The tide may be turning.

 

The more I watch the news, the more I get worried.  The other day, I spoke with one of the regular attendees of game nights and he has similar concerns to me - even though I am much more at risk than he is.  Even with my fears, I see signs that the GOP coalition that elected the snowflake may soon fall apart.

- - - - - -

Every time the Orange Snowflake makes a demand, it seems like he gets shown to be a paper tiger.  He has been shown to be a liar or an incompetent by the leaders of France, Ukraine, and now Canada.  As I write this, he is about to announce some kind of deal with the UK.  Dollars to Donuts the deal will not accomplish much more than allow the snowflake to claim some sort of success with his tariff threats.

The judicial branch of government is also putting a stop to the snowflake's excesses.  However, they have yet to force him to bring back the man who was wrongfully sent to a Salvadoran prison.  He has said that he doesn't want to make the phone call to bring this man back to the USA.  I wonder: Why?  To me, the answer is just as simple - he can't admit a defeat or that he makes mistakes.  Instead, he keeps doubling down on his bogus claims that "justify" his actions.

Look at his recent appointments, and how several nominations have been retracted in favor of someone even more loyal (and less competent) than the person s/he replaced.  Many of his appointments are only temporary, such as his "nominee" for Attorney General. Congress is feeling the heat, as the GOP members keep trying to support the snowflake's unpopular actions.  It's only a matter of time that they will turn on him, as they are creatures that depend on being reelected every so often.  The other day, my "Moderate" (yeah, right!) congress critter had a hard time controlling the people who attended a recent town hall.  (Finding out when they'd be held in advance is virtually impossible - he's afraid of the people in his district - NY-17.)  Like many people here, I can't wait to vote against him, as he supports the snowflake's anti-transgender actions.  Given that this is a swing district, I hope that the Democrats have a strong candidate to run against this example of human garbage.

On the subject of tariffs, I doubt that China will do much of anything to help the snowflake.  He overplayed his hand from the beginning, and they will not react warmly to being bullied as part of his "negotiation" process.  Soon, the first ships will come in with post-tariff goods.  Sites like Temu (which I hate for reasons unrelated to anything I've discussed in this post) will be showing how much tariffs add to the cost of each item.  As much as it will cost me, I can't wait to see how this all plays out.

Recently, Palmer Report discussed the price of Trumpism for the USA.  Sadly, after #47 is 86'd, there will be many cultural injuries which need to be dealt with. It is very easy for people to be turned against their neighbors and into shells of who they once were.  I can see that tendency in myself, and have to resist letting the anger the snowflake generates take over my soul.  Hopefully, I will be able to retain most of my humanity when this sorry state of affairs ends.

- - - - - -

Years ago, someone came up with what is called the "Chinese Curse":

May you live in interesting times.

Please start boring me to death soon.  I need a rest from all of this.

 

The Dentist, Some Rain, Overdue Laundry, Game Night, and Shareholder Complaints

 

Today wasn't the best day to go out.  For the most part, I wanted to stay inside.  But I had to go to the dentist's office for my periodic teeth cleaning, so I got dressed, made up, and rushed out the door for a 2 pm appointment.  And this was only the start of a busy day.

I still remember an old toothpaste ad which had a picture of a little child saying:

"Look Ma, No Cavities!" 

In a way, that's how I felt as well, because I didn't need to spend any more money on my teeth right now.  There are enough bills coming down the pike, that I'm glad that most of what came through lately have already been paid.

- - - - - -

Once done with the dentist, it was time to get lunch.  So, off to the pizzeria that I usually go to with friends from former jobs for lunch.  As I was finishing my meal, the heavens were about to open up. I rushed into my car - just in time!  For the next 30 minutes, I could barely see where I was driving.  But I made it home safely.  As I was preparing to do some laundry, a shareholder called me.  Seems like the anonymous complainer who previously spread half-truths and lies about the board had found a way to put another bunch of missives directly in our mailboxes.  Now, by doing this, a crime has technically been committed as nothing other than US Mail may be placed in a mailbox.  I figure that 119 counts of this crime have been committed even if wrongfully placed there by a postal employee, as none of these missives were in envelopes with cancelled stamps.

- - - - - -

When my laundry was complete, I went downstairs to bring it back to my apartment.  Then I got ready for game night, leaving the apartment around 7 pm.  It was nice to see the gang again, and as usual, I lost the game on the last play.  But it was fun.  Sadly, there will be no game nights in June or July, as the family will be very busy with preparations for their son to go to college, and for the family to take one last vacation together.

 

 

 

 

All I planned on today was a lobster roll, and I didn't get that.

 
RQS and I have a passion for lobster rolls.  They are a moderately expensive splurge, but not something that will break the bank.  And, today, it was my turn to get some lobster.  As it turned out, I was 4 hours too early.

But first.... 

The weather looked a little bit better than it has been of late.  So I figured that I could go one of two directions to get my lobster fix - north or south.  If I went south, I'd have to go as far as The Bronx to get my lobster.  If I went north, I'd be able to go to Wappingers Falls and then make a stop at Lane Bryant to pick up some sexy panties and maybe a necklace I could wear.  Given that I felt more comfortable browsing the store in Poughkeepsie than I did the one in the Bronx, I decided to go north and avoid the late afternoon traffic jam at the Bronx/Westchester border.

I started driving north along Route 9, and encountered a car driving 10 MPH below speed limit, slowing down traffic for the rest of us.  Unfortunately, this person was very inconsiderate, and when I had the chance to pass him, I'd annoy him a little by slowing him down in the same way he did to others.  Once I did so, I floored the gas pedal and got on my way to the lobster truck.

The address on the website has the lobster truck on the site of a sporting club (think of guns and fishing) in an isolated area of Dutchess county.  When I got there, I found no lobster truck.  All I found was an empty parking lot.  When I looked at the website again, I noticed that I had gotten the hours wrong.  The truck wasn't going to be there for another 4 hours.  AARGH!  I should have gone south.  So, instead of the lobster roll and clam chowder I wanted, I found myself in a dark pizza parlor munching on a couple of slices. 

Once I was done with my slices, I drove to the mall and entered Lane Bryant.  There seemed to be only one woman in charge of the store, as one of its two entrances were blocked by a set of mannequins. Entering the store, I first looked at a nightie I was interested in buying, but it wasn't in my size.  So I went through the panty drawer to find some sexy undies to go with some nighties already in my lingerie drawers.  While there, I also picked up a nice necklace, and a pair of feminine reading glasses. Then, I was on my way back home.

Somewhere near Fishkill, Route 9 came to a standstill.  I could see no reason for the backup.  So, after a few minutes of going nowhere, I decided to take side roads to get around the jam.  Even if I wasted time, I felt better than I had stayed stuck in the jam.  I eventually ended back in Fishkill, a half mile from where I think everything got backed up.  This allowed me to speed home in time for a Zoom meeting to take place around 6:00, arriving home with time to spare.

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.

- - - - - -

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!!!!

- - - - - -

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. 

- - - - - -

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.

- - - - - -

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....