Things I miss, don't miss, love, and don't love

• the mahi-mahi burrito (baja style) from La Salsa
• drinkin' wine and playin' NBA Jams for Super Nintendo with my best friends
• having stuff in English
• movie theaters that seat like 1500 people and make you go deaf
• watchin' laker games
• having a car
• clubbing in Hollywood
• watching "Family Guy" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
• Costco
• 24-pack of beer in bottles for  $18 (see Costco)
• beer from countries other than Japan
• a good martini in a glass the size of my head
• no snow in the city, but then driving 1.5 hours to go snowboarding
• drinks the size of a trash can and free refills!
• eating Mexican food at 3 am
• Georgio's pizza delivery
• forced air heating
• living in the same time zone as your friends
• using feet, miles, and Fahrenheit as units of measurement
• dinner at Islands (Island fries with ranch dressing)

• sitting in traffic on the 405
• taking a deep breath of carbon monoxide-infested LA air
• the 60 minute commute to work
• doing anything and finding a million people there with the same idea
• crazy winos potentially with guns
• those damn SUVs everywhere
• corporate America (insert double-barreled fingers here)
• the massive piss I have to take after drinking 4 trashcan-sized cups of whatever at a restaurant

• speaking complete nonsense in Japanese and having people still be ultra nice to you
• T-shirts with really bad Engrish on them
• people who get really excited when you speak Japanese to them
• walking down the street at 2:00 am in downtown Tokyo and not feeling like I'm gonna get shot or raped or both
• people who don't know a word of English, but think it's cool when you speak English
• okonomiyaki, takoyaki, and gyoza
• messing with the NHK guy
• asking a simple question at a store and having 6 people scramble to help you
• not having to give anyone a tip...ever
• acting like I don't speak a word of Japanese when in fact I understand most of what you just said to me (see NHK guy)
• having random people ask if they could take a picture with you
• getting a haircut, then also getting a shiatsu massage and a drink
• using foul language and slang and having people not know what the hell you are saying
• my cell phone has a PDA, a digital camera, a TV, DVD player, email, a color screen, Internet access, and a time machine
• getting free drinks at bars
• heated toilet seats
• it's considered cool to have a big nose here
• clubs and bars that don't close until 5 am

• having to speak Japanese to get anything done
• 12-pack of beer in cans for 3000 yen (about $28)  OUCH!
• why does everyone have to smoke??
• do they have to write EVERYTHING in Japanese??
• buying a postcard and having it wrapped in 6 bags, then having the receipt wrapped in 8 bags
• watching a show about "the rules of using chopsticks," and realizing that you have broken every single rule and done every possible taboo thing
• that damn metric system