Tuesday Like Monday

A bit of realistic art from my 7th graders

Yesterday was Dominican Labor Day, so I didn't have to come to work. Instead Kisha and I had the opportunity to go up to a lunch spot in Jarabacoa and spend some time just chillin', walking around the property, having a couple drinks, and visiting the all you can eat buffet. Grampa would be proud... I definitely got my money's worth :0)

It was such a good time that we called Moreno to come pick us up from Parque Duarte so we wouldn't have to spend 15 minutes in the extreme noise that can usually be found between the park and our house. We got ice cream while we waited, and between that and the leisurely day we had it felt like a mini vacation. Very nice.

I remember we were supposed to be doing this relatively often. The plan was that we'd take plenty of personal days, and we'd be able to afford that because I have a steady, good paying job, after you consider the cost of living difference. But the ideal never really happened. Most things here are pretty expensive, and with the exception of rent I'd say that life is as expensive or more expensive as life in Portland (i.e. gas is somewhere around US$6.50/gallon). We can't cut away because we can't afford to.

I'm not really too upset about the money thing, but I will be happy to get home, where I know the tricks for saving money while still maintaining some manner of sanity. I could really go for some Halo on Kyle's Xbox right about now! Gaming makes my Tuesdays like Monday a great deal better.