You can't make this S**T up!

 

By the time you read this, two weeks will have passed since I wrote this entry.  Normally, this wouldn't be much of a concern, but one of these news items will likely add even more fuel to a scandal hitting the press.  The other of these items affects something more precious to me: the separation of church and state.

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I'll start out by talking about the most important of these issues: the proposed IRS settlement regarding the Johnson amendment and churches' political speech rights.  For the past 70 years, churches have been allowed to exercise their free speech rights to advocate for certain causes, but NOT endorse political candidates or parties.  This has helped maintain the separation of church and state.  Now, with the Orange Snowflake in charge, I expect to see preachers and their churches abuse their churches' tax free status and directly meddle in politics. The effects of this change may take months, if not years to have an effect on the American body politic. But it has the potential to cause great harm to minority religious groups to practice their own faiths.   

We've seen what happened in a country when religious leaders got unchecked control of Iran.  Forty years ago, Iran was a prosperous, modern, and moderately free (if one didn't offend the Shah) nation.  Now, religious police patrol the streets, and the people have to do their best to live within a religious authoritarian state.  Do we want that here?

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Yet, the thing that may be the most consequential in the short term is the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.  The Daily Beast reported that the FBI has the Epstein prison tape with no missing minute.  There was another report (I can't find the source) that someone in an orange jumpsuit was near Epstein's cell on the night he allegedly committed suicide.  Hmmm.  Could this be a rub out?  The Orange Snowflake acknowledged that Virginia Giuffre was stolen from his employ at Mar-a-Largo by Epstein. My first question is: Why did the snowflake hire an under aged female to be employed at Mar-a-Lago's spa? Then, I ask: What was going on at Mar-a-Lago.  According to an article in Vanity Fair, the snowflake and Epstein had a "Calendar Girl" party  where they were the only 2 males present.  Even MAGA loyalists want answers now!

No matter how much the snowflake tries to deflect things, I think this scandal has legs.  It's one thing when the snowflake abuses the power of his office and accepts a $400,000,000 bribe from the Qatari government.  But when it comes to the combination of possible adolescent child abuse coupled with lies from the snowflake saying that he'd release all the files on Epstein, it's something else.  MAGA is upset, as this is one betrayal they can not deal with.

The snowflake can't have it both ways.  If he is innocent, why not release all of the files.  The worst that can be said about him in that case would be that he once associated with the wrong person and cut off contact when he felt Epstein had crossed the line.  But if he is guilty, then MAGA rightfully is upset, as the snowflake is as much a part of the swamp that he claimed he wanted to drain.  This will likely stay in the news for weeks to come.  I certainly hope that this is the case! 

My paperwork is complete. Now to send it out.

 

I finally filled in the last form I needed to register a foreign birth and gain a second citizenship in a European country (which I will leave unnamed for now.)  There's a part of me that has been hesitant about doing this.  But, with all that's going on in GOP politics in this country, it pays to have the ability to go somewhere if this country turns into a fundamentalist "Christian" autocratic kleptocracy.

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My grandmother was born in Europe in 1903.  She came here when she was 17, and gave birth to my dad out of wedlock.  (Yes, I can affectionately call my dad a bastard.  But then, I never did so.)  30 years later, my mom gave birth to me.  Luckily, according to the laws of one country, the child of a citizen is automatically considered a citizen of that country.  Grandchildren must file to be recorded in the foreign births registry before they are considered citizens.  It's a shame that my brother didn't do this before his children were born. His children would have been able to inherit citizenship from him, and be able to be citizens of 2 countries.  (My niece is preparing to become a UK subject, but that's another story.)

It's strange for me to think of myself as a citizen of more than one country.  But then, it's strange to think that America's democracy may be dead by our 250th birthday.  As a transgender person, I worry what will happen if the wall between church and state no longer exists, and that people are allowed to proselytize in the workplace. No longer will we be able to be free to hold our own beliefs and practice them. We're already seeing signs that this is happening with some of the rule relaxations that the Orange Snowflake is proposing.  I am still not emotionally prepared to pull up stakes and move to another country to be safe from America's madness.

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Once I was done getting the application form notarized, I prepared everything to be mailed out in the morning.  And then, I decided to take a drive up to Goodwill to see if I could buy a cheap carry-on for the times I am out doing an overnight as Marian. (One carry-on for Marian, and one for Mario.)  The used clothing there looked in much better shape than the used luggage.  I guess that I'll have to order an inexpensive carry-on from Amazon for this purpose. 

