Water, water, everywhere

Water was coming dripping through various parts of Casa Paraíso.

Oh so pleasant.

We knew we needed a new roof, because we saw leaking when we first moved in, but it seems that the damage up there has accelerated.

I scrambled throughout the house to find any empty dog dish, bowl, and bucket I could find.

If I didn't have the drops under control with the 7 tubs I found, I would move on to the pots from the kitchen.

Last night, the trick was to find a place where I could write my gratitude list to My Gratitude Buddy, my MC Guru and the Sweet Ex on my laptop, without it being bombarded with rain.

Don't get me wrong.

I actually like the rain here.

It's warm and feels more like a fresh shower than in Vancouver, where it feels like an all out attack of personal space.

Not to mention, when it rains, I get happy for a few reasons.  First, the rain water pulls all the dirt to the bottom of the pool, making it much more clear and easier to get the dirt out.

Now, if only we could work that damn machine to clean out the dirt, we'd be in business.  Until then, I hover on top on floaty devices like a princess.

Anyway, back to the rain.

Second, I get happy because my trees are being fed.  They're new and need a lot of water.

So when I hear the rain teeming down in a full force monsoon, I am pleased.

It also means I don't have to do the watering.  I like watering, because I talk to my trees and tell them how much I love them.

Yet, I hate the sand fleas biting me and leaving me looking like I have smallpox or some other disease, confined to the knees down.

So, there we were dodging raindrops in our bedroom, when we decided to do a bit of budgeting.

Mostly because we now have to have a new roof.  That shit isn't cheap.

Do we go with the plastic tiles?  Or ceramic?  Ceramic would have a better resale value for the house that's for sure.

However, looking at our budgeting, we realized we've gone broke.

Good news is, we really have everything we need now.

All the necessities.

Papi set out with a certain amount of money put aside for getting started with and we've only gone over by a few grand.

... ahem ... the roof ...

After paying for the roof, the landscaping to fix what the pool people destroyed and the rocks out front to save use from the wrath of the waves, we need to live simple.

No problem!  Everything is fine!

Until I realized that my iMovie program stopped being my friend, and I still have to buy an editing program, plus I need a monitor and keyboard so that I can make music again.

Seriously.

We are a little stressed out for money.

No matter.

Once I get my garden up and going, between the veggies and the fruit trees, we won't starve.

The dogs are Dominican.

They're used to rice.

And hey, we haven't been able to wash our clothes for 2 weeks, because our washing machine we just bought doesn't work.  We're starting to look like street people and we're getting used to that too.

'Dirty' in Vancouver has NOTHING on the DR.  We get one wear out of clothes before they look like we've rolled around in the mud.

Especially with The Donkey jumping on us all the time.

However, being broke is not a problem when you have a beautiful view, doggy TV and a pool to de-stress in.

'Broke' is going to be ok.

For the first time ever in my life, 'broke' looks pretty swanky.

And the hammock swings.

my wealth is increasing more and more now

no hiding today

Here's yesterday's YouTube show.  There were some technical difficulties, so some of what I wanted to get on there didn't, but it's here none-the-less:

I cleaned my kitchen.

The counters are no longer sticky.  Most of the dishes are no longer globby and greasy.  My stove is spotless, including the years of stuck on grease that were never cleaned off.

I couldn't handle it anymore.  PMS does that to me.  I can't keep telling the Housemaid to clean it with Borax and she just wipes it down with plain water, regardless.

I can't ignore it, or get used to it like some people have suggested.

When I'm PMSing, I can't live with grime.  It's gotta go.  So, I did her job I've been asking her to do.

Today, we're going to talk to the Housemaid about trust and thievery.

She's going to pull out the aligator tears, in exactly the same way she did to convince us to keep her hired on in the first place.

My 'I'm sad and let down' face will trump her tears.  I promise you.

I am sad that I allowed myself to listen to people and give her a chance.  I am sad that she has ruined the majority of my clothing.

Oh, here's the newest one.  She ruined my bra.  No chloro needed.

Nope.  Ripped the wire right outta that bitch and left it hanging there on the clothes line.

It was my all function bra.  Not the pretty one that I sparingly use.  Not the earthy one that I don't mind the world to see, because it looks like a top.  And not the black one that I can only wear under certain clothing.

