Daily Report: Yeah, That's More Expensive

Sunday: It's not quite the same here in Florida. I'll miss Sundays in The Philippines most, because those were the days spent with family doing fun stuff... that usually involved bathing suits, picnic tables, big pots of food, and lots of photographs. Here, it's more just a quiet day that doesn't hold the promise of jungle fun that it used to.

I did a bit of work today, then watched some TV ("Pawn Stars" marathon, History Channel), joined Mom, Paul, and Uncle Bob for cocktails, and then had steak for dinner.

I did go out to the movies tonight... Harry Potter. The ticket was $9 (360 pisos) and a 1-liter soda was $4.50 (180 pisos). Actually, I think that the U.S. theater soda prices weren't that much higher than The Philippines when you factor in the small cup sizes over there. But the ticket prices in The Philippines were 100 pisos... so almost 25% the cost of U.S. But, the U.S. theater seats were much more comfortable, and the sound system was substantially better. I'm not sure what the absolute value of those features are, but they should count for something.

By the way (since it doesn't make any difference: if you've seen the first 6 movies, you aren't going to skip the 7th and 8th) I didn't think the movie was all that good. The slow parts were too slow, and the fast parts were too fast. And the washed-out grisaille palette of the movie really muted the whole visual experience.

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UPDATE:

Stepdad Paul mentioned that there are discount movie theaters here that show a lot of the same movies for only $3 per ticket... 120 pisos. He did not know the cost of a soda at the discount theaters, so those I cannot compare. But, if you stick with the discount theaters, and their chairs too are more comfortable, sound system better, and soda prices comparable... then yes, the one example I liked to use to show how costs in The Philippines are substantially less than The U.S. — going to the movies — may not be nearly as good as I originally suspected. (Anybody with more knowledge of the discount theaters in America, who can add to / subtract from what I just said, leave a comment.)