Expatriation and its Discontents

Today I left a few minutes earlier so that I could go over my Danish numbers before class (I can count to 999 now and I understood the cost and change for my lunch today!) and the Metro was jam packed. As I stood there waiting for my stop I started to list some of the things I miss, mostly the "things" so don't be offended if I don't list people...ok, I am not going to list people only things and only California things (in no particular order):

- Bad surf sessions on Diamond Street at the crack of dawn just because I can.
- The odd surprisingly good session on Diamond Street.
- Perfect lefts at Black's (I imagine it without the 200 jerks per wave!)
- Soft empty sets at Sunset Cliffs, then watching the sunset with friends.
- A hot cup of tea and freshly made dinner on the floor of my friends live-in van after a cold water session.
- Skating the boardwalk.
- Running in La Jolla/UTC/Torrey Pines/UCSD.
- Tossing the tackified at LJHS, kicking the soccer ball at LJHS (even running on the track there from time to time).
- Listening to records at Copley Library USD (perhaps the only thing at USD worth wasting one's time with)--Beethoven's piano sonatas, in particular, have filled many a long day at that intellectual vacuum of a campus.
- My job w/ Prof. Brooks.
- HENRY'S MARKETPLACE!!!! God, what I wouldn't do to skate down to Henry's for some fresh fruit and trail mix...yes! Jared, I said it.
- Fresh salads at Soup Plantation.
- Hot tea and cold service at Cafe 976 on a typically beautiful San Diego afternoon (I here San Diego has been crying though since I left?)...Solitude among the multitudes...thats what 976 was for me...a place to be among people while I worked.
- Hot tea and friendly service/company at Panniken...long hours reading Nietzsche in front of the fire place on cool rainy days.
- The little bookstore next to the Panniken cafe...2nd best bookstore I have ever been to (Powell's in Portland?).
- Soy Morrocan mint tea lattes at the Coffee Bean and then strolling over to Border's to thumb through a magazine, listen to a CD, or buy way too many books at way too high a price.
- Surfing the jetties in O-side in the summertime...and Jared, my goodness "that session!" I can still feel the energy when I lay down at night.
- Watching people surf houses at Black's in the winter but not having the equipment, skill, or courage to join them.

Wow! Thats not even the beginning...look closely and you may actually see the point where I get homesick...just kidding. I do want to surf sooooo badly right now.

On my run today I got hopelessly lost and ran through a historic part of Copenhagen and it was really neat. I cannot wait till the weekend and some free time. I have no time to do anything now during the week...always class, studying, or I have to go somewhere to take care of paperwork, etc...This university is not very big but its kind of scattered all over the city so I spend lots of time (and money...got to get a bike when USD pays me...if USD ever pays me!) going places. Thats all for now. I may go to dinner tonight with the international students if my roommate comes back and I can figure out where. So perhaps more stories I can tell myself out loud.

Right now I am listening to the famous "Now That's What I Call Britpop 2001" and I wish I had brought some Radiohead along...Radiohead is good dreary weather music...dreary weather music like only a few London Jacks could make.