1. Your parents sell your childhood home in an effort to downsize.
2. You need to call and ask for directions home.
3. Home feels like a hotel.
4. You jockey for space with a two-year old in ‘your’ room.
5. Work and socializing is scheduled around the sleep habits of said munchkin.
6. Sister home for a holiday = free babysitter at your mercy.
7. Again, teaching the parents how to send an email with a photo attachment (as you do each time you are home).
8. For that matter, being the family’s personal geek squad. (Can you take a look at my computer…it’s running really slowly?…..ummm, the problem here is that you own a windows product…..lucky for you, there is an easy fix- get a Mac.)
9. Getting lost everywhere you go in this new area.
10. Bar-hopping with old friends and running into random people from undergrad. (Strange coming from a school that was only 900 students)
11. Combing through your possessions, deciding what you can fit in your car.
12. Constantly feeling cold when the temperature dips below 85.
13. Trying to talk about musical bands to people is like speaking Arabic to a bunch of drunk Irish Catholics.
14. Desperately searching for non-domestic beer.
15. Dodging the inevitable questions, “How is you thesis coming along?” or “Where do you work now?” or “When are you going to settle down?” or “Where’s you boyfriend?” or “Which celebrities did you see in California?”
16. Wearing and washing the same clothes because you are too lazy to dig through your stuff for more.
17. Haggling with car dealers over a new car because yours is on its last leg. (grrr.)
18. Enjoying rain and thunderstorms once again.
19. Venturing into the city for some amazing (and cheap) concerts.
20. Realizing this drab, simple place has more heart than CA ever will.
21. Introducing your family to the joys of the iPod and podcasts.
22. Whining when the weather forces you to wear real shoes after 2 years straight in sandals.
23. Visiting with all your friends that have procreated since your last visit, and trying to remember all the baby names.
24. Attempting to convince people that watching TV is not a social activity.
…more to come.