My white, all function bra.

It's not like I can just zip down to Change and grab another one.  Maybe I can get one shipped to me and hope for the best?

Today, we're going to talk about trust and honesty, and about how we have no more.

Then we're going to give her husband, the Dominican Daddy, a raise, because he's a really good worker.  Next the locks get changed so that she can stop thinking this is her house to do what she wants, then finally, fire her.

The thought of having our house back has Papi and I in a state of joy.

So much so, that Papi did The Happy Papi Dance yesterday!  The Papirazzi was in full form yesterday, so I got to catch it on film.  This means you will be able to enjoy it as well.

We do like our space alone.  We're two peas in a pod that way.

We don't feel like we've had our space, because we're looking over our shoulder all the time.

Papi's depressed.  He feels it's because his space is invaded as well.

He hides in the bed the whole time she's here, leaving me to deal with her on my own.

I got him back the other day.

Papi was sitting on our little outdoor seat, I was in the hammock, when all the kids arrived, screaming at the gate to be let in.

Sometimes, I equate them to a scary movie where the vampire is at the window tapping, "Let me iiiiiiiiiiinnnnnn."

But anyway, back to the story.

I slithered into the hammock so they couldn't see me and left Papi holding the brunt of it.

I was just lying there giggling as he waved every time they yelled.

At least he didn't give my cover away.

When they see me, they're be relentless.  "Andréa!  Andréa!  Andréa!  Andréa!" they yell, nonstop.  Kids seem to be drawn to me and won't leave me be.

Probably because I have an immature energy and they relate.  It's also because they know I really do genuinely love them, just not when they're not invading my space when I don't want them to.

Anyway, there will be no hiding in my hammock or the bed today.  We have to do a job that neither of us wants to do.  It will be good for us though.  We need to learn how to do it.

Today, we talk dishonesty, set boundaries, then when the time comes, we take back our space, and my clothes.

Did I tell you how clean my kitchen is?!?!?

Today, I'm moving on to the little nooks 'n crannies in the bathrooms that have me cringing every time I go to pee.  There's nothing else to look at but the 'ick' when you're stuck there.

PMS.

I need to clean.

i deserve to have boundaries, and my boundaries are respected

Our DR Family

The first day we arrived here, the housekeeper was so damn sweet.

She had figured out how to say, "Welcome to your new house, Hector and Andréa."

Here, in the Dominican, people can't say Papi's name very well, so when they look at a document with our last name on there, they immediately jump to thinking his name is the first part of our last name, 'Hector-Brown', and call him 'Hector'.

So, our non-English speaking housekeeper made a cute little sign that had our welcome on it.  You'll be able to see it in Episode 2 of our YouTube reality show!

Right now, as I write this, I'm uploading Episode 1.  I'll tag it on here when it's actually finished uploading.

Anyway, on top of making us a sign, she also had a meal of rice and fried eggs ready for us.

Lotsa salt!!  Holy!!  But we were so damn hungry and tired, we ate it with zeal!

They are so incredibly sweet.

When the internet person came to hook us up, she came running down the road to make sure he was a 'bueno persona' because she's so protective of us.

This wasn't even her working day!

She just wanted to make sure she knew the person who was in our house, because she wants us to be safe.

She is definitely our DR Family.  She comes by to help us without pay.  Just to 'help' us.

One of her 4 boys, the smallest one, will bring me fruit fresh off the trees and the smile on his face as he gives me a mango is incredible.

He is so proud to be able to give me something and it shows.

He has nothing, but to make me happy with a mango made his (and my) day.

We really haven't had a chance to rest, until now because I'm so sick I can't do anything.

We run around to get the puppy better, get the cat his dental surgery, get the internet, get our cable, cleaning supplies, food etc.

Oh, update on the stove.  We now have one burner!  So I made us a nice pasta meal last night with meat sauce.

Not that I got any nutrition out of it.  It just went through me, but it felt good to put something other than corn chips in my yack.  I'm sure you don't want to hear about how I'm living on the toilet.  I've resolved to not eat anymore, so that I can have a rest from being sick.

Anwyay, there are so many 'priorities', it's hard to figure out what is first!!

