I drove up and down the east coast of this fine continent last weekend to attend the FitBloggin’ conference in Baltimore. It was a weekend for superlative moments, that’s for sure, which is why I made a list of them.

The most it’s-a-small-world-moment
This conversation with Skinny Emmie:

JenFul: Where are you from?
Skinny Emmie: Lexington, Kentucky
JenFul: I lived there when I was at the University of Kentucky!
Skinny Emmie: I went to UK, too!
JenFul: Did you live in a dorm?
Skinny Emmie: Yes, Boyd Hall.
JenFul: SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! *I* lived in Boyd Hall. What years?
Skinny Emmie: I started in 1999.
JenFul: GET OUT! I lived there from 1998-2000.
Skinny Emmie: No way!
JenFul: We lived in the same dorm at the same time! I was on the second floor.
Skinny Emmie: I was on the fourth! Do you know So Anne So?
JenFul: I went to high school with So Anne So!

We also figured out that we were both getting fat off of the same selection of Ben & Jerry’s available at the Blazer Xpress at the same time. And she ran out of money on her meal card before the end of the semester too. So, it wasn’t just me!

Most satisfying moment
Giving my Design 101 presentation without breaking into splotches. That’s the calm, cool, competence that only comes with assembling your presentation three days in advance.

Most humbling moment
Realizing I gave my entire Design 101 session with my fly open. Thank goodness for long shirts and dark undies!

Worst shortcut
Following my friends two blocks in one direction and then backtracking to find a restaurant across the street from the hotel. You can give a pack of bloggers smartphones and Google Maps, but you can’t make them use ’em!

Giddiest moment
Creating the Weight-Loss Blog Title Generator with Shauna and laughing way more than was truly warranted. For days. And even now. (I’m sorry, but Pudgy VonSandwich Pants is totally LOL-worthy.)

Closest brush with someone else’s brush
Reaching for my toothbrush after Shauna checked out and realizing my toothbrush had left with her. She left her pink one with me, supposedly on accident, but I think she was jealous of my 3-week-old toothbrush’s firm, crisp, bristles. That or it was an unspoken bartering arrangement for the Tampax she kindly bought me when I was too tired to walk two blocks to CVS. (Farewell, male readers. Thank you for making it this far, at least.)

Most blatant disregard for decorum
I stopped at a Starbucks when I was driving home so I wouldn’t fall asleep at the wheel. The women’s bathroom was occupied, so I looked to make sure no one was watching…and then I used the men’s bathroom. No, I don’t have a secret I need to tell you. When you gotta’ go, you gotta’ go, but you’d better go before anyone sees you went.

Most surprising moment
The five-and-a-half-hour drive to Baltimore and the six-hour drive back to Chapel Hill wasn’t that painful. I was expecting to faceplant onto my bed with a wicked headache by the end of both trips, but the drive wasn’t that bad and the headache behaved. My four-and-a-half hour trips to my old headache clinic usually hurt more, but maybe that’s because Indiana’s scenery is, um, kinda boring. Sorry, Indiana, but we both know it’s true.

Least surprising moment
Seeing a Megabus broken down on the side of the highway on the drive home. It’s the third time I’ve seen that, but the first time I haven’t been on one! Dear disgruntled passengers, I have totally been there, and I’m so, so sorry. If I could have given you all a ride down the road in my tiny Saturn, I would have.

Most grateful-for-my-life moment
While I was sitting on the highway in the DC area, amazed and annoyed that there could be rush-hour-like traffic on a Sunday, a SUNDAY, little did I know that Jen, aka Prior Fat Girl, was literally running for her life from a tornado. Thankfully she is ok, as is Carlos, and her little dog, too. Her house…has presumably looked better, but is still standing.

Saturday night I’d gone to dinner with a group of bloggers that included Jen, and it is bizarre to think that something like this was less than 24 hours in her future. I’m sending out good thoughts and best wishes to her, but she might not be able to receive them until her electricity is restored. It looks like the online and real world community is rallying around her, as they should. I’m not sure at this moment if there is anything actionable recommended to help her, but you can probably check in on her web page or Twitter in the next few days to see if there’s anything more specific you can do besides sending a supportive tweet (which is probably most appreciated itself).