the things i don't have

I love living in Sydney.  I absolutely love it.  But.  There are times I find a wee bit trying in that I don't have access to something I really, really want access to.  And that I could always get more or less immediately at home.  And granted most of these things can also be found here, but, because I'm living far from home (no plagiarism intended), I still don't have them.

Like a DVD player.  I think I've mentioned before that I'm not big on TV, and it's true.  I don't think I could even actually classify myself as big on movies.  I like them, sure, but my life doesn't revolve around them.  Except possibly Harry Potter, which I'm finding very hard to wait until Tuesday to see.  But occasionally I feel it might be nice to watch a DVD.  And I don't have a DVD player.  Ah, but I have a laptop -- problem solved, right?  Wrong.  I have, it seems, a racist laptop.  And it discriminates very harshly against Australian DVDs.  Or any non-American DVDs for that matter.

But it's not just a DVD player.  It's lots of stupid, little things.  Like envelopes.  I have cards, yes, with envelopes, yes, but no blank envelopes.  Okay, yes, I could buy them, but I don't know where to buy envelopes.  Does the post office sell them?  Normally, I'd hop in a car and head to Meijer and away we'd go -- but there is no Meijer here!  And even if there were, I still don't have a car to hop in.

Which brings me to the biggest thing I don't have:  a car.  I've railed at length on the subject before, so I'll spare you this time.  Suffice it to say I'd really, really, really like a car.

I also don't have a costume box here.  It might not seem like a big deal to you, but this Halloween I had to wear the same dinky ladybug costume as last year because there was nothing to scrounge through to come up with something better.  I'm erring on the side of broke these days, so spending money on a new costume wasn't really the best option, but I had nothing else to wear.  Well, nothing that was suitable for work at least.  I have managed to compile an Arabian costume and a mermaid costume that are both actually pretty stunning, but I think I might just have lost my job if I'd tried taking them out and about.  At least they're a start for my costume box here.

Furthermore, back home I have access to any sewing equipment I need.  Needles of all sizes, thread of all colors (all colors, no joke), sewing scissors, a seam ripper, safety pins, a needle threader, a sewing machine.  Here I have two needles with white and black thread and I keep misplacing the needles.  It's a bit disconcerting, as I also keep rediscovering them in places I thought at the time made perfect sense -- the inside of my make-up bag, or a beach towel, for instance.  Sneaky little critters, sewing needles.  Crafty.

I also don't have any spices, except cinnamon.  Not that I cook (I don't), but every now and again something comes up and I go, "if only I had some paprika!"  Also, a dictionary would be handy.  Not an ESL dictionary, but an Oxford dictionary.  I'd settle for concise, but it'd be nice to have one.  To read, you know, when I get bored.

And school supplies -- notebooks, highlighters, scissors, Scotch tape, heck, even crayons could be cool.  Again, we've got all that stuff stowed away in plastic drawers in our basement at home, but I've hardly got any of it here.

Or toiletries.  I'm building up a stash now, but I miss knowing I can always run and find some extra shampoo or dental floss or razor heads or Q-tips or cotton balls or Tums.  It's just not the same stocking my own.

Perhaps I should just take a moment and point out that I left home when I was 18.  I haven't had this stuff for years.  I've made do, and it's been just fine.  It just strikes me a bit more when I'm on the other side of the world from the things I don't have because, well, shipping costs a bit more than it does to Michigan.

But where was I?  Ah, yes -- pets.  Particularly tricky to ship, actually.  We have a cat and a dog and have had other cats, another dog, a bird, rabbits, fish, hamsters, hermit crabs, etc.  I love animals and I miss mine lots.  (Here I am all snug at home with Cheddar.  Isn't she cute?  Mom says you can tell we're sisters because we have the same color hair.  She is joking.)

Finally, there's books and photo albums.  I have three bookcases full of books and my photo albums back home.  (Okay, one shelf has a Russian tea set on it, but otherwise, it's the real McCoy.)  I'm not a big re-reader (pretty much just Harry Potter, and the racy bits in Anne of Green Gables, come to think of it), but it's comforting just to be surrounded by books.  And know that you could pick one up -- a good one, no less -- and read it if you so desired.  Here I've got half a dozen, most of which were thrust upon me and ones I never particularly wanted to begin with.  I've been reading them, though.  What else is there to do?

And so, these are what I miss.  It sounds funny to say "envelopes" when people ask you what you miss from home, but I do.  If you find some, feel free to send them my way.  Though preferably not in the post.