reforming a shopaholic

<--- oscar, and his homemade gym, are the inspiration for this post. i mean seriously, how cool is this? a bit flintstone-esque without a doubt, but this is a multipurpose home gym made from wood, concrete, and that's right, a boulder. i am not unlike most americans, i like to shop. i shop when i need something, i shop when i don't need anything. i shop when i have the money, or when i don't have the money. i shop when i am bored, happy, depressed or even accidently when walking by a store with something remotely intriguing in the window. call me a shopaholic. but what does a shopaholic do when she moves to a rural farm and has NOWHERE to shop.... she makes lists and lists of things she could buy, or maybe even will buy the next time she has half the chance. i have a list for the next time i go to the local town (only groceries there!), a list for the regional capital (a few more options, but not real shopping) , a list for shopping in san jose (where, while shopping, i get to enjoy a cafe mocha!), and i even have a list for the next time i go home to the mecca of shopping, the united states. a fair amount of time has been spent on these lists, some of it necessary items, but mostly it is just me dreaming of shopping.

i am hoping that this is a passing phase and i will gradually let go of my shopping jones... i hope that i will learn that buying things does not fill the void. that is the point here. it is ok to want, but maybe i need to start looking for what i want somewhere other than a store....

oscar and his family live on the property, he is my boyfriend's righthand man on the finca. they are typical for this region, nicaraguans that immigrated to costa rica for work. they make a very modest living by our standards, but are doing well for the area. they do not have the luxury that i have had my whole life, when i need something i go to the store and buy it. they need to be much more creative than that. some locals are not and will just make do with what they have, next to nothing. but some are like oscar and will use what is available to get what they need, or even just want. my boyfriend brought home a muscle mag from the states and gave it to oscar, his homemade gym was the result.

we can learn a lot from oscar...