Lunch with "Short Vicki". (But not tomorrow with "Tall Vicki".)

 

This is not anywhere near what I had for lunch.  It's an illustration of what I'll likely be eating this weekend as part of Hudson Valley Restaurant Week.  But first....

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I woke up early today, and wish I could have stayed in bed for another 3 hours.  However, RQS had to go home, and I had to meet "Short Vicki" for lunch.  So I got dressed in a tunic length dress and leggings (I almost always see Vicki in female presentation) and started to feel tired as soon as I got moving. After dropping RQS off at the train station for her trip home, I had time to kill before my lunch with Vicki.  So, I went to Walmart to pick up a few things such as makeup remover wipes before heading down to Scarsdale for lunch.  On my way to Scarsdale, I knew that I would need to rest before lunch, as I was already feeling the urge to nap.  So, once I got to Moscato, I decided to rest for 30 minutes before entering the restaurant.  Although I didn't fall asleep, I had the energy I needed to get out of the car and have lunch. 

Vicki arrived shortly after 1 pm, and we proceeded to have a nice lunch from the Hudson Valley Restaurant Week menu.  For $29.95, we each had an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert.  It was well worth the money we spent.  I'd have the Pappardelle with meat sauce any day, as well as the Veal Parmigiana and Italian Cheesecake that came afterward.  We talked about several things, such as our trips, her non-binary offspring, and politics.  She gave me information on a food bank for which I will likely contribute some money, hopefully helping some needy people during this time of crisis.

Around 2:45, we left for our homes.  By the time I got home, it was all I could do to stay awake enough to get undressed and fall asleep on my bed.  A little over 3 hours later, I still had my bra and breast forms on, but I felt much better rested than before.  After stripping these items off and putting on a pair of trousers, I went downstairs to pick up a delivery from Universal Standard.  However, my UPS delivery went to the wrong address - ¼ mile away!  So I ended up contacting them, and got 2 call backs, with a hope that they can find the parcel and deliver it to me in the morning.

I could have gone apple picking. Instead, I picked an apple pie.

 

When we got up, we had one thing to do: Pick up 2 of RQS's dresses at the cleaners.  So, we had a lot of time to relax before we got moving.

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Often, our weekend routine has us relaxing, watching TV (or Youtube videos) until noon or so. Neither of us has much energy when we get up, so we're lucky to be retired and have the freedom to get up when we please.

As usual, this would me a day that I'd present as Marian.  When the weather chills down, I find it hard to dress in an obviously feminine way, and not look out of place. One thing I tend to do is wear dresses as tunics, and leggings underneath them,  If I feel like being a little more dressy, I'll wear a dress with stockings or tights underneath. In many ways, this is a compromise I make to avoid looking more like a female then a person who has the body of a typical overweight male.

When we finally got moving, it was 2 pm, and we didn't have much sunlight left.  Our first stop was at the cleaners, and RQS got her dresses.  I had forgotten to give her the receipt for the suit I dropped off the previous day, so I'll have to pick it up next week.  After a brief stop back at the house to pick up my cell phone, it was off to the North for some residual leaf peeping.  Sadly, as expected, the colors were muted, as many of the leaves had already fallen.  But it was enough to make the drive worthwhile. My GI tract was telling me that it was mildly upset at me, so I knew not to go too far from modern plumbing.  So, I decided to make my turnaround when I reached Fishkill.  

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Years ago, I became familiar with the Fishkill area when I moved to Croton.  During the American Revolution, the Fishkill Supply Depot was one of the largest encampments during the war.  However, like much of America's history, it has been mostly plowed under in the name of progress.  When I moved here, there was a small mall nearby that has also been plowed under, being replaced by a Home Depot, a campus of the local community college, and some derelict buildings. 

Since my stomach had stopped bothering me, I figured that we'd make it to Fishkill Farms to pick up an apple pie.  I remembered this place from the time I dated Patty, my ex-girlfriend of 25 years ago. The place was mobbed, as many people were going there for the corn maze and for some apple picking.  As for me, I knew I could get a good apple pie here, as well as some other farm fresh food to eat. 

I was glad that my stomach had settled down, as RQS had to use the facilities at Fishkill Farms.  Who ever wants to use a port-a-potty?  It was time to head home so that I could take my bio break.  But first, it would be a stop at Trader Joe's.  After navigating the roads from the farms, we got on the highway and headed home.  TJ's was busy, but we got out of there relatively quickly. And we were home for the night just before dark.

PS: The Apple Pie was just as good as I remembered, and worth the drive to get it.

Game night - This time, I just kibitzed.

