing to take this cruise as Marian?  The way politics are going, I doubt it.  But, as Fats Waller might say: "One never knows, do one?"

Bermuda Cruise 2025 - Disembarkation Day / Arriving in New York (05/03/25)

Disembarkation Day - It's always the worst day of the cruise for me.  First, I have to say farewell to any friends I might have made on the cruise.  But more, it's the return to the real world and its problems that is the biggest shock.

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Neither RQS nor I slept well the night before, and our alarms woke us up shortly before 6:00 am.  This would give us enough time to get showered and dressed, then enough time to finish our final packing chores before going to breakfast one last time.  Once we got ready to leave the room, we did a final scan to make sure we left nothing behind, then went to breakfast.

Breakfast on the last day of the cruise can seem a little rushed.  One has to be ready at all times to disembark.  Yet, one wants the time to enjoy a good breakfast and relax until one's departure group is called.  On our way to the dining room, we passed by the long line of people of "Self-Assist" passengers, people who would be leaving the ship early with all of their luggage - none would be picking up any luggage at the pier.  We sat down to breakfast and had a nice conversation with the people next to us before finding a place to wait until our disembarkation group was called.

There are several disembarkation groups.  First are the Self-Assist passengers.  Then come the passengers who have transfers and tours arranged by the cruise line.  And finally, it's time for the remaining disembarkation groups to be called.  The last time we were on this ship (and in the same room), we were assigned to one of the latest group numbers.  This time, we were assigned one of the earliest group numbers.  Instead of leaving the ship around 9:00 am, we left around 8:00 am.  This made it possible for us to pick up our luggage, clear customs, and make it to the ferry stop by 8:30 am - just in time to catch the second ferry of the day from Red Hook.  

Taking the ferry from Red Hook allows us to avoid traffic jams around the cruise terminal.  Normally, we'd take the ferry one stop, get off at Atlantic Avenue and summon an Uber from there.  Since this was the second ferry of the day on the South Brooklyn route, it skips all stops before Pier 11 (Wall Street) on its way to Corlears Hook.  This caused us to transfer to the East River route at Pier 11, and get off at the South Williamsburg stop.  Since this was the first stop of the day in South Williamsburg, ship staff has to unlock the gate for people to get on and off the dock.  Well, they forgot to do so and had to return to the pier to open the gate.

Once on dry land, we had to summon an Uber.  We found it much easier to do at this stop than at Atlantic Avenue, as we could validate the address that the driver received would be the same address we could see from where we were. (Think of building address and street signage here.)  While waiting for the Uber, we did some people watching. It was interesting to see the intersection of modern culture with the old: Hasidic Jews (the Old) and Hipsters (the New) in the same Brooklyn neighborhood. Once the Uber came, we zoomed through city streets and onto the BQE beyond the traffic jam zone.

We got home by 10:00 am and then crashed.  It was a long morning, and we needed to rest.  And that would be the theme for the rest of the day....

Bermuda Cruise 2025 - Sea Day #2 (05/02/25)

This would be our last full day on the ship, and we had errands to take care of - namely deciding what we pack in our big suitcases, and what we pack in our carry-ons.  In my case, the bulk of the dirty laundry goes in the big suitcases with my dress shoes, ties, and other stuff I won't need.  And the stuff I will need (or will have with me) has to go in the carry-on or backpack.  Either way, this is a pain in the neck, and something I hate doing at the end of every cruise.

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The day started out with us getting up early enough to have one last leisurely breakfast on the ship.  After breakfast, we retired to the stern of the ship to relax while the steward had a chance to make up our bed and drop off disembarkation information (with luggage tags).  Around noon, we had our last lunch on the ship, and this time, things went perfectly with wait staff service.  On my way back to the cabin, the lady from the table next to us asked me whether I was a teacher, and we got into a conversation for a few minutes.  Finally back in the cabin, I found that the room steward had made up the room and placed disembarkation information (with luggage tags) on our bed.

We packed our large suitcases, and got them ready to go out later in the evening.  And then, we went to our last dinner on the ship.  The wait staff made to ensure it was a final celebration of this cruise, and left all in the room wishing this wouldn't end.  Sadly, our stomachs were full, our hunger and thirst were sated, and the restaurant staff had to make the room ready for the late seating.  So, it was off to our cabin to rest for a while, then seeing the comedian for one last set before leaving the ship in the morning.

