An open letter to 2009

Dear 2009,

A couple of Decembers ago, back when things were REALLY shitty, Abby and I decided that the next year was going to be our year. Well, we were wrong. That next year was ALMOST worse than the previous. I learned that you can’t really tell the year who it belongs to… I’m not sure how 2010 would react, but when we told 2008 it was our year, it laughed in our faces, said “I don’t belong to anyone, bitches” and then preceded to beat the crap out of us just to drive the point home. OK. We get it. So, ‘09, I let you do your thing. I didn’t lay claim or anything… all in all… I can say “Thank You.” Mostly, for not beating the crap out of me, but a lot for some really good things, too.

So, on this, the last day of the first decade of a brand new millennium, let’s “wrap it up” (as my good friend, Sarah, used to say). What did I do in 2009 (in no particular order)?

• I started a blog and spent the entire month of November writing everyday in it.
  
• I looked for a job… like it was my job.
• I applied for a job to blog about wine, made a video, drank a lot of wine, had a blast, found some cool twitter friends, didn’t get the job.
• I became obsessed with Twitter and then mellowed my obsession and we developed a healthy relationship
• I went to Orlando with my family.
• I went to Oklahoma City and Norman. I hung out, relaxed and celebrated with some of the best friends I’ll ever have in my entire life. I was lucky enough to be in one of their weddings. <3
• I got an iPhone and immediately wondered how I EVER lived without it.
  
• I came home for Thanksgiving for the first time in 8 years.
• I discovered Chicago for the first time since I was little and fell in love. I don’t care what anyone says, it’s a cute city.
• I flew to Connecticut for a job interview and learned that apparently companies WILL fly you all the way across the country, put you up in a hotel, feed you all day and fly you back, but still not hire you.
• I started tutoring a ridiculously awesome 2nd grader- Best hour of my week. :)
  
• I spent ridiculous amounts of time in a room with someone who I really can’t be in the same room with and I didn’t kill that person OR say something inexcusable.
• I went to three weddings!
• I started a 401(k).
• I flew roundtrip 6 times.
• I both lived and vacationed in Vegas.
• I flew to Michigan for a job interview and left with a job. I received validation for the work I’ve done and the things I’ve learned. Everything paid off.
• I moved to Michigan for a job that was inspiring and challenging.
• I moved to Michigan where there’s no sun and I’m freezing cold all the time.
• I quit smoking.

It has been one helluva year. What did you do?

Love, Megan

An open letter to my cat, Erin

Dear Erin,

I’ve never had a pet die before, so I don’t really know how to handle this or start this… I don’t know why you got sick or what happened really, but I do know we did everything we could to save you.

You were very loved by people from 4 different states. You lived through college with me and the insanity that was the Vegas house. I wanted to do something to celebrate you, even in some small way. I figured telling my favorite stories about you (for better or worse) was the best way.

That’s a cute name.
I found Erin in 2003… well, more specifically, she found us. I don’t remember how many times Lindsey and I saw her wandering around the apartment complex, but one time she was with a guy our age. They were standing in what was (for all intensive purposes) our backyard. So, we talked to them. Well, him.
“She’s a cute cat,” I said, because all cats are girls… duh.
“Thanks,” he replied.
“What’s her name?” I asked
“Erin.”
“Oh, that’s a cute name.”
The guy looked at me like I was NUTS and shortly made his way far from our backyard. Lindsey and I looked at each other with “oh-my-god-he-was-so-weird” looks on our faces. Then Linds goes, “Oh my god. Do you think HIS name was Aaron?” Well, that must have been it. No wonder he thought I was nuts. Who tells a guy his name is cute? We laughed so hard… The next few times Erin came around, Aaron was NOT with her… then one day she just wandered into the apartment. She was mine from that point on… My cat named after the boy who I weirdly complimented on accident. To this day, I still don’t know if we accidentally stole her from him or if he she was even his cat...

A Great Judge of Character
Erin was trekked all over the country: from Oklahoma to California to Ohio to Nevada and finally to Michigan. When we first moved to NV, we lived in this really cute house with three other people. At first, it was awesome. I loved my roommates and was having so much fun. The only problem was that Erin kept peeing in one of the girl’s rooms (we’ll call her M)- ON HER BED! She hadn’t EVER done this before. It was completely out of character and seemingly unexplainable. Well, M turned out to be the worst roommate I ever had (yup, even worse than the guy who committed check fraud and stole a Hummer!), so really… Erin was just warning me.

It’s her Vacation Home!
While I was living in Vegas, Abby’s parents would watch her for me whenever I went out of town. It was such a relief knowing she was in good hands and in a wonderful place. The only downside to it was that she NEVER wanted to come home. I worked a lot and lived in a small apartment, so the much larger home that had more people and cats in it was like a resort to her, I’d imagine. It never failed, EVERY TIME I went to pick her up, she’d dart off and hide under a bed, on the top shelf of a linen closet or in the darkest corner she could find. It broke my heart, but made me feel a little less guilty about leaving sometimes.

