Silly Lists

I confess that, as much as I love Ireland and am not ready to return to the U.S. just yet, there are some things that I miss. Here is a list.:

1. My car.
2. In fact, the whole act of driving. We are not even renting cars here because we intend to keep the roads of Ireland safe.
3. Being able to go to Target and buy new running shoes.
4. Being able to find everything you need at one grocery store. I now understand why "shopping" is called "going to the shops" here because that is exactly what you do. You go to several shops. It is more interesting, but sometimes less convenient, even if all of the shops are on the same block.
5. My own bank account. More precisely, since I do have my own bank account in the U.S., a local bank account that will not charge me a billion dollars in fees to use a non-them ATM and convert the currency.
6. A local bank account where I can deposit the odd check that washes up from this or that.
7. A steady income.
8. My analyst -- oh, do I miss my analyst!
9. The rest of my clothes.
10. The rest of my shoes, especially my boots.
11. Low-fat anything, but especially Ben and Jerry's Low-fat Cherries Garcia Frozen Yogurt.
12. Netflix, or whatever the hell they are calling themselves these days.
13. Mad Men reruns.
14. My chairs and sofa.
15. My office chair and desk.
16. My bed -- dear god! I miss my bed! With all of its pillows. I haven't had a decent night's sleep since I got here, and every night I have dreams that range from unpleasant to waking up screaming (o.k. that was only once or twice, but still). Hence, number 8.
17. The gym.
18. My books.
19. The Gentleman Caller's books.
20. Just plain access to books on American history without having to pay huge shipping sums.

Understand that missing these things does not mean that I am unhappy. I feel I must say that because I have been trained to think that a person must be deliriously happy and satisfied with everything or constantly miserable and dissatisfied with everything when, in fact, people are much more complicated than that.

Although some of these things are available in Ireland, like a gym, they are not worth the investment of a few months use. The whole running shoe thing, however, must be addressed soon because I no longer have any real tread on the bottom and my feet hurt more than they should after a run. Indeed, I believe that this particular issue shall be addressed this evening. On the whole, I will return to most of them in a few months, so their loss is a mere inconvenience (except for the analyst).

In a year, I could make a list of things that I will be missing then. That list will probably include:

1. Weather that is not below freezing and never sweltering.
2. Oddly enough now, the weather in general.
3. Being able to run outside, anywhere.
4. Jogging by castles and places with names that have become slang, if quite old-fashioned, expressions.
5. Being able to walk anywhere. Seriously, I'm certain that, if you put you mind to it, you could walk from one side of the island to the other on a paved path.
6. Being able to take public transportation to almost anywhere.
7. Double-decker buses.
8. The smell of burning sod. People don't burn firewood in their fireplaces here. They burn chunks of turf, which has a slightly different, tangy scent that has become rather comforting.
9. The odd feeling of being pegged as benignly curious the minute I open my mouth.
10. The slightly off-kilter feeling of everything being the same and yet not, and wanting to investigate the reasons for that further.
11. Small shops.
12. Smallness in general, or being in what I used to call a "short city" having grown up in one of very tall skyscrapers.
13. Not teaching and only having to write -- dear god! I will miss that!
14. Having essentially no responsibilities.
15. Not having to put on the uniform -- hair, make-up, etc. -- every day. That is, just going natural and in jammies every day.
16. The feeling of knowing that the sea is not too far away -- I can't explain that one, especially since we aren't near the shore, which is miles away; but for some reason I can feel it. Must be psychological.
17. A pub on every corner, especially ones that do not play loud music, or any music at all.
18. The knowledge that you can hop a plane to pretty much anywhere in Europe at a fairly inexpensive price (you know, relative to being in the U.S.).
19.  The constant sense of adventure, even when adventure is a pain-in-the-ass.
20. Good yarn.

Alas, these will be gone when they are gone, so I will mourn them and maybe seek them out elsewhere when I can. Adventure breeds the need for more adventure, right, even if the"adventure" is quite small and tame?

Dunluce Castle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland (October 31, 2011)