Game Night w. "Short Vicki"

 

I had no energy today.  Although I woke up early for a bio-break, I got back under the covers until 11 am or so.  And then killed time until evening came.

But first....

My original plans were to take advantage of this gloomy day to do some laundry.  About the only productive task I took care of was to separate the laundry into two loads: Whites and Colors.  I simply didn't want to get dressed to do anything that would take me outside my apartment.

Eventually, 4 pm came around, and I received a message from Vicki #2 ("Short Vicki") suggesting that we get together for a "Paint and Sip" near her place.  I noted that I was going to my bi-weekly game night and volunteered to check if she could come along.  After checking with the hostess, I gave the thumbs up to Vicki, and then proceeded to get ready to leave the apartment.

It was raining when I left the apartment, and I was glad that I was wearing leggings under my dress. But I still had to eat.  So I decided to try out The Halal Guys in Yonkers.  This was a big mistake.  The food was not up to the same taste quality as the other Halal joint further up the road.  So I finished my plate and made a note NOT to go there again.

Although I got to game night a little before 8 pm, I wasn't late for any games.  The one game we played, I enjoyed, as it didn't require much brain power.  We chatted a bit after the game, and then we all left earlier than usual.  This was just as well, as I barely made it home in time for a much delayed bio-break.

At least, I knew my GI-Tract is working well....

We delivered bad news today

 

Now that it's public, I can talk about things a little more than I could in the past.  My co-op is going to have a significant maintenance hike, and none of us are happy about it.

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As much as I wanted to go out as Marian today, it made much more sense to go out as Mario, as I had a special co-op board meeting open to shareholders.  We planned to prepare shareholders for next year's rate hike, and introduce the new management company to our shareholders.  Things changed a little, as the new company didn't attend the meeting - and I think the co-op's attorney was happy about that.  

The meeting started at 6 m, and our board's president informed us about what was going on, giving us the low down before the old site representative and our shareholders arrived. All too soon, people started arriving, and we couldn't speak openly any more.

Once everyone was in the room, the co-op president opened the meeting, telling the attending shareholders about the rate increase.  And then, the soon to be ex site manager took over, telling attendees the story about how we got into this mess. (I won't go into details here, but I'd say that what we were told is partly truth and partly fiction.)  After that, the floor was open to questions from the audience.

One shareholder stood out - he kept dropping the name of one politician as if that fellow could do things for us.  He can't.  Insurance companies are free to set commercial rates and only issue policies to firms that meet their underwriting criteria.  Others had more reasonable questions, and we responded with what we knew - we're waiting for our mortgage holder to approve this policy, so that the forced coverage policy we have can be dropped, saving us money.

I was glad that the meeting was over by 8 pm.  There is more that I have to talk about with the co-op president, but I won't go into that here.

The study is over, and I have received my compensation

 

How many of you have been in an MRI machine?  How many of you have been "perfectly healthy" when going into an MRI machine for a brain scan?

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The official purpose of this study was to see how mental performance can be improved by playing games designed to exercise certain mental skill sets.  At the start of this study, I took a preliminary skills test, then drove to Queens to have my brain scanned.  

Going into an MRI requires that one's body be devoid of metals which could be dislodged by extreme magnetic fields.  So, I had to remove the studs from my ears beforehand, and then only wear a hospital gown when being slid into the machine.  Once one puts noise cancelling earmuffs on, one's head is locked into place.  Then one is slid into the machine, and the "fun"takes place for the next 15 minutes.  One can't scratch an itch, blow one's nose, or otherwise deal with minor discomforts while being bombarded by loud banging noises from outside.  Thank god that one must wear the earmuffs while in the MRI machine, as one would be deafened without them.

This took place 3 months ago, and I knew what to expect upon my return.  What I didn't expect is how I'd feel when coming out of the machine.   But I digress.  Around 12:45 pm, I left RQS's place and drove to the MRI center in Laurelton, Queens.  Arriving there at 1:30 pm, I walked across the street to get something to drink, and then entered the Radiation Center for my MRI.

After I filled out my paperwork, I went to relieve myself.  And this is where I started to sour on this day, as the sink was clogged and half filled with water.  Although I reported this to staff, it was not fixed by the time I left the place about 1 1/4 hours later.  When I was called for the MRI, I was told to get into a hospital gown - which wasn't there.  It took another 15 minutes to find some new gowns for me to wear. Only then, did I start to get ready to enter the MRI again.

