Ranting Post

(My next post will be about Patagonia, but I had to get this out of my system first).

Everyone deserves a ranting post. And after 10 weeks of being away from home, I think it’s time for mine. This is the longest I’ve been away from home at one time and while I think I’m holding up pretty well, I can’t help but miss a few things. I realize this all makes me sound very shallow and American, but at the moment, I don’t really care.

I miss personal space. No one here respects that I have a bubble. I guess that’s fitting since my tagline is “pop your comfortable bubble.” But occasionally something comforting would be nice. And some room to breathe. Especially on the subway during rush hour. It’s almost as bad a Beijing!

I miss my own apartment—being able to make my own cup of tea in the morning, walk around when I want to, take a long shower, leave my towel on the floor and my dirty clothes strewn about. I miss keeping my toothpaste on the counter and my shampoo in the shower. I miss my privacy. I really miss my kitchen, and being able to make what I want when I want it. Dinner at 8pm doesn’t really cut it for me.

I miss my wardrobe—the ability to open my closet and think, hmm, what do I want to wear today? With only a handful of shirts and fewer pants, the selection gets old. And my shoes. I really miss my shoes, especially the boots. And all my accessories, scarves, hats, jewelry, nail polish selection, hair pins… I miss variety.

I miss my truck. Mostly I miss the independence and mobility of being on my own. I guess I miss the actually truck too. For goodness sake I named him Pete and wrote a poem about him. Even his fading purple pin stripe has a tinge of nostalgia.

I miss the selection of food. I miss macaroni and cheese, Mexican food, and pizza. The good kind of pizza. Not mozzarella with oregano, rosemary, and whole green olives. I miss greasy pizza from Louis, the kind that melts in your mouth and leaves you craving more. I miss Senor Manuel’s and their chimchungas. I miss chocolate. (Except for in Bariloche, Argentina is not known for having good chocolate.) I even miss Chinese food.  I miss spicy food and Subway.

I miss my family, but you guys already know this.

I miss my friends, but you should know this too.

I miss my cat, Einstein. Although he hasn’t been around that long while I’m there, it always feels more like home when there’s someone waiting to greet you.

I miss Gunnison. Who would have thought a tiny town of 10 thousand could compete with a giant city of 10 million? Well it does. I miss the quiet, peaceful pace of the town. I miss seeing the stars at night and feeling the brisk air when the sun rises. I miss the snow and the cold and the dry air. I miss going to WordHorde events and supporting the creative community. I even kinda miss writing papers. Well, at least I miss using that part of my brain.

I miss going into a restaurant and knowing for sure what I order is what I’ll get. Or at least having the ability to communicate what I want.

I miss my cell phone, but not a lot.

I miss being able to understand everything going on around me. I miss feeling smart and knowing how to do my homework. I miss the security language gives me, and the ease in which it comes.

Now here is the list (although substantially shorter, but still significant) of all the things I do not miss:

I don’t miss drunk people knocking on my door (or throwing firecrackers under it) at 3 in the morning. Nor do I miss being woken up by the duty phone.

I don’t miss the attitude of most Americans, or the ignorance about the rest of the world.

I don’t miss the presidential campaigns or commercials.

I don’t miss paying for gas.

And I don’t miss writing 20 page papers.