Six Months Already? Where Has the Time Gone?

Today is our 6 month anniversay of arriving in St. Thomas and I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone by. Lucky for us we are truly enjoying this experience. I'm not going to lie- I have my moments when I really, really want to go home but they generally pass quickly. I couldn't do this life forever but I'm certainly doing my best to enjoy every minute of the time we have here.

A lot has happened in the six months we've been down here. Here's a quick rundown by numbers!

* 390 (approximate number of Jager shots consumed)

We are the Jager capital of the world. Seriously. I'm not kidding. We consume more Jager per capita than anywhere else in the world. I actually heard the other night that the heiress to the Jager fortune came to visit the island and was extremely shocked and disgusted at the way people drink her alcohol- as shots vs. an after-dinner sipping drink. Anyways, I came up with this number by taking the number of weeks we have been here (26) x the average number of days/nights per week spent out with friends (5) x average number of shots on said nights (3). Oh, and did I mention bars don't believe in 1.5 ounce shots? They are 3 ounces so I guess technically you should multiply that number by 2...Yikes, that's roughly 12 bottles!

* 264 (the estimated number of songs I was unaware were 'reggae')

Were you aware you can turn ANY song into a reggae one? I was not but I certainly am now! This also includes all variations of Christmas songs!

* 168 (the number of beers won by Tim in Monday Madness)

Monday Madness is a 9 hole game at the course where you play with a partner and a crazy rule every week. For example: play only with even numbered clubs or your opponents get to pick which ball, you or your partner's, has to be played. Everytime you win you get a case of beer, I'll let you do the math...

* 130 (the number of minutes I waited in line at K-Mart on Black Friday)

To be fair, based on amount of time I spend in a normal line at K-Mart, this really isn't too bad. What WAS bad about it is that I got in line at 10:15 AM and got up to the counter at 12:25 PM with a TV in my cart that was on special until 12:00 noon. This was only a few weeks after we got on island and my patience and tolerance weren't quite what they are now. When I was denied I, ahem, politely explained that I was in line long before noon and that she better get a manager over to resolve this issue as she was going to see it for the 12 people behind me who also had said TV in her cart. Surprisingly, problem solved!

* 26 (number of eBay items purchased since 11/7/2009)

We rely on eBay these days for just about everything. Heck, I just bought a Salad Spinner!! This number does not include the multiple purchases from Express.com, OldNavy.com and VictoriasSecret.com

* 23 (number of followers of this Blog)

Hey- I know a lot of you read this on FB but please, please, please become a follower :) Sorry for shameless plug!

* 17 (the number of visitors we have had so far)

We have been incredibly lucky to have had many of our closest friends come check out our new island paradise. I include my 3 friends who have visited St. John but since I got to see them they count. The more the merrier!! We've come a long way from when Tiffany came to visit 5 days after we got on island and knew zero, zilch, nothing about ANYTHING!

* 12 (the number of Jimmy Dean D-Lites in one box)

This may seem odd but, seeing they are a staple in my diet, a big part of our life. Tim and I were walking around Pricesmart shopping for our Superbowl party bickering about how he wanted to buy commercial grade chicken legs when I turned the corner to find them. It was like when the light shines on something with angels going 'ahhhh' on TV- that's how I felt. Immediately Tim could buy whatever he wanted because my life was complete- a CostCo favorite of mine had made on island. To this day, they are still there. Thank you Lord!

* 10 (the number of times our cars have had work done on them)

Seriously, Romeo our car guy is on my speed dial. There are only three people IN my speed dial: my mom, Tim and my car guy. This number includes today as I have to have my back wheels replaced. Who knew that tires too big for your wheel wells that are constantly scraping would eventually split in two? Well, I guess we did but it was just a matter of time...

* 9 (the number of W2's we had to track down for our 2009 taxes)

What. A. Pain. In. The. Butt. Some were extremely easy (thank you Abbott for being normal and having a portal to just print), some were extremely hard (comes as no surprise, it was our government funded unemployment ones). This would be the reason that we had to file an extension and I'm dropping our tax stuff off to our accountant this afternoon.

* 8 (the number of islands we have visited)

Okay, I'm not including St. Thomas in this one. Still, I think 8 islands in 6 months isn't a bad number. Plus we've been to at least 2 multiple times... sometimes multiple times in one week! We've hit Vieques, Culebra, Jost Van Dyke, Tortola, St. John, Virgin Gorda, Marina Cay and Sandy Spit. Must get to Water Island soon...

* 7 (the number in dollars a gallon of milk costs)

Hence why we now drink Silk Light Soy Milk at a bargain basement price of $4.99/gallon

* 3 (the number of times we have had to have our cistern filled)

Driest winter on record. Go figure. Couldn't be easy on us and rain like it normally does could it?

