Lunch with 2 friends (on different days)

 

The above picture is from the days when the old "Whine and Dine" meetup group still existed.  It's been a long time since then, and I still enjoy eating out whenever I can - especially with a friend or two.  Over the past two days, I've had two separate lunches with two separate friends and wish it could be more often.

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My first lunch was with my friend,CCS, from the census.  Each month, we try to get together and catch up on things.  This month, I got to talk about my trip to Bermuda with RQS and she got to talk about a family reunion for Passover.  Although we chatted about more things (current politics always seems to come up these days), our focus was mostly on our trips and not the BS going on in the outside world.

Next up was my friend, SJM, from the imaging firm.  Like me, she's glad to be out of the place, as it was a stifling place to spend 8 hours each day. I brought her up to date with my travels, and she talked about her job search, her son's performance in college, and other things a little too personal to cover here.  As expected, talk of the Orange Snowflake came up.  I said that I would love to see a revival of "Our American Cousin" take place at Ford's Theater, with the same Ad-Hoc ending.  

- - - - - -

A common feature with both friends is that I would likely have never developed a friendship with these two ladies had I been presenting as Mario instead of as Marian.  Over time, I'd like to be able to leave as much of Mario behind and live as much of my life as Marian as possible.  At my age, I can deal with males trying to talk down to me ("mansplaining", among other things).

And now for something completely different...

 

The history of Baseball can be used as a metaphor for the history of America.  Regional antagonism, Racism, Immigration, Sexism, and Internationalism are all a part of Baseball's history.  And something unexpected finally happened the other day which will make people think long and hard about how Gambling should relate to the sport.

As I write this entry, the Commissioner of Baseball has removed both the late Pete Rose and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson from the Ineligible List (Banned from Baseball), making them eligible to be voted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.  Even though I think only "Shoeless" Joe should finally get his place in the hall of fame, it's simply because there is no convincing proof that he acted to throw the World Series.  Pete Rose once admitted that he gambled on Baseball while still involved in the sport, and I feel that this may be enough to keep him out, despite his record as a player.  (I would not be upset if Rose were to be voted into the hall of fame. It's a question of whether it can be proven whether he harmed the sport or not, given today's embrace of betting on baseball games.)  

What other Hall of Fame "worthy" players?  Two names, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds come to mind.  They played part of their careers in the "Juicing" era.  Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) were in common use by many baseball stars.  Even though these two players are known to have "Juiced", the big question is: Would they have excelled without PEDs?  Other players chose not to juice up, and no one says a word about them.  There are hall of fame worthy players in that era who are known to have never juiced.  Yet, there is a "generation" of ball players who have not been selected for the hall, simply because of when they played.  Might a simple way of dealing with the problems of great players known for having juiced be simply admitting them based on their records, but to mark those records with a big asterisk?

One can say that cheating has been a part of baseball since it's beginning.  The sport wants people to see it as being angelic, when everyone involved is subject to the same temptations as the rest of us.  None of us are angels.  So I hope that Shoeless Joe finally gets his rightful space in the hall, while players such as Barry Bonds are kept out because they have been caught cheating.  

What did Groucho say? (a short post)

 

"I wouldn't join a club that would have me for a member."

 
Before anyone thinks I'm talking about Sour Grapes here, I'm talking about the frustration of trying to submit my RSVP early enough to be able to dine with a small group of people.

Over the years, I have made a few friends by attending meetups.  Well, since things opened up again after Covid, I've been trying to attend dinner gatherings held by a certain group.  One time, I made it off the wait list, but too late to see the notification and change my plans.  The next time, I got in early enough, but the meetup was cancelled due to too few attendees.  (When one limits the gathering to 6 people max, but needs 4 to hold the gathering, there will be a lot of cancelled meetups.)  Today, I made it in early enough, but the meetup was cancelled.  I also found out that since I was not yet a paid member, that my reservation was deleted.

Now, there is no way I am going to gamble $12 to possibly attend gatherings when this group has had such a bad track record.  But if I knew I'd be able to attend weekday gatherings, then maybe I'd shell out the $12/year to join.  

 

It's amazing where one finds evidence of trans people

 

I love this computer generated image of me as an action figure.  It truly reflects the life I wish I could have lived.  I'd have felt good about myself, and it would have shown in my face and my smile.  However, I didn't live this life - all because of a tiny chromosome.

Why did I mention this?

Today, I went to the bank to get some CDs renewed for the Co-Op, and to get some papers notarized for claiming Unclaimed Funds from New York State.  When I sat down with one of the branch officers, our chit chat turned to second citizenship.  She is trying to get citizenship for herself and her child in one EU country by birthright, and I'm doing the same with another country. Since the uncertainty of American politics came up, she felt safe in mentioning that her son is transgender, going on hormones at the age of 18.  Luckily, his US passport expires in 8 years, and we hope this this hateful regime is gone by then.  If not, she and her son will go to Canada.  As for me, I will go to Europe, and settle in a country with a low cost of living.