~ Stove fixed.
~ New bed so I'm not in agony.
~ New doors that bandidos can't just push open because the hinges are rotted from the sea.
~ Bars on the windows so that we can sleep with fresh air.
~ Taps that work, water pressure AND hot fucking water for a shower people!!
~ Lights.  Oh, we have about 3 that work.
~ Dressers so we can finally put away our clothes.

There's more.  Oh, so much more.

However the 'more' is really just stuff that would make our lives 'nice'.  Like a lounging chair to sit in the sun.

I tried putting my towel out on the grass just to lie in it, but soon found I had laid right next to one of 100 ant chambers that are in our yard.

That 'relaxing' moment was short lived as I ran screaming patting myself off.

Then we got a hammock.

I lie elevated, however, I can't type on my computer while I'm out there, because we don't have a wall up yet.  The bandidos will see our computers and rob us, so we hide indoors.

Oh our wall?  In order to have a wall, we have to pay off the commissioner!  They say, "No!  You may not put up a wall and destroy our scenery for our native people!

That's sweet and all, but they will let us do it for a 'fee' of $2,500.

Yup.

Bribery works here like gang busters.

Anyway, yes, we are off to a rough start, but my Eternal Friend, who just moved back from a 3rd world country giggled in an email, asked me if I really believed it would be easy.

I suppose I knew it would be work.  Just not this hard.

I'm trying very hard to stay optimistic and know what I've always known.  Things will always get better.  Always.  They always do.

giving up is easy.  i will delay the urge, just for today

here we go ...

Today, to make things simple, we have disposable underwear.

No point draggin' that stuff around.

It's time to say, "Oh, my fucking g*d!!!!!"

This is the day.

And I'm mother fucking sick with some fucking virus.

Lovely.

Anyway, I may be off the grid for a few days.

The next time I write to you, it will be from the balcony of Casa Paraíso with a view of the ocean, or from my hammock while I'm going through withdrawal from morphine.

Without bitch of a back pain.

It's feeling so damn weird, I can't even tell you.

Sadness was the big feeling yesterday.

I will miss this beautiful city, but not the chill.

I will miss my wonderful, loving friends, but I won't miss the cliques, 'mean girls' and their gossiping.

I will miss the restaurants, but not the fast food ones everywhere.

I will miss the accessibility on transit, but not the little bastards who don't respect their elders, refusing them a seat.

Goodbye Ethiopian restaurants.

Goodbye buses I don't have to take anymore.

Goodbye my favourite Canadian coffee, JJ Bean.  You are now being replaced with the best coffee on the planet!!!!  Dominican coffee!!!

I wish I could say more.

I'm just a little speechless.

Exhausted.

Overwhelmed.

And yes, finally excited!

In no time at all, we'll be there, and there will be so much to talk about.

But here's the thing, we'll have to get our internet when we get there.

That could take a few days.

They're on Dominican time.

Their time.

When they get to it.

But I will be back to talk to you about everything, and hopefully, I'll have the new YouTube show for you the moment they get us hooked up!

I'm scared.

But I'm excited.

Well folks, here we go ...

I now have to pretend I'm a straight girl.

Goodbye femme.

this is the dream

so done.

Mounting.

Stress.

Last minute things to do.

Migraine is back.

Done having sad faces to miss.

2 sleeps left.

Sleeping on the floor.

Cats are not happy.

Nowhere to relax.

No time to relax.

People finding out where we're going and inviting themselves, wanting to be my friend again after a year of no speaking.

Inviting themselves!!

Rude.

Ridiculous requests to see people at the last minute.

Pain from doing way more than I should.

Lack of cuddles from Papi.

Rushing everywhere.

Not feeling like speaking.

Wanting to hide.

More to do.

Don't want to do it.

Surprises of more to do that we didn't know about.

Scared.

Nervous.

Sadness verging on depression.

Excited.

Anxiety.

Gratitude.

Happiness.

Looking forward to being off morphine.

Looking at my hammock outside Casa Paraíso every day I turn on my computer.

Thinking of the warmth removing my pain.

Thinking of the feeling of floating in the healing salt water.

Feeling more real.

2 more sleeps.

Ready now.

Wish we were gone already.

Done.

So done.

Tired.

Cold.

Done.

my thoughts are my reality and i'm thinking of a bright new day