Heading Home

Saturday, Tristan and I will pack our bags to head to the states for a two week visit. Most of our time will be spent in Indy, of course, but we're spending our last weekend visiting good friends in DC. It'll be great to get home and get to see so many people and also get to show Tristan another part of the country than just Indiana!

As I was driving home from work thinking about my trip over, I felt a sense of relief. It's been just over a year since my last visit, and although I've had pretty regular contact with most people during that time, I do miss being there. Not for any one particular reason, really, but just being in the midst of things. I think this feeling probably starts to wane a bit more the longer you spend away from the place you know as home, but it's still lingering for me now. I know Indy and the people I know there have changed since I was living there myself. I'm anxious to see those changes, and also can't wait to ease into some of the comforts I grew accustomed to.

Some of those are:

*Nestling into Starbucks with a big, all-fat-inclusive Venti whatever the seasonal coffee is. Say what you want about the evil empire of coffee shops, I still crave it.

*Cafe Patachou. Again, good coffee, and the best omelettes I've ever had.

*Outlet shopping. Nothing is more frustrating than walking into Ireland's posh department store and seeing already overpriced American brands marked up another 50-80%. Every time I walk through there, I think "Gosh, I could be at the outlet in Edinburgh, IN [Note: that's pronounced ed'-in-burg, NOT ed-in-burough as in the city in Scotland] paying $30 for that sweater by that traditionally overpriced designer, as opposed to the 100 Euro they're asking for!!"

* Back to food...Mexican. There's a new "Mexican" restaurant in Limerick that does carry-out burritos and such. It's okay...well, it's not, really. It's okay if you're dying for a fix and can't be bothered doing the cooking yourself. Usually, though, I make my own fajitas and quesadillas and just look forward to a nice, affordable night out at my fave Mexican restaurant, Cancun.

*Sushi. If I mention the stuff here, most people look at me wide-eyed and immediately think "raw fish??!" No matter how I try to explain it, it never wins over any Irish who haven't been out of the country to experience it. There's only one reported sushi restaurant in Ireland and that's in Dublin. Maybe it'll catch on someday....

*Watching IU play! I'm delighted to be visiting during the throws of the Big Ten basketball season. I think I'll get to watch at least 2 games in the comforting company of loads of fellow fans. Go Hoosiers!

*Watching the Colts play. Last year, the only Colts game that was televised here on the premium sports channel (they usually televise 2 NFL games a week) was the fateful defeat that we handed over pitifully to the Steelers as they made their Super Bowl run. We canceled our subscription to that premium channel not too long after. This year, the only televised game was last Saturday's game against the Ravens. I had to find a way to watch it, but the only option was to head to our local pub and beg. It was 9:30 on a Saturday night, so getting reins of the TV wasn't easy, but I managed to catch the majority of the game. When it first came on, most people looked at each other with a bit of confusion, wondering why they were being subjected to this. Then, one of the regulars turned to me and said "I know who's responsible for this!!!" I watched it in the corner while I bit my nails along with most Colts fans that day. I can't wait to watch Sunday's AFC championship game amongst fans in Indy! Win or lose (they *better* win), it'll be such a fun day out for us.

*Fires in the fireplace at my parents' house. This is a comfort of home that makes me want to become a hibernating animal. ZZZzzzzzzzzzzz........

So, for those of you I'm going to see, I can't wait. We're really looking forward to it. For those of you we won't catch this time, hopefully it won't be too long before we see you again. You're always welcome in Sixmilebridge, of course...