Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 - Final Preparation (01/03/26)

Right now, we're making final preparations for our upcoming cruise.  Last minute packing, double checking documents, and figuring out when we must leave to make it to the cruise ship on time are among the things we have to deal with today.

One of the things I have to take care of is picking up a prescription at the drug store.  This forces me to be in Mario mode for the day - and for once, it's not a bad thing.  I expect some very minor annoyances when I tell the pharmacist that I only want the blood pressure medication my doctor prescribed, and that I want the prescription transferred to the mail order pharmacy.  But first, I will have to transfer both money and legal ID into Mario's wallet.

A last laundry basket has to be done - if only because I don't want to come back to an overflowing hamper. This is something that forces me to get off my ass when I don't want to do so.  More importantly, this is a task I prefer to do when RQS is not around, as I fold and store my clothing differently than she does. Finally, we have to clean out the perishables from the refrigerator.  Milk and other things get dumped, and then we take the last trash bags to the dumpster.  

Yet, there was an unplanned wrinkle to my day - I lost a set of keys when I was out to dinner last night, and I had to replace them before we went away.  So, after I picked up my pills at the drug store, I drove to Home Depot to get my keys cut.  The fellow at the key cutter couldn't find one of the blanks needed for me, so I had 3 or 4 of the keys I needed.  This meant that I needed to go to a hardware store for the last key.  And even there, they had a problem finding the right key.  But they found it.  Now, I had a set of 4 keys that I can again keep with my handbag. 

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By the time you read this, we'll be back from our cruise - and I'll be writing much more while I'm on the cruise.

I can't believe it! (a short post)

 

I can't believe it.  The Orange Snowflake has taken Venezuela's dictator into American custody without legal authority. Only congress can authorize America to go to war against another country, but the snowflake has usurped congress's authority and has said that the constitution doesn't apply to him.  This reminds me of Germany's aggression towards its neighboring states prior to the beginning of WW2 in 1939. The big question is: What Comes Next?

Sadly, if congress wants to take back its powers, it will need to remove the current speaker of the house. The man has no problem genuflecting at the altar of the snowflake, and has never resisted anything demanded by the snowflake.  I doubt this will happen, as many in the GOP are afraid of what the snowflake can do.  Instead, many in the GOP are retiring from Congress, leaving it up to the remaining party to find candidates who can win.  Only one problem - the party's reputation is so bad, that even hard-core GOP voters may vote against the party to stop the snowflake - if meaningful elections are held later this year.

Sadly, we haven't yet seen enough people in the GOP willing to challenge the snowflake. As a result, he keeps taking the powers that the constitution prohibits him from having. As this happens, we're seeing an erosion of our civil and human rights happen in real time.  For example, many naturalized citizens now carry their passports with them at all times, hoping that proof of citizenship will keep them from being incarcerated in an ICE raid.  Unfortunately, US citizens are being gathered up in these raids, and have been deported "by mistake."

(Passport Photo Example - Not the one I hope to have.)

Hopefully, the paperwork for my foreign birth registry will be processed before things in the US get too bad for me.  Then, I will apply for (and get) my second passport and be able to exit the US if/when needed.  These are scary times, and I'm afraid of what will happen here in the next year or two.  So, if you don't live here, don't come here until things change.

How we celebrated New Year's.... (A short post)

 

I'm not a big fan of this holiday.  New Year's Eve is one geared around partying, a little drinking, and staying out late.  The older I get, the less I care for it.  Everyone waits until midnight, shouts "Happy New Year",and then everything winds down within the next half hour.

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I knew that we'd be rushing on New Year's Eve.  RQS had to hoof it through Grand Central to make her train.  And while on the train, one of her bags slit open.  So, when I went to pick her up, I expected to be moving stuff from her broken bag into bags I brought with me.  (She'd then take the stuff we brought back to my place and pack it in her luggage.)  Instead, she had a backup that kept her bag intact until she could move the contents into another bag she had with her.

Once RQS got her bags in my car, we went out to eat - and got stuffed on Greek food.  When we were finished there, we went food shopping and picked up food for the next 3 days.  At this point, we were able to go home and stay inside until the ball dropped later in the evening.  When we got home, we got comfortable for the night and watched movies until midnight.  At that time, we uncorked a bottle of bubbly we got on our recent cruise and toasted the new year.

