Lunch with Short Vicki

 

It's been ages since I last saw "Short" Vicki.  (RQS and I call her that, to avoid confusion with the other Vicki in my life.)  Today was a last minute planned lunch, fitting it into her hectic schedule.

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I had to get up early today, so that I could meet Vicki in Tarrytown for lunch.  Given that I had leftover baked ziti in the ice box, I wasn't in the mood to have Italian again.  So, I chose a Greek place we both enjoy, and arranged to meet her by 11:30.  My alarms were set to waken me early, and I was up and moving by 9:30.

Having showered, shaved and made up my face, I was able to get out the door shortly after 11:00.  This would give me barely enough time to make it to Tarrytown by 11:30.  But I needn't have worried - Vicki was running late (caught in "flow" state with what she was doing) and was glad that I texted her, as she may have forgotten our lunch date.  While I waited, everyone treated me as the female as I was presenting. It's always nice to be treated as a woman - there are certain simple, polite niceties which women experience that I always enjoy. 

One thing about Vicki - she always seems to have a smile on her face.  This brightened up my day when she entered the restaurant.  We caught up on things - her trips (past and present), her family, current affairs, and issues affecting her family.  Our lunch was way too short, as both of us had things to do afterwards.  So, around 1:30, we left the restaurant, hoping we'll get together soon.

My next stop was back at my apartment, where I proceeded to work on a spreadsheet for my other blog.  It's not perfect, but it will give a person an idea of what one's real cost will be for a particular cruise, including optimizations made possible by judicious package purchases.

At a certain point, I decided to make a run to BJ's, and burn off a gift card I've had since before Xmas.  Other than gas, this was not an expensive trip, as the sunk money part of it (the gift card) was money already spent that needed to be used soon.

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Once I had finished work on the spreadsheet, I stored it away, and set up a zoom with our Texas friends for next week.  On the whole, it was a good day. 

 

 

Lunch with CCS, Laundry, and a Living Spreadsheet.

 

There was only one "Must Do" and one "Should Do" item on the docket today: Lunch with CCS, and Laundry.  And, believe it or not, I took care of both things.  But, doing laundry threw me a curve ball - one of the dresses I was to launder was labeled "Hand Wash, Dry Flat."  And this made me wonder about two other dresses from Universal Standard that found their way into my laundry basket.

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I woke up early enough to catch part of "Morning Joe" on the vidiot box. But it took me another couple of hours to get dressed and drive to the Italian restaurant in town to meet CCS.  When I got dressed, I put on a tunic dress over leggings, as I couldn't justify a dress with hosiery on a slightly rainy winter's day.  And, I got to the restaurant before CCS for a change.  During lunch, we talked about family events, our upcoming cruises, and politics - the usual stuff.   And, all too soon, lunch had to end.  Both of us had leftovers to eat another day.  So we scheduled our March lunch, and went our separate ways.

After lunch, I drove to Briarcliff Manor in the vain hope that I might stumble into the acquaintance I met at last night's meetup.  Of course, I did not stumble into her.  I guess she may have realized that I couldn't be the travel partner she seemed to desperately want.  (I also wonder if she wanted me as a lesbian partner.  But that's another reason I had to tell her that I have a long term partner in RQS)   Since she did not try to contact me, I'll write her off until the next time (if there is one) I stumble into her.

Once I was back home, I started work on my spreadsheet of cruising costs.  Finally, with enough experimentation, I was able to get the computation down for one of the nine cruise lines.  While doing this, I had two baskets (should have been three) of laundry in the washer and dryer.  So, after everything, this was a very productive day.

Finally, a meetup I could attend!

 

I had only one thing on the docket, and that was a Mardi Gras dinner in Rye, NY.  However, it didn't mean that I did nothing all day.  But it did mean that I avoided doing laundry again.

