Dear Midterm Candidates,

I’ve had a really hard time getting into any of the midterm elections this year. Is it just me or do all the ads seem super negative this year? I’d rather see what you did than what you’re saying that your opponent did and how bad it is. I wish you could at least list some of your accomplishments or maybe even throw some half-baked campaign promises my way (hey, it would be new and different than the mud- slinging).

Maybe you could at least tell me what you stand for (not using graphic videos of aborted fetuses that show during dinnertime, Missy Reilly Smith. Thank you very much!)? Tell me what you’re going to do for me. At least pretend like you care about moving your state, county, city forward rather than running your opponents name through the mud. Give me something that doesn’t make me roll my eyes. Give me something that doesn’t make me want to hide my head under a pillow. I don’t feel like I’ve gotten to know who any of you are. What are your issues?

I know that this election is contentious and I know that it’s really a game of survival of the fittest out there but show me that you’re fit to lead. It’s easier to throw stones rather than standing up and clearing saying “Here I am, here’s what I’ll do.” It wouldn’t take much for me to get excited. Incumbents, newcomers- it doesn’t matter; I haven’t seen anyone that really piques my interest or anyone that I’ve been compelled to research because I’m slightly excited about what they have to say.

You all essentially have a weekend to make your point. Now is as good of time as ever!

Sincerely,

Megan

Last week, I was able to go out with a few friends from college. One of them (R) I had seen about a year and a half ago. He lives in TX so that’s pretty justifiable and easy to understand why it had been that long since I saw him. The other two (B and L) I hadn’t seen since graduation and they live in this area! I feel bad about that. I’m horrible about keeping in contact with people. I’m not a big phone talker in the least so I don’t really pick up the phone to call people other than my mom, my sisters and La Bonne Fille. B, L, and I all promised that it wouldn’t be another three years before we saw each other again. In fact, we’re already planning to get together again once we move into the city.

The thing that amazed me is that even though I hadn’t seen any of them for awhile, we all still picked up just right where we left off even though so much has happened since the last time we were together (two of us are married, one graduated from law school, and one has literally been around the world and back). We were laughing and joking through coffee, dinner, and gelato (I had amazing cardamom and black tea gelato, a scoop of each). I think that it’s a mark of true friends when you can pick up wherever it was that you left off. I love it.

I’m officially 25 now. When the Architect turned 25 and seemed to sort of be stuck in a rut about it, I poked a little fun at him. I told him that 25 wasn’t old (and it’s still not, I know that) and that it was too soon to be having a mid-life crisis. Realistically, I know that 25 is nothing to be afraid of and anyhow, you can’t stop time. Time marches whether or not we like it.

Although, I could see where he was coming from last night. I’ve never been a big fan of birthdays. I like doing things for other people’s birthdays but not mine. This is the first birthday that has hit me in a deep, sort of existential way; the kind of way that sets off shopping sprees and new haircuts (although I shall try to refrain from both).  It’s weird because I totally did not expect to be struck in this way.

I got home from a very long day yesterday and simply felt drained and not excited about the prospect of moving forward another number. 25 feels like a turning point, halfway through my 20s and time to move forward.  

On we go.

The other day, I was watching an episode of 20/20 that I had DVR’ed. It was about a movie that has either just come out or is about to come out called Catfish. I had seen commercials for the movie but thought it was a horror movie (which I’m notoriously scared of) so I wasn’t that interested. After watching the 20/20 episode, I’d definitely be interested in seeing it.

For those of you who haven’t heard of this movie or don’t know what it’s about, it’s about a guy who drums up a friendship with an 8 year old child artist (a total prodigy) and her whole family online. He even falls in love with the girl’s 19 year old sister after corresponding with her online. After figuring out that this family may not be who they say they are, the guy travels to Michigan where the family supposedly lives to figure out who he has been corresponding with for the previous months. He’s very surprised to find out that the family he has been corresponding with is actually one mentally disturbed (apparently diagnosed with schizophrenia) woman who made up all of these characters to support the dream world that she was living in.

As someone who enjoys having an online presence and has even met some people in real life that she originally met online, it’s kind of a sobering prospect that someone would go so far to create such an outrageous lie. The woman in the story had probably created 20 some odd different Facebook and other online profiles to support the story that she was telling this guy.  Once the guy figured out what was going on, he felt pretty bad that he had been tricked.

You all know that we’ve had cases on Xanga where people have pretended to be people that they aren’t and I’m sure we all remember the backlash that followed. I suppose I could see the draw of wanting to use the relative shadow of an online personality as an escape but I’d rather be a first class version of myself even online. 

The 20/20 episode made me a little wary. This being said, I don’t think I’ll stop meeting Xangans. Pretty much every Xangan that I’ve met, I’ve liked and gotten along with. Also, these people have been exactly who they portray themselves online in real life, which is always refreshing and heartening. Even so, it’s always a good idea to take the proper precautions when meeting an online friend for the first time (meet in a public area, tell someone where you’re going, bring someone with you, etc.).

Has anyone else heard of this movie? Have you ever met an online friend? Have they ever been different in real life than they are online?

