Missing

A few weeks ago a good friend of mine from Utah asked me what I missed and she could send me it as a little treat. I started thinking about all the things I really miss. Most things I have missed I have found a good substitution for so this was a little harder for me than I expected. If she had asked me this same question 4 months ago I would have easily answered it but now, 6 months into our 24 month stint I had to stop and think. That was nice, not having missing things right away but here's what I came up with as to things I miss.....

*I miss that a friends house is a 20 minute cab ride or a meet up at a crowded restaurant. I miss that I can't just "pop on over".
* I miss just driving, no math involved to convert distance of 3 meters or kilometers to the miles I am use to.
* I miss the US metric system. I have had to get use to grams, liters, kilos, pints and  some others I can't remember instead of my usual pounds or quarts. I have to convert many recipes before I begin cooking and my new kitchen scale is VERY handy!
* I miss Fahrenheit. Celsius is weird and always sounds cold.
* I miss the taste of real honest to goodness American fat milk! Without having to pay 5- 10 SGD for a tiny little pint. P.S. Still doesn't taste American.
* I miss big huge aisles where people aren't touching my butt and I don't feel like a bull in a china shop.
* I miss marks on my butter telling me in TABLESPOONS not GRAMS where to cut it, again thank you kitchen scale!
* I miss driving in miles per hour and not kilometers per hour. Although when we are going 100KPH Jake thinks we are speeding, we aren't. Well not too much.
* I miss doing a load of laundry in 1.5 hours per LOAD and not the 4-5 I am currently living with. Getting all my laundry done in one day is a distant memory!
* I miss not having to think about which side of the road I need to be on when I do drive. Turning can be a problem if there is no arrows for me. I really have to stop and think!
* I also miss riding on the right side of the car and not the left side. Someday I WILL walk to the correct door. SOMEDAY!
* I miss texting, I hate saying SMS which is really the same thing but I miss saying "text me" and having others understand me.
* I miss carpet. It was much easier to just vacuum it up and move along. You can see all the dirt on my floor at all times. It's GROSS!
* I miss a swiffer. Too much to mop up here to make it economical but somedays it would be soooooo nice!
* I miss hopping in the car and going. I love the cabs, they are my best friend but when something is forgotten at home it's so much easier to just "swing back home" or get in the car and drop it off at school. It just takes a little more planning for the cabs.
* I miss that I have to think of everything I need. I have had to refigure out the best bread, dish soap, laundry soap, cereals and milk all over again. If there is the option of an American brand it is just way to expensive to buy.
* I miss knowing where to go for items. We have been looking for rubber bands the last few days and they are NO WHERE! Not in office supplies or kitchen supplies or at the bookstore. Or craft items, even the big craft store doesn't always have what I want or need.
* I miss not having to pay an arm and a leg for particular items. Last week mod podge cost me $25 SGD. Wanted it so I got it. NEVER would have happened at "home".
* I miss not having to do time conversions. From Singapore time to Utah time gets tiring somedays. But I just found a cool conversion tool on facebook that may become my new best friend.

So, I miss lots of things. Most of them made my life simpler. Some I thought were necessities but I found myself not needing them as much or learning to live without. It's all in perspective. I have found some very good substitutes and many things that I will miss about Singapore when I leave here. But that is for another post. And to my good friend Amberlie, thank you for even thinking of me. You made my heart happy.