About 10 minutes later, I was slid into the MRI machine and again bombarded with noise for 15 minutes.  This time, my time in the MRI felt like it was quicker than the first time around.  When I was slid out of the machine, I had a hard time sitting up without help, as I had no leverage to sit up properly.  Once in position, I was able to get off the table without help, but my balance was off - I stumbled like a drunk for a minute, and then was perfectly OK.  Weird!  

When I went out to the changing area, there was someone about to change into her hospital gown where my clothes were stored.  So I asked her to hold on for a minute while I fetched my clothes.  And then I got dressed to go home.  As I left the place for the last time, I felt a little sad - I was done with the study, but free to go.

An hour and a half later, I was home.  It'll be nice to use the compensation I received when I decide what to do with it....

I am sickened by petty politics

 

Sarah McBride.  The first transwoman elected to congress.  And the GOP scum is trying to make her life miserable by denying her the right to go to the women's room to relieve herself.  There is no end to the GOP's cruelty.

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Why do I bring up Sarah's name and not the name(s) of the human garbage who'd denied this woman a basic right?  The answer is simple.  The people elected to control DC for the next 2-4 years do not even deserve to be recognized as humans.  So why identify them by name, when they deserve only to be recognized as animals that squeal, bleat, and make noises which have little meaning for people with even a single iota of humanity.

As you can guess, I am angry.  There is nothing I can do about it, save to request that people in GOP districts write to their congress critters and tell them to squash this attempt to dehumanize trans people. I live in one of these districts, and will be writing my congress critter shortly.  Please do the same before this woman is victimized by her own "colleagues" for petty political reasons.

It was the end of a weekend, and a long search for a parking spot.

 

All too soon, Monday came and we had to drive down from Croton to RQS's place.  The storage area in my car had stuff from a prior weekend's visit to BJ's that had to get to her apartment.

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Neither of us wanted to get up early today.  But we knew that if we didn't get moving by noon - 1 pm, we'd never get the chance to both stop at Trader Joe's and find a good parking spot.  (Her area of NYC has alternate side of the street parking, and I didn't want to leave her at 7:45 am to avoid parking tickets.) Traffic moved fast, until we reached the bridges.  Both the Whitestone and Throggs Neck bridges were backed up due to lane closures, and it took us more time than usual to get into Queens from the Bronx.

Once in Queens, we had no trouble making it to Trader Joe's for a shopping run.  I picked up some candy for early Xmas gifts, while RQS stocked up on needed goods. Next, we were off to RQS's place where we stopped to unload my car and get stuff into her apartment. And then, the fun began.  When hunting for a parking spot, one has to zig-zag through the streets until an acceptable spot is found.  Today, I had to find a spot on the Westbound side of the street - and this took longer than expected.  First, I made my usual loop down the street for two blocks until I could reverse direction on an adjacent street and continue my search.  After completing most of the first loop through the neighborhood, we encountered a problem: Two ambulances blocked the street for an emergency call, when they had open space to park their vehicles.  I was pissed to say the least - especially when none of the personnel seemed in a hurry to do what they came to do.

After a few minutes, both the car behind me and I backed up, going the wrong way on a one way street, escaping the defacto dead end street.  We were lucky to have done so when we did, as there was a bus about to come up the street, and we would have been boxed in by it.  Yet, we escaped the blockage, and circled through the neighborhood until we found a spot 3 blocks away from RQS's place.

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After dinner, I had to sign on for a closing session for the study in which I participated.  While RQS kept busy in one room, I took the test to see how my skills may have improved via directed game play. I feel a little strange, as my part in this study is almost over.  Tomorrow will be my MRI in Queens, and then it's over. 

A trip to Uncasville

 

I wasn't planning on driving that much this weekend, but an invite from CCS got us out to Eastern Connecticut Saturday night.  Instead of sitting at home and wondering what to do, we drove to Mohegan Sun to meet my friends for dinner, followed by both Gladys Knight and the O'Jays in concert.

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RQS and I relaxed most of the morning, and realized that it was 12:30 pm before we got moving to get showered, dressed, and out the door. We had planned to leave Croton around 1:30 pm to have adequate slack time to reach Mohegan Sun with time to spare.  However, this was not the case.  We left 30 minutes later, and it took all of 2 1/2 hours to get there.  Luckily, we were not traveling in the opposite direction, as the Southbound traffic was jammed up throughout most of Connecticut.

