Two Years

Well, it has now officially been two years. I guess I can say we are pretty settled. We have a house, my French is now as fluent as stated on my resume, I can think in metric, and I have actually started following Canadian politics. The house is probably the biggest of those. It was a bigger step than I had thought. Having an outdoor space larger than a patio makes quite a differnce. I think I have enjoyed it more because I'm able to build things (fence, compost bin, sandbox) that does not need to be as finished as something inside. Tending to the plants is fun also, though I don't plan to become one of those fanatical suburban lawn keepers.

"Do I miss back home?" has been a common question both that other people have asked and also been in my mind. Last year I said it was that I was more nostalgic for the time spent there. Much like any other place or time period in my past. At the time of moving here, we were starting another phase of our lives with the kid. Lately, I have thought differently. I do miss some things about back home. Spending time with the people I would see often, or attending special events with family and friends. The flip side is that when we go back, it is a special occasion and we see everyone. Some people we actually see more often now. It is a bit shallow, but I do miss the food. Or at least the accessiblity to it. We have found some new places here and some substitutes, but I still look forward to having my favorite foods at each visit.

As far as the places, I have always been interested in change. Maybe it is because I have been in the construction industry, I find the transformation of an urban environment or a building being built interesting. To some degree I am also interested in the demolition, but not when the building is worth keeping. So I really like seeing how the city has tranformed or adapted since we were last there. As a kid, I like damming up streams of water, then see how the water would adapt to the situation. Kinda the same thing. But like many places I have been to, you don't need to be there to see the transformation. You just have to return. For the most part places such will remain the same.

Lastly, events are something I miss. Things you can't see unless you are there year round. Mainly summer ones. The Air Show, the Taste, 4th of July fireworks (though they have damn good ones here), the Indy 500, the occasional Cubs playoff, beach volleyball, and watching the lake and it's moods through the year.

As far as what I don't miss, this blog has done fairly well at covering those points. I still have a long list of observations to post. Some deep like the last one, some shallow.