I'll miss my friends in Texas

 

I was supposed to catch up with my friends in Texas, but forgot all about it.  I'll miss both SB and JS, as they helped me get through the worst of the pandemic with their Zoom Meetups.  Sadly, all good things come to an end.  But this time, I know that all of us are in better places now than we were 15 months ago.

Do I want to see them in person?  Yes, but my problem is that I am transgender, and that Texas is not friendly to people of my ilk.  There may be some places I can safely go, as Kim from Traveling Transgender may attest, but Texas is a whole other place.  She has documented many of her travels in the past.  However, she hasn't been doing many flights while pretty these days.  (At the time I write this, her last blog post was over 7 months ago.)  I miss her adventures. 

Maybe I should write her for advice?

I finally went to a Hudson Valley Meetup and found the group owner is stepping down.

 

This is a happy and sad post at the same time.  The other night, I went to a meetup with a friend.  Tonight, I found out that the hostess of this group is leaving in October.  One less group in the Hudson Valley that I want to go to.  I'll have to give my ex-girlfriend credit - she chose to keep me out of the one group that survived Covid using methods that I consider unethical.  But then, she's very afraid of dealing with her feelings if she were to see me in person again.

But I don't want to dwell on the past - only reference it.

Now that the worst of the pandemic seems to be over, people are starting to attend meetup groups in person again.  This is a good thing.  There is a new group that I might choose to attend soon.  It'll be much better for me to go there than to schlep into Connecticut.  And yet, I'm not planning on filling my calendar with meetups.  I don't want to get addicted to going out.  Instead, I want to start nourishing my soul again, visiting museums (for one thing) without worrying about whether I'd be missing out on human connections. 

Lately, I've been seeing a lady (as Mario) that knows of my existence as Marian, and hasn't yet run away from me.  No, I don't think we'll be a couple for the long term.  But I'm working on developing a relationship (as friends) that will survive the end of dating.  The other day, I read an article  (Most romantic relationships start as friendships, study finds) on CNN's website.  I want to date the kind of person who I'd want to have as a friend first, and not the kind of person I'd get bored with quickly, and this article helped me understand why I do so.  There are other women I'm chatting with that I have yet to meet.  And I'm holding out some hope that one of them may like the overall package I'm offering when the time comes to see them....

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/20/health/romantic-relationships-start-as-friends-wellness/index.html

A Quick Air Conditioner Update

 

I figured that I'd make another quick post about my Air Conditioners....

On Saturday, I sent a quick message to Friedrich regarding the Firmware for my AC.  Today, I received a reply telling me that it is back ordered, with no shipping date yet available.  So I asked the gentleman another quick question: Do I need 2 separate shipments?

I'll keep you informed.  At least, I'm keeping cool up here....

It's nice to be able to play games on a Thursday night again

 

It's been almost a month since I've been able to join the group playing games in Yonkers.  And it was great fun being there, even though I had to leave early so that I could go to work early the next morning.  

- - - - - -

Like one person I know, for whom going to her meetups are like going to church, this meetup is like a church for me.  It's where I feel at home.  Unlike that person, I wouldn't be bothered if she were to come to my meetup and meet the welcoming people there.  It is a warm and friendly bunch of people.

I have a simple rule of thumb that I will use to determine whether a person is a good fit for me.  First, will she accept me both as Mario and as Marian?  And if so, would she fit in with this group of people.  Unlike the girlfriend in my last relationship, I will invite the special person in my life to join me now and then.  I won't want for that person to feel excluded from my life.

- - - - - -

Why do I reference the past here?  Well, even when one is looking forward, one has to look in the rear view mirror to make sure that what's in the past stays there.  If the connection between two points is a line, then I want to make sure that I'm heading in the right direction, and not doubling back on my path.

Right now, I'm seeing a nice lady.  But I don't think she'll be the right person for me.  She's not as well versed in as many things as I am, things that help to define the popular culture of the age in which we grew up.  For example, I don't expect a potential partner to have watched as many movies as I have.  But I do expect that partner to know that "As Time Goes By" comes from the movie "Casablanca."  I would expect that woman to know that "When I'm sixty four" is a classic Beatles' tune.  I could go on and on, but I'd be making this person sound much worse than she is.  And I don't want to do her an injustice.  (There is one red flag that I can not ignore, but I won't mention it here right now.)

