Well, we're back! That was a lot of time to spend in a car, but we had a lot of fun - the girls got 3rd place overall (out of 10) and every single team member made finals in at least one event. So we made a pretty good first showing and had a great time to boot. My personal times weren't all that great - 34.9 for the 50 free and 2:54 for the 200 free - but I know that I'm capable of better than that. I wasn't warmed up well before I swam the 200 and so ended up dropping back into a more manageable pace (it was either that or quit in the middle), plus I was pretty nervous. But I did consistently a little bit better with each event (I swam five), so now I know that I'm just one of those people who needs a really long warm-up. And it was great to watch some of the others do so well - one of the boys broke a pool record and one of the girls made finals in six different events! I stand by the fact that I don't like the whole 'time' concept, but it's a really fun atmosphere to be in nonetheless. Last night after the meet wasn't so much fun - we were trying to get Louisiana-style food and ended up getting a late start, getting lost, walking a really, really long way in the freezing cold, and then not being able to find a restaurant which would take 14 people at midnight (when most things closed). So a lot of us ended up griping and sniping at each other. Anyway, we split up - seven of us went to this restaurant on Decatur called Angeli's (the others went to Bourbon Street) and had AWESOME food. I could have lived on that pasta salad! Then three of us (me included) went back to the hotel (and fell asleep within seconds), while the others stayed out until four or so. Then we drove back this morning, and the rest is history.

Now it's time to go take a shower, cram for tomorrow's exam, and SLEEP. For a very long time.