Things I Miss

So I've been back in the states for three days. It's distinctly different. It's like being in the USA breeds laziness and apathy. I think I've left the house once - that's not counting taking Goldy for a walk, and I drove there. Yup. LOL So even tho I am grooving on central air conditioning, napping with Goldy and Molly, my car, re-runs of X-Files, new episodes of Burn Notice and Eureka! So here is a list of things I dearly miss about good ol' Londontown!

The Best Things about London that make me Misty Eyed

• The free London papers. They literally try and force them on you walking into the tube and once there, you have to move them off the seats to sit down. So everyday you get your daily dose of "news" whether you want it or not! LOL


• The Tubes - yes, I miss mass transit. LOL I miss using my Oyster Card, I miss the long treks at interchanges, I even miss the darn tourists stopping and unfolding maps with bewildered looks on their faces.


• The Surrey Docks - my local pub. I miss just going there and spending hours doing nothing but surfing the web, chatting to old Norris, bothering Daz, watching sky sports without the sound, drinking lemon aid, eating the Beer and Burger special. I once spent nine hours in that pub. Not doing much of anything, but hanging out. It didn't seem like nine hours; I should've been on the clock!


• Lemon Ade. It's NOTHING like what you get here in the states. It's fizzy like a 7up or Sprite, but tastes like powdered lemon aide. It's the best drink ever!


• Ice Cream - yeah, ice cream. Sure I can run to ACME and get some or Rita's; but ice cream is more of an all the time thing in England and Ireland. Everyone gets ice cream lolly's. It's normal and natural and is as prevalent as breathing.


• Being able to text or call my mates and it not cost an arm and a leg. I have a local number, O2 sim card, and no 5 hour time difference. So it was dead easy to randomly call or text my mates.


• My mates!!! I miss all my friends. No, I didn't see them everyday, but I could have if I wanted to. Three of them work in the city so it was easy enough to meet up after work. Any day of the week at almost any time of day I could go get a hug or a face lick or just hang.


• Having something to do and somewhere to go. I did spent time lounging around, but it still involved having to get dressed and leave the house. Even if it was something as minor as getting food or going onto the internet; I had to dress, leave, use Oyster, take public transport.


• Dr. Who Confidential, nuff said!


• Football news: yes, there was a glut of it and yes, some of it was inane; but just the fact that there was so much news about the upcoming season was really cool to have access to.

It is a bit of an adjustment to come back to the states. My body still says it's five hours later than the clock time. I still want to have a decent breakfast: eggs, sausage, bacon, soda bread, tea: but now I have to make it myself and the cupboards are bare. I have nowhere to go and nothing to do. I get up and either get caught up on my DVR stuff or while away the time on the computer and have no one really to talk to. There is no pub to go to and I've gotten used to drinking lightly (amazing how little it takes to reactivate those darnable Irish genes! LOL). Sky sports in America is crud. I have to jump thru firey hoops to watch my beloved Chelsea - FSC has scant few games, Chelsea TV is only on Sky network (which you don't get in the states), so I have to order Setanta...

• Whinge


• Whinge


• Whinge

The worst part: Metallica are playing in Dublin on August 20 and all my friends will be there. Everyone that I know and love will be there for a show and I miss it coz I'm "stuck" in the states.

I know I have plenty to be "thankful" for: Goldy, Casey, the twins Jack (who has gotten fat) and Molly, my car, the look on my nephew and brother-in-laws faces when they saw all the chocolate, having a tennis court out back, central air conditioning, being able to choose something to wear from ALL my Metallica/Maiden/Chelsea t-shirts... and stuff to look forward to. I convinced my sister to go up to NYC to try and get tickets to see HAIR - this summer's Shakespeare in the Park offering and if we can't get tickets then to the Bronx Zoo. There is also the Rodin Museum in Philly - see another cast of the Gates of Hell. And a new job starting August 28th.

But I do miss what I consider "home".