life's a lot to think about sometimes

2 things i forgot to mention:

one: stephen came to visit me! we had so much fun. (stephen is my cousin who was home on a 10-day break from training for the marines - yikes!) it was so good to see him! i showed him around hopkins and was suddenly aware of how often i use the word "marine" at the marine lab. it's interesting how it has such a pleasant connotation here, but scares me when i think of it in his way...

we ate lunch at the restaurant at the aquarium. we had no idea how fancy it was! white table clothes and too many forks. i ordered the cheese ravioli appetizer thinking that would be safe. it was a fancy plate with lots of stripes of sauce and green garnishes... and three pieces of ravioli. fortunately we went to ghirardeli afterwards so i filled up there :) it was really fun just hanging out, but it was so weird to do so without the rest of our families. i don't think we've ever hung out without our families in the 20 years we've known each other. it was kind of a strange experience. i wish him well with the rest of his training and his service.


two: last night i learned to drive a stick! and by learned i mean attempted to somewhat understand what was going on while stalling the car at least 10 times. and when i could get into first, the car would lurch forward. fortunately cara was very patient with me. i'm working on it...