Our first stop in Italy was Roma. We stayed right in the central part of Rome in a small hotel on one of the side streets. We spent four days there and saw so much. Rome is really a cool city because so many things there are so old. For instance, we ate at a fantastic restaurant housed in a building, which was 1,003 years old. In the States, 200 years old is old!

One of the coolest places that we went was the Colosseum. It was really amazing to see in in real life and to imagine what it must have been like when it was actually in use by the Romans.

Our first view.

A view from the inside! On the far, middle left, they’ve reconstructed the floor of what the Colosseum might have looked like.

Us at the Colosseum.

Another place where we spent a lot of time while in Rome was in Piazza Navona. The Architect spent a semester in Rome and while he was there, he lived in Piazza Navona. It’s a lovely place to sit and watch the world go by.

You gotta love the juxtaposition of the Egyptian Obelisk and the Roman fountain.

Sitting outside in Piazza Navona.

I’m baaaa-ack! It’s been a whirlwind two weeks but I’m back home and easing back into the normal swing of things.  The wedding went off without a hitch (pretty much aside from some (funny) uninvited guests, which I will post on later). The Architect and I agreed that we could not have asked for a more beautiful day! Oh and there will be pictures!

The honeymoon was amazing. We saw so many amazing things and ate so much great food (and drank a ton of wine). I’m definitely wishing that we were still on vacation especially with the harsh light of another whirlwind month and a half until we move staring right at us. There will also be plenty of pictures in the coming days and weeks of our travels.

I’m happy to be back on Xanga. I missed you guys. What have you all been up to in my absence? I want to catch up with all of you so if you are so inclined, shoot me a message and let me know what you’ve been up to!

A week from now, I’m marrying my best friend.

On one hand, it seems like we’ve been planning this wedding forever but on the other hand, it seems that it really snuck up on us.

All in all, we’re in pretty good shape to-do list wise. All of the presents for our attendants are put together. I had my final dress fitting on Friday. The Architect did programs today and he’s working on typing out the seating chart. We’re pretty well organized.

I haven’t gotten to the point where I’m stressed yet… maybe that will come later this week.

I’ve had this quote swirling around in my head for the past couple days:

“I still think someone can ‘turn out’ until age 18 (I secretly hope that there’s still a remote chance that I will ‘turn out’ ok)” – Sloane Crosley, I Was Told There’d be Cake

It kind of struck a chord with me. I hate thinking of our lives and our personalities as being static at any age. Shouldn’t we be able to change at any time? Don’t we have the ability to better ourselves at any age? We can still “turn out” okay, right?

Perhaps once we cross over that invisible line of adulthood (legally at 18 years old), there’s always going to be tenets of our personalities and lives that stay the same. We’re always in some way the victim or the saint, the sinner or the hero.

Maybe we carry something with us throughout our lives but I think there is always still that ability to “turn out” okay… if we want it.

I’m hopeful…

New Orleans is definitely a good destination for any foodie. We had a few amazing meals while we were there.

This is the French Market. It’s part flea market, part food lovers paradise. They have a ton of different stands with different New Orleans specialties. We loaded up on Cajun spices and I also introduced the Architect to pralines. Pralines are sugary pieces of heaven made of good stuff like brown sugar, butter and nuts (yes, they’re definitely not diet friendly but they’re oh-so-tasty).

Later on, Phil and I went to dinner at the Market Cafe, which was (perhaps unsurprisingly) right across the street from the French Market. Here’s my fiance and his chicken that was stuffed with yummy things like andouille and catfish.

I went with the Jambalaya.

New Orleans is also known for its nightlife. We stayed very close to Bourbon Street. My mom (yes, my mom) told us that we should go to Pat O’Briens (a well known piano bar) to drink Hurricanes. And so we did. I’m not sure all what goes into a Hurricane but they are rum based.

On the morning before we got on the plane to come home, we went to Cafe Du Monde. I had heard about Cafe Du Monde from several people who said that it was not to be missed. Cafe Du Monde is famous for two things: chicory coffee and beignets.

Beignets are French donuts. It’s basically fried dough covered in powdered sugar. Definitely a special treat.
The coffee was quite rich and delicious.

Both had the Architect’s approval

Life is really speeding by these days:

-  We’re about 2.5 weeks from the wedding. I’m trying very hard to not let the little things stress me out and so far, I think I’ve been pretty successful. There’s been a few little issues that have cropped up here and there but nothing major and I hope it stays that way.

- Major renovations on our apartment are set to begin early next week. I’ve made peace with having to rip the apartment apart. It’ll be nice to come back to all of the new things in the apartment after the honeymoon.

-  I’m finally coming into the new decade by getting a smart phone (this is a big thing for me as I’ve been happy enough to be unconnected from the rest of the world sometimes but it’s time for my old flip phone to be laid to rest).

- We got some good news yesterday that could mean that we’ll be changing our locale within the next 2-3 months. Not to be vague but I want to make sure everything is copasetic before I give any more detail. This could really be a wonderful opportunity for the Architect and I. Saturday needs to come soon so we can start making decisions.

Life is really good.