While hanging out, I sent texts to my friends wishing them a Happy New Year.  Most of the people were doing well, save one couple I know.  The husband was in the hospital for an emergency surgery.  Hopefully, all would go as planned the next day.

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New Year's Day was a day of relaxation.  Neither of us went outside - instead we loafed around watching movies and documentaries.  It was a Jammie day, something we won't be able to do until we get back from our cruise.  And even then, the week we return will be a busy one.

PS: My friend's husband got out of surgery OK.  It'll be a while before they travel again, but the worst has (hopefully) past.

Thoughts on a therapist

 

Money is important to me, as it allows me the freedom to do what I want in life - with moderation.  Recently, I got the price on some GLP-1 drugs, and none of them are reasonably priced for me.  If I were to take the Ozempic that my doctor prescribed, I wouldn't be able to afford a bucket list cruise this year.  There is no way for me to justify that after booking a bucket list cruise this past autumn.

I'm grateful that I can make this kind of choice.  My former therapist would hector me a bit on this.  But he had the attitude of an addict in recovery - his whole life revolved around his recovery, and not his life as a whole. The man could only focus on my food addiction issues and not the other issues I had with my life.  Towards the end, I realized that he either didn't respect my opinions, or was trying to provoke me.  (I can still remember how dismissive he was when I mentioned that I was investigating an annuity for an investment, and remember how he was prodding me to try some vegetables I hated him saying that maybe your tastes have changed.)  As much as I realize that I didn't have the emotional strength to tell him to fuck himself at the time, I did gain a lot from his therapy sessions for a while, and was glad when he retired to Hawaii.  I've grown a lot since then, and I am much more comfortable challenging people when needed - I have a feeling that he'd be glad for me.

Why did I bring up my former therapist?  Well, I never felt comfortable talking about presenting as Marian with him.  The man was a staunch Republican, a recovering alcoholic, and I bet that he'd be supporting the Orange Snowflake out of tribal loyalty, and not out of logical thought processes.  But then, most twelve-step programs tell people to surrender to "higher powers", and that usually translates to adhering to some undefined faith.  

As you can see, I'm letting my thoughts run a little wild today. But then, it's my blog, and I'm thinking of a man who was a decent person, someone who was a little unorthodox in his craft, and who I would have liked to meet in a non-therapeutic setting - if only to finally be able to tell him that if he didn't respect my opinions, that he could stick it where light doesn't shine before going out to Starbucks.

I decided NOT to take a 401-k distribution

 

Since I was forced to retire from the bank, I've had access to my 401-k retirement account for use.  Although I left the bank before I was 59 1/2, federal law allowed me to collect from the bank's pension plan after I turned 55.  I lived on my pension, coupled with money from some short term gigs, and finally started collecting money from Social Security when I turned 66 1/2.  It helped that I was able to collect some monthly money from renting out the family homestead, as well as tapping into the 401-k a couple of times.

The last time I tapped into the 401-k plan, it was on the last business date in 2024 that I could take a distribution for the year. So, I had to ask myself a question: Did I want to take a distribution for 2025?  And I answered my own question - NO.  Although I may take a 2026 distribution, I will have a drop in income for 2025 because I had no money coming in from the family homestead and took no 401-k distributions.  (I can only think of what my tax preparer will say in a couple of months.)

Next year (as I write this - it's still 2025 right now), I will likely take a larger distribution than I did last year and trigger a larger tax bill for 2026.  (I'll deal with that in 2027.)  I want to be able to take another cruise towards year end, and not worry if RQS will be able to afford it or not.  (A Hawaii cruise is on the horizon, and I want RQS to see the state while she's able to travel.)

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When I turn 73, I will be forced to take Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) to comply with IRS regulations.  Right now, the website tells me that I have more than I need to retire well.  And I'm grateful for that.  I certainly didn't plan for the life I've had so far - the things I wanted for myself when I was a child, a young adult, and a middle aged adult are not what I got in life.  In many ways, I'm glad I didn't get those things, as I'd likely be a person I wouldn't like to know today.

