Oh, how I miss thee

Alright, some of this may sound pretty lame, but if you know me at all, you'll get it.

Aside from the obvious friends and family, there are other simple things that I miss.

1. The forum I visit with all my Barbra buddies, and the political talks we have, among other random things.

2. Redford. Although, he's been in the news as of late (Google it. There's some great pics, too!), his new DVD is coming out in less than a week, and I saw a poster of him the other day walking around town. In Ecuador. Yeah, he's cool here, too, people. Oh, and I had a dream about him last night, and I did hear a song on the radio that reminded me of him. So, I guess it's not all bad. He follows me everywhere I go, I swear, but it makes me smile. Can we say obsession? Slightly. I brought DVDs to tide me over.

3. Barb. I haven't listened to music in over a week because I rarely have the time. Plus, there's never any news on her front anyways (she's always working on that damn barn of hers), so I guess I'm not missing out on too much.

4. The internet in general. I hadn't had a chance to get on the internet for about a week, and I was going through withdrawal. Then, yesterday when I came to school to use the wireless, it was down. I was pissed. Why did I bring my laptop if the wireless is going to go down? Today, it's back up, but if it's going to be all wishy-washy on me, I may have a freak out.

5. CNN. I have no idear what is going on with Hillary. None. Well, I actually got an e-mail from her the other day, and Bill, too (Yes, we are acquaintances. I did meet her, after all.), that was talking about how people were calling for her to quit the race. HELL NO! She is not dropping out! She isn't that far behind in delegates, kids. Let this go until the convention.

6. My cats. My host family has this damn poodle named Pelusa. She is 5 months old and the most annoying dog I think I've ever encountered. I like dogs, but the big kind. Ya know, the ones who are older and wiser, and don't do much. This damn dog wakes me up at 4:30 in the morning with her constant barking. Honestly, what is there to bark at that early in the morning?

7. Being able to throw my toilet paper in the toilet. Yes, you read that right. The sewage system obviously isn't the greatest here in Ecuador, so everyone must throw their toilet paper in the trash. It sounds gross, although it's not really that bad. At least you never stop up the toilet and have to use a plunger, which I probably would have had to do quite often.

8. OU. Well, not really OU per say, but the people at OU, like my Front Room buddies. Plus, it's spring quarter, and there's nothing like spring quarter in Athens. Well, except maybe Ecuador, but you know what I mean.

9. Ping. I work out quite a lot. I go probably 5 or 6 days a week, and I haven't gone here once yet. There is a gym right around the corner from my house where I went yesterday to talk to this guy who works there (who kept calling me "mi amor." Weird.), and I plan on starting there today. It's $16 a month. That is insanely cheap compared to what I would pay in the U.S.

10. Being able to drink from the tap. We can't. Period. It wouldn't be a happy time.

11. Being able to walk around by myself. I'm pretty independent, most of the time. But here, we can't really walk around alone a lot. Especially at night. We have to walk in groups. It's going to start becoming inconvenient when I need to do something and my walking buddy needs to do something else. I guess we're going to have to go do both things together. We'll see how that works out.

12. A soft, bouncy bed. For some reason, my bed is hard, and it's kind of hurting my back. Or maybe it's supposed to be good for your back? I don't know. I don't know beds.

13. Frizz-free hair. Enough said.

14. My cell phone. How could I forget that? I miss being able to text someone when I think of something completely random to tell them, or just being able to freely call someone. We have to go to what are called "cabinas" here to call the States. It costs 8 cents a minute, which is really cheap, but it's nice to just be able to call someone whenever you feel like it. I'm choosing one day a week to call any and everyone I want to talk to. If you're not on that list, well, please don't feel bad. Your turn will come the next week.

Now, let me just say that those aren't complaints, in the least. I'm really loving it here, but there are times when I long for certain things.