The Ride Home

Like me, this list is a work in progress

1. My name is Megan

2. I was born in Evanston, right outside of Chicago, and was raised in the Chicagoland area.

3. I moved to Murfreesboro, Tenn., after I graduated high school because I wanted to live somewhere completely different than Chicago. I got what I asked for, good and bad.

4. I currently live in a house in Murfreesboro that I own with my boyfriend and our three cats.

5. I work in Nashville as a writer.

6. Sometimes I think the commute will kill me one day.

7. I love music—all types—and do not go anywhere without at least one of my two three iPods.

8. I used to want to be a photographer when I grew up, but wasn’t sure that I could make a living that way.

9. I take pictures of everything.

10. I enjoy playing video and computer games, and currently have five six gaming platforms in my house, not counting the computers (xbox, playstation 2, playstation, 8-bit Nintendo, Nintendo 64 and Nintendo Wii). I used to have a super nintendo but I sold it.

11. I am a Mac addict, and have been ever since I used my first Apple IIe in 1984 (kindergarten). Today I have five six five Macs: an iMac DVSE 400 Mhz. (Graphite), a 20″ iMac G5 1.8 Ghz PPC (Rev. A), a clamshell iBook 466 Mhz (Graphite), a 12″ iBook 1.33 Ghz, a 12″ PowerBook 1.5Ghz and a Mac Classic (from 1991). And an iPod Photo (40 GB) and an iPod Shuffle (silver green). I am not allowed to buy any more.

12. I am not religious, but I am superstitious. But I suppose religion is really just superstition that requires you to worship something and get up early on Sundays anyway.

13. I am very afraid of horror movies, bugs and taking things out of my oven.

14. I associate certain songs with people and times in my life. To this day, when I hear certain songs I get all nostalgic.

15. I have a sister who is 4 years younger than me and one who is 12 years younger than me. I pretty much raised the one who is 12 years younger, until I moved away.

16. The four-years-younger sister did everything she could to make my life a living hell when I was raising the other sister.

17. We hated each other for years, but over the last few years we have gotten very close. I talk to her almost every day now.

18. I can be very hermit-like. I don’t see a problem with this at all.

19. If I could pick a super power, it would be invisibility.

20. I love anonymity, though I don’t blog anonymously. I guess I just don’t like dealing with people face-to-face. Or on the phone. But I’ll tell you pretty much anything you want to know (and often times more than you need to know) via my online endeavors.

21. I spend way too much time online instead of outdoors.

22. But I love hiking or doing other outdoorsy things.

23. Sometimes I wish I could have been born earlier so that I could have taken part in all of the anti-war movements of the 60s and 70s. But then I remember that there wasn’t all this cool technology back then.

24. But then I think that maybe I could have been involved with its invention or its spread, too.

25. I want to feel like I’m part of something bigger. I’m just too lazy to figure out how to do that.

26. I have been working (and paying taxes) since I was 14.

27. I have had good jobs before, but the one I have now is the first time I have ever honestly been able to say, “I love my job.”

28. It has a lot to do with the company that I work for. It’s awesome, and I am lucky to work there.

29. I promise I am not saying all this to suck up to anyone from this company that reads my blog.

30. I can eat pizza every day of the week, for every meal. Sometimes I think I am getting burned out, but all it takes is a gourmet pizza with some feta cheese on it to bring me back around to it again.

31. Playing Tetris soothes me. I used to play it on my phone to calm my mind before I could go to sleep at night.

32. I like a variety of music, but strange, indie-like, alternative music is what inspires me.

33. I need music when I’m cleaning. REO Speedwagon’s You Can Tune a Piano But You Can’t Tuna Fish is my favorite cleaning record.

34. I really mean “record.” Ian and I have his dad’s old record player and probably close to 100 records that we play. (Update: As of March 2008, we don’t have it anymore. But one day I’d like to buy a new record player and get all of our records back. You just can’t beat the crackle of a record.)

