Four Lists of Five Things

Five Things I Miss About Key West

1. The sun. I feel like I somehow managed to be outside much more often when I was in Key West, but that might just be because Reston is a super shady (as in there is a lot of trees and therefore shade) town, so even when I am outside, I'm still not getting that full Sunshine effect.
2. The people. This should probably actually be number one, but oh, I miss the sun. Facebook is nice because I still feel like I know what's going on, but also sad-making because I wish I was there. Yay! for staying clued in, Boo! for making me miss all my awesome friends.
3. Annie's. I did not realize how great of a deal Annie's Buying Club was until I starting having to buy veggies individually from stores. And I also am still not sure about this whole, plan your menu and THEN go to the store business.
4. My tiny office. I work in a huge office building now filled with strangers (and some familiar faces). I miss both the closeness of a small office and the feeling of being a big fish in a small pond. I'm now just a regular sized fish.
5. The Cafe, Matheessen's, Big Johns, Thai Life, Goldmans, etc. Sure, there are a ton of restaurants here too, but I haven't discovered my favorites yet. And none of them is a floating restaurant.

Five Things I Do NOT Miss About Key West

1.  Living on base. Ordered pizza for lunch today, and just gave the dude my address. And then he came and knocked on my door. No need for a call from the corner of Whitehead and United. Invited my friends over, same thing: just gave them the address and they knocked on my door. Genius!
2. Geckos. They aren't cute.
3. That stink that sometimes happens in the late summer. If you've ever been in Key West during the stinky times, you know what I'm talking about.
4. Mopeds. I'm sure they are great for the people who drive them, but I hated getting stuck behind them.
5. Tourists. Luckily I live far enough away from the tourist hot spots that I just don't have to deal with them anymore. And it's glorious. I love being a tourist, but I don't love living in an area that a lot of people tour to.

Five Things I'm Loving About Northern Virginia

1. Old Friends. I do miss my Key West friends, but it's been great to start integrating old friends back into my daily life. And I don't want to sound elitist or anything, but it's been awesome that so many of them are single.
2. Target. And Macy's. And specialty running stores. And specialty grocery stores. And DSW. And holy heck how did I live my life without such convenient commercialism!
3. Smart people. I'm not saying that people in Key West are not smart, just that if you've decided to live in Key West, it's for a reason, and the reason is not so that you can randomly start talking about the Napoleonic Wars and expect five people to join in the conversation.
4. Bike paths. Everywhere.
5. Cultural Events. All the time. 

Five Things I'm Not Loving About Northern Virginia

1. Traffic. And roads that make no sense. And the people who drive here.
2. Rent. I'm getting a great deal for my area, but its still substantially more than I was paying. And also, it's not just being withheld from my paycheck like it was, so I actually see that giant chunk of money disappear.
3. The lack of a horizon. Between the trees and the hills and the wonky curvy roads, you just can't ever see that far ahead of you. Sometimes it's cozy, and sometimes it's claustrophobia-inducing.
4. Having to put make-up on every day. I sort of hate feeling like I have to look good all the time.
5. Slow hymns. Our pianist at church in Key West always played the hymns at a wonderfully fast pace and I loved it. Now I feel like I'm singing dirges all the time.