* 1 (the number of live sporting events seen since moving)

Yep, one drawback is no football, no baseball, no nothing. We were lucky enough to go see Paradise Jams and watch Tennessee (before they lost most of their good players to gun charges) play Purdue (before they lost their key player to injury) AND I got my picture with Gene Kady- the owner of the world's BEST combover!

* Countless (the number of times a day I realize how lucky we are)

Cheesy, I know, but it's so true. We're so lucky to have had amazing support from friends and family back home, have made incredible friends here and to have each other. Here's to the next year on the rock!

A Shopper's Paradise? Not So Much!

Those of you that know me know that I love, love, love shopping. Of any kind. I don't care if it's clothes or groceries, I love it! While this may be music to Tim's ears it saddens me- I'm tired of shopping.

Shopping on the island just isn't the same as shopping at home. For one, I miss the convenience of going to one grocery store for my groceries. I never imagined that I'd have to go 3 or 4 places just to complete my shopping list. I have to go to one place for produce, one place for decent deals on staple items, one place I only trust for canned goods and then there's PriceSmart (our version of Costco). Then there's trying to hit all these places at the right time to avoid standing in 3 or 4 very, very long and slow lines. Planning the trip is almost as important as the trip itself. This island could make a killing if it got a PeaPod to do it for you... maybe I'll look into franchising that!

Then there's the matter of clothes. For someone who worked 4 (yes, 4) miles from an outlet mall, gettting used to not having 'real' stores is still something I'm adjusting to. I used to be able to leave the office and hop in my car to hit Banana Republic Factory Store, Gap Outlet AND the Bed, Bath and Beyond Outlet all in under an hour over lunch. Go another 8 miles and I could hit the Coach Outlet and J Crew Factory Store too! That required me to drive a bit faster though and know exactly what I was going to get. I lived in Chicago which had amazing shopping- so many boutiques in so many neighborhoods. I could hit one a week and never run out! Now I have K-Mart. Just K-Mart.... and I just can't bring myself to buy clothes there.

That leads me into something that was another passion of mine in my downtime at work- online shopping! I love eBay and before I moved here it was just a casual thing. Now eBay is our savior and quite possibly an addiction. We order everything from clothes to make up to kitchen gadgets these days. Right now I am anxiously awaiting delivery of a salad spinner! It's sad but it's cheaper on there than it is to go to K-Mart, even with the cost of shipping! We use Drugstore.com for items like razorblades and vitamins and stuff because it's so much cheaper. Talk about planning though- their shipping time to the VI is 21-45 days and it's usually much closer to the 45! I shop on OldNavy.com and Express.com and VictoriasSecret.com like it's my job. I search the clearance items and hope that everything will fit because it's probably cheaper to just keep the $5 skirt than it is to pay to ship it back! What I would give to just be able to try something on again! Then there are stores that don't ship here- Target, Bed, Bath and Beyond and Kohl's are a few that come to mind. I think I may make it my mission to get them to change that policy!

So those of you that have visited and had to do some stateside shopping for us- thank you. For those of you still to come, keep your eyes peeled for our lists :)

Seasonal Concepts

No- I'm not talking about the furniture store (I actually think it's out of business) but rather how much the word 'season' means down here. Before I moved here season meant one thing- Winter, Summer, Spring and Fall. Okay, maybe two things- there are definitive sports seasons that I was a fan of: Baseball Season, Football Season and College Basketball Season. Now the word season defines our lives. How, you ask? Let me tell you.

Tourist season pretty much drives all of the other meanings of season so I'll start there. It's basically November-ish through May-ish. I use the 'ish' because everyone has an idea of when it begins/ends. Some say it begins when hurricane season ends (November 1) and goes until it starts (June 1). Some say it begins right before/after Thanksgiving and goes until May 1. Some say it's December - April or when Carnival ends. Regardless of everyone's varying definitions of season everyone can agree on one thing- when it ends, it affects just about everything.

It effects work- ships just don't come in as often. They switch their course or come every other week. Less ships = less work on an island that 100% revolves around the Cruise Ship industry. For me at Paradise Point, we don't even open when there are zero ships in- that happens even during season. I foresee more days off in my future!

We've had lots of different types of friends: work friends, friends that lived out of town and friends you saw almost every week. For the first time ever we have 'seasonal friends'. These are our friends who come at the beginning of season, work and go somewhere else at the end of season (probably that location's season) but come back at the beginning of next season. Lots of people have started leaving island and there are many more to take off over the next month. We are lucky that most everyone we work with sticks around AND a few people we thought were leaving island have decided to stay (yeah Potter & Kate!) but there are plenty of people we will miss until they return next season!

