First Quarter of 2004 Diary
First Quarter of 2004 Diary
01/06/04
.I wish everyone a happy 2004.
I had a quiet New Years Eve. The GNO party and alternatives didn't work out, and that was OK with me. I do not look forward to the passage of the years anymore, nor do I eagerly anticipate new adventures in the new year as I used to. I'm certain that I will have new experiences, and continue to have fun, but there is no new adventures that I plan to experience this year. I do have a new years resolution to take control of my life, and not live trying to please everyone else and their concept of how I should live.
Many of my friends have completed their Genital Reassignment Surgery (GRS), others are well into their transition, but I decided early in 2003 that I could not/would not have GRS, and I will remain a no-op Transsexual. I am not depressed about this decision, nor am I upset with my situation that led to that decision.
All I want in 2004 is to continue to experience my good fortune to be who I am, and continue to enjoy the support of my wonderful friends.
I enjoyed the first weekend of 2004 with my friends Scott, Michelle and Ruby.
I wanted to start the new year Friday, but it rained all day, so I waited until Saturday to go to Long Beach. The boat survived the wind and rain fine, so there wasn't any repairs that needed to be done. Scott arrived via the blue line MTA railroad about two hours after me, and I fixed him some lunch. Ruby stopped by for a while and met Scott for the first time.
Ruby left to go to an appointment, and Scott and I went to Ripples to listen to some Jazz. The group that plays there on Saturday afternoons is starting to draw a crowd. I am happy that it is becoming successful, because there isn't much else to do in town anymore since the Mama's Boys left the Blue Cafe.
BTW, If you like good Blues music go to the Mama's Boy's Web site at themamasboys.com for their schedule. I will be going to their Gig at the Gas Lite in Santa Monica next Sunday.
We returned to the boat and changed to dress up because we were going to meet Michelle at the Reef for dinner at eight. We had got there promptly at eight and had a drink at the bar, then had a nice dinner.
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We headed for the RMS Queen Mary after dinner with Michelle leading the way in her car. We wandered around the port area for a while because we missed the entrance to the road to the Queen, but we eventually found our way there and went to the Observation Bar.
James, AKA Elvis was performing. There was a quite a few people there considering that it was only a few days after New Years Eve. We enjoyed ourselves dancing. Michelle visited Evon for a while, then her and another girl went exploring. Michelle said they found another party in one of the ball rooms. I was tempted to go there and crash that party, but decided that probably wasn't a good idea. I wouldn't want to spoil someone's Wedding reception.
We left about one o'clock after last call.
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There was a cold off shore wind Sunday morning. My boat is not air tight so it was chilly. I had two electric space heaters on, and when the electric water heater and refrigerator came on at the same time we lost shore power to the boat. The main circuit breaker didn't trip, but the connector looked like it had burned, so we took it apart and found that a wire had burned through. I didn't have a spare 30 amp connector and the cable got too short, so we went to a marine store and got a new cable.
Ruby drove to the Marina Sunday afternoon, and I drove us to Lakewood for a late lunch at the Elephant Bar. I had a couple of glasses of wine and a turkey sandwich for lunch, then did a header off the raised bar platform trying to navigate the step down to the main floor on my way to the rest room. How embarrassing to be laying there with all these people around me asking if I was all right. The only thing I damaged was my dignity. I should have threatened to sue then settled for some free dinner coupons.
I was very tired by the time we got back to the boat, and needed a nap, so I went to bed and Scott headed home on the MTA. I felt better after my nap and drove home about ten o'clock.
01/15/04
I have been very tired lately. I don't know if it is the reduced hormones that Dr. Horowitz has me on now, or all the driving in traffic I have been doing these last five days, and stress. I stayed in Long Beach Saturday, but drove to Santa Monica Sunday for Mama's boys, then I drove the boat to Wilmington Monday for a bottom paint job. I went home Monday night, then a round trip to Wilmington Tuesday, and back to Wilmington Wednesday morning, drove the boat to long beach, and then drove home last night.
Scott took the MTA to the boat Saturday. We did a good cleaning job on the boat in the afternoon.
My friend Alan and his friend Ari stopped by after a Tall Ship cruise they took in the Long Beach Harbor. There are two old ships that stage a mock sea battle every weekend. I can hear their cannons booming from my slip. It sounds like fun. Alan looks a bit like a Pirate, and he enjoyed it.
Saturday night Scott and I had dinner at the reef, then went to the Observation Bar. We had fun dancing. Scott even had a chance to show off his Electric Slide when James did a rendition of "My Achey,Breaky Heart". I am not good at line dancing. I can't remember any dance that requires more than four steps, and I prefer free style rather than a structured dance like line dancing.
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Sunday was a lazy day. We took the boat out for a short cruise to empty the holding tanks, then got ready to go to the Gas Lite in Santa Monica to see the Mama's Boys playing.
I picked up Ruby in San Pedro, and drove to SM.. I missed my turn off the Santa Monica Fwy. on 26th Street but managed to find the place anyway. It's on the corner of Wilshire Blvd. and 21st Street. They have a small parking lot, but we got there early enough to get a spot.
The Gas Lite has a bar, a Band stand, small Dance Floor, about four booths and a half dozen tables. They don't serve food there. There were several tables of regulars from the Blue Cafe. We took a booth. and Alan joined us soon after we got there.
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We stayed for a couple of sets, then went to find some food. I recommended the Broadway Bar and Grill on the corner of Broadway and the 3rd St. Promenade. Alan had left the bar before we did to reserve a table, but when we got there, we found that the Broadway Bar and Grill was out of business. I called Alan to find out where he was and he said he was across the street at another restaurant. We joined him there.