I’m right HERE.
As I mentioned, my place in Vegas was small. That didn’t stop Er from getting lost. Nope. The first month we lived in that apartment she’d be in the kitchen after I’d already go to bed and all of sudden start screaming like something horrible was happening to her. As soon as I would say, “I’m right here,” she was fine. She’d meow normally and come to me. I’ll never know if it was the dark or the new apartment, but she didn’t do it in the first house in Vegas, or any place prior to that. When we moved to St. Joe, she’d be behind the couch that I was sitting on and “get lost.” She’d scream, wait, I’d call to her, and then the cycle would start over immediately if she didn’t find me. So bizarre.

There are million other stories I could tell, funny nicknames I could explain, quirks I could share… but these are my favorite. They made me smile to type.

Like I said, I never had a pet die before and I never had pets growing up (aside from ten cent goldfish). I hate that I didn’t know how much this was going to suck, how sad it was going to be.

Erin, you were an awesome cat- crazy, loud, weird, cuddly, funny, skinny, neurotic and a tiny bit ditzy- but awesome. I’ll miss you.

Love, Megan

An open letter to Amtrak

Dear Amtrak,

I'm riding one of your trains home for Christmas. There are some things I don't like about it (inconvenient schedule, a lot of stops while on the train), but this has mostly been awesome.

• First of all, I'm writing this blog while I'm still on the freakin' train! You could never do that on a plane. Ever.
• Second of all, I'm drinking a beer. Which is Awesome, because I really needed one since I almost died about 47 times on the way to the train station. I know you can drink beer on planes, but this is a full size Sam Adams.
• Ok, next- I can walk around wherever and whenever, no seat belt, no annoying flight attendants. My seat is big and I have tons of legroom and a leg rest!
• I brought a whole bunch of stuff with me, too... Clothes, shoes, coats, Christmas presents, major appliances (you think I'm kidding...). No extra baggage fee or anything.

Oh!! Did I mention there OUTLETS at the seats?? Two of them. I could charge my laptop and my iPhone. Amazing. I may not get home until 2:30, but at least I can relax on my trip. You definitely can't do THAT on a plane.

Love, Megan

An open letter to NaBloWriMo, again.

Dear NaBloWriMo,

I DID IT!!! Today is November 30th and I have officially blogged for every day of November. I definitely had fun, but blogging every day is not as easy as it sounds. Sometimes I just didn't have a good idea, but I still wrote the post- Even if I thought it was kinda lame. Some posts I had wanted to write for a long time and some popped in to my head at the last minute. Some posts I wrote early in the day or days in advance and some I wrote as the minutes counted down to midnight. But, I made it- 30 days and 30 blog posts.

I know that I will not keep blogging EVERY day after this, but I'll definitely blog more frequently (probably only when I ACTUALLY have something to say). Like most things in life, blogs need attention to thrive, writing needs attention to improve. I've started my habit and now I'll have to keep it up.

Congratulations to everyone else who completed NaBloWriMo!

Love, Megan

An open letter to my blog, again.

Dear blog,

Sigh. I'm trying my best. I swear. But, I had to get this post in before midnight and I just got barely got home from my parent's. I'm unpacking and decorating... I promise a great post tomorrow.

Love, Megan

An open letter to my Santa Claus

Dear Santa,

I haven't written to you in a long time. This letter is definitely different than previous letters to you. I hope all is well. :)

Anyway, I was just writing to say I'm done with my Christmas shopping. I'm done!! I started just a few days ago, braved savages in Kohl's and now I'm done!!!

That whole making a list, checking it twice thing really does work. How's your list coming?

Love, Megan

An open letter to everyone at Kohl's today

Dear fellow Kohl's shoppers,

I understand that today was Black Friday and that the doorbuster sales at Kohl's were AMAZING, but oh MY God. It was insanity in there. Insanity. I know I was there, too, but it was a fluke. Kohl's had something on a great sale that I needed. Ok, I know I'm totally making excuses, but those are my reasons. I'd love to hear everyone else's excuses.

Both lines literally stretched half way around the (very big) store and practically met in the middle. Everyone was bumping in to each other and cutting each other off. I can't figure out what was so amazing at that store.

I hope everyone got what they wanted and you can all rest easy that I got what I needed for the sale price. There would have been hell to pay if I hadn't.

Love, Megan

An open letter on Thanksgiving

Dear Everyone,

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a wonderful day. I had Thanksgiving with my family this year for the first time in years. It was fantastic. I've had some wonderful Thanksgiving holidays the last few years. The people that invited me into their homes when I couldn't make it to be with my family made me feel welcomed and loved. I have some AWESOME memories from those dinners (tofurkey and private planes, anyone?).