 

This was a half and half day, where I started out as Mario and bought a lightweight blazer for my upcoming cruise, took it to the tailor to get altered, then took a business suit to the cleaners to be fresh in time for the cruise.  The other half of the day was spent in Marian mode, so that I could have dinner with MAR, then play games in Yonkers.

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I got out of the house late, and dropped off my suit at the cleaners.  The place looked almost empty, as if the owner wasn't getting enough business to stay open.  So I'll be sure to get my suit out of there as early as possible, maybe this Saturday, as I doubt the shop will remain open to the end of the year.  (RQS's dresses are in the shop, having been hemmed last weekend.)  Next, I drove down to DXL to buy a blazer, and $225 later, it was hanging in my car and on its way to a tailor I could trust.

There is a dry cleaning shop in the heart of Croton that does its cleaning on premises AND has a dedicated tailor on site.  This was the shop I wanted to take up the cuffs on my blazer.  $40 later, I was out the door, and able to pick up the blazer next week.  So, by 2:30 pm, I was ready to change into Marian mode and prepare for dinner with MAR.  One problem - she was hurting badly (cramps), and wanted to postpone dinner (again).  I suggested rescheduling dinner, and she jumped at it.

At this point, I had a couple of hours to kill before going to game night.  Just as I was about to put my makeup on, my brother called.  This caused me to get out of the house late, and arrive too late to participate in the one game being played tonight.  Just as well.  I was more in the mood to hang out, and kibitz a little.  (Note: "Kibitz" is meant as idle conversation, and not as providing unwanted advice.)  Even though I didn't play any games, it was a nice evening. 

I didn't bother getting out of my jammies today.

 

I only wish I could have looked like the woman in the picture above.  She is in the prime of young adulthood, she is pretty, and she looks good in whatever lingerie she models.  Instead, at best, I look like a frumpy old woman with a non-conforming body.  At least, I now feel comfortable in wearing the clothing I want to wear, and I am accepted as a woman by many people I meet.

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With the above being said, I stayed in the slip I slept in and then hung around the house all day.  Yes, I did reload my bookcase with the books I took out in preparation for a visit from the cable company's service technician.  Although I have read 90% of the books in the bookcase, there are still some I have to get around to reading when I have (or make) the time to do so.

Once I was done with reloading the bookcase, I went into the other room to work on the co-op's web page.  First, I had to make sure that the current edition of the newsletter was properly inserted into its page, and then I had to make a blog entry which contained some of the items from the page.  Soon, I will discuss an idea I have for the blog: putting less "sensitive" from our meeting minutes into entries we can publish on a monthly basis.  It'll be nice to be able to publish things on a monthly basis, instead of the sporadic basis we now publish entries on the blog. 

Tomorrow may have me venture out in Mario mode for a while, only to bring a suit to the cleaners for pressing and to shop for a lightweight blue blazer, both of which I will wear on an upcoming cruise.  RQS asks me whether I have my dress shirts yet, and I keep telling her that I have two of them somewhere in the house.  (I ordered them from J.C.Penney's a while back, and now have to find where my pooka has put them.)  Given that I have a dinner date, and then game night, I will be out of the house, no matter what.

 

I can't believe someone would let an apartment get this bad (a short post)

 

The above pictures are of a hoarder's apartment that my co-op will have auctioned off by the time you read this post.  Several years ago, we became aware that this person wasn't paying his rent, nor did he keep his apartment in habitable shape.  

A few years ago, we had to enter his apartment, in order to deal with a leak that affected the apartment below this person's apartment.  We found the place in a total mess (much worse than this), and had to pay someone to clean out enough of the place in order for the plumbers to do their work.  Over the years, we have tried to find the owner to serve him notice that he either had to pay the co-op the money owed to is, or surrender his shares in the co-op.  It wasn't until the Spring of this year that we were able to send him the appropriate notice, and that we could put the apartment up for auction to recover our uncollected maintenance fees.

As you can see, this place is not habitable at the moment.  As I see it, one would have to do a total clean out of the apartment, and then strip out everything in the kitchen and bathroom just to get started.  Molding and trim work in the place would need to be replaced, floors sanded and refinished, walls repainted, as well as other work needed to replace fixtures in the apartment.  

I can't see someone living in the apartment as it was when the plumbers first needed entry, nor can I see someone living in this apartment until a major cleanup and rehab is done to it.  SJM thinks it needs $30k-$50k worth of work to make it habitable, and thinks we should simply clean it up and sell it as-is.  As for me, I feel we can't do anything about this apartment until more pressing affairs are taken care of, and only then can we make decisions on what to do next if the place doesn't sell at auction.  We'll see what happens at month-end when the auction is held. 

