puerto rico #4

i'm sure i have written at least three entries about puerto rico. so let's just call this number 4, so i can keep track of them. i owe various people some pictures, descriptions, explanations, apologies, money, drinks, and general status updates (not being the random sentences on facebook I upload from my phone when watching episodes of America's Best Dance Crew and Lost). so, with taking this moment to write some things that have been happening on this Dharma-Initiative run island, allow me to play catch-up with some quick points.

#1) i noticed that i had a "blog follower". i mean, i knew i had people that read the blog. but when it pops up that one has a "blog follower", it's kinda cool. i'm not sure how that works. i should, but i don't. and i'm afraid that if i dig too deep, it won't be as cool anymore. with that said, let's move to #2...

#2) i moved from my old place, to a new place. as it turns out, my place was hella posh. i was leaving in isle verde. which is literally, come to find out, where the wealthy in puerto rico purchase their beach condos that they escape to on the weekend and rent out to college kids on random spring breaks. coming from NY, it seemed like a steal. $600 for a beach front studio; smack in the middle of great restuarants, bars, and clubs; a block away from a good 24 hours grocery store; across the street from the highway exit; and excellent, private, gated parking. then, after 3 months and actually talking to people, i learned that everyone else in puerto rico (the normal people) were paying around $300 - $400 rent, including utilities. there's to the revelation, but, long-story short, i went broke very quickly, and barely made it out of the apartment before bad things started happening. now it's "get yourself out of debt" time.

i owe my dear friend pictures of the old place. even though i know they're gonna ask for pics of the new place immediately afterwards.






that was the old. i don't have the new pics yet. i just don't. i wish i did. but there are some things i have to sacrifice. $325/month with utilities fits into the budget better. it's all relative yknow. it took a little while for me to realize that i wasn't getting paychecks from NY anymore. PR paychecks are vastly different. vastly. so, sacrificed is the beach, the restaurants, the bars, the clubs, the close highway, the 24 hour grocery store. gone is the private gated parking. gone is the rooftop view of San Juan. i was living posh. but i thought everyone lived on the beach! it's puerto rico! i thought it was normal, i really did. the $600 was already more than a 50% slash from the NY apartment!! how was i supposed to know i wasn't supposed to be paying out the ass for high speed internet in my posh studio?! how was i supposed to know i was supposed to do like everyone else and cop a squat at Starbucks, Borders, or McDonalds to get internet there?!












#3) yes, the free McDonalds internet is supposedly whats' up here. I don't know about the states, but it is here. you know why? because everything here is tricked out. whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, i don't know. but i rode a yellow school bus to a field trip a few days ago, and it was installed with a small television where the rear view mirror would normall go. around it were several high performing speakers. and just for those throughout the bus, the ceiling was spotted with smaller speakers installed throughout. we proceeded to ride through the streets of Carolina, PR bumping reggeaton, swerving with the door open and the speakers set to Xplode apparently. other examples include A) a whore house using an electronic LED scrolling marquee (similiar to those at a movie theatre), only, the message scrolling across is that which comes pre-installed on it, demonstrating examples of utilization (store discounts, millenium countdown, and current time, etc.); B) the consistency of stilletto heels to do anything whatsoever (from grocery shopping to getting the mail); and C) my car has a siren. i don't know why. but it does. along with it's chrome steering wheel and electronic gas reader that may or may not read correctly.

all of these are things that i dig, and think are odd. simultaneously. but hey, "it's puerto rico". that's all you can say. it's the only thing that makes it better. it's the only thing that makes it right.

ok, i think 3 points are enough. i have to leave...i can't remember if i locked the door back on my new apartment, and for some reason that worries me. more on that later.

have a great day.