The food was OK. I had my favorite Fat pill; beef short ribs. It was a perfect end to a nice day, until the Bus Boy called me SIR as we were leaving.
I do not understand it! Why do these jerks feel compelled to do that! I am referred to as Mamm even when I am in androgynous clothes, and no makeup or wig. It is usually some little jerk Latino bus boy that blows a nice day by giving me that parting jab. I don't know what they see or hear that makes them think that I am not a woman. My voice does get deeper at the end of an evening of drinking, but so do other women's voice.
I was not in a good mood as I left. I had to drop Scott off at LAX so he could get the Fly Away Bus back to Van Nuys to get his car. The street into LAX was down to one lane for a security check point, so it took a while to get through there. Then I drove Ruby to her car in San Pedro. I had a couple of stiff Martinis when I got home to the boat.
I was still in a foul mood when I left the dock Monday morning to drive the boat to Wilmington. I called the Boat Yard to find out if the Railroad draw bridge was open, and he said it was closed. The last time I took the short cut that way I spent an hour trying to contact the operator to open it, and finally gave up and had to retrace my path back to the harbor and go around the long way. I decided to just go that way from the start this time. It took an hour, and when I got there the guys that help you get the boat onto the lift were on break, so I had to drift around for another half hour. They finally got it on the Rail Lift and into a berth after lunch. I checked in at the office and told them what I wanted done, then called a cab to get me back to Long Beach to pick up my car.
I decided to have dinner in Long Beach rather than fight the rush hour traffic. I went to Hof's Hut near the Alamitos Marina for a happy hour cocktail and dinner. It's a nice little bad and restaurant in back of the family style restaurant. I was still dressed in the clothes I wore on the boat, with no makeup, or wig, wearing a cap, and the Bartender still called me Mamm. Go Figure!
The boat was finished Wednesday morning, and I drove it back the short way because the railroad bridge was open for a big Tug Boat, and I followed it through. The boat is running good for a change, and I am anxious to take it to Catalina. Now I have to wait for a calm day. The winds have been from the northeast at 25 MPH, which is a Santa Ana Condition that blows right into Avalon Harbor. I have been there during a few times during that condition and it is not fun.
01/20/04
Michelle and I were thinking about going to the Opera La Boheme playing at the Ahmanson Saturday, but the only seats available in our price range were in the back of the Balcony, and you need a telescope to see anything from back there. Michelle had a hair appointment at six, so it would have been tough to make the eight o'clock performance anyway, so we decided to just have dinner in Long Beach and then go to the Queen Mary.
.We wanted to go somewhere new that had music, so I got a reservation at a place called Mums that has a Jazz band. I have been in there for drinks before and thought the band was pretty good, but I have never had dinner there, and after our experience Saturday I will never eat there again
We arrived at the restaurant at seven thirty and checked in for our eight o'clock dinner reservation. I told the hostess that we would be waiting at the bar. She hadn't called us for our table an hour later, so I went to check what was happening, and she said she couldn't find us. I told her that we were going to leave if we couldn't be seated in five minutes. She said she would get us a table as soon as she could, which was another half hour. After we sat down it was another half hour before a waitress came around, then another half hour for our food. It was ten thirty before we finally got out of there. Three hours to get something to eat!. The meal was over priced as well. We could have had dinner at Sir Winstons for what we got, and it would have been better food, better service and better ambiance. The band was good but not that good.
We got to the Observation Bar about eleven o'clock. James, AKA Elvis was performing. He wasn't very upbeat, and we were told by our Bar tender friend that the place was in financial trouble and hadn't paid James for a while. That's the same thing that happened to the LA Stars band a few years ago. I do not understand what the problem is. I know the ship is having financial problems, but the bar seems to be popular and should be meeting expenses.
Michelle and I danced some, and visited with Evon a little. We left about one o'clock.
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Scott drove to Long Beach Sunday. I fixed a lunch. We did some boat cleaning and then reviewed some of the pictures from last week, and the Video I took of the boat being hauled out. I fixed a steak dinner which was very disappointing. The grocery market strike is making it hard to find decent meat.
We went to Spagittini's after dinner for the Jazz and some desert. It was crowded, but we lucked out and were able to take over a table as a couple was leaving. The music was good. We had an Apple Cobbler and a couple of drinks, then went back to the Boat for the night.
Monday morning was clear and warm with a gentle balmy breeze, so we decided to take the boat out for a cruise. We drove the boat over to the old Navy Base area, then down the channel toward Wilmington. The railroad draw bridge was down, so we turned around and headed for home port.
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We were still in the Navy Base area when the Starboard engine quit, and wouldn't restart. We went back to my dock under one engine, which is no problem, except that it's tricky getting into the dock with one engine. We made it with no damage to the boat or the dock.
Scott went home about five o'clock. I made myself a light dinner, took a nap and headed for home about seven thirty.
01/26/04
I had my monthly counseling session with Marie Keller last Thursday. One of the things we talked about was how I was feeling about my decision to not have Genital Reassignment Surgery (GRS). I told her there were times that I have had second thoughts about that, but the issues that led me to decide not to have the GRS were still present. She told me that my big concern about having to do a legal name change should not be a factor, because it is not a requirement for the surgery. All that is necessary is the letters from her and her staff to the surgeon certifying that I meet the required guidelines. I told her that would help, but I do not have a powerful, burning desire for a vagina at this time, and I am currently enjoying a satisfying sex life with the equipment I have (thank you Scott).
