The proposed time was around 7:30 but I got there around 7:45. Turns out I was still the first person there. I am a grown-up but does it make any sense to say that at this moment, I felt very grown-up? Saying something along the lines of "I work with M," dropping the moniker of 'Doctor,' seemed to have elevated me to a higher status of... grown-up-ness. I expect that will wear off soon enough, best enjoy it while I can?

I declined being seated first and took the opportunity to have a look around. The owner of the restaurant, Dr. P's husband, came over and after some small chit-chat, offered me the choice between red or white wine. Since I've been on a red wine kick recently, it wasn't a tough choice. I managed to keep my wits about me and even inquired about the name and from what region the wine would be from. I knew it was Northern Italian-inspired restaurant but I didn't know what that could mean for their wine menu.

I got the spiel about where it was from and was handed a very large glass with a very generous helping of wine. Cue my very limited wine-wielding skills—sloshing the wine, peering into the glass like a crystal ball, and sniffing the heck out of that wine. Honestly, it wasn't that bad. Viscosity was high so I thought it would be sweeter, but overall, I could definitely finish a glass.

Other co-workers began to show up and the topic of my plans came up. It felt very liberating to say that I had interviews and was flying to different places for them. It just felt nice to say that I was doing something, which is a lot different from last year. It was also surreal to mingle with the nurses and see them out of their work clothes; they all sort of treat me like I'm fresh out of college and very shy. I'm not one to talk unless I have something to say so I suppose that's my fault. But I got to shake things up a bit that night. There were some interesting double-takes when they took me in but I got along well enough to not feel completely awkward. Plus, the inviter herself, Dr. P, chose to sit next to me at the table.

We had free reign at the back of the restaurant and it was a full table; Dr. P's brother and children were also there. They were talking about international business and French languages so pretty clear that there are no up and coming doctors in her family. We had plenty of servers attending to us, and the wine (red or white) was complimentary and flowing. I stayed at two glasses and had a pleasant buzz for the rest of the evening.

As for food, we were given 6 courses:

• A delicious herb focaccia with olive oil. 
• Three types of gourmet pizzas, but I only grabbed a slice of the pizza di mare (of course)
• A salad with grilled eggplant, basil and vine-ripened tomatoes, EVOO, and aged balsamic. 
• A small portion of ziti al forno
• Grilled chicken on sauteed spinach with sun-dried tomatoes and baby Bellas mushrooms, all topped with a garlic lemon butter sauce