It gets better

Last night, well, yesterday was pretty cool. Boring paperwork meetings all morning, and then more meetings in the afternoon... But by midafternoon, i was free, no responsibilities the rest of the day. And at first i was nervous. I thought "what am i going to do with all this free time? what if i can't find people to hang out with?" but luckily, i ran into a girl i'd befriended standing in line the day before, and we hung out in her room for a while. We played Set! and we went to dinner together, where we met a whole bunch of people. And from there, the night was sort of a lot of wandering around, meeting different people, and I ended up with a crew of about 20 perfect strangers playing Apples to Apples. It was great. I had a really good night. And i feel like today i could talk to any one of the dozen or so people i met throughout the evening, in addition to the small handful of friends i'd made the first day standing in line.

Today's been really ok. The atmosphere is really cool around here. Basically, because we all came in with the same situation of knowing no one and a totally new experience, it's completely acceptable to sit down with a group of people you don't know, say your name, and start a conversation. I have to admit, i don't sit with a group unless i know one person at least, but a lot of people are more outgoing than me, so groups just grow, and everyone's willing to talk to everyone. Conversations turn to everything.

I've learned that a large number of the people here are either just out or a year out of college like me. And overwhelmining majority are anywhere from democrat to extremely liberal. I haven't met someone yet who was pro bush or even a republican.
Someone last night described this as hippie boot camp.
I had an entire conversation about literature with a group of people!

I do have some requests, for friends who might be willing to send me a package?
I have this lovely uniform with lots of specifics on what i can and can't wear. but what isn't specified is socks. So a couple pairs of brightly colored socks would be awesome. I do know the address now, if you leave a comment i'll email it to you.
Oh, and dad, could you send me a microwavable travel mug? if we have one at home?

Sadly, my retainer that was in my nose fell out yesterday morning! my blankets pulled it out in the night, i woke up when it happened but couldn't find it. i'm not worried about the hole closing up if i just have it out a little while, but i definitely want to get a new retainer soon.

And now, i'm going to go put on those steel toed boots to start wearing them in, and go to another meeting!! yay meetings!