...so i have to tell you

... i know, i still have to talk about R&R a little. it was great, just to be out of the sandbox for a while. class took up a lot of the time, as did recovering from jet lag... but you'll have that. what blew me away, though, was when i went to the mall...i didn't really have this problem my first R&R. maybe it was because it had just been under 4 months since i left and now it was closer to 9... maybe it was because i spent some quality time in Victory where there's more surroundings and things to experience. regardless, we were walking through the new WDSM mall... i needed a nice jacket. i was looking to replace my black leather jacket which has gone AWOL... which led us through a few dept stores. i felt like my eyes were being pulled in every direction at once... there were too many signs and colors and marketing gimmicks. it was really overwhelming. and let me tell you, apparently small men don't wear leather jackets, cuz we were having a hell of a time finding one i liked. and then when we found one, it turned out to be lambskin. i dunno, i'm not real sure i'm ok with wearing a baby lamb. (which i remarked out loud...) to which the reply i got from present company was, "well, maybe they were adult lambs." um, those would be "sheep". :) but i digress...so when i wasn't too exhausted to care, and i started paying attention to the chaos going on in my brain... i started realizing how overstimulated and tense i was. bright lights, unpredictable motions, strange sounds, heavy traffic, bags and coats left unattended... it was just too much. i really wanted to just not go anywhere, and not do anything. it kind of felt like the first time i went to vegas... except back then i felt entertained and dazzled. ...they say it's just a matter of time till you get reaccustomed to all that. i don't think 10 days is sufficient for overcoming jet lag, much less the hyperstimulation. luckily, my EOC is longer. and i'm going through the crash course of reintroduction to western society...