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You don't know what you got... Until it's gone.

HPC:Fan Page Icon Posted 2017-08-26 8:15 AM
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H/PC Sensei

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I'm feeling blue, and since I don't have any friends I thought I'd subjugate you all to my story.

I won't go into great detail, but it has been well over a decade that I've stepped foot onto American soil, each one of those years a grueling passage of time that kept me awake at night dreaming of the day. So I'm pleased to say that I came back to Europe the 24th after spending a little over three weeks at home, in Georgia.

I think I built up the first day in my mind, as I expected a more physical sort of emotion than what I had as I stepped out into the warm Georgia night from the airport. Instead of succumbing to tears of joy, I just felt "at home". For the first time in as many years as I've been away, I've felt like I belonged once more.

It was a great time, and I hope to come back many more times until I finally make the move back sometime within a year / year and a half.

If you knew me, you'd realize the sheer magnitude of me being back state side. I just can't get over I spent my days eating Huddle House, drinking Root Beer and browsing Wal-Mart again.

I returned to my old haunts, and realized that while there were many things that had remained the same, much has changed. While I recognized a lot of my adopted home town in Georgia, it has grown so much that some places were almost foreign to me. Now this isn't a bad thing, I was surprised at the sheer choice we now had in regards to shopping and dining. But a part of me missed the "old" town, the town I left.

I left in the early 2000's, so my memories are of a time when only the important folks had a cellphone. When AOL dialup was still a thing, and WinCE devices were still being sold. So it was a bit of a shock to see how far things have progressed.

Now I'm back here though. Feeling like a foreigner again in a place I've lived for so long. I don't know what it is, but I just can't seem to get the knack of European life. Not to knock it, I've met some great people and seen some fantastic places. If you're born here, you're lucky in many aspects. However, I wasn't. And sitting in a Waffle House at 2AM drinking sweet tea is more me than personally viewing the wonderful pieces from Mr. Munch.

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CE Geek Page Icon Posted 2017-08-26 8:26 AM
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How could anyone miss Wal-Mart?

I'd like to visit Europe one day. Two countries I'd particularly like to see are Germany and Austria. I've heard there's some really beautiful country in both places, and I'd also like to see how Germany set up its massive solar power infrastructure without compromising the beauty of its open country. So far the only country I've ever set foot in other than the US is Mexico, and even then always within a stone's throw of the border. Never landed at an airport outside the US.

Mr Munch? You mean Richard Belzer?
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C:Amie Page Icon Posted 2017-08-26 8:26 AM
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Home is where the heart is, you can't argue with that.

Where roughly, in Europe are you?
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Rich Hawley Page Icon Posted 2017-08-26 11:53 AM
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I've been all over the world...swam the Med, public baths in Japan, cock fights in the Phillipines, war in Asia, hostels in Germany & Switzerland, hit every continent except Anarctica.

But returning home after years away always make you feel melancholy...always.
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HPC:Fan Page Icon Posted 2017-08-26 12:44 PM
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H/PC Sensei

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Quote
CE Geek - 2017-08-26 3:26 AM


I'd like to visit Europe one day.


Visiting is great, living here not so much. But yes, Germany / Austria is quite beautiful.

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C:Amie - 2017-08-26 3:26 AM

Where roughly, in Europe are you?


Thought I gave that way in regards to Mr. Munch. Norway, Oslo to be exact.

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HPC:Fan Page Icon Posted 2017-08-26 12:45 PM
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H/PC Sensei

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Rich Hawley - 2017-08-26 6:53 AM

But returning home after years away always make you feel melancholy...always.


Ain't that the truth!
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C:Amie Page Icon Posted 2017-08-26 1:04 PM
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HPC:Fan - 2017-08-26 12:44 PM

Quote
CE Geek - 2017-08-26 3:26 AM


I'd like to visit Europe one day.


Visiting is great, living here not so much. But yes, Germany / Austria is quite beautiful.

Quote
C:Amie - 2017-08-26 3:26 AM

Where roughly, in Europe are you?


Thought I gave that way in regards to Mr. Munch. Norway, Oslo to be exact.

FWIW, I understand. I couldn't live in the US for very long. I can only imagine your specific sentiment though; I've not lived there. Yet Scandinavia is a jarring departure from more Southern parts. For an American, quite uncomfortably socialist too I suspect?

There's never a substitute for going home, but I wonder if you'd feel quite the same if you were in the UK, Ireland or perhaps Italy? An entirely rhetorical question of course, but not everyone in Europe eats decaying fish they found buried on a beach you know?

Clint and his wife came and lived over here for a few years. I think they wouldn't mind me saying that they loved being here and weren't completely thrilled about going home again. His Mrs. was getting dangerously close to discovering the Royal Family's most shameful secrets though, so we had no choice but to throw them out
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CE Geek Page Icon Posted 2017-08-26 9:18 PM
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You mean like which H/PCs they own?

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Rich Hawley - 2017-08-26 3:53 AM
I've been all over the world...swam the Med, public baths in Japan, cock fights in the Phillipines, war in Asia, hostels in Germany & Switzerland, hit every continent except Anarctica.


Well, get on it, Rich. Clearly from your recent move you're looking for Southern exposure.
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HPC:Fan Page Icon Posted 2017-08-27 10:18 AM
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H/PC Sensei

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I've been to the U.K. C:Amie, one of the few places in Europe I could envision living at. Felt a little more "homey", perhaps because you all spoke English? Or perhaps it's because I'm a huge fan of Monty Python...

One thing I've liked about Europe though, is how "advanced" they were in regards to cellular technology in the early 2000's. Didn't take long for the U.S. to close in on that gap though. But I remember walking into a cellular shop to get a phone and was blown away by the choices.
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Rich Hawley Page Icon Posted 2017-08-27 12:53 PM
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My favorite all time visit was to Hong Kong back in the mid-90s when it was still under British rule.

I remember picking up thousands of dollars worth of software for less than a hundred bucks. Got my first Windows 95 on floppy disks that way. MS Office was only $15. I didn't realize that when I bought it that it was probably pirated cloned software...it sure looked original.

I remember buying everything I could get for my Mac Powerbook Duo and my homebuilt Cyrix 6x86...btw, still have the Win95 disks...26 total for installation.
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