Giving Up What?

A FRIEND RECENTLY asked what I've had to give-up by moving with my family to France. The context of the conversation made it clear that he was not looking for me to rattle of a list of 'goods' I can't get in France, so things like Root Beer, Starbucks, and beef hot-dogs were not acceptable answers. Nor were 'friends and family' kind of answers allowed (too easy). He was hoping I'd give it a bit more thought. 'What's the top 5?' he asked. Without a lot of time to think I came up with these five things -- in no particular order:

• golf (haven't played once since I've been here).
• 6:30am Friday morning breakfasts with best buddies at the Tastee Diner (my favorite part of the work week).
• 30 minutes with a newspaper each morning (I love the Washington Post).
• ties (sounds crazy, but I used to wear a jacket and tie virtually every day and I kind of miss it. Since we moved to France I've worn a tie exactly once! And that includes church).
• talk radio (yes, that's what I used to listen to in the car -- mostly sports talk radio. iTunes has allowed for a little relief in this area)

I'm sure I could come up with a more pretentious sounding list -- you know, one with more depth and intellect -- but that would just be silly.

Late Update: my brother wants to know why I didn't mention perhaps the biggest thing I've given up: ice hockey. I can watch (tv/internet) and I can see games live (Allez Nice), but I can't play! I have no good reason for this oversight -- probably should be number 1.

CJS