It's not as bad as it sounds. My wife is leaving on May 20th to go back to work. Despite my objections, she wants to spend 6 months to a year working to save enough money to buy the luxury items we don't have right now as well as for the materials necessary to finish our outer walls, laundry room and dirty kitchen. She's not as patient as I am.

I don't watch television here. I watch everything on DVD or by video stream. I don't have even one AC unit in the house. I'm perfectly fine with just a standing oscillating fan. It's Josie that has a problem with all of it. She's tired of going next door to her mother's house to watch TV. She's tired of the heat and humidity and she's tired of washing her clothes by hand. I really don't understand her. She grew up here.

My monthly income is fixed and the budget is tight. Josie doesn't want to wait one or two years to get what she wants. She doesn't just want that stuff, she wants the good stuff. She wants a $2,000 widescreen television, a free-standing AC unit strong enough to cool the entire house from one room, and an American-style washer and dryer set. She doesn't like the Korean crap they sell here. Her words, not mine.

She has already been in contact with her old company — she left on good terms and didn't burn any bridges. They want her back yesterday. She was the head honcho (or is that honcha in Spanish?) for first shift production when she quit. She doesn't want to do that job and they will negotiate when she gets there.

Josie will be staying with her cousin, her cousin's husband and two of our ina anaks (godchildren). They have enough room for her, but that's the last bed in their place that's left. I hope they get along well (they grew up together in Batangas, just outside of Lemery).

Since we were married while I was in the military, this won't be our first separation. I hope it'll be our last. Now I have to learn to cook all over again, drive around in the city to pay the bills at the beginning of the month, and do the grocery shopping. I hate doing all three, but I can't pawn off any of it on my son because he can't cook or drive. It looks like fighting my big belly won't be too hard now.