expensive

I have been trying hard to spend as little money as possible this month. I have a once-a-year bill coming up, and I really want to go to Honduras this spring, because my sister will be studying there with the same program I studied with a decade ago. I wandered into a clothing store on my lunch break a few days ago and found the perfect spring-weight coat on clearance, in a tall. I was horribly tempted (the soft shell that makes me a (wannabe) Pacific Northwesterner is not exactly professional gear), but instead I sent a message to my sister that said, "I wanted to buy this coat, but I want to visit you in Honduras more."

This week, though, has been hard on the bank account. First there was the earthquake in Haiti and I'm sorry, how hardhearted do you have to be exactly to see the photos of that earthquake and not reach instantaneously for your checkbook if you are 1. human and 2. live in the richest country in the world, even if you are yourself nearly always broke? (Exceptions made for actually broke people, of course. I am just nearly always broke but only verging on broke at the moment.) Fortunately, I have worked for two international organizations whose work I admire and who both have expertise in relief projects and who are both doing relief projects through local partners with whom they have long-term relationships in Haiti, so I didn't have to worry and wonder about how my check would be used.

Then I went out with friends last night. I haven't actually gone out to a place where you pay money for food and drinks in a while, other than a grocery store. It ended up being kinda-sorta expensive, especially when we found out at 11 pm that the next bus to my part of town left at 5 am and I was forced to call a cab, the driver of which turned out to be significantly strange and we spent much of the drive home joking (?) about where he would hide my body after he killed me if he had to kill me if I was a witness to him accidentally killing those pedestrians who stepped out in front of him. (He missed the pedestrians, by the way, so I was safe.) But it was worth it. I had forgotten how nice it is to sit in a restaurant with dim lights and interesting people and delicious food and exchange stories about Africa.

Now I'm going out to dinner again tonight, which will cost money again. Admittedly less than last night, and I cannot possibly say no because the plans tonight call for Ethiopian! food! and I haven't had that since my birthday because I fell out of friendship with the friend who used to consistently pay for my all of my Ethiopian food. (Sigh. It's a long story. Life is like that sometimes.)

I don't have a point, really, save to say that life is expensive and it requires priorities, and sometimes it's really hard to prioritize even the excitement of a trip to Honduras over those incredibly comfortable, cute shoes that would actually keep the rain off my feet. Details. Having cold wet feet for an entire evening is normal, right?