The younger version of me wanted wealth and power.  The person I became simply wants independence, freedom, security, and to be unaffected by the madness going on in the outside world.  I allow no one to burden me with responsibilities or duties they have no right to impose.  And I am finally comfortable telling people to go to "Helen Waite" when needed. I did a lot of growing up in my senior years, and I'm glad I finally did so.

Getting ready for my next cruise.

 

The above is far from my favorite cruise itinerary.  This is a route I've sailed twice before: once with XGFJ, and once as a solo traveler. Both cruises are best forgotten, albeit for different reasons.

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When I last cruised this route (albeit to another cruise line's private island), it was the worst cruise I ever sailed on.. There is "no there there" for Port Canaveral, and the only reason that I got off the ship there was to go to the Kennedy Space Center.  (I'm surprised that the Orange Snowflake hasn't yet named it the "Trump - Kennedy Space Center".😆) 

Next is Nassau. The first time I was here, following a disappointing trip on a glass bottomed boat, XGFJ and I walked around the port area a little bit and got bored.  Since I am not into beaches, I'd get bored going here again.

And finally, there is the cruise line's private island.  Great Stirrup Cay was a disappointment when I was there, as there was no dock for the ship.  Everyone had to use tender boats to go between the island and the ship, and I didn't bother going to the island with XGFJ.  She wasn't that happy with the snorkel experience she had, as the water was churned up too much to get a clear view of the underwater life.  To make things worse, the tender boat had a hard time returning to the ship due to high winds.  (Although I've seen evidence that the new pier for this island is finally available, I still see little gain by visiting this place.)

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So, why did I choose this cruise?

It was the cheapest way I could find for RQS and I to spend a week together and to see whether I'll consider cruising on NCL again for cruises other than the Bermuda run from NYC and for the 7-night Hawaii run from Honolulu.  Many people have reported that NCL now has the feel of a cruise line that nickel-dimes too much.  My impression has been that post-pandemic cruising has a much different feel (and I'm not referring to health related changes) than the pre-pandemic cruises that made NCL a go-to cruise line for me.

Will we have been spoiled too much by Cunard and Princess to choose NCL in the future?  Who knows? But I know that there are only a limited number of cruises that NCL offers that I want to take.  Without being able to get self-service laundry onboard, I will avoid taking cruises longer than a week on this line. (The free laundry bag provided to Platinum, Sapphire, Diamond and Ambassador status is a little too small to clean most garments other than undergarments and socks.)  

I may have outgrown NCL as a go-to cruise line.  But I'm glad to know that I still have good cruises ahead of me on other lines.    

The weekend ended early for us

 

I've gotten so used to having RQS around, that it always feels a little strange when she has to go home.  Today was the last Sunday of 2025, and it was an early end of a weekend for us due to New Year coming on a Thursday this coming week.  And it feels stranger today, as she will be back here in 2 days.

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On Sundays, if I wake up early enough at my home, I have the option of going to church.  It's partially a running joke with us that I will turn over and go back to sleep for another 2 hours or so, instead of going to church.  Although I was up at 8 am, I decided to stay inside and watch videos while RQS slept.

Around 9:30 am, RQS got up, and we relaxed a little more before showering and getting dressed.  This is when I started work on the co-op meeting minutes for December, so that they can be reviewed and corrected before the end of the year.  (I usually try to keep myself occupied when RQS is showering and getting ready for the day.)  We were both ready by 1 pm, and I dropped her off at the station 30 minutes later. What I didn't mention so far is that I decided to go out as Mario for one reason only: I had to return the watch I bought as a Christmas gift for RQS, and I expected to need to present as Mario for this trip.  (If I put off the return for another day, I could have enjoyed a day out as Marian. 

Once I was done with returning the watch, it was back home to rest a little.  Sometime around 6 pm, I decided to replace my CPAP mask, and I fell asleep while trying it out.  (I must have both needed sleep and to replace the mask.)  By the time I woke up, it was late, and I'll bet that RQS wondered why I didn't call.  So I shot her a message to tell her that she could call me - if she was still awake when she read the message.

Tomorrow (weather permitting), it will be a Marian day for the rest of the week.  What better a way to spend New Year's Eve, than to be out as Marian....