Speaking of Scott, he spent the weekend with me on the 'MY WORLD'. We went shopping together at the Robinson May in Lakewood Saturday afternoon. He wanted a new tie, and I wanted some new slacks. Scott certainly has changed his apparel preferences since he met me. He never wore a suit and tie until we started dating. He found a great looking tie covered with small American Flags. and I found two pair of Slacks on sale.
We stopped at Ripples to listen to some Jazz on our way back from Lakewood. The band told us that they really appreciate our support. We have been there almost every Saturday since they started. They are good, and I think the singer, Caroline is as good, or better than any Jazz singer in the area. I would like to see a better crowd though. They play every Saturday afternoon from about three o'clock to eight. There is no cover charge and the drinks are reasonable.
We had dinner at the Reef. The Reef has become a favorite dinner place for us. They know us and treat us very well, the view of the harbor is great, the food is good and prices are moderate. It is also on the way to the Queen Mary, which is our destination for dancing later.
We got to the Observation Bar about ten o'clock and it was full. There were no empty tables or stools at the bar. We figured that we would have to stand until something became available, but a nice lady sitting alone offered to share her table. The lady was Julia, James's (AKA Elvis) girlfriend. She is a delightful woman, and we became friends.
Scott and I danced all the slow tunes, and some of the fast ones, like "Mustang Sally". Scott seems to have a problem with dancing free style to the beat, but he is getting better. He and Julia did a great Electric Slide Line Dance to the song "My Achy Breaky Heart", that I captured as a movie on my new camera. I would like to put some of my short movies on this web page, but they take a lot of storage, and I don't have much available on Yahoo.
We stayed at the Observation Bar until about one o'clock.
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Sunday was a work day on the boat. We needed to try to figure out that was wrong with the Starboard engine that quit on us last weekend. I didn't think it would take long, because it usually is something simple like a loose wire, but we spent the morning checking the ignition circuit with no success. We quit for lunch and a rest, then tried looking at the fuel supply. There seemed to be a problem with the fuel pump, and I decided that I needed to get my mechanic down there to check that out, so we quit for the day.
Scott had brought DVDs of the Movies Airplane and Titanic. We took our showers, made some pop corn and drinks and watched Airplane. It has been a long time since I first saw it, so it was like seeing it for the first time. It is rated one of the best comedies ever made.
I made us a steak dinner after the movie, then we just relaxed until Scott had to leave about nine o'clock, I was staying on the boat Sunday night, and I watched the Golden Globe awards, and the TV coverage of the post award parties until midnight, then to bed.
Monday morning, I decided to try once more to figure out what the problem was with that engine. I remember that someone had told me that there was a screen filter at the gas input to the Holly Carburetors that some times get plugged even when there is another filter before the fuel pump. I took the carburetor input connector off, and there was the filter screen all plugged up with gunk! I cleaned it, put everything back together, and tried to start the engine. I had to try several times before it finally started, but it ran fine once it got going. The first thing I did was call Scott at his work and tell him "that beautiful sound you hear is the Starboard engine running, and I don't have to get the mechanic after all!" And with that, I went home,
02/02/04
Scott goes to a Country/Western bar called the Cowboy Palace in Chatsworth on Wednesdays to sing in a competition, and I went there for the first time last week. I was nervous as hell about going to a macho bar where everyone knows everyone else like that, but I had no problem except I don't know how to line dance or how to dance country style. I was lucky not to fall or trip Scott or anyone else in my stumbling attempt to dance. I did enjoy it though and promised Scott that I would learn how to do those dances.
Scott was the first singer up for the singing. It's not KARIOKE. They sing to the live band. Scott sang a song that I think is called "Third Rock From the Sun". He was very good and I was impressed. I recorded it on my camera, but the Video part of it is 30 megabytes, so I can't post it here, but I will try to make some of the audio available.
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Scott and I were planning on going to the boat Saturday morning, but my future Son In Law ended up in the hospital with a serious ear infection, so I called Scott and told him I needed to cancel, but my Daughter called and told me he was in the ICU so I couldn't see him anyway, and she was going to stay at the Hospital. I called Scott back and told him to meet me at the boat that afternoon. I told my daughter and her mother to stay in touch with me via cell phone.
I got to the boat about one o'clock and Scott arrived soon after that. I made some hamburgers for lunch, and then we went to Ripples to listen to some Jazz.
The Band's name is the Obsessions. I think they are very good, and I am disappointed that there isn't a lager audience. Parking at Ripples can be a problem on a Saturday afternoon, because there is only street parking until five o'clock, then the Beach lot is opened for free parking. You can use the metered lot on the Beach before then if there is nothing available on the street. The band plays from three to seven. If you do go to Ripples, tell Jason the bar tender that you found out about it on Marianne's web site. Ripples is at 5101 E Ocean Blvd. at the corner of Ocean and Grenada Ave. in Belmont Shore and they have a Web Site at http://www.clubripples.com/
 Doug, Al, Carolynn ,Delacy, and Louis |
We planned to meet Michelle for dinner at Old Tony's Restaurant on the Redondo Beach Pier Saturday night. We arrived a little before eight. I put us on the waiting list for dinner, and we went upstairs to the bar. Michelle hadn't arrived by eight thirty so I called her cell phone to see where she was. She called back a little later and told me to go ahead and eat without her. We finally got a table about nine o'clock. We had just ordered when Michelle arrived. She said she changed her mind. We had a nice dinner, and the ambiance was great. Our table was right over the breaking waves on the beach.
We went to the Run Away Bay for dancing after dinner. The band is very good, and they play my kind of music. We had a ball. Michelle left after on set, and Scott and I stayed for another set, then headed for the boat about one o'clock. I think it was about three by the time we got to sleep.
