Peanuts and pineapple slices

Tonight my debit card balance -- effectively representing all the money to my name -- hit a new low. $13.27. And all on a debit card, so I couldn't go to a fresh market or the butchers'. I went to a Carrefour as it was closing and bought some cheap ham, pasta, spreadable cheese, salted peanuts and a can of pineapple slices. I have about $3 left. I am waiting for money to reach my account from various places. I realize I'm like the Greeks -- not earning enough income to live the way I want to. But there's no one to bail me out. Last night I dined on tomato-basil pasta in a drop of olive oil and Provencal herbs with a glass of warm milk. After, I lay in bed hungry.
....
When I do eat, I can't do so as quickly as my stomach seems to want. For some reason I chew more slowly. I drink big gulps of water between bites. Isabel Dos has food, but not the kind she likes. She's increasingly at the bathroom faucet, too. Not surprisingly, considering her many years in a public botanical garden, she's adjusted to the recent days of austerity without much complaint.

At the same time, I am incredibly busy, with a hand in several really interesting projects; I feel that I'm almost realizing my ambitions (which were intentionally restrained) for my time in Buenos Aires. My ambitions may grow with my calorie count -- that tends to be what happens to people anywhere.