SUMMER FUN

Olivia jumping into the pool on a hot day

Pablo and Hilda at their "altar" with Vida (Pablo's dog) admiring them.

This is what summer is all about: friends, family, hot weather, pools, good food, wine, beer, tequila and even a BONG! Actually a hookah! (If that is how it is spelled.

This weekend was full of fun. despite coming home really late from work (about 4 in the morning). I was up early on Sunday and did not do much but relax after a long week at work. On Monday, I finished cleaning up the mess I made when I ripped out the grass in my front yard. At about 11:AM I got a call from "Pablo" reminding me that we had a barbecue at his house that afternoon with a couple of other people from work.
I had completely forgotten that a few nights ago, Pablo, Hector and I stopped by a local's bar close to where we work and had some beer while playing pool. This was supposed to be "a beer" before we headed home. well it wasn't until 4:00 in the morning when we finally left and we did discuss getting together for a barbecue, though I did not realize it was that soon.
We had a lot of fun. ate a lot, drank some and we got home around midnight. Here are some pictures of the weekend.

Kipper showing off. He is big dog now and still growing
Melissa, Pablo and Hilda
This is how flames are fanned in Argentina (According to Pablo)
Hector and Melissa
Smoking the hookah!
Puppies visiting the house. 4 dogs in the House!!

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For a review of the last leg of our trip, please read: Melissa of course you may have to scroll down.
This is the busiest I have been at work and not just working a lot but an average of 12 hours a day. On the weekends it is about 14 hours a day. If I was working an hourly job, that would be the equivalent of having 2 jobs and of course getting paid for 2. My reality is different, no matter how many hours I put, I earn the same amount. I am a salaried manager.
I am not complaining. I know the kind of job that I chose. I like what I do and perhaps I could find something else to do further in my career but in the meantime I am where I need to be. I hear and read stories about people who have a job like: card dealing or waiting tables and during these troubling economic times, their income has fallen and continue to decrease. Again, a matter of choice. When things are good, these jobs provide a good amount of money in tips.
The one thing I do not worry about is that. My paycheck is always the same no matter what, so as long as I stay employed and as busy as I am at work, I should not worry about the "economic situation"
It's been rough here in town, probably not as bad as some other areas of the country. Here, we've had layoffs, reduction of hours, closing of businesses, etc. At work, I knew about 4 people who got laid off a couple of months ago. It has not just been hourly staff, these have been managers who have been with the company a few years. Just yesterday I heard off another director who got the ax. Probably because of the large amount of money she was making and now someone else with perhaps a bit of less experience will take over her job at half the salary.
Economics, that is what is all about.
Things will get better, perhaps not soon enough, but eventually they will.