nanny nanny boo boo

france is good. france is great. france is not my home, however. in case you were wondering, the following is an incomplete list of things i miss.

-BROCCOLI. I. Want. Broccoli.
-getting super high and giggling the night away. alternatively, getting super high and lying on my bed, paralyzed, listening to music and convincing myself that although i have listened to the song in question at least three thousand times before, i am hearing a "level" of the song that i have never heard before. both are great. neither is happening here.
-cooking my own food. in particular, i want angel hair pasta with tomato sauce, broccoli, and crumbled "griller's vegan" morningstar veggie burger. i also miss living in a country where eating a vegan diet is possible. yes- i'm very sorry dear vegans, but this is really just out of the question for me while i'm here. i fully intend on resuming my veganism when i return to los angeles... eating non-vegan has made me feel all sorts of wack and icky. mais, c'est la vie.
-friends and loved ones. self explanatory.
-being read as queer. standards of normative gender expression vary from region to region, from culture to culture. by parisien standards, i don't look particularly gay. i am also always without partner. this lack of visibility, coupled with an appallingly high level of misogyny, has led me to receive much unwanted attention from men. i have also had to recalibrate my gaydar rather dramatically (granted, this is something that must always be done while traveling, even if you're simply relocating from southern california to northern), and it has been kind of challenging. i'm getting there, however, and i'm finally able to distinguish the true gouines with ease.
-driving. this one is a bit of a kicker. i really didn't expect that i would miss driving. but what can i say.... after two years of los angeles living, the city certainly rubbed off on me, and i think my car and i were finally entering a sort of intensely passionate [love/hate] romantic relationship. something thats nice about driving is that it provides one with a distinct personal space bubble. i think this is especially true for me, since i drive a vw bug, a car that is literally shaped like a bubble and makes me feel like i'm in a space ship when i drive it.