People Come, People Go

WARNING: 
NOT THE HUNKY DORY “I LIVE IN PARADISE” POST. 
Go somewhere else if that is what you are looking for.

(It’s been a while, eh?)

Things have been their normal hectic day-to-day routine life in my paradise lately.  I whisked The Fisherman off to St. Thomas for the night for his 35th birthday.  It was fun, sexy and a great reminder of why we DON’T live on THAT island.  Some people love it, obviously, but that shit hole is not for us.  And I know some of them feel the same way about St. Croix.  They say it’s too slow for them.  Good.  Fewer people here, the better.  (Sounds like something my father would say).

At this moment, I have three emails in my in-box from people I don’t even know, or care about, who want to “ask me questions” about moving to and living on St. Croix.  I’ve been avoiding them.  I have to admit, I’ve put myself out there, my family out there, my husband out there, and made it sound like bliss.  At times.  Especially when I am drunk.

As a family, we even met up with another young family several weeks ago who were interested in moving here.  They wanted the low down.  Schools, jobs, community, government.  They were very open-minded with a sweet young daughter and after the hour or so we spent with them, I thought their personalities would do just fine down here.  One was interviewing for a teaching position and had they decided to move here, should have been back by now.  No word.  I’m curious of their status and decision.  Why or why not?  Scared?  I would be.

On the flip side.  It seems a gaggle of intelligent, fun, professional people are jumping ship.  physicians, ER surgeons, OB-GYNs, (there is a lack of them here), techies, teachers, airline personnel, and normal everyday people just trying to make a decent living are all  heading back to the states.  Back to reality.  Why?  I have respect for these people.  Why do they leave, and we stay?  Are we missing something?  Are THEY missing something? Are they taking the easy road?  Is that a bad thing?  Why do we stay and put up with what this island does NOT have to offer our families?  Are we just too comfortable here and the thought of having to make a move is too monstrous to tackle?  Let’s just stay here and deal with it?

We moved FROM the states here, why is it so hard to go back?

The pilgrimage is nothing new.  Living on an island is transitional.  For transients for the most part.  There is a reason why most housing rentals are fully furnished.  So people can come and go as they please with out the hassle of packing up their entire belongings.  It’s the nature of the beast.

I am mostly aware of it now because of the children I gave birth to at JFL Hospital (au natural, remember).  Is this REALLY where I want my kids to be raised?  Where year after year, the same festivals take place and nothing is new?  Where we will have to pay as much for private school as college tuition?  Where I hear gun shots on a weekly basis?  Where we are treated with disrespect on a daily basis at the local [insert any government office, grocery store, fast food restaurant, library here]. Away from our extended family who would be there for us in a heart beat if we ever needed anything?

I didn’t intend for this blog to be a place of ranting, but it has turned out to be.  Is it just me?  I am just being honest. Remember, you can only go to the beach so many times.  Shit has to get done.  Grocery shopping, paying bills, cleaning house, teaching your children values.  There are plenty of STX blogs out there that paint a pretty picture of this island.  But, this is my life.

And that brings me to one of the statements in the latest emails.  “…we LOVE the idea of living in paradise.”  Well, I LOVE the idea of cleaning my house with central AC without boob sweat running down my stomach.  I LOVE the idea of going to a grocery store anytime day or night and finding Milk on the shelf.  Fresh fruit and veggies.  Bread with no mold.  Diapers. Even my favorite brand of tampons when I needed them.

I think everyone’s idea of paradise is quite different.  It does not always mean you have to be surrounded by beautiful water and white sandy beaches.  These things do not make a paradise.  Paradise is a state of mind.  If you are looking to live in paradise because you think it will somehow be better than where you are now, you might want to think again and what exactly paradise means to you.  Debt free?  Slower pace? A different circle of friends?  Is it really a location or just a way of life?  One does not equal the other.

Chances are your paradise can be achieved with out packing you bags.  Chances are, mine can’t.

I Promise.  A positive post soon come.

Grocery Shopping.

Today is the day.   Its my routine for almost 3 years now.  Wednesday is grocery day.  I spend all week jotting down what we need then on Sunday, plan our meals for the week.  Then, dread the trek to the oh-so-pleasant grocery stores.  Plural.  Cause you can’t get everything you want need at just one store on this island.

Wednesday is the day because shipments come on the boat Monday, they are delivered and re-stocked on Tuesday, and so Wednesday morning everything is usually re-stocked and fresh.  Usually.

Cost U Less is first.  Cost U Less is our ghetto version of CostCo or Sam’s Club.  No membership required, but it is the same warehouse style of bulk shopping.  I usually get most items here, then fill in the blanks at Plaza.  East.  ‘Cause there are two to choose from…more later.  Cost U Less, in my opinion, has better produce and meat selection.  I like the fact that they don’t pre-package their fruits and veggies in styrofoam and plastic.  In our household, it just makes sense to buy necessities in bulk, like juice for SC, Corona for Mommy & Rum for Daddy.

Next stop, right next door to Cost U Less (about the only thing convenient in this entire shopping process) is Plaza East.  Plaza West is, west.  Bigger.  Some think better.  I think cleaner.  I HEARD they don’t accept government assistance checks at Plaza West, so their selections seems to be better, especially with the fruits & veggies.  Plaza is very similar to my hometown grocery store of HEB, except dirtier.  Much.  But the set up is the same.  People are not as friendly or helpful.  Except the lady who cuts the meat and cheese in the deli.  She is the best- and she LOVES seeing SJ each week (SC is at school when I shop.  Why make it harder than it needs to be?)  I don;t understand why the HEalth Department has not shut them down after the pungent odor and dripping goo from the raw chicken section.  I would have to cover my nose when I was pregnant.  Made me gag. 

So I get the remainder of the items on my list (of course I have a LIST!) at Plaza.  8 times our of 10, I can make do with just these two stops.  Sometimes I have to add a third stop for this or that and ALWAYS at some point in the week its the FIsherman’s job to stop by FoodTown or Pueblo for our Horizon Milk.  Half Gallon $5.99.  Yes people.  I usually buy 4 at a time to last us a week.  That’s a doozie.  We saw at HEB in Texas when we were home in September, that a GALLON of Horizon was $4.99.  WTH?

Its a routine.  I like routines.  I don’t MIND the grocery store, but I see the same shit every week.  Once in a blue moon, The Fisherman comes along (Like when we were planning Christmas Dinner).  He likes to stroll and take his time.  I am on a time schedule.  I now exactly how long I have before SJ starts to get antsy…..

SC has not been to the g-store with me since she was one.  Then SJ came along and I had to figure it out all over again. Even nursed that boy in the liquor aisle on top of some boxes of Corona one trip.   Make sure snacks are packed, toys in hand, etc. 

So that’s OUR family routine as reported by me.  That’s how I grocery shop on St. Croix.  Yes, there are people who ask me this all the time.  Remember, the grocery carts DON’T fit through the check out counter.  Don’t even try.  You’ll just look stupid.  And don’t ask for the “local” discount.