But, I gotta be honest... NOTHING beats family tradition. I couldn't have been happier today. It was so wonderful to be there. I don't plan on missing it again. ;)

Love, Megan

An open letter to my iPhone

Dear iPhone,

Thanks to you, I can blog really quick while I'm at a dive bar drinking beer with some of my favorite people. The band is covering Third Eye Blind and I'm not going to miss a day of NaBloWriMo. Awesome.

Love, Megan

An open letter to the jerk in the silver truck who was behind me on I-90 today

Dear Jerk,

I hate you. You didn't have to drive so close to me. I was going fast. A lot faster than I would like to admit to, and that just wasn't good enough for you, was it? It's not my fault that the truck next to us was keeping our pace. It was funny, but not my fault. It was really jerky when you finally got in front of me and slowed WAY down. I mean, really? I did my best to stay out of your way, but you were just ridiculous. I really, really, REALLY hope you got a ticket.

Love, Megan

An open letter to Bella Swan

Dear Bella,

You are in an emotionally abusive relationship. It's not healthy. YOU are not healthy. Run. Before he kills you.

I read all 4 Twilight books and saw the first movie. Then I read this article that claimed the relationship between you and Edward was unhealthy, even abusive. I laughed. It SO was not. These were just fantasy stories and you and Edward were star-crossed lovers. There's bound to be a little pain and suffering there, right? I mean, look at Romeo and Juliet!

Tonight, I saw New Moon. The woman who wrote that article was right. You sat in a chair, lost in a deep depression, for FIVE MONTHS. Over a boy. Look, I know the whole thing was epic, but wake up! He was cold (literally!), he messed with your head and still you wanted more? You risked your life just to hallucinate him! He left you vulnerable to someone who wanted to kill you!

All of this happens in the book, too, but it takes 563 pages for all of that to play out and Edward is barely in any of it. We're also in your head with you, Bella. We hear your thoughts, your rationale, your justifications. It was easy to get lost in the romance with you. Not this time. It took watching you act like a lunatic for two hours for me to realize this!

I wanted to root for you and Edward. I wanted it to be like Buffy and Angel all over again... But Edward is no Angel and you, Bella, are no Buffy. Buffy had her share of crazy, but even after she died and came back to life, she was always healthier than you.

Look, Bella, he's going to kill you. We all know this. Do yourself a favor and leave now. Or at least tell him to be nicer to you.

Love, Megan

An open letter to my apartment

Dear Apartment,

I'm leaving on Tuesday for a few days and coming back after the official start of the holiday season. You should be decorated by Friday night, but you won't be. To get a head start when I get back, I brought everything up from the basement and put up the tree (no lights or decorations yet). Next Monday after work, you will be decorated. ;)

Love, Megan

An open letter to NBC

Dear NBC,

I was on the phone with Abby last night when I saw an ad for your "People of the Year" special. I am completely disappointed. Kobe Bryant, Taylor Swift and the Octomom? Seriously? You have GOT to be kidding me. I'm not sure who else is on your list, but I don't agree. I'm making my own list. I haven't decided who's on there yet, but the Octomom definitely won't be. No offense to Taylor or Kobe, but I certainly don't think they did anything this year that warrants being added to a list like that.

People of the year. Ha.

Love, Megan

An open letter to the Holiday Season

Dear Holiday Season,

This was the sight in the downtown shopping area by my house:

Look, it's not time yet. It's not even Thanksgiving! Slow down. Wait for just 1 more week and then you can bring on the carols, decorations and lights.

Love, Megan

An open letter to Contessa Wine Cellars on #ThirstyThursday

Dear Contessa Wine Cellars,

Your Bianco Bello is my very first recommendation for #ThirstyThursday! I decided to write this to you tonight because I went to a friend's house tonight (to watch the season finale of Project Runway) and brought a bottle of your Bianco Bello (a semi-sweet white) with me. It was just cold enough, just sweet enough and practically perfect.

I went to your winery for the first time about a month and a half ago. It was the first weekend I lived here and I went with my Mom and Dad. We tried 6 of your wines and I bought 1 bottle of each. I was a total fan from the first sip. The whole experience there was awesome. I can't decide if I like your reds, whites or your blush better. If this is saying anything, I bought 7 bottles of your Prediletto Blush to bring home next week for Thanksgiving!

I guess I don't have the most sophisticated wine palate (I prefer sweet and cold to anything else), but I do know what I like. Wine should be smooth going down and not acid-y. Your wine totally fits the bill!

Love, Megan

P.S. Check out Contessa Wine Cellars' website for where you can buy it (unfortunately not outside of Michigan) http://www.contessawinecellars.com/