The Joys of a Sugar Momma

Despite being unemployed, bored, and perpetually anxious, my life does have some perks. For instance, my roommate and good friend from college happens to work for Google in a fancy-pants position. This means she makes an absurd amount of money, and is often happy to share it with me. Two weeks ago was "Google Bonuseve", otherwise known as the week that Googlers receive their bonus packages for the previous year. (We are inventing a whole set of greeting cards around the specific holidays of the tech sector. Ex: Congratulations on Your Cliff Date!) When we realized exactly how much money she was going to get, we decided that a tropical vacation was the only possible response. So that Saturday we bought plane tickets and reserved a five-star hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We left the following Thursday. I planned the trip, and she paid for it. Like I said, perks.

Puerto Rico, for those of you who aren't aware, is gorgeous. I think a lot of people still associate the island with the tap-dancing gangs of West Side Story, but a lot has happened in the last 50 years. Large parts of the island are still rural, spotted with small towns, but the few metropolitan areas have become tourist hot spots, especially San Juan. This has some unfortunate side effects, like an explosion of fast food restaurants and big box stores vomited across the landscape. On the other hand, if you're willing to venture away from the hotel district you can discover as lovely fusion culture. And even a strip mall feels a little different when it's 85 degrees with a breeze and 100 feet from a glowing blue ocean.

One thing I will say for San Juan, they have done a great job of protecting their beaches despite the waves of tourists. The beaches are clean and welcoming, and even crowded they feel authentic because just as many locals are on the sand as tourists. I am a water creature, so for me the ability to simply bob in salty water at body temperature is a kind of heaven. As Frances said "My hindbrain is so happy right now."