1. Netflix. Like, the DVD version. If the university library doesn't have a movie/old TV show, and it's not on iTunes, I basically can't watch it.
2a. Amazon, in general; and
2b. Amazon Prime, in particular. You don't even know how good you have it with Amazon. Think about it: there is a place where you can find anything you need, for a good price, and they will send it to your house. It is magic. And we don't have access to that here. Amazon.ae, why do you not exist yet??
(Side rant: this is especially on my mind because of kids' socks, of all things. The girls have to wear white, non-crew socks to school. I bought ten pairs of socks from Centrepoint at the beginning of the school year and they are just the most awful socks imaginable. They are white, but after a few washes, they all shrunk to different sizes. So now instead of a tidy sock bin by the front door, there is a frazzled heap of single socks that were discarded in the frantic search for a somewhat matching pair. Meanwhile, there are these socks lurking on Amazon, mocking me with their effortless quality and low price. Hmph.)
3. Stitch Fix. Every couple of months, I get to scheming about how I could maybe make this work with my overseas address, but...no.
4. Online grocery shopping. This is related to Amazon Prime, I guess. I would love to reach the point where I only have to go to the store to get milk, produce, and local ingredients that are probably super hard to find in the US, JUST SAYIN'.
5. THE LIBRARY. What I said about Netflix and DVDs above? It applies to books, too. If the university library doesn't have it, and it's not available as a library book for Kindle, I have to agonize over whether or not to pay $10ish to read a book. That's fine for a book that I love and will re-read or whose author I really want to support, but for the everyday one-off? No way.