Bermuda Cruise 2025 - Port Day #3 / Departing Bermuda (05/01/25)

 

This would be a short, last day in Bermuda for us.  Due to GI-Tract issues I have, I decided to stay near the ship while RQS went to the Clocktower Mall to do some last minute shopping.  This would prove to be the best thing we could have done, as I barely had any warning before my GI Tract demanded attention.

But first....

I woke up at 4:00, and took care of my GI Tract's first attack on my body - and I survived.  But I knew it would be back for another round later on in the day.  So, I tried to go back to sleep for as long as I could before the two of us decamped for breakfast.

Buffet breakfasts are rarely memorable, and this one was far from worth remembering.  I had rushed to get showered and dressed in order to get some hot food from the buffet trays.  This time, I picked up some hash browns, sausage, and some hard boiled eggs - and had as enjoyable a breakfast that could be had in the buffet.  After this, I went back to the cabin, while RQS went for one last visit onshore to do some shopping.

When RQS returned, it was back to the buffet for a late lunch.  While there, a lady sat next to us, and we started discussing cruising, shifting over to politics.  This woman was a rare breed in Florida - a passionate liberal.  And this allowed us to talk about politics.  Later on, I felt safe in showing her how I looked as Marian - and she didn't flinch.  

A couple of hours later, we went to dinner and had a nice meal.  As much as I liked the octopus dish, there wasn't enough octopus and too much stewed vegetables to have me order it again.  The salmon I had for the main course was good, but I was glad to have a plate of Pasta Alfredo in front of me - RQS's lamb shank wasn't done right, and she had to wait to get one from the kitchen.

Although we had reservations to see the comedian again, we passed on it to let our food digest.  This was a good day, and we'll hate to be back in New York this weekend.

Bermuda Cruise 2025 - Port Day #2 (04/30/25)

Today, we planned to take the ferry to St. George, a town on the other end of Bermuda.  To do this, we had to get out of the cabin early, eat breakfast, and show up at the ferry dock by 11:15 am.  And this meant interrupting our sleep to do so.

But first....

Often, we get into a routine on cruise ships where we are either late for breakfast, or proceed to an early lunch. We didn't have that luxury today, as there were only 2 ferries to St. George in the morning, and 1 returning ferry in the evening.  If we got stuck, we'd have to catch a bus to Hamilton, and then catch another bus to the Dockyards.  Instead of a 30-45 minute ride, the return trip could turn into a 2 hour journey.  So we made sure that we were early for both the outgoing ferry and for the return ferry.

Arriving at St. George, we found it emptier than the last time we were here.  It was much more mellow than the last time we were here.  Within the first hour of arriving in St. George, we had lunch at a local restaurant - across the water from where the town crier was "Dunking" a local "Hag" (both the crier and hag played their roles well) with the help from some bystanders.  Inside the restaurant, things were much more mellow.  A musician was playing soft rock standards while I ate my Fish and Chips and RQS ate her Fish sandwich.  When we were done, we went to look for a nearby perfume factory - which we never found.

On our way to the perfume factory, we stopped at a local museum.  RQS took the tour of the building, while I got into a conversation with a local.  Both of us had a good time there.  But Cinderella had lost her slipper, and she had to be home by midnight - the ferry was scheduled to leave at 4, and we didn't want to miss it.  Once at the ferry dock, I got into a conversation from someone who used to work at a building near my childhood church, and we continued for over 30 minutes, in direct sunlight before getting on line to take the ferry. Eventually, the ferry started taking passengers, and we got on for the ride home.  By now, my scalp had had more than a healthy share of sunlight, and I knew I'd have a nice sunburn when I got back on the ship. But it was worth the sunburn to have had the nice conversation I had.

We took a break for a little while before going to dinner.  Both of us were stuffed to the gills before the meal ended.  At least, service was on target today.  And if I had thought of it, I'd have asked for a dinner portion of the mussels with a side of mixed veggies - the mussels were that good.  Instead, I had the beef short ribs (which were ok) with pasta topped with Bolognese sauce on the side.  (I should have had more mussels!)  

It was a good day, and we hope to enjoy our remaining time in Bermuda tomorrow.