I’m Leaving on an Airplane

Good-bye, New York. Hello, London.

Random Observation/Comment #145: I remember this feeling very clearly.  I could sense its presence with a growing shadow, but I dare not sneak a glimpse.  As the days counted down, it followed me closer and breathed down my neck.  The whispers warned me of uncomfortable situations, yet reassured me with joy.  It wasn’t until the gentle touch, did I absorb the waves of premonitions.  It was a few days before I was leaving to Japan, and the Reality of the entire trip simply tapped me on my shoulder.  I felt like a scientist and a puppy embarking on an adventure to the Unknown.  I smiled out of reflex, but I really wanted to cower.  There is so much to look forward to, yet so much that can happen while I’m away.  My whole world, as I know it, will be different when I come back… Hopefully, everything changes for the better.  Hopefully, some things, like the bond between my friends and family, will never change.

There are many things that I will miss when I’m away.  Some of them are obvious, but it’s the odd subtle ones that will be clouding my mind as I try to fall asleep in a different time zone.  It won’t be the jetlag that keeps me up.

I will miss…

• … my parents – I love you.  Thank you.
• … my friends – Be good. Wordlife.
• … the city – that skyline will be tattooed in my heart forever
• … my mom’s cooking – nothing will match a soup made with love
• … using chopsticks – I’ve actually packed a pair, just in case.  They’ll think I’m so Chinese when I eat sausage with chopsticks
• … my nice clothes – time to look like a bum, but I’ll come back to them later
• … my bed – I’m hugging my blanket as I type this
• … Cooper – I didn’t always like the amount of work they assigned, but it was quite cozy. Cooper also had a ping pong table
• … ping pong – I will find a way to play ping pong in Europe, but I will miss my paddle.  I am not nerdy enough to bring my ping pong paddle to Europe.  Although…
• … skittles – I love skittles…
• … Orbit gum – I guess I will have to settle
• … video games – no more hardcore PC FPSs for a long time…
• … driving – I really want to drive on the Autobahn 🙁
• … texting on the phone – I think removing myself from a cell phone will cause me some inconvenience, but improve my social life greatly
• … taking pictures of everything I eat – definitely still doing that, but it will be with a real camera
• … Starbuck’s tea in the morning – mmm…
• …my collection of bottle caps – hopefully it will grow when I return
• … free lunches and dinners with James – I think I owe you a tattoo
• … inside jokes and ridiculous phrases – I don’t know where we come up with these things.  “Chop her legs off.”  “What day is Friday the 13^th on?”  “She’s a white girl with –nique in her name?”  “A sparkle is a unit of time.”
• … meeting new people in a drunken stupor – wait, I’ll probably still do that one

I will miss Home.  Even though I’ll be living somewhere else for 6 months, this will always be my home.

It’s like a new era.  See all of you in September.

~See Lemons Leaving on an Airplane