 

A visit to the doctor (a short post)

 

 

"Doctor" Johnny Fever (From: "WKRP in Cincinatti")

Two weeks ago, my doctor put me on a new medication, and wanted me to come back today to see if it worked. So far, so good.  But now, he drew some more blood for a test to see if other blood levels had changed from my cessation of alcohol consumption.  (We'll find this out over the next couple of days.)  Given how little alcohol I usually drink when on land, I've found my doctor's instructions easy to follow. 

My doctor has been concerned about my weight for years.  And now he's concerned about my liver.  A few years ago, he wanted me to get a liver scan.  I finally scheduled it, and the ultrasound technician didn't understand what my doctor was asking for.  So the scan was never done.  Today, the doctor wanted me to go on a GLP-1 drug to lose weight, and I told him I'd try it if insurance covered it.  He also wanted me to get the liver scan, and I reminded him of my past experience with this.  So I got a new script for this, and told him that I'd want to do the scan when he is in the office, so that if I have this issue again, they can call him for guidance.

Getting old is a bitch, but it's better than the alternative for now....

UPS Doesn't Deliver!

 

Above is the tracking history of a package having been shipped by UPS.  The package has been held up in Philadelphia for a while, and no reason is being given by UPS for the hold up. Dollars to donuts that this package is being held up for two reasons:

1. Lack of US Customs personnel in Philadelphia due to Government Shutdown.
2. Trump's Tariffs causing confusion at import points

This is the second time I've had problems with deliveries not being delivered, and held up in mid stream. (The first was with Amazon, and mentioned here in a prior post.)  I expect things will start getting much worse as the Holiday season approaches.

So what's going on here? 

We've seen reports of foreign mail services refusing to ship small parcels to the United States.  In the past, an items valued $800 (or less) could be mailed to the US without having to pay duties.  Now that the "De Minimis" floor of $800 has been removed, all parcels are subject to US tariffs, and are subject to duty collection.  But who pays?  Where is this money collected?  How much should be paid? Sadly, because of this confusion, foreign postal agencies are simply saying NO to shipping packages to the US.  And I can't blame them one bit.

Even though my package is being delivered by UPS, is my package one of those affected?

I'll be contacting UPS to find out more about what's going on.  If I have to pay a reasonable duty right now, I'll consider it.  If not, I'll write off this purchase for now.  But if I have to write off this package, I'll avoid doing business with Ulla Popken (a great German retailer) until things clear up. 

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PS1: Before I had the chance to call UPS, I saw an update - they expect to deliver the package tomorrow (as I write this, Wednesday).  I'll make an update to this post if delivery occurs as now expected.

PS2: UPS changed the delivery date again.  Contacted UPS to find out why package is delayed.  Will update this post as new information is received.  Hopefully, I will finally receive the package as now scheduled.

PS3: UPS Keeps pushing back the delivery date.  It's now scheduled for Friday.  Will need to call their phone number for international deliveries to see what's up. 

PS4: Late last night, UPS reported the package was in "Clearance Scan" state (I couldn't capture this on time).  This morning, it is "On The Way".  I wonder whether I will receive the package on Friday as now scheduled.

PS5: The package is finally on its way.  It's hard to believe that it took 2 weeks to clear importation procedures in Philadelphia.  Hopefully, there will be no more delays, and the package will be at my door as now scheduled. 

PS6: Things have now gotten ridiculous!  The package was delivered on Monday as was now scheduled, but to the wrong address! (My doorway looks nothing like the doorway above.)  Around 7:30, I filed a report of package mis-delivery, and by 7:50, I received a call back.  UPS had delivered the item to the wrong address - about 1/4 mile away from my apartment.  Although the person at the other end of the line explained how this could happen (several properties on my hill have similar addresses), UPS should train its delivery workers better to deliver goods in areas like mine.

 

PS7: On Tuesday, I contacted UPS again around 9:45 am, and they mentioned that the issue has been reported to the local delivery center.  Hopefully, I will hear back from them by the afternoon.  Then I contacted Ulla Popken, where my request for a new shipment or refund was passed to the shipping department for processing.

 

PS8: Around 7:30 pm on Tuesday, I got another call from UPS asking me about the mis-delivered package.  She confirmed where the package was delivered, and I mentioned again that that is not my address.  It's hard to believe how screwed up UPS can be when they deliver a package to the wrong address.

 

PS9: This afternoon, I found a package near my mailbox.  The shipment from Ulla Popken had finally arrived.  So, I sent an email to Ulla's customer service, saying that UPS finally delivered the package, and that finally, all was right with the world.  19 days from date of order to delivery - AARGH!  At least, I now have the package.