35. I hate my teeth. They are small and show too much gum and are kinda crooked. For some reason my parents got braces for my two younger sisters (twice for one of them) but just didn’t get them for me. This year (2007) I am trying my hardest to be able to get braces and gum reduction surgery. I just can’t look at myself in pictures anymore, and that’s not cool. (Update: I got Invisalign braces in July of 2007. I should be done before summer 2008, and hopefully be able to afford the gum reduction this year, too.)

36. I hate talking on the phone for more than a minute or two with anyone, except for a few people. I just don’t like it; it freaks me out to feel like if I call someone I might get trapped in a conversation I can’t get out of and not be able to get off the phone. Ian, my sister, my mom and my friend Melissa are pretty much the only three people I’ll call back.

37. I go back and forth between being an atheist and believing that all gods exist. I recently (March 200 took one of those online tests and it said I was a neo-pagan.

38. I am getting Invisalign braces soon. I go for my fittings July 9, 2007. (See number 35 for the update on this.)

39. I can sink into moods of great depression from time to time, but for the most part, this year I am reminded of how lucky I am every single day.

40. I don’t eat pizza as much as I did when I wrote No. 30 anymore.

41. The week after I turned 28 I developed vertigo, severe allergies, and my stomach acid medicine quit working as well.

42. I have had three surgeries in my life, two where I’ve been put under. One of those put-under times was for the removal of my wisdom teeth, so it really was just local anesthetic. The second put-under time (but the third surgery) was for real, with general anesthetic. It was scary, and it took almost an entire year for me to recover fully. I couldn’t drive for three weeks. I was almost completely helpless for one week, and halfway helpless for two.

43. I have the best boyfriend in the world. (I don’t know why I didn’t put that farther up on the list.) I have always known he was awesome, but after he took such good care of me during my recovery from surgery, I really saw how selfless he was.

44. I am full of love.

45. Growing up with a father who made me feel like I would never be loved for who I am, I am grateful every day that I am loved like I am. I am not ashamed of my independence anymore. Or my big ass.

46. For the first time in my life, I am actively trying to lose weight get healthier. And by active I mean I am trying to get in a routine of working out, and trying to eat a little more healthy. (I will not give up candy, though braces will help me cut a lot of it out of my diet.) (I realized shortly after I wrote this that I will never actually try to lose weight. I’d like to tone up a bit, but I have come to terms with the fact that I am, in fact, thin, and I don’t need to diet.)

47. I am 28 years old, 5′8″ and today weigh 127 pounds. I want to lose 7 pounds by December. (Update: Today, March 30, 2008, I weigh 123 pounds. I realized I didn’t need to lose seven pounds, though I actually did when I got sick in December. I don’t think getting sick and losing 7 pounds counts as making my goal, but it’s nice to know I’ve kept almost all of the weight off. Even if I wasn’t actually trying to lose it.)

48. I have relied on my metabolism for so long, I doubt my ability to reach this goal. (Ha! I shouldn’t have doubted my body’s ability to get so rundown and sick that I would lose it.)

49. One of the most soothing things to me is when my cat Gordo sits on my lap and lets me pet his soft, cool fur. His fur can make the saddest person feel better. And it’s always cool, like the other side of the pillow.

50. Certain songs/artists remind me of seasons. Katie Todd Band reminds me of autumn, as do some of the Death Cab for Cutie songs.”We Looked Like Giants” reminds me of that time where fall isn’t sure if it wants to become winter yet, and we’re caught in the middle of its indecision.

51. I feel everything. I take so much personally. When someone is going through a hard time or difficult situation, my heart breaks so easily for them. I can’t help it.

52. My mind is constantly reeling.

53. Sometimes I can feel the weight of the world, and it crushes me.

54. I’ve started having panic attacks lately (March 2008), and consequently have tried to let things bother me less. I have been making a conscious effort to let more things roll off my back. I think can actually feel a difference.

55. One of the worst feelings in the world is after I’ve been impatient with my mom and acted pissy with her. I feel like a horrible person for at least a day. My mom is the most selfless, caring person I know, and the last thing I would ever want to do is hurt her feelings. I miss her so much.