I Will (Or Not) Be Missing You...

With less than 48 hours to go until I will be departing for Australia, I decided it would be a good time to reflect on some things I would miss on my trip away from the country I've always know. And also to mention the things I will love to be leaving for a while...

THINGS I WILL MISS:
My family
My friends (all of them, even the one with red hair and the annoying one who leaves 20 minute voicemails)
DVR
Copious and free internet (I'm told it is sparse and expensive in Australia)
Mexican food (I'm told it is horrible or non-existent in Australia)
Margarita dinner dates with the red head mentioned above
College Football (I'm going to try and replace it with Australian Rules Football. It's hot guys in less padding and clothing and with more running and smashing, aka sheer torture, right?)
The Food Network
American Television in general (I will be hulu-ing whenever possible. Fall is a bad time to miss TV.)
Fall weather and leaves (My favorite season. Why did I pick this time of year?)
Diet Dr Pepper (I don't know, will they have this?)
Silver Lining Beers
A private bedroom
A private bathroom
Privacy in general
Two Guys Named Chris on Rock 92
Chapel Hill
My clothes I left behind
My stuffed Bunny
My farm
OCRCC
Lots of birthdays (including both my parents and Grandmothers and a 25th that is kind of a big deal)
Grilling and cooking for my family
Halloween (Apparently not big down there)
Thanksgiving (but not too much, I will be hot-air ballooning in Alice Springs that day!)
Speed dial
Not having to use country codes for calling
Mom's breakfasts on Sundays
Kicking Dad's butt on Wii

THINGS I WILL DEFINITELY NOT MISS:
Having a schedule
Having anyone to answer to
Tipping (I'm not planning on being a tight-wad, it's not practiced in Australia)
Driving on I-40 and traffic
Headaches and eye aches brought on by too much work computer
Jeff Dunham (or even billboards or posters or commercials mentioning Jeff Dunham)
Grits, Oatmeal, and just about anything with that consistency (yes, I realize I am going to the country that glorifies Veggiemite, so I shouldn't be expecting much)
The Duggars and all the multiple birth shows in general
Actually, all reality shows in general
America's current political climate (I'm gonna give the Aussie multiple party system a whirl)
Boring dollar bills (see blog below with pic of Australian dollar)
Allergies (actually, I might still have them in Australia, we will see)


So, even though my "Miss" List is a lot longer than my "Not Miss" List, I think that I will survive. Think about it this way: it's a great thing that I have so much to miss. I will be coming back to everything I went without for 3 months. And who knows, by then, I will probably have a nice long list of "Miss" from Australia too!