The Land of Green Ginger

It is definitely winter here. I could see on the approach to Newark that the roads had that dried white crust over them from being salted during a recent snow storm. It was -5 C (22 F for those playing along at home) when I woke up this morning. The kind of cold that lets you see your breath when you exhale from your nose. It's going to take a great deal of motivation to get myself out on the bike. I've been looking forward to riding the fixie, though.

It's always weird coming home now. I always feel like I've had my eyes open to some things and suddenly there's a lot that I don't like here. Of course I'm glad to see my family, and my dog, and I'll enjoy driving my car which is ace...but there's a lot of fluff here as well. I can pick out all of the American stereotypes that you become immune to when you grow up in a society, and they are starting to really annoy me.

Don't get me wrong; there are many great things about the States, and lots of good people, too. There are places here that I love, and of course, it's the home of Mack and Manco's pizza. I think most of my gripe has to do with the fact that I've changed as a person rather than things being different here. I guess the change was coming, and I probably started feeling it well before I quit my job. Being overseas seems to have made me accutely aware of just how much different a person I am than say, 5 years ago.

I'm very grateful for the time I spent in the UK. I learned so many things, met so many fantastic people, got slightlty better as a bike rider (although I'm still pretty bad), and I became more aware of the kind of influence things at home have on the rest of the world. I haven't even been home for a day yet and I already miss it.

The sun is out here though, so I guess it does have its merits.