Reaching the casino complex, I was impressed at how big it had become.  Years ago, I remember coming here when only the first of the casino wings was open.  The last time I was at the casino, the third wing was under construction.  This time, all four wings were open, and one could need a road map to find his/her way around.

Our friends were waiting for us at Pepe's pizza, and we proceeded to order our pies. 30 minutes later, they were ready, and we proceeded to feast and chat.  This would be the second time I met CCS's husband, and the first time RQS would meet CCS with her husband.  CCS had mentioned my co-op's issues to her husband (he's a lawyer) and he gave me some information I can pass on to our board's president.

Around 7 pm, we walked over to the casino's theater.  CCS and her husband received 4 free tickets to the performance as perks for their gambling efforts.  I have no idea how much they gamble, but they get free rooms at the casinos as perks, and other goodies as well.  But we consider myself fortunate to be there as their guests for this show.

Gladys Knight came on first.  For a woman in her 80's, she still puts on a good show. However, one can see that age has taken its toll on her body, as she used assistance in getting on and off stage.  After 45 minutes, her set ended, and we had 30 minutes to wait until the O'Jays came on.  By this time, I should have stretched my legs and gone to the women's room.  But no, this T-Gal stayed in her seat, allowing her legs to start aching.

Next were the O'Jays.  One of the original singers had passed away, and this was noted by the group as part of their performance.  And then they got on with their music.  It was good, but not the music I remembered as a youth.  As expected, their closing number was "Love Train", and they did not fail to get the audience moving to the beat.

The show ended around 10 pm, and we relaxed in the theater waiting for the crowd to disperse.  Three of us had to rush to the ladies' room, and I was impressed by how clean it was - even after a show, when one would expect it to be a mess.  Then if was off to the pastry shop to have a bite to eat before we were to go home.  30 minutes later, we left CCS and her husband, and made a "donation" to the casino before finally leaving for home.

I said that we'd stop at the first service area on I-95 we reached.  While RQS was taking a bio-break, I could fill the car with gas.  This was not to be.  The gas station had turned off its pumps for its weekly refresh, and I wasn't in the mood to wait until 12:30 am to get gas.  So, it was off to the next service area - 15 minutes away.  And here is where I filled up and stretched my legs before driving another 100 miles to get home.

We reached home just before 2 am, and were exhausted.  It was a long day, and both of us were grateful for friendships old and new.

 

Dreams

 

For those of you who don't know me that well, I rarely dream when I sleep.  This could be due to an inability to go into deep sleep.  Or, it could be something else I've had for ages.  As long as I feel healthy, I don't care much, as a good sleep can be quite restful.

Years ago, I fell asleep on a train and felt that I was having a conversation with my late wife.  I felt wide awake and totally aware of my circumstances, and this dream made me feel quite good - until I asked one question: How could I be having this conversation when you passed away?  Then, POOF! she was gone.  

I've changed a lot over the years, and I can say that a lot of the time I've been a total jerk without realizing it.  Other times, I realized it after it was too late and couldn't stop.  And this leads to a dream I had recently.

Now for some background.

I met this couple at an AOL widows/widowers gathering about 26-27 years ago.  They eventually got married, and the gentleman adopted his wife's son.  This son has a visual impairment which will prevent him from ever driving.  As such, he will likely live near a big city for the rest of his life, due to transportation issues.  The day that the couple adopted their other son, their house caught on fire, and they were living in temporary digs for a year while their house was rebuilt.

At the time this was going on, I was dating Ex-GF-M, a woman who was morbidly obese. We planned to go to the couple's celebration of being able to return home, but I got the date and time wrong - but still arrived at the party late.  I didn't have the self esteem to simply leave my to be ex at the time - this is a big problem when a person has an unhealthy relationship glued together by a mutual addiction (food).  But I was aware of it, and was trying to get up the gumption to leave.

Well, I mentioned this to the couple (who were both obese as well), and was later cut off from being Facebook friends.   Could this be because I was a jerk in other ways without knowing it?  Could it have been because they saw my rejection of my then GF as an insult to them?  Who Knows?

Now to the present.

I have lost contact with this couple, and wouldn't mind being in loose contact again. The other night, I had a dream involving this couple.  They hadn't been on my mind for ages.  Could my subconscious be trying to tell me something?

So I wonder?  Should I try to reach out to this couple?  Should I address the elephant in the room from the past?  Again, who knows?  For all I know, it could be a signal that something bad has happened to them - but with no real evidence that this could be so.  Yet, I'd like to get some closure on the past.   And I'd like to apologize for being a jerk when I knew them.