Hello from north California. Not quite La La Land, but the people here are still pretty glossy. Or weird. I've met some strange people over the last few days. I am definitely enjoying myself, however. Magda (sister, age 20) is making the wedding cake, and she was baking cake layers all day long. I hemmed my bridesmaid dress in the morning, and then I tried to read. While trying to read, I fell asleep in the sun for 3.5 hours and gave myself a slight sunburn. So I guess I do burn after all - I just have to work at it. :P It's still not too bad, but the funniest part is where my little necklace left a white patterned spot in the middle of the pink neckline burn. I changed to a tshirt with a higher neck, and I hope the burn fades by the wedding. :D That could make for an interesting effect.

Altogether, Magda and I spent a while talking to Mrs. Bisagno, Naomi's mom. I like her a lot. She's a short, tiny Japanese lady, very down to earth, very practical. She's planned this entire wedding, and she's stressing herself out. We're trying to make her life easier.

Frankly, after Magda, Greg, and I arrived around 2pm yesterday from our 2.5-day drive, I was somewhat dispirited. Everyone was talking around me and had something to do, plus I tend to get a little bit paranoid when I'm tired. I felt funny, because I hadn't figured out where I fit into all the preparations. A good night's sleep and some private time with God made all the difference. This week is not my week after all. It's Naomi's.

So. In less than a week, with a few days' break in the middle, I traversed the entire continent by vehicle. For the first time, I saw the country west of Missouri. This is true. I had traveled east plenty of times, but not west, except for twice by airplane to southern Nevada. It's much different by vehicle. You see how the land changes from flat cornfields to flat desert to the Rocky Mountains to salt flats to miles of more desert pockmarked with scruffy bushes and occasionaly broken by more mountains and rocky bluffs. Then you get to California, and suddenly people drive as if they're possessed. They swerve into tiny openings in the next lane on the highway, causing you to brake heavily. They hover in the left lane, refuse to move if you crowd them, and force you to pass on the right.

Areas have driving personalities. I noticed this more than ever on this trip. In some areas, people are sensible and laid back. They drive over the speed limit, but not too much over, and they stay in the right lane unless they need to pass. Then in others, people have lost their minds. They act as though they want to get in an accident. I have to wonder how that happens. Do people imitate even the driving styles of everyone around them?

I know that I felt myself changing styles as I went through the different states. I can cope with aggressive driving, because I grew up in the St. Louis area. I definitely prefer laid back, however. The interesting part is that, in a heavily urban area, laid back driving is not an option. You become a more aggressive driver to survive. I'm sure there are parallels for regular life in there somewhere...

Well, I should end this post. I will post more about the wedding later, but right now I have to go read everyone else's blogs. :)  ¶ 8:20 PM