2007 Holiday Letter
Dear Ones,
It’s started snowing here, which is a perfect way to start the last month of the year. Hachi is curled up in my lap, there’s Christmas music playing on the iPod. It’s been a strange year this year, fitting for the last year of my 20s. I’ve had some assumptions challenged, had to reevaluate some plans, mostly spent time trying to learn that life just doesn’t follow rules, no matter how much easier that would make it.
My year started off with a serious leak in my apartment, just a few days before Talina and I headed off on our vacation to Hawaii. The leak and repair took forever, but the trip flew by in just 5 short days, during which we slept in a yurt on the beach, kayaked on the ocean, rode horses, watched sunrises and sunsets, and generally bemoaned the total lack of good food on the island. Tip for everyone who hasn’t gone: Honolulu is as touristy as they say: stay away from it and spend your time on the North Shore. It’s colder, but it’s a lot more enjoyable.
I finally got myself and my car Lucy licensed in the state of Washington, and a Seattle library card (thanks to Adam!), and then it was time to hit the road with Talina again, with a week long roadtrip from Seattle to Arizona and back. We visited people and places in Portland, San Francisco, LA, Phoenix, Zion, Salt Lake City, and some teeny towns in Idaho and eastern Oregon & Washington -- 4000 miles in 5 days of driving, and not a single argument. We actually put our feet in the Great Salt Lake, which is.. kind of stinky. But very pretty. Thank you to everyone who hosted us while we were in town! After that trip, I drove back down to Oregon to see my dear friend Chrystina graduate from college.
Summer flew by with a visit to Sarah in Vancouver BC, a visit from Renee from Australia via CouchSurfing.com (which was very fun and worth looking into!), and lots of gardening. In August Tad, Ana and I went backpacking for a week in the Olympics -- it was beautiful but incredibly cold! Mom and Rich graciously dropped us off at one end and picked us up at the other end of a 40 mile walk.
Talina and I spent a weekend in Portland at a soccer tournament in September, and I finally gave into my capitalist urges and bought myself a MacBook while in the Land of No Sales Tax. We got to stay with my friends Courtney and Joe and spend a little time getting to know their new baby, Lucy.
In November, I moved out of my old apartment and in with Talina, to her lovely Capital Hill apartment. We painted and decorated and let the cats sort it all out. Moving was more of a pain than I remember it (2 years was apparently enough to let me forget all the bad parts), but it was very much worth the hassle, I’m loving the new situation. We have a whole extra bedroom and lots of room, so come visit!!! The view of the Space Needle from the balcony is pretty spectacular.
Throughout 2007, I have been looking for a new job here in Seattle. My current job is as frustrating as it has always been, but recently it’s become clear that I’m pretty limited if I don’t move to Atlanta, GA, and I’m sure you can all guess how I feel about that option. I spent the year playing with my resume and having halfhearted interviews, but the perfect job never appeared (or, when it did, it never called me). I’ve been under-qualified and overqualified, but something’s just not right. So, I’ll be heading into 2008 with the same goal...
This year, I marked 2 years of continuous blogging at arboreality.org, and 5 years of annual Best Of CDs. Holy cow, you guys, not only am I old, I’ve gotten responsible!
If I didn’t say it when I saw you, or called you, or emailed you this year, please know that I have thought of you often, and that I love your presence in my life however distant or infrequent. Thank you, always, for being my family. Happy Holidays, and a very happy and healthy 2008 to you.
All my love,
megan
Best Books of 2007 (of 36):
Places I Slept in 2007:
Best Movies of 2007 (of 80):
The Best Music of 2007:
I don’t know what to say about this list except that I’ve tried to honestly reflect what I found myself most obsessed with in 2007... even if admitting it to all of you will get me a well deserved round of laughter. Please enjoy this hour of insight into my often scattered musical tastes!
It’s started snowing here, which is a perfect way to start the last month of the year. Hachi is curled up in my lap, there’s Christmas music playing on the iPod. It’s been a strange year this year, fitting for the last year of my 20s. I’ve had some assumptions challenged, had to reevaluate some plans, mostly spent time trying to learn that life just doesn’t follow rules, no matter how much easier that would make it.
My year started off with a serious leak in my apartment, just a few days before Talina and I headed off on our vacation to Hawaii. The leak and repair took forever, but the trip flew by in just 5 short days, during which we slept in a yurt on the beach, kayaked on the ocean, rode horses, watched sunrises and sunsets, and generally bemoaned the total lack of good food on the island. Tip for everyone who hasn’t gone: Honolulu is as touristy as they say: stay away from it and spend your time on the North Shore. It’s colder, but it’s a lot more enjoyable.