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I had a list of things we needed to work on Sunday, but we didn't get started until almost ten o'clock. We replaced the fuel filters, then tightened the port sea water pump belt and tried to fix it so it wasn't so close to the coolant hose. I wanted to get a sample of the Gas from the Auxiliary tank to check it for contamination, but we couldn't get the hose loose, so we gave up on that.
We drove the boat to the fuel dock and filled both tanks, then took it to empty the holding tank. Everything seems to be working now. I am going to invite some of my friends to go on a whale watching trip sometime in the next few weeks.
We had lunch after getting cleaned up, then took a little nap. We spent the rest of the afternoon just relaxing. I planned to have an early dinner of salmon that I had in the freezer, then go home, but when I checked the salmon after it was thawed it didn't smell right so we decided to go to a restaurant for dinner.
Michelle called to see if we were going out, and we agreed to meet at the Reef about seven thirty for a drink. Scott and I decided to go there for dinner, and we got there before seven. We had just ordered when Michelle arrived and she joined us. Scott headed for home after dinner and Michelle and I went to the bar to talk for a while. We had a couple of Martinis and left when the bar tender wanted to close up.
I went back to the boat, packed, and left for home about ten thirty.
02/10/04
Another pleasant weekend with Scott and Michelle.
When I got to the boat Saturday morning I sorted out some of the larger sizes I have in my closets to give to charity. I am amazed how big some of my winter things are on me now. I have lost about thirty pounds in the past year. about twenty five pounds of it have come off since I started Weight Watchers last May. I am still ten pounds from my next goal, and I would really like to get another twenty pounds after that, but I will be happy when I can get into a size 12 dress which I want to do by May.
Scott arrived some time after one o’clock. We had lunch, then went to Ripples to listen to the Obsessions. We got there a little after three, and they were just setting up. They were scheduled to play from four to eight that Saturday. I gave Carolynn the pictures I took last week. She was wearing a really sexy top the showed her assets. It made me so envious that I wanted to schedule a boob job. Michelle and I had decided to go somewhere in Marina Del Rey for dinner, and wanted to get there about seven thirty, so we left Ripples after the first set.
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Michelle picked us up about seven o’clock. There were two places we wanted to try that Digital Cities said had cocktails, dinner and music; Tony P’s Dock Side Grill, and the Warehouse.
The Warehouse’s Valet and other parking was full so we went to Tony P's Dock Side and found a parking spot. It turned out that they did not have a band, but we decided to have dinner there anyway. The food, service, and ambiance were good, not great but OK. After dinner we drove to the Warehouse again to see if parking was any better. We found a place to park and went in to check the band. They wanted a $8 cover, and the band wasn’t that good, so we left, and drove to the Ritz to check that out. We asked the Valet at the Ritz if they had a band and he told us they didn’t, so we started home.
We tried to think of somewhere to go where they had music and dancing, and I remembered that we once went to a place called San Genardo in Culver City that had a Sinatra type singer and dancing, so we turned around and went there. We parked in a city parking structure next door and went in. There was a DJ playing some swing music, but no Sinatra, so we left and drove back to Long Beach.
By this time it was close to midnight, and too late for the Observation Bar, so we drove to the Blue Cafe to see what kind of band they had on. The music didn’t sound too bad from the parking lot, so Scott went in to see what the cover was. It was only $5, and we were desperate by that time so we went in. We got a table, ordered some drinks, and found a few square feet to dance on. The place was full of guys that were so drunk that they scared me and Michelle. They were incoherent, cross eyed, and could barely stand let alone dance. Michelle found one guy that wasn’t quite as bad as the rest to dance with. We had fun, closed the place, and got back to the Marina without encountering any of the drunks that managed to find and start their cars.
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we crawled out of bed about nine o’clock Sunday morning. The work plan for the day included changing the oil on the starboard engine, cleaning the boat and replacing the zincs on the heat exchangers, but we had a leaking faucet in the head to fix first. Scott fixed the Faucet, I checked the zincs, we changed the oil and Scott cleaned the boat.
After lunch, we took the boat out for a little test run to see how Scott could handle the open ocean, and to see if we could see any Whales. Scott did very well on the Ocean after he took the helm. We could hear the Whale Watch Boats on the radio saying they were on a pod about 3 miles off shore, so I think they were off Point Vincent. We didn’t see any Whales or Whale Watch Boats in our vicinity so we went back to the dock.
Michelle wanted to go out Sunday night, so we decided to go to Busters in Alamitos Harbor for dinner, then to Spagittinis for a drink and listen to some Jazz. I was going to take Scott to his car in Van Nuys later then go home afterward, so we took separate cars and Michelle followed us to Busters. There wasn’t hardly any people there, but the food was good. The waitress told us they have a band and dancing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, and they play our kind of music. We are going to have to try that out.
The Band at Spagittinis was excellent. It was George Shelby’s Band, and he played a great Sax. They quit at Ten o’clock, so we called it a night.
I took Scott to his car and went home.
02/17/04
I had a happy Valentine Day. Scott and I had dinner at the reef, and dancing at the Observation Bar with Michelle, John P and his date Ann.
I had wanted to get a reservation at Sir Winstons for Valentine Day, but you need to make that reservation months in advance, not three weeks. I was lucky to get a five o'clock reservation at the Reef. They had a "special menu" (translation: we jacked the price up by 300%). My Seafood Pasta did come with appetizer, salad, and desert though.
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The Queen Mary had a special concert that night sponsored by the Radio Station KISS, and they wanted to charge us $8 at the parking lot entrance. I told them that was outrageous, because I was always hosted and never had to pay. I showed the attendant the last parking ticket I had with "hosted" stamped on it, and he let me in for nothing. I called Michelle and told her what happened. Michelle joined us in the Observation Bar a little later. She said that she was let in for nothing too, because she told the attendant that she had an appointment with the special services director, Marianne Rivers (LOL).