Compared to last year, things are looking up for me in the dating department.  There are some people I'll want to keep as friends.  And there are some people who are total bores.  Over time, I expect that things will work themselves out.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

A quick note on life passing way too quickly

 

It's hard to believe that I haven't found the time to write a new entry for several days.  So I figure that I should put down some bullets to let you know what's happening in my life....

- - - - - -

First, I'm still waiting on getting a fix to the broken Wi-Fi connectivity on my air conditioners.  Later today, I'll be writing Friedrich's CEO to let him (or one of his flunkies) know that I'm very upset that they don't have a solution to my problem yet....

Believe it or not, I'm still going to my mind numbing job.  I don't know how long I will last there.  But I can use the money, I enjoy going to work as Marian, and I have nothing else to give me reasons to get up in the morning at a schedule that most people consider normal.

And last, I am going to see my friend, LK, the former student clinician from Mercy who helped me with my voice training.  It will be a rushed dinner, but something we've wanted to fit in for a long while.

It's now 2 weeks since I first started to call for tech support, and still nada....

 

Air conditioners are relatively simple mechanical devices. A pump compresses a refrigerant (Freon was once the most common one used), passes it through a nozzle which cools a refrigerant that is then passed through a radiator to cool the air in a room. (I hope I got the process correct here.) Waste heat from the warmed refrigerant is passed through an external radiator to the outside of the building. With the exception of the refrigerant being changed over the years to protect the environment, the principle used in today's machines is the same as that used several generations ago.

What has changed is the electronic circuitry controlling the units.   It has grown much more complex, so that it can maintain a constant temperature as desired, turn the machine on and off at selected times without operator intervention, and conserve energy which was wasted in older air conditioner design.  In the case of my two new air conditioners, the manufacturer has implemented a Wi-Fi interface, so that one can control the unit from one's own cell phone.  By today's standards, this is not rocket science.  But it is something that Friedrich as gotten wrong.  Both of my units have faulty Wi-Fi connectivity which has not yet been corrected by a manufacturer supplied firmware update.  

As of the time this entry was written, all I have is a case number and some nice words from tech support.  No fix has yet been shipped. And I expect that the manufacturer does not care much about quality control, as it rushed to send these units to distributors (and on to retail customers) before it verified that the product was ready to ship.

So here is the second letter I sent to the CEO of Friedrich:

Dear Mr. Campbell,

This is the second time I’ve taken the time to write you due to support issues I’ve had with my Friedrich Wallmaster Air Conditioner.  Unfortunately, when my second new unit arrived, it has the same Wi-Fi issue as the first unit – I cannot use the Friedrich Connect app on my phone to control either AC unit.

On Friday (7/9), I was able to reach the same polite gentleman who assisted me on the prior Tuesday (7/6).  This fellow told me that he was a little backed up, and that he couldn’t get the case number established that day – but he gave me one (20536) on Friday.  However, he wasn’t able to send me the firmware update at that time to allow me to get my Wi-Fi connectivity problem fixed. 

On Saturday (7/10), my second AC was delivered and installed in my bedroom. I then tried to connect my phone with it to no avail.  When I checked the unit’s firmware, it was at the same level as its sibling in the living room, thus explaining why it also had connectivity problems.

Case number:  20536

Living Room Unit: Bedroom Unit:
Model: WCT16A30A Model: WCT12A10A
Firmware: 1.02 Firmware: 1.02

As of today, I have not received the help I need to get the Wi-Fi functions of my Wallmaster units working properly. The last time I was in contact with this person at tech support, he noted that it would take 3 days to receive a tracking number. There was no mention on when I would receive the fix that I need to use all the features of my air conditioner. When I contacted him again on Tuesday (7/20), he still had no idea when I could get my AC’s Wi-Fi fixed.

I would appreciate any and all help you (or your office) can give me to get this issue resolved promptly.

So far, I have had no success with Friedrich.  Soon, I plan to let the people who sold me my air conditioners know what is going on so that they can be aware of potential problems in the units they sell.  Additionally, since they have more influence as distributors than I have as a customer, maybe they can get the word out to the people at Friedrich who can get things done.  Who knows?

