Yesterday was a rockin’ day.

I was (delightfully) trapped in a moving vehicle with the one and only Naomi Dunford... for… wait for it…

Five hours.

Yes, I DO recognize that it shouldn’t have taken five hours to get back from Houston. But considering the situation, I could not possibly have had better company. (Except maybe someone with an iPhone. Speaking of which, I’m taking recommendations on iPhones.)

There’s something about running the gauntlet that deeply, viscerally inspires me. Three hours to Houston International, an hour or two at the scanning faces game, five hour drive home and a leisurely ramble through “lost in the middle of nowhere” to boot—another few hours at dinner and then downtown again to (pitifully) try to catch Pastries & Pasties, even though they wrapped up an hour early and we got there spot on the final “Goodnight!” That was my day. It sounds mundane and harrying—not like battling the encroaching Persians or freeing your countrymen. But it’s also strangely appealing just because it’s hard.

That’s a pretty amazing realization for a girl who’s had to work consciously to combat her own laziness!

Pushing my own boundaries has gotten addictive. Making the decision to put myself in new challenging situations gets easier every time. I look forward to it more—I relish knowing the ending. Can I make boundary-pushing even more addictive? What bigger, better thing can I do next? Getting to keep moving forward is the chocolate avocado icing on the raw nuts-dates cake. (Delicious, by the way, if you want the recipe.)

So my first day of SXSW Interactive was unorthodox, but incredibly awesome. I wouldn’t change it—not even to catch every single panel I missed because of my drive. The challenge and the company were too spectacular for me to even think of complaining. I could not have had a better day.

Okay. Maybe if we hadn’t gotten lost.

But other than that. ;}