- adapted from Douglas Adams
Gone but not forgotten
(or catharsis from the past)
and back into history...
Blogs that take my mind to better places
Adrift at SeaAeolian dissonance
A Rain of Frogs
Meanwhile across town
Lette's blog
The Pomo circus is in town
This is nothing, you should hear me play piano
Places that it is my pleasure to take you
MellaflusiaTiger's bites - a recipe site
Alberg 29's - sailing!
The effect that America has on me · 29 July 04
I love it here. The people are so nice – even the weird ones. The nearest I have come to a harsh word from any of them is when I cycle – they can’t quite deal with my aggressive city habits round here.
But it’s hard to get that one step beneath.
They always ask what I think of the food. Hard to answer, where the diversity is so huge. So I tell them that it’s great, as I shop at a local farmers market – the produce is good but then couldn’t I find that anywhere?
Except London of course.
Every so often I get overwhelmed. I’m not exactly green – I’ve lived in cities all my life – but just every so often it gets too much. Hmmm, vitamin C, now do I want 50 or 100, chewable, swallowable, dissolvable, 2 for 1, own brand or branded, with other additives or not… I know, I want 50 chewable, own brand at 2 for 1 – they don’t have that?
Oh no, I’ll leave and think about it some more…
Now Walmart, that’s a whole other story – I can’t go there to shop, only to buy things I know I need – see the difference? If I go in there and just wander around I find nothing I want and drift out in a daze. But if I know what I want and I can figure out where it is then that’s great – ideally from passing it without even knowing it the time before. I’ll even spot things I might want on the way.
So cheap that I know it’s not right.
I try and make sense and assimilate, and try hard not to compare harshly or judge, for so much is better, although so much seems wrong. “In the UK we…” has become my own personal mantra, or at least my housemate wishes I kept it personal at least some of the time. Slowly I’m learning not to compare, but just say OK, it is different.
Then I can be happy here.
But some things feel like they’ll never be right – although maybe because I hope they never will be. To drive everywhere, do no exercise, eat all the food and get fat. That must never be – yet would be so easy.
Can I be strong?
All in all, I can’t imagine staying here, letting this place become me – yet here I feel like I could almost let go…
-Soony
— Soony Jul 12, 00:45 #