This weekend, I will likely be in Marian mode when I go to RQS's place. I have a set of dresses there that I can wear, and I figure that I might as well be comfortable.  We'll be seeing one of her friends (who has seen me in both presentations), and I not sure of what we'll do after that.  At least, I'll be able to drive down to her place, and not try to find the bus to her place at its new starting point. 

 

 

 

 

PS: on August 6th, I received word from the Foreign Births Registry that my paperwork has been received.  Now to wait a few months before the next step in the process.  Hopefully, bu this time next year, I will be a citizen of two countries. 

I started repacking my bags for my Alaska cruise

 

 

As I write this, we are in the middle of a nasty heat wave in the NYC area.  The temperature peaked around 97 degrees in the shade, and I was very glad that I took the opportunity to stay inside and relax. This meant that I had no excuse not to work on repacking my luggage in preparation for our Alaska cruise.  Somehow, I still have to figure out how I'm going to bring my winter coat with me, even though I doubt I will need it.

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About a month ago, RQS and I were about to go on a New England / Canada cruise when we got an offer that we couldn't refuse: The cruise line would pay us (in refundable cruise credits) to take a different cruise (up to 10 days long) to the same region.  Instead of each of us paying $2000+ to take the cruise, we'd get a free cruise with the money we paid for the original cruise refunded to us (minus charges) once the replacement cruise ends.

We took Princess Cruises up on this offer 5 days before the cruise was to sail.  This left me with a packed 28" bag, a 20" carry-on bag, my backpack, and my CPAP machine - all ready to go on a summer 10-day cruise. Now, I had to repack, pulling out all but a couple of short sleeve shirts, replacing them with warmer garb. There was no way I was going to travel as Marian, given the current political climate.  Certain minorities are being rounded up (legal residents and non-legal residents), and ICE is treating many of them worse than we treated the Japanese-Americans sent to internment camps during World War 2.  Cruelty is a trademark of this authoritarian administration, and I don't want to be one of his victims trying to travel as Marian through any CBP checkpoints.  Luckily, it made much more sense for me to dress as Mario on the Alaska cruise, so much of the packing I did for the cruise we did not take made it easier for me to repack for this cruise. 

For the most part, repacking for Alaska is relatively simple.  Replace most summery gear with wintry gear and assume you'll have autumn weather often interrupted by rain  Even if we lived in "normal" times, I'd still be traveling in trouser-like garments in Marian mode (if I were full-time), as Alaska is a very informal place to visit.

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On other matters....

Right now, my brother's availability may be the weakest link in us getting the rental permit for the family homestead completed. Officially, someone has to inspect the place.  However, the place has already been through 2 inspections by the same fellow working for the town, and it will be up to my brother to take care of things.

Sle's leaving home, bye.... bye....

 

When I started writing this entry, the Beatles' song, "She's Leaving Home" came to mind.  It often feels like RQS and I have second homes at each other's apartments, and that we miss each other as soon as the other leaves for home.  Although we'll be on the phone with each other every night, and that I'll be going down to her place this weekend, there is still a void around here.  But that's not what I want to talk about today.

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Neither of us had that much energy this morning, and I dropped RQS off at the station an hour later than planned.  Given that I was presenting as Marian (as I prefer to do), I figured that it would be a good day to browse the racks at Lane Bryant.  So, I drove down to Pelham Manor instead of driving up to Poughkeepsie.  On the way there, I decided to get a car wash.  And yes, the car needed it!  I would have been happy with an exterior wash, but the standard wash included cleaning the inside of the car as well.  When the attendants were done, my trash bag had been disposed of, and all of the nooks and crannies I don't bother to keep clean were cleaned!  Can't complain much for $25.

Browsing through Lane Bryant, I saw only two things I'd want to buy.  The first was a sturdier denim jacket than the one I have now.  The second was a robe that coordinates well with one of the nighties I like to wear.  Neither of them said "buy me" given the price and sale type (BOGO, 50% off on the second piece.) I never buy at this price point as they expect you to buy 2 items at a combined discount of 25%.  Instead, I wait until I see things at 33% off (which tends to be a standard markdown), and preferably 40%-50% off.  It's a shame that the stores have trained people to shop for discounts instead of only having "Occasional Sales" from a standard price maintained through the season.  (J.C.Penney tried to shift customers to my way of seeing prices several years ago, and it backfired.  But then, the CEO at the time thought he could shift Penney's to a more upscale model and trashed the core business.)

Once done browsing, I returned home.  When I laid down for a short nap, my brother called.  He did well on his interview.  Hopefully, he will have a job offer within the next couple of weeks.  Keep your fingers crossed. 