I only wonder when I'll have this issue resolved....

 

 

An impromptu dinner with Vicki, plus some vacation plans

 

Both Vicki and I enjoy Greek food.  So Vicki decided to treat me for dinner at the new Greek restaurant in town.  Since this would be a last minute decision for me, as I expected to be very tired after work, I had to provide for doing two things.  First, I'd have to call Friedrich to check up on the status on my AC service call.  And then, I'd have to change into something comfortable and pretty for going outside in this weather. (I dress more warmly for work, as the AC is cranked up to counter the heat coming from the computers and imaging equipment found at every desk.)

I met Vicki at 7, and we decided to eat at an outside table.  (Inside tables were all taken.)  We talked about many things, including our former loves.  (She'll always wonder about one road not taken. And I'll always wonder if a former love really knew what she wanted when she met me.)  One thing we both agreed on is that I was lucky to only have had a "minor flesh wound" caused by my former love - things would have been much worse had we been living together or had been married when her real personality finally came out in an argument.  But enough on that topic - she'll never admit that I had valid points in our dispute, and it would be pointless to argue with someone resistant to acknowledging alternate points of view.

- - - - - -

Lately, I've been looking at future cruise trips.  All of these involve cruises to/in Hawaii.  The first of these vacations is the shortest (10 days), yet the most expensive.

This is a 7 day cruise out of Honolulu, coupled with a 3 day tour of its island's (Oahu) most popular tourist attractions.  It is only offered by one cruise line (NCL), as it is on the only American owned, staffed, flagged, and built ship operating at the present time.  I won't go into the reasons why most ships fly "flags of convenience" here. But this route is the only regularly scheduled route restricted to American flagged ships, and why it is the most expensive option on my list at roughly $6,000 for a solo traveler. (It was priced less before the pandemic, but post-pandemic prices have zoomed upward due to reduced capacity and pent up demand.)  Couple this trip with airfare, excursions, taxes, port fees and gratuities, and I could be spending $9,000 for a trip I could have once taken for under $6,000.  Right now, there is one important advantage to this cruise - all passengers must be vaccinated for Covid-19 before taking this trip.

Next on the list is a 15 night cruise out of Los Angeles.  This is on Princess, and has a much shorter time in Hawaii than the first cruise due to its foreign flagged ship.

Do I really want to spend more time on a ship and see less of Hawaii to save a few bucks?  I could cut down the money I spend to roughly $5,000 - and I can afford that with little trouble.  However, some of Princess's cruises allow unvaccinated passengers on board, and I don't want to deal with the hassles these passengers may present.

Second to last might be the longest cruise of the choices on my list - 18 days.  I'd be flying in and out of Vancouver, and then cruising to Hawaii on Holland America,

This might be the best option, as it allows for an overnight in Honolulu before the trip back to Vancouver.  Next to sailing on a ship that is based in Hawaii, this provides the most time in Hawaii that I can find at a reasonable price - in the $6,500 range for the vacation. 

Lastly, there is the most interesting option, a cruise that combines 2 bucket list trips into one: Alaska and Hawaii, leaving from Vancouver, BC and ending in Honolulu, HI.

I'd like to visit Skagway again, as well as seeing Juneau and Glacier Bay for the first time.  But do I want to pack for both summer and late fall / early winter weather?  Then, there is the extra factor that I would be leaving from a foreign port, and that I would want to travel in Marian Mode as much as possible.  Do I want to put up with these hassles? This could be a $7,500 trip without any extra plans. But there is an option for this trip that I haven't mentioned.  I could take the train to Seattle, spend a couple of days there, then another train to Vancouver, and spend a day there before the cruise.  I expect that this will add another $2,500 or so to the cost of this vacation.

Which option would you choose, and why?  Since I prefer to travel as Marian, I'd like to hear what you have to say....

 

 

 

PS: I have 3 travel guides for places I'll never have the chance to visit:

1. Molvania
2. San Sombrero
3. Phaic Tan

I wonder what you might have heard about these places.  Would you visit them, just for the unreal experience?