One positive aspect of season is many place's rates go down. Better deals at the golf course, hotels, flights, etc. So all of you who keep saying 'We're coming, we're coming' (Benos I'm looking at you) start looking at flights! I'll do my best to not have it hurricane during your visit.

The Easter Bunny Brings Puppies?

Whatever happened to an Easter Basket or eggs? This year the Easter Bunny brought me a puppy. Well, technically the Easter Bunny would be Tim but still, I thought only Santa Claus brought people puppies.

Saturday afternoon I get a text from Tim to check my email, his text says he's kind of serious. What was the email, you ask? It was a picture of this little guy and one sentence, 'Do we need a puppy?' Excuse me? No! We do NOT need a puppy was my exact text response. Then one a few seconds later, 'Well, he is really cute....' Needless to say, Tim walks in the house with a crate and the cutest puppy EVER. I immediately name him Jack since he looks like a Jack Russell, we were assured he was not. Tim thinks it is weird to name him after my dad and just calls him puppy.

Where did he come from? Someone abandoned him, along with his mom and four siblings, at a dumpster :( Someone took him to one of the vets who plays golf at the course and brought him there on Saturday. Hence, Tim taking him home. He's roughly 7-8 weeks old and his brothers and sisters were already adopted (well, one had to be put down) but he had to have his tail amputated so he couldn't be given away yet. How can be people so cruel?? Still, we do not need a puppy! As much as I would LOVE to have one there are several factors not allowing us to: our lease, our time, our much-loved-dog Laddie who, for some reason, is terrified and runs away everytime Jack (or as Tim now calls him- Buddy) pounces up to her.

So now we've volunteered to try and get him adopted. I put a few posts on FB and decided to take him to Easter Dinner at Tara's. Tara also happens to live with our boss, Murray, who happens to have a thing for taking in dogs as I learn before dinner :) Tara and Jess took a picture with Jack and emailed it off to Murray. After waiting an hour they called him and Murray said yes! Jack has a home! We enjoyed a great dinner with great friends and a beautiful sunset. Another successful holiday in our new home :)

Jack will likely get a new name in a few hours. We've spent a great day together- mostly it's been him sleeping or peeing on the floor. He drug Laddie's toys across the family room- quite impressive since they are twice as big as he is! He's quite the sunggler too- he loves to be right up burrowed in your arm. Then he wakes up and tries to eat your fingers... or chin. Tara and Murray are going to love him! Thanks guys, we owe you!

Driving In My Car Beep Beep!

Okay, so I've never considered myself a great driver. I failed my first driving test because I was so concerned with backing out of my space correctly that I didn't realize how much I had cut the wheel. Did you know that if your driving tester has to stop you from having an accident then you automatically fail? I learned the heard way. I've had my share of accidents ranging from rear-ending someone about 3 days after I got my license (passed the second time with FLYING colors) to backing over an Asian bicyclist. Disclaimer on the bicyclist: what kind of moron bikes in Chicago dressed in all black with no reflectors on her bike in the rain at 11 PM at night? Although I technically was at fault for hitting her it was TOTALLY her fault. Moving on...

So I get I'm not the best which is why I was pleasantly suprised to hear one of our visiting friends comment that I'm a good driver and how well I know my way around the island. Thanks, Lauren!! Anyways, despite the kind words, I'm not sure if it has anything to do with how well I drive vs. how BAD everyone on this island does! I lived in Chicago the last 8 years- I learned how to drive defensively. What I did there doesn't hold a candle to what I do here.

For starters, we drive on the left here but in American cars with the wheel also on the left. I haven't quite figured out why but I'm guessing it has something to do with being a former British territory? Driving on the left side of the road from the left side of the car leaves perspective on the 'center line' a bit cloudy. I use quotes b/c 75% of our roads don't HAVE a center line. Unfortunate since 75% of our roads also have pretty steep cliffs off the left.

Driving while talking on your cell phone? Ticket. Driving without a seatbelt? Ticket. Driving with a beer in your hand? Move right along! Since the drinking age is 18, we get no federal funding for roads. You Chicagoans think you have pothole problems? Think again! Some of these can swallow your car, literally. There is good reason we all travel with cans of Fix-A-Flat in our glove compartment.

Growing up in St. Louis I was used to left turns and right turns. Moving to Chicago after college I learned hard left/right and soft left/right turns at 6-way intersections. Moving here I learned the meaning of really, really hard turns. As in turns that are at least 270 degrees. No joke. You HAVE to be in two lanes- either the ones you are turning OUT of or the ones you are turning INTO. Bizarre!

