On Returning Home

In preparing to move to Nairobi, I packed up my life in Portland and returned to Alaska just in time for Thanksgiving with my family. My absence of 11 months, the longest to date, means that not only did I lose my Permanent Fund Dividend (*grumble* I'll get over that, one day...) but that the adjustment is more noticeable.

Here's a couple of highlights from my return to the Last Frontier:

1. FOOD
Living by oneself the meal planning goes something like this:

Day 1: Make a legitimate, fairly balanced meal
Days 2-3: Leftovers
Day 4-6: Repeat 1-3
Day 7-9: Eggs. Scrambled. Fried. Boiled. Eggs are cheap. Eggs are delicious.
Days 8-11: Single item meals, dishes not necessary. Cereal. Peanut butter. Oatmeal. Yogurt. Tortilla shells. (Start thinking "Socks for Supper" and "The Man Who Cooked for Himself")
Day 12ish: Finally, a trip to Mecca (aka Trader Joe's). 

However, my parent's house is its own grocery store. I can not get over how much food they keep stocked at all times. You want cereal? Chex, granola, rice crispies; Almond, regular or lactose-free milk? Pasta? Which of 12 different kinds of noodles would best suit the 5 sauce options? At any given moment I have the option to eat Indian, Moroccan, Mexican, Italian, Thai, Chinese, Greek or Southern food. It's crazy and awesome.

Now, I just have to get back in the habit of sitting at a table to eat.

2. Terrible Fashion
There is a reason Anchorage garnered the title of Worst-Dressed City in America. People make terrible choices like insulated mini skirts (pointless and the fashion equivalent of a skinny, decaf, vanilla latte), but when it comes to cold weather, I don't care how fabulous my outfit is, there is no way I'm taking my coat off.

3. Noise
My family isn't loud, but a 300% increase in the number of people I live with means that a lot more conversation and questioning happens. It took me a good two weeks to acclimate and not get put on edge at the seemingly constant talking. Molly and I are practically opposite personalities and that just ramps the confusion up further. I drive her insane, we have fun.

4. Down time
So. Much. Free. Time. Hence the number of external links in this post... Last Christmas I took up a couple art projects, probably the first I had done in 10 years (they were awful). I also practiced escaping from zip ties, a useful and painful experience.  This year I'm playing piano again, going to the gym a lot and, well, what was life before Pinterest?

5. Traditions
 Some things don't change, however, and I'm just fine with that.

-  Poring over Southern Living books with the girls; Discussing for hours what foods we should make this year.
- Watching White Christmas and the predictable, accompanying comments (Dad: "I really like Rosemary Clooney's hair.")
- Getting Moose's Tooth with Mom. That pizza, love of my life. Nuff said.
- Spending time at Kaladi Brothers. My first job, a million memories and still the best coffee I have ever had.
- Going to church at Eagle River Grace. My home church of 18 years, some key parts of my life are connected to that church and I am happy to see lifelong friends again.

I can only imagine what a year in Kenya will do to my perspective, I'll let you know in a year.