Trying to Coin a New Word

While walking to the Metro one morning this week, I was stopped by someone in a car - she rolled down her window and asked me for directions to a nearby hospital. I told her where to turn, she repeated it back to make sure she had it right, and then we both went out separate ways.

So, I'm always kind of excited when something like that happens, especially when I know where the person is headed and can give them directions - it makes me feel like I actually know my way around. But after telling her where to go, I found myself thinking about how I would tell the story, and that's when I decided I need a new word.

The person in the car was female, and probably around 30. So, I can't really tell the story and say "a girl stopped and asked me for directions," because using the word girl is misleading. But for me, woman is too... old, I guess. Or grown up. If I were describing myself, I would never say "I'm a fun-loving woman" or anything like that - it's too matronly or something. Really, I suppose for myself, I would probably use girl, even though it has a younger connotation. And even though I like the word chick, I know that some people are rather strongly opposed to it. So that pretty much leaves me with old-fashioned (and to some, offensive) words like gal and doll - which I would pretty much never use anyways.

Males have it much better. I generally stick with using the term guy, which can be appropriate for males of all ages, really. Or sometimes I throw in dude or man, although the latter would generally be for older males. And there's always boy, too, of course.

Anyways, now I'm on a mission to find a better casual term for female, so that I can tell a better story. Help is always welcome - I figure coining a word is probably tricky business.