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The day started with me gaining consciousness around 8 am.  It doesn't mean I was fully awake.  It only means that my mind was functioning at a level where I could navigate the obstacle course from my bed to the toilet in time.  Once my bio-break was done, I was awake enough to start watching videos, and then work on a project for my cruise blog.

One of the problems most people have is having a good idea of how much their cruise will cost before booking the cruise. For most of us, we learn how to price out a cruise by the experiences we have when cruising.  But I want to make it a little easier, by having a spreadsheet that can be used to make the grunt work of calculating costs a magnitude easier than it is right now.

A problem with cruise packages is that there is no way to compare "apples with apples."  There are too many little wrinkles that make a side by side comparison of two cruises impossible. That is, until I finish this spreadsheet.  Then, one should be able to compare apples of two different varieties.  The spreadsheet will be far from perfect.  But it will give the cruiser a ball park figure to work with.

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Around 4 pm, I started getting ready to drive to Rye.  The location wasn't easy to find without Google Maps, but I got there almost on time, but not excessively late.  I had to call the restaurant to find out where to park - all street parking was in use.  But there was a nearby parking lot I could use.  The strange part in all of this is that I think I've been in the parking lot before, but not in the restaurant.

I saw the meetup hostess and her husband at the table, and a lady sitting there struck up a conversation.  This is one case where saying that I'm in a relationship AND presenting as female helped me.  I didn't want to send any signals that I am available (RQS would kill me for good reason), but I did want to send a signal that I was looking for another female friend.

The Jambalaya I ordered wasn't that great - the flavors were too muddy, and there wasn't enough protein (chicken, sausage, shrimp) that stood out.  For the most part, the dish tasted like gravy soaked rice with a minimal amount of protein to enjoy.  (Too bad we didn't go to the original restaurant, where I know the Jambalaya is prepared much better.)  

My new friend monopolized by attention for a large part of dinner, and I couldn't really enjoy the ice cream covered brownie, as I had to give this lady my attention.  Yet, I'd like to see her again, just as friends.  It would be nice to keep building up a network of people who only know me as Marian, and not as Mario. 

And now, back to my everyday life

 

I dropped RQS off at the station today for her trip home.  She'll have 3 days to run her errands (and me the same) before she returns here this weekend.  

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There are only so many current events videos I can watch before getting sick thinking of the Orange Monster and what he's doing to this country.  So, I limit my consumption of political news.  I wish I could filter out the damage the monster is doing to this world, so that I could focus on everyday events that occur in the NYC region (fires, building collapses, murders, subway derailments and other disasters that affect a small number of people in my region.)   To contrast a NYC view of things vs. the rest of the world's views, I suggest looking at a case of suicide via subway train during rush hour.  To outsiders, we'd be mourning the tragic loss of a human life.  To New Yorkers, we're getting pissed off that some jerk has screwed up thousands of commutes at the worst possible time - if the person wanted to off himself, the least he could have done is to wait until after rush hour AND have the good taste do it where it wouldn't affect anyone's commute.  (One needs a certain sense of callousness to live in this city.)

I got up around 8 am, and let RQS sleep until 10:30 am.  Around noon, I started getting showered and dressed, so that RQS could make a 1:30 pm train.  Although I was thinking of doing a couple of loads of laundry today, I decided to make a run over to Target and pick up a few things I'd need over time.  Sadly, the route that I'd normally take home was closed off to me (and to all) as the failure of a bridge over the nearby railroad tracks prevented me from taking my usual route home.

Arriving home, I decided to contact a friend and schedule a lunch get-together.  Although her schedule was a little tight, we found a convenient lunch date, and scheduled something for this week.  And then, I decided to rest for the remainder of the day, giving up any plans to go out again.  So, off with the makeup and outside clothes, and on with my jammies, and I could go to bed any time I want. 

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Tomorrow will be a "Fat Tuesday" meetup, and I hope all goes right.  I think I'll wear a nice dress for the evening, and get some use out of it this season. 