James, AKA Elvis was the entertainment that night, and he arrived late, so we had a few drinks by the time the dancing started. My wild friend from Illinois, John P and his date Ann, joined us. John had pulled some strings with the real food and beverage Director, and was able to get a reservation in Sir Winstons. They both had been partying for a while too, so all five of us were in a good mood.
Michelle and Ann got along real well and danced together when Ann wasn't being spun around the floor by John. Ann and John ended up falling on the Band Stand a couple of times. They left early, but John came back after a half hour and said that Ann had went home without him. He had thought Ann was going to stay with him that night, so he was without wheels. I did not offer to put him up on the boat, because the last time I did that he came knocking on the hull at 3 am, and I had to make him a bed in the Salon. Scott and I had plans for the evening other than playing host to John. John told me later that he took a taxi to where he was staying in Torrance.
We left sometime after one o'clock, after I had been cut off from the martini menu.
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I invited some friends to a Whale Watch Party Sunday afternoon, so we spent the morning cleaning the boat and getting everything ready. The plan was to leave the dock about one o'clock, and return about four o'clock. My guests, Sherryl, Naomi, Ted, and Debra and her Daughter were all there on time, and we had a lunch of sandwiches, snacks and drinks before taking off.
I had the VHF Radio on hoping to hear some commercial Whale Watch Boats discussing where they were finding the Whales, but the only traffic I heard was two boats talking in some foreign language. We went out about five miles to see if we could see any Whale Watch Boats, but couldn't spot any. Usually you can see then because they are the larger Catalina Express boats and they are usually surrounded by a flotilla of private boats like mine. The sea was choppy so it was difficult to see any whales blowing or breaking the surface. Fortunately there were no large swells so the boat wasn't rolling, but the wind was very cold.
We gave up after about an hour at sea and headed back to the harbor. We continued our little party at the dock. Debra left about four o'clock to take her Daughter home. The rest of us left later, and went to Busters in Alamitos Harbor for dinner. Naomi and Ted went home, and I drove Scott and Sherryl back to the boat. Sherryl left for home, and Scott and I did a little clean up, and had a couple of drinks before bed. Both of us were out like a light as soon as our heads hit the pillows. Nothing like a day on the water and some alcohol afterward to put you to sleep.
Monday morning we finished cleaning up the party stuff, and I did a load of laundry. We had lunch, packed up, and injected our selves into the bumper to bumper traffic for home.
02/23/04
We have had rain off and on for the past week or so in the LA area. To listen to the weather forecasts on TV you would think that we were in immanent danger of being swept to sea, but actually it has been mostly scattered light showers, with an occasional thunder storm. Rain had been forecast for Saturday, but it was dry Saturday morning so I decided to go to the boat anyway, and called Scott to tell him to come down that afternoon.
I got to Long Beach about noon and Scott arrived about one thirty. We had lunch, and watched a little of the LA Open Golf, then went to Ripples about five o'clock for the Jazz. The Obsessions had temporary replacements on the Key Board and Drums, but both were very good, and Carolynn was great as always. We stayed for a couple of hours then went back to the boat, and I made a Salmon dinner for us.
I expected that there would be some Marti Gras parties on the Queen Mary, and I was feeling in a Marti Gras mood, so I found my Marti Gras mask, and one of my old style wigs to wear that night. I would have liked to have worn one of my more flamboyant dresses to wear that night, but I gave them all away because they were too big for me anymore. I wore my Red two piece outfit with the long A-line skirt.
The long skirt was a mistake, because it started to rain hard when we got to the Queen Mary, and the bottom of my skirt got wet. It dried out fairly soon though, and didn't seem to leave any water marks.
I put the mask on before we got to the Observation Bar. James (AKA Elvis) checked me out good, but didn't recognize me until I started dancing. Evon didn't recognize me at first either. I remembered why I stopped wearing long wigs...They keep getting in your face, and are a nuisance.
We had a ball dancing, but I drank one too many martinis. We stayed until last call, and Scott had to help me walk to the car. He drove us back to the boat.
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 with Julia (James' GF) |
I had a list of boat things that I wanted to work on Sunday morning, but I discovered that one of the bilge pumps had been running all night an drained the batteries, so fixing that was our first priority. We determined that the float switch wasn't turning off. Either the switch was faulty or the pump wasn't emptying the bilge enough to allow the switch to activate. I moved the switch to a higher position as a temporary fix. I will need to replace both the switch and the pump the next time I get down there.
I needed to go home early Sunday, so I drove Scott to where he left his car in Van Nuys, and went home
03/01/04
Scott had to work Saturday. Michelle thought she might get out late Saturday, and Heather (in Drab) could be coming out late too, so the whole weekend was full of uncertainties. I decided that it was best for my sanity just to ask Scott not to come down to Long Beach.
I had several errands to do Saturday morning, so I didn't get to the boat until after noon. I cleaned the boat, and watched the Golf Match Tournament until five, then went to Ripples to enjoy some Jazz for one set.
I had arraigned to meet Michelle for dinner at Tony P's Dockside in Marina Del Rey about nine o'clock. I made myself a sandwich for a snack to carry me until then. We agreed to dress casual, so I wore my new slacks my red cleavage sweater and 3 inch heels. The traffic news said that the 405 freeway was jammed from LAX to the Marina freeway, so I left early, but I arrived at the restaurant at the same time as Michelle did.
Heather called while we were eating dinner. She was in the area and would join us. She arrived just as we finished dinner. We went into the bar room for a drink and some serious girl talk and a drink.
