First item is a no-brainer. I miss my family, friends, and my dog. A trip like this sure does make you realize what’s really important. It’s not the things in my life but the people. My adventure would be really hard without my SKYPE, iChat, and email. I actually look forward to getting up at 5 AM in the morning so I can communicate with Nicole, Zac, Gail and whoever else is online at that time. Only drawback is my butt gets really sore sitting on this stool they provided for the desk.
The rest of the list – Not in order of importance but in order of when it popped into my head
• Willies Wee Nee Wagon (I am starting to miss Mrs. Chambers and her crew as much as my ‘Bulldog no pickle’ hotdog – That’s her picture I put in above)
• Fitted sheets
• Short telephone numbers – my phone number is xxxx-xxxx-xxxx
• Large bath towels
• Bath Towels that actually absorb water
• My mattress (Chinese mattresses are VERY hard)
• Non-lumpy grass (the grass grows in ‘clumps’ and is hard to walk on – sort of twists your ankles)
• Maple syrup (sorry Zac, my purist son from Vermont, NOT the real stuff – I miss the fake stuff like Log Cabin)
• Real Paper towels – theirs are like Kleenex you need 20 of them to absorb something and then you spend more time cleaning up all the little disintegrated pieces of soggy mess – it is almost easier to let the mess dry and scrape it off later)
• Toilet paper that lasts more than 3 days (very small rolls)
• My Clinique facial scrub
• Cheap Chocolate – all they have here is the really rich stuff like Dove – I know I am strange but I really like the half-paraffin-half-sugar kind that Palmer and Frankfort makes – ohhhh to have a cheap milk chocolate Hollow Easter Bunny……I know, I know, I have NO CLASS what so ever.
• America’s self absorbed TV news shows
• Big refrigerators and taller refrigerators
• Taller counters, and ironing boards (I am always bending over to do routine tasks)
• Soft chairs/sofas (they are as hard as the mattress)
• My Recliner with my 65 lb dog in my lap – I get teary thinking about how comfortable and warm that felt.
• Pickle Relish (for my tuna fish sandwiches)
• Drawers (There are no drawers for my underwear and foldable clothes or drawers in the bathroom to hide all my ‘trying to make myself presentable’ stuff)
• Affordable Ice cream
• Being able to eat a meal without getting it all over myself – especially the noodle bowls
• 300 thread-count sheets
• Gossipy magazines like People and I won’t degrade myself by mentioning any of the others I like and secretly read.
• Normal potato chips – not shrimp flavored
• Lint Free clothes (I will never take those wonderful lint filters in my dryer for granted ever again, honest!)
• Being able to buy more than 2 bags of groceries – remember you have to carry it home in a taxi, bus, bike or walk. So you definitely can’t buy for the month.
Surprising things that I don’t miss - YET ……
• My car
• Dunker donuts
• Most TV shows
I will put a list of some of “The Things I am Having a Hard Time Getting Used To” in another blog. As I get ready to upload this blog, it is a cool, drizzly Saturday morning with the school’s weekly ‘wanna-be’ version of the Bellagio’s fountains. Loud classical music is filling the campus as they run the fountains in pleasing patterns. I can still hear fireworks in the background though.
