The Top Ten

If you had asked me last December to guess what things we'd miss, most of the stuff on this list would not have been on it, because it simply wouldn't have occurred to us.  The list includes everything other than friends and family of course, because that is too obvious.

The Top 10 Things We Miss

10.)  Decent Radio.

The only radio here is the BBC, Top 40 and a couple of Mandarin stations.  The BBC is fine, except that they repeat the same news stories every single hour, so it's completely annoying to listen for more than 60 minutes at a time.  Internet radio is an option, but not in the car.  The Top 40 is okay for a pop-culture fix, but the DJ's are so overly enthusiastic that even though I sort of like Top 40, I can't sit through the the siller banter long enough to get to the good Miley Cyrus song.

9.)  Products.

We cannot find Edge Gel shaving cream (David has used it since puberty and was mildly traumatized that he had to switch to Gilette), Advil (it works, and it's even got that yummy coating!  It's like candy for adults), Aveda (I'm not sure what I'm going to use when my Be Curly runs out), Pureology (Best. Shampoo. Ever), and Cetaphil (I can get it here, but it's $30 vs. $6 in the US and I just can't bring myself to buy it).

8.)  Great Businesses I Discovered Just Before We Left.

First, Jenner Stevens of J. Louise Design.  With the task of having to decorate an entire new house, I miss having an un-biased third party to help those of us who can be paralyzed by indecision over how to arrange a shelf, or completely retarded when it comes to accesorizing a room or even where to hang a picture.  Jenner would stop over and help with anything, all for a very reasonable fee.  (And she's great with husbands who think they know what will look good but really don't.)   

Second, June consignment store on Lyndale.  It opened right before I left, and has fabulous clothing finds for super cheap.  And it feels like an upscale boutique, you don't have to paw through overstuffed racks to find that one cool shirt.  There's no such thing as consignment here, not that my size is easy to find anyway.  (I needed a stiff drink after one shopping excursion here in Singapore, when I asked a salesperson if something came in a size 8, and she responded with "Sorry, no extra-large.")

7.)  Reasonably-priced Alcohol and Dairy Products

If  you can find a bottle of wine or a six pack of beer for less than $20 here, you'd better snap up a case.  Organic milk is $16, and good parmesian is $68 a pound.

6.)  An Easier Job

This is for David, who now works 60+ hours a week instead of his usual 40.  He wanted me to also include the lack of time for afternoon coffee breaks.  There are coffee shops nearby his workplace, but see #4 for the reason there it's just not practical.

5.)  TV

David misses ESPN, specifically SportsCenter (I liked The Top 10 highlight clip show in the morning - I could talk intelligently about big games without having to actually watch them) and any channel with Twins or Dodgers games.  I miss Bravo, as now I have to pay for all my guilty-pleasure shows through Apple TV.

4.)  Stores With Parking Lots

Not only are there no parking lots here (you either park in a ramp or on the curb, neither of which are free), but there is also no Target.  So for your basic list of items you have to go to a hardware store, grocery store, pharmacy, and a mall, all the while trying to find, squeeze into and pay for a parking space each place.  Every errand takes at least twice as long.

3.)  Food.

For David, Chipotle and Pepitoes are on top of the list.  There is Mexican food here, but the few places that we've found are sit-down restraunts, not ones that deliver or have food to-go.  I miss pretty much any cold sandwich in general (Subway is the only place here that serves something even remotely close.), as the last thing I usually want when I'm hot and hungry is to hunch over a steaming bowl of spicy noodles.  Oh, and none of the restraunts have chocolate desserts.  They're all tapioca or rice concoctions, and not nearly as satisfying.  Last of all, anything organic is freakishly pricey, and there's no such thing as local, because everything is imported from Malaysia, China, the Phillipenes, or Austrailia.

2.)  Our house.

I really miss my kitchen, with it's dishwasher reasonably located in the kitchen, and not outside and around the corner.  And our garbage disposal.  Due to the location of the dishwasher, I hand wash dishes way more and have to empty the mesh drain-thing about ten times everytime I do a batch.  I also miss our huge leather sectional we bought last year, the couch we have now is a bit formal and is for sitting up, not lounging (I sit on the floor a lot).  And lastly, my garden, where I actually know what all the plants are called, and can look forward seeing things come up in the spring.

And Number One...

1.)  A cool breeze.

We're on the equator, remember?  I miss taking a walk with Millie without needing a shower afterward, or walking three blocks to the bus stop without having to use up a packet of Kleenex to mop the sweat out of my eyes.  There's no Minehaha Creek to let Millie splash in, and I can't remember the last time I wore shoes that required socks.  (I've explained to David that this requires pedicures to fall under "necessary" in the budget.)  Talk of "windchill" has been replaced with "heat index".  Heat index of 105F yesterday, by the way.

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I'm sure we'll think of more, but that covers it for now.  Next entry, a tour of the house!  I was going to wait until all the pictures were hung up, but without Jenner, I can't decide and I have to admit it's just not going to happen in the near future.