It was almost midnight when we left. Heather went home and Michelle and I went to the Run away Bay in Torrance for a little dancing. we had a drink and a couple of dances, then left when the band quit.
I got a late start on my boat repairs Sunday morning. I replaced a couple of engine zinc's, and ran the engines for a while to keep them oiled. My dingy was almost swamped because it was full of rain water, so I emptied that.
I watched a some of the final Golf Match after lunch, then drove to Westwood to do some shopping. Robinson-May had another sale on, but none of the good stuff was on sale, and I couldn't find anything on sale that fit me except for a pair of dress Slacks like the one I bought a couple of weeks ago. I bought that, and headed for home via West Hollywood.
I haven't been to the Cafe D' Entoile for several weeks because I haven't had any appointments in the area recently. I usually stop there after appointments with Layla, Marie Keller and Dr. Horowitz. My usual route from Westwood to the Cafe, is Olympic Blvd. East, and Robertson North to the Cafe on Santa Monica Blvd., but Robertson was blocked off for two blocks before Santa Monica. I couldn't figure out what was going on with all the police and stuff. I finally got around the blocked off area and found a place to park near the Cafe. I asked one of the guys I know at the Cafe about the commotion across the street and was told that the Abbey and a couple of other restaurants on the block were being used for Oscar parties. One was being hosted by Elton John for his AID’s Charity.
There wasn't hardly anyone in the Cafe. I had one Martini, and headed for home to watch the Oscars from there.
An editorial about same sex Marriage:
President George W. Bush wants to trash the US Constitution by inserting an Amendment prohibiting the marriage between anyone except between a man and a woman.
Bush was probably AWOL when the Constitution was taught in civic classes, because he does not realize that the federal laws and state statutes prohibiting Marriage between same sex couples are unconstitutional.
His proposed Amendment would deny the equal protection of the laws established by the Fourteenth Amendment. The US Supreme Court found that Virginia Statutes which forbid marriage or cohabitation between white persons and persons of other races are unconstitutional because they are discriminatory and in violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Massachusetts Supreme Court recognized that their law forbidding marriage between persons of the same sex is in the same category, and declared the law unconstitutional. The California law should also be found unconstitutional.
In my opinion, the arguments for laws prohibiting same sex marriages are based on religious teachings, and are also in violation of the First Amendment which states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. I suspect that the religious right would prefer that any new law or amendment specify that only marriages performed within a church are legal.
The Virginia Court that had sentenced the Plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case stated:
"Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix."
Doesn’t that sound like some of the crap that you are hearing now from the Religious Reich!
Lastly, an issue close to home for me and my sisters if this Amendment is passed: how will a “Woman” or a “Man” be defined? Will it be determined at birth by genitals or genes? These can be ambiguous. Will it be determined by a Department of Marriage (Under God) Management, and Encouragement. Would you have to prove to this M(UG)ME Department that one is a Woman and the other is a Man? The Virginia Law against marriage between a white and Non-white required that you prove to the licensing authority that both persons are Caucasians.
Lets support the rights of all to Marry!
03/08/04
Scott had to work again Saturday, but he finished by three o'clock, and took the Van Nuys Fly Away/Metro route to Long Beach, and I picked him up at the Terminal about five o'clock. We went to the boat so he could de-pressurize with a couple of Sam Adams, then we went to Ripples for Jazz by the Obsessions.
There was a good crowd at Ripples. I am very happy that the band is starting to draw a crowd. They deserve it. We stayed for a couple of sets, then went back to the boat for dinner.
I BBQ'd a steak, and heated some BBQ Beans and Mashed potatos for dinner.
We got to the Observation Bar on the Queen Mary about ten o'clock, and it was crowded. James (AKA Elvis) was performing. We found a table in the back of the room, but were able to move up to close to the dance floor in a little while. We danced all the slow ones, and some of the faster ones. When James did "She's a Lady" all the girls got on the Dance floor and Scott took some pictures.
We left during James's break before his last set, and got back to the boat about twelve thirty.
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It got real hot Sunday. It was already over seventy degrees at nine o'clock when we got up. Scott worked on cleaning a power strip to get the bedroom light working, while I made breakfast.
We planned to take the boat out for a little trip to pump out the holding tanks, and give the engines a workout. We wanted to leave before the NW wind started, so we did the pre-launch checkout right after breakfast. Valerie joined us, and we left the dock about noon. When I tried to take the boat to cruising speed, the port engine wouldn't go above 2500 RPM. Scott took the helm and I went down to the engines and opened the hatch for the port engine. I sounded like it was missing, and it back fired when I tried to advance the throttle. This is the same symptom I had with that engine before I had it overhauled a few months ago. I hope it's still on warranty.
We went back to the dock, and had a drink to relax. I plan on going down to check out a few obvious possible causes, like seeing if all the ignition cables are connected, and all the spark plugs are OK. I will call the mechanic if that checks out, and it still has the problem.
It was a nice balmy evening with a warm breeze. We sat on the back porch and enjoyed it for a while, then took a shower and got dressed to go to dinner.
We got to the Cafe D' Entoile a little after nine. We got a booth in the bar room with a view of the sidewalk to watch the parade of people out for a stroll. We both had a nice light pasta dish that was just right.
I took Scott to his car at the Van Nuys Fly Away bus lot, and went home.
03/15/04
I went to the Boat Friday afternoon to see if I could find out what was wrong with the engine that didn't run right last weekend. I checked the ignition wires, and a couple of spark plugs to see if they were fouled, and they looked good. I checked the fuel line into the carburetor and that was clean too. Then I started the engine and it sounded OK, but it needed to be tested under load, and I postponed that for when Scott is there.
