Tonight marks the first time anyone has ever walked into my practice room and asked to sit in on an etude. That was odd... heck, I'm not *that* good.

In other news, I talked to my little sister for a good hour and a half tonight. It's been a long time since I heard from her, since we've managed to miss each other most of the times I've been home. She's had it rougher than I did in high school - no close friends, pressure from the parents, etc - and I'm damn proud that she's made it this far. Keep your head up, kiddo, I love you.

Oh yeah... today was also the first day that NOTHING in lab went wrong. I can't remember making a single mistake all day. Of course, Veronica also wasn't there most of the day to point out if I did something wrong... but I did feel amazingly competent. And I also managed to read a good 3 chapters of the genetics text. Hooray for me. =^)

And to top it off, riding tonight was ok. Susan actually complimented us on our riding, noting that she could see the difference, the improvements we'd made over the summer. And after Andrea had finished untacking and grooming Alabama, we walked around the stables with Davee, the coolest instructor ever (right up there with Julia)... all three of us have taken a few lessons from her. If I keep riding during the year, I'll probably stick with her group lesson - you learn so much during each lesson, and her teaching style is great. I'm still trying to find answers to her last several questions: "What's your greatest strength? Your greatest weakness? And what are you most afraid of?"

The last one worries me most. The thing is, I can't think of anything that I'm terribly afraid of in the ring. It's strange... I used to be afraid of falling, but a few choice dives off a horse's back fixed that fear. I'll come up with something soon, I guess.

I do believe it's time to sleep. Night all, catch you on the flip side.
And a few lyrics that describe my attitude right now:
"I'm not afraid to die
I'm not afraid to live
And when I'm flat on my back
I hope to feel like I did"
-U2