A visit to the doctor and a zoom with the girls.

 

Although my doctor only sees me looking like the image on the left, my Texas friends have only seen me looking like the image on the right. Today was a half-and-half day for me, and I hated looking like the fellow on the left when I'd rather look like the "girl" on the left.  But then, Alfred, like Bugs Bunny was not afraid of putting on a dress when it is called for.

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Today started with me not getting enough sleep overnight.  I was running on 3-4 hours of sleep when I woke up, and it didn't make sense for me to go back to sleep before going to the doctor's office at 9:45 am.  As expected, the doctor was running a little late, and I could have arrived at 10 am without losing any time.  However, with this visit, I saw my doctor relatively quickly (for him) and had the chance to tell him about the problem I've been having with my leg and the problem I've been having with my GI-Tract.  

With the doctor's visit out of the way, I got a bite to eat and went home to take a nap.  Even though I woke up around 1:00 pm/1:30 pm or so, I didn't bother going out again before the zoom meeting with my Texas friends.  This was just as well, as I had some co-op business dropped on my lap, and I had to sign a document which would allow us to start negotiating the final cost for something previously required by our bank.

Around 7:00 pm, I got dressed as Marian and prepared to start the zoom around 8:00 pm.  Now, I wasn't in the mood to talk a lot, as I was still tired.  But I wasn't going to cancel things for tonight, as I don't want to get into that habit.  My Texas friends came on first, followed by RQS.  We caught up on what is going on in each others' lives, and the zoom lasted longer than usual.  Around 10:20 pm, we ended the meeting, and I went out to CVS to pick up some stuff.  While driving, I made my nightly call to RQS and we caught up on each other's day.  I mentioned to RQS that when I mentioned the possibility of our friends visiting NYC, that it wasn't shot down out of hand.  RQS noticed it too.  But I'd rather see them in a city like Chicago, Philadelphia or Boston, where all of us would have to travel to get there.

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All in all, this wasn't as bad a day as it could have been.  If a friend didn't cancel dinner for tonight, I'd have had no emotional energy left to enjoy the zoom with our friends.  So, things worked out for the best after all.

Someone too poor to even maintain friendships

 

A while ago, I met a young woman at a meetup and developed a friendship.  Well, not a close friendship, but more of someone I could meet for dinner on occasion, and not miss it we didn't meet for dinner.  

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As my readers know well, I am lucky enough to be able to buy the things I want to buy - as long as it is in moderation.  If I want to meet a friend for dinner, I schedule it - and worry about my diet (or lack of one) afterwards. My friend is far from being able to afford dinner, and cancels our get-togethers more often than not. 

MAR is a 40 y/o health care aide who is getting tired of her job.  She wants to find something else, but feels locked into her role.  (I feel that she's afraid to spread her wings, but who am I to say?)   Her vocal style does not project confidence and quick thinking, and that may be what's holding her back in life.

Her body is wearing out from the physical labor part of her job.  Given that she is not a salaried worker, she depends on the number of hours that she clocks in to maximize her pay.  Unfortunately, she has never been able to clear out her debt, and this means that she will cancel dinners at the last moment when there is too much week at the end of her money.

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Today, as I expected, MAR cancelled dinner at the local diner.  I suggested a get-together 4 weeks later, and she feels she won't have money until July.  Dollars to donuts, she'll look to schedule something and then cancel at the last moment. 

I'm glad I don't count on this woman for serious friendship....

Lunch with RQS and Vicki (a short post)

 

RQS and I were in the type of mood, where if we didn't have to go out for lunch with a friend, we would have stayed home and rested.  So, we were both relatively quiet and relaxed as we drove to Mt. Kisco to have lunch with Vicki.

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We met Vicki at our usual Greek restaurant, and sat down to eat.  Service was slow.  But, when one considers that we arrived at 2:30 pm, we had no complaints.  Catching up on things, Vicki mentioned that one of her dogs wasn't doing well and that she was going to take it to its breeder's vet - as s/he would have the full health background of the dog.  (There may be a genetic link to the dog's problems.  But that's another story.)

When RQS went for a bio-break, Vicki mentioned that going on 5 cruises in one year is nuts.  But, it's not her monkeys and not her circus.  I didn't take it as anything, but I noted this comment later when RQS and I got home.  For 2 people whose age averages 70 who are childless, what should one do with her money? RQS had never been able to travel much before meeting me, and Covid got in the way of my travel before I met her.  So why not spend our money on experiences while we are still healthy and able to do so?

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I wonder.  Is Vicki projecting her lack of travel into her comment? 

Resistance is Futile. (Yeah, right!)

 

Lately, the last thing the Orange Snowflake wants us to have is hope.  He wants us to feel that resistance is futile.  The reality is, resistance is not futile.  If one looks at the court cases he has been losing, and one can see that even a biased court system can hold him to account, or stop his attacks from a specific legal angle.

For some, staying off of his radar is the best thing to do.  For others, it makes sense to go out in the world without fear (but remaining cautious), as we need to show the world that we exist and are nothing to fear.  And still, for others, one has to take on a public fight.  If one can go stealth, one can still support the trans people who are unable to be stealth where they live,  If one can't go stealth, one can still try to live as normal a life as possible. And if one is already in the public eye, one can take on an open fight and force issues into the courts, where we have a better chance than with the snowflake's growing gestapo force.

 

I have scheduled 4 future cruises.  In normal times, 2 of them would have been taken as Marian.  Given that I don't know how US Customs is treating transgender people (pre-op, post-op, or non-op) with or without gender conforming id since the snowflake took office, I'm erring on the side of caution.  Yet, I am looking for ways that I can travel in a mode closer to my authentic self than I do now.  This will likely have me have photos of me in Mario mode wearing a toupee in an androgynous style, and use that when traveling as Marian.  (I'd be in full Marian mode, with wig and breast forms on a cruise ship, or when I reach my destination.)

 

My resistance is to live my life as openly as I can.  If someone challenges me, I will say that I am trans and see what happens, then act accordingly.  Hopefully, this age of lunacy will end soon, and we will see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Until then, I will resist the snowflake as best I can.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.  

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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.