Scott had to work Saturday, so I was going to be on my own Friday night. I called Ruby and Michelle to see if they were going to be out, but I got their voice mail, so I just left a message to call me.
I had a light dinner on the boat, and got dressed to go out. I didn't feel like driving very far so I decided to just go to the Observation Bar on the Queen Mary. James (AKA Elvis) was performing, and I found a seat at the bar.
It was like girls night out. I don't know what was going on but girls were coming in pairs and groups. We ended up with twice as many females as males in the room, but we had fun dancing. There was one large lady that seemed to like me and asked me to dance with her several times.
Evon, the bartender told me that the previous Beverage Manager, Tim was back and that they were going to change the entertainment in the bar. He gave me the schedule for the rest of the month, and it showed James performing only on Fridays. A Latin Band was playing Saturday the 13th, then a different band on the rest of the Saturdays in March. Evon said that the Band that would be that starting on the 20th was very good. Tim, the Manager bought me a drink and we talked about the new plan. I kept my alcohol consumption down to two Martinis and a glass of wine, and left about twelve thirty.
I spent Saturday morning going through my closets to cull out the things that were too big. That included just about everything in there, so I put a bunch of dresses and sweaters in bags to give to charity. There were some tops that I never wore. It occurred to me that some of them may fit my friend Robyn, so I called her, but she said that she would need to loose more weight before they would fit her. I took them to the "Out Of The Closet" for Aid's Charity, and then went to the Lakewood Mall to see if I could find some replacements.
I found two nice sweaters and a two piece casual suit outfit on sale at Robinson-May. My budget for the day was $100, and I figured that was just about what my finds would cost. I went to the Customer Service desk to pay for them, and the lady rang up $126! I thought that I had made an addition error so I counted out six twenty dollar bills and was fishing around for the other $6 when the clerk said that I had only given her five bills. Again, I thought that it was my error, so I gave her another $20. Then, I checked the sales slip and found that she had charged me for two Jackets, when I only bought one. There was a second jacket in my bag, but I sure didn't bring it to the counter. It must have been laying there on the counter. I gave her the one (a size 8) I didn't want, and she gave me back the $26 she charged for it. Then I double checked the other items against the sales slip, and found that she hadn't removed the security tags. Now I was getting a bit disturbed. I asked her to remove the tags and left. I was still steamed when I left the store, and double checked the $20 bills in my wallet later. It was short a $20 bill. That bitch pulled a scam on me! I figured that it was too late to do anything about it, but I plan to write to the store to complain.
I stopped at Ripples on my way back to the boat, and had two martinis to calm down. The Obsessions were playing, and I had a nice conversation with Carolynn during the break. There were only three customers in the bar, and I don't think that they can afford having the band start so early. It seems there is a good crowd after seven, but very few from four to seven. They play until eight.
Scott had called me about four o'clock to tell me he was off work and on his way. He called later to tell me that because of the traffic, he was going to take the Bus/Metro Rail route to get to Long Beach which normally takes a couple of hours. He called me when he was approaching Long Beach, and I met him at the station.
We had a cocktail on the back porch, then I cooked some steaks, beans and Baked Potato for dinner. Scott changed from his bus uniform to a dress shirt, Jacked etc., and I put on my pokadot dress with the nautical jacket, and we went to the Observation Bar.
The entertainment was a Drummer and a Guitar playing Latin music that wasn't dancing music. There were a few people that danced a little Salsa later in the evening, but all-in-all the music was a bust for me. The recordings that played during their break was better.
There were some people that were either getting ready for a Mexican cruise or had just completed one that were very drunk, and they provided some entertainment. We left fairly early..
Sunday was the usual; crawl out of bed about nine, bloody marys, breakfast. and then take the boat out for a test run. It performed perfectly! Why? I don't know :- / I must have jiggled something that was loose back into place.
We replaced a broken through hull air vent when we got back. Scott got in the dingy to reach it from the outside, then he took it for a little row. He did good for the first time out.
We walked to the Village after lunch to look around and do a little shopping. I bought a new straw hat for the summer.
We toasted the setting sun when we got back, then took a short nap. We packed up and headed to the Sportsman's Lodge for dinner. The Trout we had was very good. We had a night cap after dinner, then I took Scott to his car at the Fly Away lot in Van Nuys, and I went home.
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03/24/04
It was kind of a mixed up week and weekend. I had a date with Scott Wednesday night at Spazio's to listen to my friend Jennifer's Trio, a counseling session Thursday with Marie Keller at the Transgender Center followed by lunch at the Cafe D' Entoile, a long Saturday waiting for my honey to get off work, a nice night with him at the Observation Bar, A pleasant Sunday, a lonely Sunday night, and finished with a little boat cleaning Monday.
Scott arrived at Spazio's before I did, and reserved a table for us near the bar. Jennifer was just setting up when I got there. Scott had ordered me a glass of wine in anticipation of my arrival, but I needed something stronger after a frustrating day shopping, so I got myself a Martini to start off the night, then drank the wine. I ordered us some desert, and another drink.
Jennifer's group was great as always. There were a few other T girls there for support. Diane came over to our table and I introduced her to Scott. I went to her table a little later and was introduced to the other three girls at Diane's table, but I can't remember their names today.
We stayed for two sets. We were getting ready to leave when Scott told me that my sweater was on inside-out! He had just noticed it because of the Label being on the outside in the back of my neck. It was very embarrassing. I'm sure that everyone in the room had noticed it. I had tried on the new black sweater and two other outfits before I decided to wear the sweater, and I was in a hurry to get to the restaurant, so I wasn't paying attention.
