Time for an outlet. I can't guarantee it will be coherent, but I can guarantee it will not be academic and will certainly not involve a single diagram of the laryngeal structures. Also, I will change grammatical tenses intermittently, with no recognizable pattern.

     This evening I wore Minnie Mouse ears and a shiny red belt while I studied. I try extra hard to win over the barista at my local coffee shop because I get the impression that he doesn't like my kind (you know, the conventional Californian in me, the one who isn't an angsty and organic Oregonian). He's warming up to me. An almost-affectionate look washed over his face as I ordered my standard "mocha that's as sweet as a hot chocolate, please." ...Or maybe his smile was a smirk because I'm 26 years old and donning over-sized sequined black ears with a sparkly red bow in the middle, while ordering a very grown-up beverage. Either way, we'll be friends soon.
     At 10:37 pm, the girls behind me and I simultaneously concluded our study sessions. In our moment of solidarity, we exchanged the details of what we were studying. They are studying Chinese medicine, how fascinating and non-traditional of them. As we parted ways, they donned their bicycle helmets and bike lights to trek home on their ten-speed street bikes in the rain. I got in my Nissan Sentra to drive home, warm and dry. It's not that I don't like biking, it's just that in my oh-so-conventional ways, I moved to Oregon with a one-speed beach cruiser with the only gear being slow. That's why they study Chinese medicine and I study speech pathology. But, hey, this is Portland, so we're all cool with whatever.