Since I'm tired, this'll be a short update through the Pismo trip. I'll fill in more details later, if I ever get around to 'em.

Pismo highlights:
-a refreshing midnight stroll with Niffer and Mary along the beach for a couple miles with our camping stuff
-getting stuck in the sand, not on the beach, but in the RV park (ah, the shame)
-adventures in ditching a pallet... final resting place: back of Vons.
-20 miles of the scenic route along the PCH with Yussanne, looking for 'the 22' instead of '22nd street'. oops. thank goodness for nice elderly folk with detailed maps.
-ocean kayaking with Rebecca - getting beyond the breakers without flipping (hooray!), seeing a couple otters popping up here and there, paddling up and down the shoreline, and screaming in on one heckuva wave. So much fun. =^)
-Mike's amazing streak of luck with cards...
-fun with sand dunes - getting buried up to my neck, getting my ears covered, closing my eyes... hey, where'd everyone go?
-Mafia 'round the campfire, and getting murdered by fellow townspeople every single game. Thanks guys.
-the morning 'adventure ride' with Yussanne and Fred - nothing like a brisk gallop along the beach. On an edgy horse. Without a helmet. Um, sure it's safe...
-getting 'oceaned' for random puns (esp. the otter series). Apparently, punning isn't something you otter do in sight of a whole lotta water... (thanks Mike D and Jeff, that was really something)

Realizations:
-You don't realize how much someone's friendship means to you until you're afraid you've mortally offended them. And I'm damn lucky to have people who care about me even when I don't deserve it.
-Someone else's screwup in lab can set you back a good 4 hours, if not more - I'd like to kick whoever opened the autoclave early on my bottle of LB medium. Grrrr.
-It takes more'n one shower to get all the sand out of your ears.
-"Not everything you pick up on the side of the road will match, including shoes"
-I have five more weeks here. Better pick up the pace on flute and start in on secretary stuff for first term.

Enough for now. Night all.