I only see Marie Keller about every six to eight weeks anymore. I don't have too many issues to discuss with her these days. The main subject for this session was that all my old friends seem to have drifted apart, and I miss them. I think the central person in our old group was Heather, and she is not out any more. Most of my other friends are post op, and are busy with their new lives. The rest of us have steady boy friends, family or business commitments.
I told Marie that one of the things I miss is the planning for new adventures that Heather and I used to do every year. Marie told me that nothing was stopping me from doing my own planning for new adventures. The problem with that is no one else is free to take the trips we used to do, and they are no fun alone. I guess I just have to scale back the adventures to fit the schedule of Scott and some of my other friends.
Robinson-May was having another sale this weekend, and I need a new purse, as well as more outfits that fit my new slimmer body, so I stopped at the small store in Eagle Rock Saturday to see if they had any bargains. I saw nothing I liked at a reasonable price.
I stopped at a grocery store to stock the boat with the necessities of life (e.g. gin, vodka, beer) for the weekend, then headed for Long Beach.
Scott didn't think he would be able to get off work until after seven, and it would take him a couple of hours to get to Long Beach from Thousand Oaks, so he decided to have some fast food for dinner on his way down.
I went to Ripples about seven o'clock to listen to a little Jazz, and Scott called just after I got there to tell me he was on his way. I had a couple of drinks, and left when the band quit at eight. I made myself two turkey burgers for dinner, and got dressed in a sweater and skirt for the evening.
Scott hurt his foot last week when he got a bare toe stepped on in a moment of passion by some blond wearing heels, then he really aggravated the foot Saturday morning by kicking his bus when he was told he had to work late. He could barely walk when he arrived at the boat. I got some heavy duty pain killer and some Tiger Balm pads for his foot.
The medication and a stiff drink got him on his feet good enough for us to go the Observation Bar. I dropped him off at the front entrance to the Queen Mary and found a place to park. A new band "The Lost Boys" were playing. Scott couldn't Dance, but there was enough girls dancing together that I could join in alone. We had a good time, and stayed until the last break of the evening.
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We didn't do much Sunday. I ran the engines to circulate the oil. We had lunch, then watched the movie "Assault on the Queen" with Frank Sinatra. Its about fixing a submarine to rob the Queen Mary at sea. I grilled some steak for dinner.
Scott got sick and didn't finish his dinner. When Scott can't eat it means he is really sick. I put him to bed for a few hours until he felt good enough to drive home. The extra strength Aspirin he took for his sore foot may have been the reason for feeling queasy.
I stayed on the Boat Sunday night, and did some light maintenance Monday morning then went home.
Scott worked Monday, and he said his foot was better, but that night he felt it snap while carrying out the trash. He went to the emergency room Tuesday morning and the x-rays showed that a bone in his foot was broken. He has a temporary cast on it today but will need a permanent cast as soon as his HMO approves it. Its going to restrict his mobility for a few weeks.
03/29/04
It was pretty much a nothing weekend. Scott is out of action for at least four weeks with a broken foot, and none of my other friends were available to come to Long Beach either.
I spent some time at Ripples Saturday afternoon listening to the Obsessions. I met a very nice Lady named Katt who is a Disk Jockey on KJAZZ 88.1 FM. She recently moved to Belmont Shore from Seattle, and It was her first time at Ripples. She is also a singer, and she did a couple of numbers for us. She was great. She is on the air from 9 am to 1 pm Monday through Friday.
Carolynn did a couple of Scott's favorite numbers and she dedicated them to the "Captain". One of his favorites is "My Favorite Things" from the movie "Sound of Music". Scott's Father was the Music Editor on that Movie. Carolynn does it to a Jazz beat. The Band is drawing a bit of a crowd after six o'clock. The afternoon at Ripples was the high point of the weekend.
I wore a casual outfit (slacks and sweater) to the Observation Bar Saturday night. "The Lost Boys" Band was playing. There wasn't hardly anyone there yet at nine thirty, and no one was dancing, although the band was playing some danceable songs. . I took a seat at the bar, and told Evon that I didn't have a designated driver that night, so I needed to watch my alcohol consumption. I had one martini, and one glass of wine, then stayed with coffee the rest of the night. The bar got crowded about midnight when all the private parties were finished, but there were only couples dancing. so I didn't get a chance to dance at all.
I took the boat out Sunday morning to pump out the holding tanks and burn some carbon. It ran good on the trip out but the port engine started to miss again on the way back. It eventually seemed to run normally. I think the problem may be with gunk in the gas tanks. The starboard engine has a second fuel filter in the gas line that the port engine doesn't have. I guess I just have to keep replacing the filter elements until the problem is solved.
I have a long list of things that need to be done on the boat, but I was feeling down Sunday afternoon and it was hot and humid, so I just watched some of the golf tournaments and drank wine. It got cool enough late in the afternoon to sit out back in shorts and a tank top. I called Scott and toasted the setting sun while we had a long conversation.
I had planned to go to Spagettinis for dinner and Jazz Sunday night, but I realized that it probably wouldn't be a good idea after all the drinks I had that day, so I just made myself some scrambled eggs and ham and took a nap. I felt good enough to drive home about eight o'clock, and that's what I did.
I want to take my boat to Catalina sometime in April if I can get one of my friends to go with me. Scott will not be able to do it because of his foot. It's going to be crowded and difficult to find a mooring in Avalon on weekends due to Spring Break, but I might be OK if I can get over there early in the week. I especially would like to get out of Long Beach during the Grand Prix that will be The weekend after Easter from the 16th through the 18th. It's a zoo at the Marina during the Races.
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