It was almost the perfect weather to be wearing a short dress. (a short post)

 

I wasn't sure that I'd like the above dress.  However, I decided to buy it because it is inexpensive, and because I wanted one more dress in this style.  Today, I had the first chance to wear it when I picked RQS up at the train station.

We didn't have much scheduled for the day, so we first went to eat. After lunch, it was off to Uncle Giuseppe's to do a little shopping. Entering the store, we were greeted with the sounds of a man singing to a karaoke soundtrack.  His music filled the store, and I have to admit that he was very good.  Could he a professional taking up any type of gig needed to pay the bills?  I have no idea, but it was much better than the muzak that fills many stores.  Regarding what we bought, little is the key word here, as we didn't fill up a single bag and were able to spend less than $40.  One of the things I bought was a crumb cake, minus the cake.  The label said it all: "Just Crumbs."  I haven't had anything like this since I was a kid, when my mother called this a "Pizza Crumb Cake."  And that's the best description of this delicacy. Yum!

After our supermarket run, we went home for the night and had some salmon I had in the freezer.  Given how much food I have in the freezer, it's time to rotate old food out (and into our stomachs) and replace it with new frozen food. Did I care much for the salmon?  Not so much.  But I think this was related to the seasoning on the salmon, and not the quality of the fish.

Then, the day was over.  Not much to say for the day, and then it's just as well.... 

Today didn't go as planned - and it's just as well.

 

Yesterday, I sent out two pieces of paper by snail mail.  The first was a form my brother needs to have notarized so that we can send it in to the town for a rental permit.  The second was to my best friend from college, trying to find out why his special email account was disconnected.  (Given that he had a stroke a few years ago, I assume the worst - he passed away, and both his email account and his domain (blueroan.com) were shut down.)  Hopefully, my brother will be able to get the first piece of paper taken care of before his vacation, and I will get notice that my friend is alive and well in Florida.

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Today, I planned to get some passport photos taken, fill out the form to register my overseas birth with a foreign registrar.  This would allow me to get my second passport, something I might need if things go "impossibly" wrong here for us transgenders.  Well, I got those photos taken, but I didn't fill out the form, as I wanted to make sure I could get things notarized and a paperwork package in international mail on the same day. Next, I wanted to do some laundry, so that I would have fresh clothes for an upcoming trip.  (This I did later on in the day.)  Then, things went wrong - I knocked over a lamp in my bedroom and glass was scattered on the floor on RQS's side of the bed.  Now, I had to take care of two things: (1) Clean off the carpet as best I could and vacuum the remaining glass fragments out of the carpet; (2) Buy a replacement lamp, so that I have enough light in the room when I'm not sleeping.

If I had gotten everything done as planned, I would have switched into female presentation to close out the day, and consider going to the movies where I'd be entertained for the evening.  Given that I needed to be male presentation for the passport photos and it was in the 90's outside, it wasn't worth switching into Marian's presentation to go shopping.  At least, tomorrow I will be able to get into Marian mode again.

An afternoon with Vicki

 

Although I dropped RQS off at the train station today, I don't have much to say about it except that she will return in a coupe of days.  Instead, my focus will be on the time I spent with Vicki nd my thoughts about that lunch date.

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Once I dropped RQS off at the station, I killed a little time before Vicki came to pick me up for our lunch date.  The first thing on our docket was a stop at J.Jill to return two garments that she mail ordered but didn't want to keep. So it was off to the Westchester mall in White Plains.  Vicki thought she could get in and out of the mall within 20 minutes, and not get charged the $4 for parking.  (She's losing a sense of time, now that she's not working. But that's something that gradually happens to retirees.)  Neither of us saw anything we were interested in the mall, both of us feeling a sense of sterility about the place.  Hardly anyone was there, and neither of us wanted to spend any more time there than we had to.

Vicki was in a mood today, taking control of the conversation when I wanted to explain my feelings.  She has stronger feelings about my exes and my late wife than I do - and she is likely projecting her feelings about her past relationships onto mine in this conversation.  Later on, she mentioned that she sees me as being authentic in my living life as a woman. She noted that for me, it's not putting on an act like Drag performers.  It is truly wanting to be seen and treated as a woman.  She disagrees with me about the things I need to do (partial facial feminization surgery, FFS), noting that my face isn't strongly as masculine as I feel it is.

After lunch, we drove back to Croton (with a stop at the Blue Pig for ice cream), and she dropped me off at my apartment.  Shortly afterward, I went to Walmart in search of pillow protectors and pillowcases for a new pillow I bought the other day.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find the pillow protectors and will need to buy them from Amazon.  At least, this wasn't a totally wasted trip.