What would you do for a Klondike Bar?
July 13th, 2005 at 01:12 amLast week while in Minnesota, my siblings walked through the front door late one night and I practically imploded. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed them while in Australia. Of course, within minutes, it felt as if I had never left. We slid right back into the groove of things, playfully making fun of each other, bickering as always, and just being our normal selves. But honestly, who would have even believed me had I tried to say I hadn’t missed my family?
But what’s really been surprising me are the little things (and sometimes big things) that I thought I would miss but that I’ve found out I didn’t really miss whatsoever. Almost every hour or so I find myself playing a little game called “Would You Give This Up?” where I notice something and think to myself “Would you give this up to go back to Australia?” Take for instance baseball. Before I left, I guarantee you I would never have given up baseball. You could have waved a million crisp, new one dollar bills in my direction and I still would have turned you down to keep baseball. But last week, I was sitting at a bar with my uncle watching a game on TV and I thought to myself, “Holy Crap…I’d totally give up watching baseball every day during the summer in order to go back to Australia.” Talk about your unexpected self realizations.
Some other things I’ve found that I’d give up while playing WYGTU surprised me as well. The Daily Show was one. In fact, all of TV was one. As long as I can download LOST off the Internet, I am a happy dude. I actually enjoyed not watching TV while over in Australia. It was freeing in a queer sort of way. But what about other things, you ask? My computer here that I’ve slaved over and cared about for years? Yep, I’d hand that to Waynus if it meant I could return. My truck? My ability to fly very cheaply? My cell phone? Yep, oh yeah, and Hell yes! The only two things I’ve found so far that I’d refuse to give away have been my journal and Shyzer. But I might even give up Shyzer if I was allowed to start a new site somewhere else that everybody could move to =)
I’m heading down to Charleston later this week before swinging by Columbia to pick up some things I left behind and meet with my Study Abroad advisor. I’ve got a brand new cell phone number, so e-mail me if you need the digits and I’ll pass them along. There’s quite a few people that I want to see and chill with for a while just to catch up on old times before I leave because in all honesty, it might be a while before I’m back =)
Jaime
That’s probably a good game to keep playing. All I know is that the real world, once you’re done with school, is different. Once everyone gets jobs and starts moving in their own directions and not living all in a dorm or in an apartment building together…well, it just gets different. I’m not saying better or worse, but it changes.
For a year I’ve been toying around with the idea of moving to California. I have considered all the pros and the cons and the bottom line is I just don’t know what it would be like to live and work out there because as much as I love it there, each time I’m there I am on vacation. Vacation mentality is a very different thing!
Not saying you had vacation mentality - you lived there. But you did have school mentality, which I’ve learned is a really different thing.
That first September that I didn’t have to go back to school was a weird, weird time for me.
Tim
I can’t believe I never knew you liked baseball. I guess it should have clicked, what with you being a Yank and all. You have anything to do with Chris Snelling’s promotion to the Majors?
Goob http://www.shyzer.com
I have loved Snell for three or four years now, but most Mariners fans don’t say his name because we think he’s jinxed. Everytime he starts to warm up, he gets hurt. So this year, the niggest Mariners blog out there started calling him Doyle and now he’s in the majors.
Coincidence? I think not. If Winn gets traded by the end of the month, Doyle should be starting and hopefully he can earn a starting spot for 2006.
And Jaime, I say you just go for it and move to California. The worst that could happen is that you hate it and move back to Maine! But I do agree, once everybody graduates from college, things start to change, which is why I’m so kean on returning to Australia as soon as possible.
Stan http://www.circleofjerks.org
Klondike bars suck so I wouldn’t do much of anything for one.
Memma
Hey, member that i told u that i saw baseball on TV here, well ive seen another 2 more games. One was with all the teams put together, i was real confused, was that an all-star game? So that means you wont have to give up baseball if you come back over here. You’d just have to watch it at my house, unless teds have that Channel, lol.