nice and cute.

so, apparently matt's parents couldn't get over how nice and cute I was. I talked to him later in the evening and he said how they were all talking on the way back to the hotel and they kept saying over and over "she's SO nice!!!" and "goodness, she's CUTE!"

which kind of works out well 'cause I can't get over how nice they were.

they came and got me at seven, when I realized that
1) I so should have worn jeans.
2) I so should have worn flip flops instead of flats (although, it was raining, so maybe flats were the right choice).
3) I so should have brought an umbrella.

ha.

we went to dinner at chili's in brier creek and happened to sit in what Matt and I refer to (jokingly) as *our* booth. we talked about their family. and philly. and atlantic city. and funny stories about matt when he was a kid. and how for every thing that he or his siblings wanted when growing up (that his parents didn't want him to have) there was always a story of a kid who'd died/gotten injured/lost an arm/whatever doing whatever it was.

for instance.
matt: can we have a trampoline? puh-leeeeeze?
parent: no, don't you know about that kid two blocks over who snapped his neck jumping on one?

yeah. kinda funny. apparently the sad part is that his parents got older they actually knew real people who were examples, so now Matt still isn't sure which are true and which are false.

I learned that Matt's dad's parents didn't like his mom at first, so his dad wasn't allowed to use the car to take her out on dates. So instead? He bought a motorcycle. Guess I know where that stubbornness came from. (and I did tell his parents that he's the first guy I've ever know who is even more stubborn than I am!)

we made jokes, we talked about wine and oklahoma (and his dad asked me if there was an *oklahoma* or *tulsa* food like how you have philly cheesesteaks in philly--I said I couldn't think of anything unless it was bbq or mazzios or something, what do you think?) and my family and photography and my new camera, etc.

and Matt told them that I'm an excellent chef (which according to Paul I'm a chef, not a cook, since I don't always use a recipe) and how I've immensely expanded his vocabulary over the past four months. :D

I got to talk to his mom by myself for a minute as well--we were waiting while the guys got the van and then Matt came to bring us an umbrella 'cause it was really raining hard. His mom (Rosemary) told me about she was always cold, and how his dad (George the Second) now had a thermometer on his travel alarm so he always knows the temperature and gives her a hard time about how she's cold. Which is funny 'cause often Matt says to me "Really?!? You're cold right now?" Of course he says this as he puts his arm around me to warm me up (the boy is a heater, I swear!) but it's funny, still.

when we got to my place to drop me off they opened their thanks-for-letting-me-stay-with-you (in advance) presents. I got his dad a six pack of Choc beer from Oklahoma and a pet tornado (which if you don't know what this is you really must look up, I find them amusing AND science-ee, and since his dad used to run a science center....) and then I gave his mom a bottle of Stonebluff white wine and three wooden roses from Woolaroc. They seemed to LOVE them.

the part I liked best was when Matt was coming around to walk me to the door with the umbrella his mom said, "I am very much looking forward to getting to see you again on Sunday. Very much."

[insert ear-to-ear smile here]

yaaaay!

more about the remainder of the evening:
1) I managed to get my new camera. The LCD screen is HUGE and I am going to like it, well, once I get over it being different. I've been playing with the features, I'll show you them soon.
2) I am surprised that my new 4GB card only holds about two thirds as many pictures as my old 4GB card. Apparently that .9 MP makes a big difference. I need to check out the other settings too.
3) I really like the show Big Love. HBO makes good series.

and then.

Last night I had a dream that I was walking down hallways and going into rooms looking for a job. Maybe the times they are a'changing and it'll end some kind of frustration? One can hope?