Things I Will Miss When I'm Gone

My nephew, Ben. He's going to grow so quickly, and have all sorts of "firsts" while I'm away. Fortunately there's Facebook.

All my friends and family, of course. Again, thankful for Facebook, and for Skype. It'll be interesting to see how well Skype works from over there. I've had pretty successful test runs here. I'm also looking forward to some visitors!

Easy access to a wide variety of wines. And to the plethora of wine events in my area. Although I'm certainly looking forward to getting to know all the Greek wines, my understanding is that there isn't a ton of availability when it comes to international wines on Crete. As the author of a West Crete website said, if you must have your precious Bordeaux, you'd better bring it with you.

My apartment. Sure, it's tiny, and very expensive, and is overrun by ants in the summer, and I don't have a tub (only a shower) but for the past two years it has served me well. Just two miles from my office, not having a hellish commute has been beyond sublime. The neighborhood isn't one of the more interesting in the city, but it has a few restaurants and other basic amenities, and is in easy reach of several other, more interesting neighborhoods. Great swimming pool, free parking, and an east-facing view that lets in wonderful morning sunlight.

My city. I moved to DC from the Virginia suburbs about five years ago, and when I come back to the area I can't fathom not living within the city limits. The 10% income tax is a pain, but the excellent public transportation, wide variety of bars and restaurants, tree-lined streets and cultural/entertainment options available make it worth it, in my mind. There are parts of the city that feel like a city, but there are also numerous parks and hiking trails, even within the city limits. It's also kind of cool being so close to the seat of "power", even though I rather disdain government. I may feign annoyance when traffic gets held up to allow for the president's motorcade, or when the news crews are parked outside my apartment building for Shasha and Malia's first day of school (Sidwell Friends is right across the street from me) but in reality, it's a bit of a rush.