There are more of us out there than most people know.  Now is the find each other before any pogroms start.  Once/if they do, we will need the help of others sympathetic to our needs to get out of Dodge before sundown.....

We've planned our 5th cruise for the year!

 

Sometimes, RQS is the person who finds a hidden bargain which benefits the two of us.  This weekend, she saw a cruise price of $982/pp for the above cruise, while I was seeing a price of $1399/pp for the same cruise.  As much as I'd say that $982/pp for a 12 day cruise, I had my reservations.  First, I'd be taking this trip as Mario, as most Caribbean islands have problems with the LGBT community.  Second, this trip would be on the Queen Mary 2, and there would be 3 formal nights onboard the ship, for which Cunard expects me to wear formal garb.

Before I left RQS this past weekend, we agreed that she would make the deposit on this cruise, and that we both would be getting a soda package and a streaming Wi-Fi package. This way, we'd be able to do what we want on our devices when onboard the ship, and yet be able to contact friends and family if needed.

A good thing about this cruise is that we'll be on the same ship I want to take for a transatlantic crossing.  Given that RQS saw two women ballroom dancing together on a cruise blogger's video, I don't think she will have any reservations against taking the crossing on this ship with me presenting as Marian.  But first, we have to take this cruise, and wait until the Orange Snowflake's war on Transgenders is over.

- - - - - -

In the old days, all transatlantic crossings would sail from Europe to the West Side of Manhattan.  The Hudson River was littered with ports, with one (or more) piers serving each line servicing the routes to New York.  However, there are only 2 active piers in Manhattan, 1 in Brooklyn, and 1 in Bayonne, NJ.  We could never return to the "good old days" of transatlantic crossings even if we wanted to - the capacity to service the ships is no longer there.

As I write this, the SS United States is on its way to be turned into an underwater tourist attraction - an artificial reef.  This is a damned shame, yet unavoidable.  There was no way to make it possible for this ship to be economically viable in today's environment.  It makes much more sense to spend more money to build larger ships overseas, and use them for tourist purposes.

Luckily, RQS and I will get the chance to sail on the last remaining ocean liner in the world.  Even if it disappoints, it will still be a rewarding experience.

More work on the family homestead.

 

This was a day where I needed my car, and hated this need.  My plan was to drop RQS off at the hairdresser, and then drive to Long Island to work on the family homestead.  But traffic jams got in the way, and it took me over an hour for a 30 minute trip due to the fact that it was "Samuel L Jackson" day.  (It's better than me saying it's "Mother's" day in his eloquently vulgar way!)  Being serious, there were many more cars than usual on the highways today, all people looking to see their moms to celebrate the unofficial holiday.

When I eventually arrived at the family homestead, my brother wasn't there.  He was running late because he had to pick up a mop, bucket, and some other things needed for house cleaning.  When he arrived, we sat down for a bite of the Hamburgular's and Grimace's finest (McD's Quarter Pounder and Big Mac) before starting work for the day.  We swept out the main floor, then I got to work mopping that last layer of dust and dirt off the floor while my brother did lawn mowing and other landscaping tasks outside.  And then, after several days, my GI Tract said that it wouldn't cooperate with me any more.  This resulted in an emergency visit to the hardware store to get the things I needed to clean up the bathroom.  AARGH!

Once we were done with our tasks, we said goodbye to each other and went our own ways.  There was a lot of traffic on the roads, but I was able to find a route with minimal traffic to get home.  As for my brother, he decided to get a haircut, as he had an important appointment in the morning.  When I finally got home, my neighbor's Mother's Day party had broken up, and I had to wait a couple of minutes before I could climb the steps to my apartment.  I was finally home!  And I did nothing for the rest of the evening.

- - - - - -

Tomorrow, I'll have to take care of some banking business for the co-op.  This means I'll be in Mario mode for the morning, but will be able to switch into Marian mode for the afternoon and get my nails done.  I'm looking forward to this.

A trip into Manhattan to see a movie, but didn't. (a short post)

 

RQS and I planned to go to the movies today - but didn't.  

But first....

This would have been a perfect day for me to have been out and about as Marian.  The temperature was in the low 70's, and there was a nice breeze.  What a perfect day to have been wearing a nice dress!  But I had to be in Mario mode, as I do not yet have any of Marian's clothes or makeup at RQS's place.  At least, RQS had a nice dress she could wear, and she got to enjoy the nice weather.

We left RQS's place around 4:45 pm and went into Manhattan.  The first thing we did was to go and have dinner at an Italian joint on MacDougal Street.  I wish we had gone somewhere else, as it was both noisy and cramped.  It took a while for our food to come, and I was unimpressed by the lasagna I ordered.  Once done with dinner, we killed time at a local coffee shop.  Big mistake - we should have bought our movie tickets for the 7:25 pm show.  By the time we made it to buy tickets, everything was sold out.

So, it was back to the subway, and back to Queens.  After a stop at CVS for some tissues, we continued home on the subway (our bus was delayed much longer than we'd want to wait) and got off 2 blocks from RQS's place.

It was not a day that much was accomplished, but a good day anyway.