Girl... you'll be a .. uhm.. female person.. individual.. soon.

Today I've been thinking about the lack of a good solid term for a young woman around my age. In casual terms, if I were relating a story to someone about a man my age to someone, I would inevitably refer to him as a "guy" (i.e.: "I saw this guy wearing a Def Leppard shirt.") --or in extreme circumstances "dude" (ie.. "This dude tried to run me off the road today!").

But for the life of me, I can't seem to find a comfortable match for a woman. "Woman" just seems so formal, and "young woman" only works if the storyteller is, himself, old. "Girl" sounds too young or too condescending, and "gal" a little too square-dance. "Lady"? come on, that sounds creepy. "Chick" is right out.

So, what's a guy to do? Once again, the English language has failed me.