While We Were Away

So I know we've been back for more than 6 months now, but I am discovering things that we missed out on....

For instance, sometime during our life in the UAE there was a peanut butter (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99341551) scare here in the US! My sister was telling me how she couldn't get her favorite peanut butter and cheese crackers. It sounds like the shelves were cleared out of PB - how sad and weird :(

Today as I was listening to the radio I realized the punkpop band blink-182 (http://www.blink182.com) are being talked about as a band again. I'm pretty sure that when I left here they were on an indefinite hiatus! According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blink-182) they re-united in February 2009. Since they took their hiatus in 2005 I guess that wasn't an indefinite one!

Another one that I noticed right away upon our return is regarding Obama. We left the US for the UAE in August 2008, and it was nearing the presidential election. It seemed that everyone was very excited about Obama and what he could do for the country (of course at that point anyone was better than GW Bush!). He was elected while we were away and has been a busy little bee. Now though it seems that whatever he is doing is pissing everyone off! I have seen so many bumper stickers de-faming his name and wanting him to leave office! Wow, what a change from only a year and half of being gone... I'm sorry to see that someone that was elected to office a hero is now hated :(
(I will not put my personal views of Obama in this post, I just wanted to state the feel I get from the rest of society!) (Check out this popularity chart http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php).

Now maybe these are only 3 things that I've noticed we missed and I'm sure there are more, but it does leave a bit of a hole in you. I certainly did live in a different world for a while and as these missing pieces start to fill up I get a weird feeling, but never do I have any regrets!