27 posts tagged “puerto rico”

The relative humidity of Puerto Rico is high, about 80% throughout the year.  I think, it is more or less the same in the Dominican Republic (even though they will tell you it varies during certain months of the year).  I've lived in Puerto Rico all my life, so I should be used the humidity here.  And I am.  I don't really mind it, except for those times when I have my hair done and the humidity makes it all frizzy and stuff but that's something else. 

Anyway, if I am to used to Puerto Rico's humidity, I should be used to the Dominican Republic's too, right?  Well, NO.  The worst thing is that the place where I feel the most humidity is inside the apartment.  And I hate it.  Sometimes I say that apartment is like a cave: dark, with no direct access to sunlight, and very, very humid.  You can feel it in the walls, floors, furniture, etc.  I really, really wish my husband could move.  I'd be so much happier somewhere else.  But I don't think that's happening soon.  Plus, he is in the final stages of his degree so he'll be coming back home soon.

For now, I should be thinking about getting a few Santa Fe dehumidifiers to place around the apartment.  Maybe I won't be sneezing all the time that way. 

• I don't miss my bed there, nor it's " silk bedding ".  Note to self:  buy new sheets to take there!!
• I don't miss the Internet connection there as it sucks and wouldn't allow me to download anything.
• I don't miss the noise, and I don't miss the ever present smell of diesel, and I don't miss the crazy drivers.
• I don't miss the expensive cheap clothing, or the lack of good stores, and I don't miss the price of chicken breasts and good meat in general. 
  
• I don't miss the Dominican rice.  It tastes weird.
• I don't miss the disrespectful Dominicans and their lack of manners, and I don't miss the fact that they always want to rob you or take something from you.
• I don't miss being in a dark apartment, with no windows, and very little access to the outside world.

• I miss my husband.
• I miss the cheap collective transportation that does not exist in Puerto Rico.
• I miss getting my hair done for $4, my eyebrows waxed for $3, and my nails done for $4.
• I miss the colmado, if only a little.

As you can see there are more things that I don't miss than the one I miss.  Except that I miss my husband, and that makes the things I don't miss seem unimportant if I have to go back there.

• Two weeks ago we celebrated my brother in law's birthday party.  The house was full, there were too many beers, and the " wine rack " was full.  Played dominoes and had a lot of fun.  Check my Facebook page for pictures.
• Have been to the beach a few times.  I love, love, love the beach...especially the PRican beaches on my side of the Island. 
  
• Have gotten drunk too. 
  
• Eat like crazy.  Which is something I'm not proud of.  I have gained around 6 pounds.
• Had to take Rocco to the emergency veterinary clinic.  The details are way too traumatizing to mention now, but someday I will.  LOL.  For real.
• It's my niece's graduation ceremony.  She'll be a first grader in August.  It's also my nephew's Class Night on Friday.
  
• Thanks to Facebook, I got back in touch with my best friend from when I worked at a book store (1999 - 2001).  It has been really nice to find her again.
• There are other things, I just can't remember them now.
  

What's the hype with mineral makeup these days?  It seems that being in the Dominican Republic has put me a little behind when it comes to new things out in the stores.  There's mineral makeup everywhere and it's supposed to be good.  So I don't mind.  I am not a makeup freak though.  I just use the basics unless it's a special occasion. 

Ever since I came home, I've been to the beach two times.  Both times I haven't used sunblock and that is really worrying.  I'm a little hypochondriac about that.  I bought a bottle of 30SPF sun block already.  I love the beach!  It's already the season in Puerto Rico!!

How convenient a shower stool would be?  I totally want one!!  I am lazy like that.  I would spend the entire day in the shower.  Haha.  It would be great when I have to shave or wash my hair.  I'm loving showers here.  The water pressure is great and there's hot water.  In the Dominican Republic, apart from not having a water heater, the water pressure is so low that you don't feel clean when you're done with your shower.  I think that's why both water heaters we had broke.  They burned or something.  Also, they were electrical water heaters and with the electricity going out every few days and the voltage changes, no electrical equipment is safe. 

I am in Puerto Rico since Friday.  I've been trying to moblog ever since but it seems I'm doing something wrong.  So please, if anyone can enlighten me on that subject I will be forever grateful.  I am happy to be home.  Staying at the in-laws as always.  Kiri looks good!!  I'm happy for him but I'm still taking both of them (Kiri and Rocco) to the veterinarian to have them checked.  Things are good.  I'm going to persuade the in-laws to buy a zero gravity recliner.  That will make my stay even better.  LOL.

I have been shopping online lately a lot more than I used to.  Right now, I'm looking at these directbuy articles.  I love it, except I get desperate because I want my stuff to get to me ASAP.  So far, the stuff I buy gets to me in 3 or 4 days which is great.  Of course, that is when I'm in Puerto Rico.  You all know about the excellent postal service in the Dominican Republic?  Yeah, I've told you about it.  A neighbor told me that he once had his wife send him some money from Puerto Rico, and he got it like 4 months later.  Now he is a member of a private post office but it's very expensive to receive anything there and it takes a lot longer.  There's no way of sending stuff out.  Actually, you wouldn't believe that the different companies (phone, electricity, etc.) hire their own mail carriers to send their bills.  I wonder if there's such thing as a Dominican postal stamp?  Why am I rambling on and on about this?

I think I've had Vonage for almost 9 months now.  Despite the fact that I couldn't get a Puerto Rico area code (we only have two: 787 or 939) I really loved having VoIP.  It was cheap and when I was in the Dominican Republic, I could call home and talk for hours without worrying about long distance charges.  Of course, since my number had a Florida area code, people without long distance service couldn't call me and if they did they would get charged for it.  Then, the D-Link router they gave me (or I chose, ok) was very restrictive.  I couldn't download certain stuff because the router would prevent some ports from working. 

Some time ago, a friend of mine suggested a new Puerto Rico based VoIP service called Voz.  It's more or less the same as Vonage, except their numbers have Puerto Rico area codes and so far they have an excellent customer service.  A few days ago I decided to switch.  This time, instead of a router, I chose just the phone adapter.  I already have a router that works good and I can just connect the adapter to the router.  If that router fails, I can always buy an used cisco router.

I hope Voz works out.  Vonage was good, it was just missing some minor details to make my experience even better.

My husband went back to the Dominican Republic and I stayed in Puerto Rico until further notice.  Before leaving he bought an old SUV that he hopes I can take with me to the DR when I finally travel.  I am glad we will have a car.  The hassles of the conchos can be too much and taxis are a little expensive if you use them everyday.  I hope I am able to drive there, as driving there is crazy!  I was looking into an auto insurance quote but I don't think it covers the vehicle when it is in foreign land.  There are insurances in the DR that cover the vehicle, and even in case of a crash or something you are covered.  That sounds better, but I don't know how trustworthy those companies are.

I feel like I've gained 20 pounds ever since I got home.  I've been eating like crazy.  I'm sure now I will really need those hoodia diet pills I mentioned weeks ago.  How much weight can you gain in a week?  I am so scared to get near a scale!  I kind of wants things to go back to normal so I can return to my eating routine.  I wonder though, what is normal when it comes to my life? 

Then, part of me does not want the season to pass.  It'll mean my husband going back to the Dominican Republic, and me deciding to go along with him or staying in Puerto Rico.  If I go back, it'll mean missing my family and dog like crazy.  If I stay, it will mean being away from my husband for a few months and going crazy about the distance.

What should I care if either way I'll end up CRAZY?