I finally got myself and my car Lucy licensed in the state of Washington, and a Seattle library card (thanks to Adam!), and then it was time to hit the road with Talina again, with a week long roadtrip from Seattle to Arizona and back. We visited people and places in Portland, San Francisco, LA, Phoenix, Zion, Salt Lake City, and some teeny towns in Idaho and eastern Oregon & Washington -- 4000 miles in 5 days of driving, and not a single argument. We actually put our feet in the Great Salt Lake, which is.. kind of stinky. But very pretty. Thank you to everyone who hosted us while we were in town! After that trip, I drove back down to Oregon to see my dear friend Chrystina graduate from college.
Summer flew by with a visit to Sarah in Vancouver BC, a visit from Renee from Australia via CouchSurfing.com (which was very fun and worth looking into!), and lots of gardening. In August Tad, Ana and I went backpacking for a week in the Olympics -- it was beautiful but incredibly cold! Mom and Rich graciously dropped us off at one end and picked us up at the other end of a 40 mile walk.
Talina and I spent a weekend in Portland at a soccer tournament in September, and I finally gave into my capitalist urges and bought myself a MacBook while in the Land of No Sales Tax. We got to stay with my friends Courtney and Joe and spend a little time getting to know their new baby, Lucy.
In November, I moved out of my old apartment and in with Talina, to her lovely Capital Hill apartment. We painted and decorated and let the cats sort it all out. Moving was more of a pain than I remember it (2 years was apparently enough to let me forget all the bad parts), but it was very much worth the hassle, I’m loving the new situation. We have a whole extra bedroom and lots of room, so come visit!!! The view of the Space Needle from the balcony is pretty spectacular.
Throughout 2007, I have been looking for a new job here in Seattle. My current job is as frustrating as it has always been, but recently it’s become clear that I’m pretty limited if I don’t move to Atlanta, GA, and I’m sure you can all guess how I feel about that option. I spent the year playing with my resume and having halfhearted interviews, but the perfect job never appeared (or, when it did, it never called me). I’ve been under-qualified and overqualified, but something’s just not right. So, I’ll be heading into 2008 with the same goal...
This year, I marked 2 years of continuous blogging at arboreality.org, and 5 years of annual Best Of CDs. Holy cow, you guys, not only am I old, I’ve gotten responsible!
If I didn’t say it when I saw you, or called you, or emailed you this year, please know that I have thought of you often, and that I love your presence in my life however distant or infrequent. Thank you, always, for being my family. Happy Holidays, and a very happy and healthy 2008 to you.
All my love,
megan
Best Books of 2007 (of 36):
- Carter Beats the Devil (Gold)*
- Cloud Atlas (Mitchell)*
- The Golden Compass (Pullman)*
- Y: The Last Man 1-9 (Vaughan)*
- Between the Bridge and the River (Ferguson)*
- Pigs in Heaven (Kingsolver)*
- Galapagos (Vonnegut)*
- The Sparrow (Russell)*
- Einstein's Dreams (Lightman)*
- Quicksilver (Stephenson)
Places I Slept in 2007:
- Seattle, WA
- Oahu, HI
- Tiburon, CA
- McMinnville, OR
- Portland, OR
- Zion, UT
- Olympic Mountains, WA
- Phoenix, AZ
- Dallas, TX
- Atlanta, GA
- Cerritos, CA
- Twin Falls, ID
- Vancouver, BC
Best Movies of 2007 (of 80):
- Stranger Than Fiction - 4/5
- 7 Up/7 Plus Seven - 4/5
- Volver - 4/5
- The Aviator - 4/5
- El Laberinto del Fauno - 4/5
- Sicko - 4/5
- Hotel Rwanda - 4/5
- Stardust - 5/5
- Mysterious Skin - 4/5
- The Notorious Bettie Page - 4/5
The Best Music of 2007:
I don’t know what to say about this list except that I’ve tried to honestly reflect what I found myself most obsessed with in 2007... even if admitting it to all of you will get me a well deserved round of laughter. Please enjoy this hour of insight into my often scattered musical tastes!
- Obeah Woman (DJ Logic Remix) -- Nina Simone
- Listen Up! -- The Gossip
- Rehab -- Amy Winehouse
- Wikked Lil' GRRRLS -- Esthero
- Irreplaceable -- Beyoncé
- Brighter Than Sunshine -- Aqualung
- Quelqu'un m'a dit -- Carla Bruni
- Los Angeles -- Ill Lit
- Shelter -- Ray LaMontagne
- Esma Kiri Gilli -- Esma Redzepova and Usnija Jasarova
- Orange Sky -- Alexi Murdoch
- Crowd Surf Off A Cliff -- Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton
- 12:59 Lullaby -- Bedouin Soundclash
- Skeleton Key -- Margot & The Nuclear So & So's
- St. Peter's Bones -- Girlyman
- Juan Loco -- Rodrigo & Gabriela
- There Is So Much More -- Brett Dennen
- Business Time -- Flight of the Conchords
- On And On And On -- Wilco
posted by -m at
1:14 PM
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