[sigh]

[of deep contentment and weariness]

Today was a very good day.

I got up early (7:30 - almost a real peoples' schedule) and got ready and went to work, where I spent a good six hours filing things and learning things and pushing random buttons on things. I think I'll be so overwhelmed the first day or two we have patients. It's a trial and error thing though mostly, so if I can just muster up enough confidence to screw up a good ten or fifteen times I should have it down.

Then, after work, I met Kelsey (yep, Donahue, from Messiah) and her friend Brian (whom she was down here visiting). We went to this popular mexican restaurant and ate good foods, and Brian was a southern gentleman/person and opened the doors and insisted on picking up the tab. It was totally weird. I dunno though - I must be getting used to people opening doors, because it didn't freak me out all that much. Or else Brian just does it with panache (Boy I hope I'm using that word right).

And then we randomly decided to go to the Daikan festival (We found out it was tonight because Brian recognized someone from his school and yelled out the car window at her, and she was going there. Very random, pretty much like the whole evening.) and we ate cotton candy and stood around in lines and talked. It was a lot of fun. We tried to get a ride on a hot air balloon too, but by the time we'd stood in line for an hour waiting most of them were out of fuel and we didn't get to. It was sad. But it was fun to hang out with Kelsey and meet Brian. And to eat cotton candy! I so felt like I was nine again! I love cotton candy! I was so excited! Frankly, I'm still excited about that cotton candy. It was good stuff.

Then we tried to leave. It was a madhouse. It's the kind of traffic where Mom usually asks Dad to drive. It took us a full hour to get out of the parking lot and away from the congested roads. Of course, I'm not a very aggressive driver, so possibly if I'd been willing to risk our lives we could've gotten out in half an hour. But we didn't die, and I didn't panic. Kelsey told funny stories to relieve the tension and we all mutually insulted/yelled at stupid drivers and/or pushy cars. We used several interesting combinations, such as jerkface ignoramus and stupidhead poopface. Yeah, we were definitely on a roll. Someday I'm going to tell you all the best puke story ever. Kelsey told it to me, and it is hilarious. I laughed so hard I forgot to be stressed by all the craziness going on with the adjacent cars.

I could tell I was in the south again. But for some odd reason it didn't distress me. Which is good, I guess, since I'll be here for three months. The whole southern thing doesn't make me feel claustrophobic anymore. You have no idea how good that makes me feel. I feel like I've just vanquished four years' worth of demons. The culture makes me feel a little out of place sometimes, but all in all I feel... at peace with it. It doesn't have the power it used to, so while it's still annoying at times, yeah, I'm at peace with it.

What I am not at peace with is the southern concept of 'clothing'. No, half a shirt is not appropriate to wear in public! Especially not when you're nearing fifty. Honestly! Granted, I don't really approve of skanky clothes to begin with, but especially not on girls of ten and women of fifty. Sorry, it's just not right. My main goal as I near real adulthood (as opposed to the pretend adulthood I now inhabit) is to grow old gracefully. Yes, I want to have fun and all that jazz, but I want to grow old gracefully. I want to act roughly my age and dress roughly my age. I will not be wearing miniskirts when I'm forty. OK, you caught me: I will never wear a miniskirt. But I will especially never wear one when I'm forty. I will never wear a haltertop, and especially not when I'm fifty. I won't dye my hair - I want it to get grey or white or whatever naturally. I'm going to look my age. Get over it people, it happens.

I want to make my peace with growing old.

Right after I sleep, which I am really looking forward to. Today has been long, much like this blog post.