Since I didn't have to take the driving test down here, rather I surrendered my license and $40 plus 5 hours of my time, I have no idea if they actually teach you how to signal before your turn with the actual indicators. My guess is no because nobody does it! Instead, people just (a) stop and turn causing me to slam on my breaks because why would I assume the car in front of me is going to just randomly stop? or (b) hang their hand out the window. I don't mean when they want to turn. No, that would be too easy to identify. They just hang it out the entire time they are driving and give a flip of the wrist or a finger or whatever to let me know they are turning. I hang my hand out the window all the time but not to signal- I wonder if I really screw with people behind me?

So while my driving may not have gotten better, my navigational skills certainly have. The island only has 5 main roads and none of them are named. They have numbers but no one, I repeat- no one, has any idea what they are. Directions are given based on landmarks and I use the word 'landmark' loosely. Here are a few of the main landmarks:

- The Hometown (gas station on north side)
- The Castle (actually a castle, not really sure if it's a restaurant or what)
- The Stop-Sign-Everyone-Blows (no explanation necessary, you don't know it's there you ain't stopping)
- The 270 Degree Turn
- The Post Office (automatically defaults to the one in Frenchtown. Not sure why.)

Once we learned these I felt good getting around on the island and giving directions on the island! It's still kind of surreal to me that I can't tell people to turn left at Ashland & Fullerton but rather go up Mafoli, turn right at the Castle, pass the hometown, stay to the right at the stop sign everyone blows and turn into Estate Harmony in order to get them to our house.

Island driving is quite interesting and I'm glad to know that people from Chicago think we have it down pat :)

Island Weather

Weather has always fascinated me. I love thunderstorms. I loved when the meteorologists cut into the shows to give me the update and radar. (I say 'loved' because down here our 'local' news is out of NYC and, no offense, I just don't care about their weather.) I know- it's weird. I remember when I was little, my mom telling me a story of how it was raining in the front yard but not that back. That blew my 7-year old mind and, thinking it was the coolest story ever, told all my friends. They, as 7-year olds, also thought it was super cool. Something I've discovered on the island is this 'front yard, back yard' thing happens all the time!

The island is only 13 miles long by 4 miles wide yet the weather when I am at home can be totally different than the weather downtown. When I'm at work it'll be sunny but I look to the North side of the island and tell that it's pouring on Tim at work. It can be cloudy at my house but, as I look off the deck, completely sunny over on St. John. Totally bizarre to me that fronts can be that tiny! It is pretty cool to see them move across the ocean though.

Take as evidence these two pictures taken Monday from my deck. The first one is looking left and the other one is looking right. Drastic difference, right?

Now, all my friends dealing with winter weather and just wanting Spring to get here, please don't kill me when I say this. Sometimes I just want a stormy day! Maybe it's a day when I'm not feeling good or tired and don't want to feel bad if I skip doing something outside or maybe had a bit too much fun at a Princess Party the night before... Regardless, not having seasons is weird enough to me. Besides, rain = more water in my cistern which = a shower without turning the water on and off :)

Mold, Mold EVERYWHERE :(

We had been warned before moving here that living on the northside = a ridiculous amount of mold. I had NO idea what 'ridiculous amount' actually meant.

For an anal clean freak like me, using cleaning supplies and having the house smell bleachy-fresh is actually very soothing. Problem #1- because our septic tank has leeches in it we can not use bleach or any cleaning products containing bleach. Boo. So I went out and bought some Mr. Clean with Febreeze in it (smells AMAZING) and some of those 'natural' cleaners. Problem #2- none of those kill mold. I've gotten good with cleaning things with a toothbrush and good old fashioned elbow grease but it's certainly not very fun. And damn that mold grows quick!

This leads me to Problem #3- mold grows on EVERYTHING. About a month ago I pulled out a black purse that was now suddenly mutliple shades of black and green and white- I nearly fainted. Luckily, with some scrubbing and OxiClean it's back to it's old self... for now. A couple weeks ago I pulled out a pair of capris that must have been put back on the hanger damp as they now have stripes of mold down the front. I have yet to decide if it's better to throw these away. The day before Superbowl, as I was getting the house party-ready, I picked up Tim's hat that had fallen off the mirror. I only hope this picture can do it justice:



I have yet to actually get this one to come clean :(


So that's the latest island adventure for us: mold. If anyone has any non-bleach ideas I'd welcome them with open arms. And, mom, I know you are reading this and freaking out since I'm allergic to mold. Don't worry, my lungs haven't collasped... yet.