At first, I lamented the unavailablity of such social networks like Facebook, but after awhile, I found that I had a lot more time. I used to keep a blog over at blogspot, but that is blocked also, so it has kinda gone by the wayside. All that would change if I invested in a VPN, which I have thought about in the past, but thus far, I haven't done it yet.

I belong to some artist based websites, but the majority of my family and friends don't belong to those sites. They are more business oriented.

Isolation does become a problem. I try to keep in touch with people on Skype, but the difference in time sometimes throws a wrench into the process. And of course, that involves communication. Facebook lets one puruse activities and comments at a glance without arrainging a planned meeting.

One of the things I truly miss is good coffee. I'm from Seattle, and if there is one thing we take seriously, it's coffee. Most Chinese prefer the instant kind, which just doesn't cut it.

Honestly, this question has never crossed my mind. 

I have my tunes and of course, hockey. From time to time I will add cold beer to the equation and I'm good.

Facebook for me is a non factor.

chocolate! mmmmm...... Hershey's in Shanghai is my lover.

Pizza. Funny thing is, I wasn't a big pizza eater back home, but going months and months without any, and I can't think about anything else.

Real TV.  At home I have 200 channels of HD bliss on my big Plasma TV and they are not in Chinese.
Here I have CNN and ATV World in English, so I never watch TV anymore.
Maybe THIS is why I'm so freakin bored sometimes.  I miss live Canucks games the most.  And sitcoms....oh I miss sitcoms.

Number one would have to be actual internet and the speeds that come with it.  I miss Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, online shopping that's not Taobao, UNFLITERED SEARCH RESULTS, being able to use Google and all it's apps without being 404'd every other minute...  You get the idea.

New music.  I actually miss good ole' radio stations that play music other than Lady Gaga and Justin Beiber.  Streaming feeds from radio in the US/UK sucks here, even with a VPN, so I don't bother.  I have to actively search around for new music which used to be as simple as hearing a song on the radio or at a bar.

And of course, food.  I miss the variety of not only restaurants, but available groceries.  Some things you can buy here, but damn...  Between $5-$7usd for a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese?!?!?!  Box of cereal for 75rmb?!?!  I can only eat certain amounts of "chopped up stuff on rice or noodles" and steamed/boiled food before I go insane.  I miss really good bread and cheese....

And clothes that fit.  Hahahaha.

Going without decent internet was a killer. Investing in a VPN was genuinely a godsend: movies, BBC iPlayer, facebook, youtube, they are all worth the money.

At the moment, the lack of decent bread, cheese and condiments are really buggging me.

Going without a good quality coffee was a real trial - but that was something I expected to struggle with!

Cheese. I get withdrawal symptoms if I don't consume cheese in one form or another after a couple of weeks. I've gotten more addicted to coffee since being in China, which is quite strange. Wasn't a big coffee drinker before, but now I just have to have a cup in the morning to function properly.

I agree w/kchur,..I miss a good ol slice of thin crust pizza with pepperoni- even plain is better than the pizzas I've tried here.

The value of a man's word and handshake.........

Sorry, I got to rant now.  Moving apartment, still have one day on the contract so I got the last load to move out and then do some cleaning.  Landlady asks this morning if she can show the place off to someone and asks for my key.  I told her I only brought this one with me today and I still have stuff in there, so she has to bring it back to me before I leave work.  She agrees, no problem.  Work ends and she hasn't even called.  I call her but she doesn't have the key with her and ask me to wait a couple of mins.  So I wait and call again, she now confesses that the apartment's owner has the key, saying he wanted to check and make sure the apartment was still ok and she'll call him for the key.  I wait, no call, so I call her back... He's already given the key to another agent, but she will make the call.  Then I call again and she says, go to the old apartment and when I get there she'll have someone there to open the door.  I arrive, noone, I call, no answer, repeatly.  Finally 20 mins later, she answers and the new agent is on his way but it will be another 30 mins.  So now I'm forced to have a whiskey dinner.  All my food is in the old apartment and if I go into "town" I be too tempted to flip out on her in person.  And I really don't want the cops called on me for making a scene.

The only thing I can't live without is water. I drink less water in China compared to back home but I can still live without the water that I drank back home. I did have a water purifier back home which came in handy, but other than that I would say no.