Some thoughts on current events

 

The longer the Orange Monster stays in office, the more I'm afraid that he'll have enough time to turn this nation into a dictatorship.  The media is either afraid to lose access to key government personnel, or simply afraid of being put out of business by this regime.  Fox "News" is owned by an oligarch who wants to destroy liberal institutions.  CBS is now owned by another oligarch with similar political views.  It's a damned shame that a bandit capitalist class is working to exterminate liberal democracy.

Whether of not the bandit capitalist class succeeds in the US, the American empire will have left something of great value to the world: An economic structure where David Ricardo's ideas of capitalism based on comparative advantage and free trade has been adopted by most of the world's most powerful economies.  Each nation does what it does best, and prospers because of this.  

The orange monster believes that the US can stand alone.  (I'm giving him credit for a belief system that he probably doesn't have.)  Seeing what North Korea and its Juche philosophy has done to that nation, I expect to see the fall of America in my lifetime.  What will happen next?  Who knows?  But I know that we have helped democracy flourish around the world, and that the American empire has left the world better off than when we entered this stage of its existence.

Luckily, we are seeing a rebellion from below.  Power is not centralized in one level of government.  The states are resisting the monster's grab for absolute power.  Democrats in the Senate have checked the power of the orange monster by denying funding to DHS and ICE.  TSA officials at airports will not get paid while this pissing match between the Democratic party and the Orange Monster has ended.  Although ICE has 75 billion to piss away, the Coast Guard does not.  In short, the Democratic party is shutting down a key area of government to cause as much pain as they can for the GOP.  The Democrats simply want ICE officers to follow the same standards that most police officers have to follow - to be identifiable, so that rogue officers can be identified; to have people in ICE detention have the right to Habeas Corpus; and to have only judicial warrants used for detaining people. I may not be phrasing everything correctly, but the Democrats want to make sure that ICE follows all of the laws, and recognize the constitutional rights afforded to all residents in our country.

Sadly, I see events in America being a race against time.  How much damage can the monster do to keep his opposition from gaining power on January 3, 2027?  Can we prevent him from doing so?  When we have someone like Pam Bondi excuse the Jeffrey Epstein cover up by citing a Dow Jones Average over $50,000.  It's sick, and it shows that a large part of America no longer cares about anything but fluffing up their bank accounts. I hope to see America regain its sanity before I die... 

Getting dressed up for Valentine's Day (a short post)

 

When presenting as Marian, it's always nice to have an occasion to dress up.  Valentine's Day was it for us.  And I know I enjoyed doing so more than RQS today.

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Both of us were glad to stay inside most of the day.  Saturdays are often a day of rest for us, and we do that well.  What can I say about two seniors who know how much energy they have to spend, and want to spend it wisely?

Around 5 pm, we both started getting ready to go out.  Both of us had red dresses at the ready, and we were ready to wear them.  Both of us did our makeup, put on our jewelry, and did everything we needed to look our best when we went to the restaurant.  If the weather had been colder, I'd have worn my flannel dress.  If the weather had been warmer, I'd have chosen a lighter dress.  However, the sweater dress I chose was perfect for the evening - and a few minutes later, we were going out the door.

We made it to the restaurant 20 minutes early, finding an almost perfect parking spot in front of the restaurant.  When we entered, the host remembered us from previous visits and made a table available to us before our reservation time.  Then, we got started with dining.  In front of us was a proper table setting, with the napkin folded like a red heart.  It was the perfect setting for a Valentine's Day meal.   And both the food and service was as good as we expected - perfect.

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After dinner, we went to the supermarket to refresh the soda supply in the refrigerator, then homeward for the evening.  It was a nice day, with the high point being our V-Day dinner.

Help with healthcare. (A short post)

 

I was appalled with Obamacare subsidies were cut in the Orange Monster's favorite bill.  Today, I'm not going to comment on this man's evil nature.  Instead, I'm providing a link to a website, where help for paying for Medicare can be found.

https://armandalegshow.com/help/

Hopefully, my readers will pass this link to those in need.