It was the night of May 31st., 2009, and Steve and I were up late on Skype. He came up with the brilliant plan that we should prank people. I liked his way of thinking, but wanted to know how we, being the long-distance couple we are, were going to pull this off. And thus began planning the silliest prank around. 

We decided to pretend we got engaged. Now how, you might ask, would we accomplish this being an ocean and some land apart? We came up with a story, and I had a diamond ring my mom gave me for my 18th. birthday I would wear all day the next day, April 1st. (aka, April Fool's Day). We changed our relationship status,  and I posted a picture of the ring and tagged him in it. I also wrote a mushy note on his Facebook proclaiming how wonderful he was. 

Fast forward to the next day: Total madness. Everyone is confused or congratulatory, wondering how exactly this went down. I generally just avoided people for fear I would admit it was a prank, unless they confronted me about WHY it said I was engaged on Facebook. I showed my ring and smiled a lot, trying my best not to crack up at how easy this was. A few friends caught on, and I let my mom know about it for fear she go into cardiac arrest from hearing about my sudden decision through a third party.

Well, eventually we let the world know that no, we were not, in fact, engaged, but we left our relationship status up, being the lazy people that we are. Well, our prank continues on, as Steve's mom is CONVINCED we are engaged (in her mind), and people continue to ask periodically about my relationship status through Facebook. I was even asked today by someone who knows the story!

I suppose it's strange, but I never said Steve and I were normal people! And it's not like it's not in the works; we will tie the knot someday and we are committed to one another. So it's half true, right? ;) Other than the occasional query, the only other reminder of the prank I have are the annoying Facebook ads about weddings, photography and...Plan B? Yes, the last one is an ad I've gotten as of late. Thank you, Facebook, for caring about my sexual health. 

Until next time,
Megan

Last year, Steve was in Korea. This year, we're still 1,000 miles apart. But such is life, huh? Tomorrow will just be another day for me. Steve was busy with work last week (field training junk, I think?) and couldn't mail anything, but he will. I made him peanut butter fudge and sent it off, with some extra goodies, on Thursday. 

I went to a concert last night to see a friend play (shameless plug - Dave is a great musician! Hear his music at http://bit.ly/ae3EzI), and he has a song he wrote called "On My Way" which has been in my head since hearing him last night. There is a line in it I think single people on Valentine's Day can gain some hope from. It goes: 

You're perfect for someone whose perfect for you/ And you haven't met him yet/But I know that he's out there somewhere

See, even if you're single, you can gain some hope that there IS someone out there for you. Don't give up or be down on yourself tomorrow; it's just another day! :)

After his leave, Steve said he wouldn't reenlist. He's now debating it again, however, for a lot of different reasons, such as being able to go to school while still having a job. I can understand that, but it's still hard. It's more likely than not he won't be a life-er, but right now it feels like actually being together - same state, town, etc. - is very far from being a reality. 

Plus, with law school coming up I have some serious decisions to make about where to apply. Ideally, we want to live where family is, but I'm not so sure I want to be at the same university for law school that I've been at for undergrad. The law school is good, but I'm still unsure. Plus, since I've worked at its library since I was a freshman. I'm not so sure I can be in that building for 3 more years haha. That's probably a silly reason not to consider a school, huh? 

For now, I just need to focus on doing well on June's LSAT and how to formulate the application process for the fall. So much to do! But at least summer is going to be 100+ days long, as I finish finals very quickly (only one test during finals week, so far as I know; the rest are papers or final tests before the actual week and a Spanish interview thing for my advanced Spanish course).

While I applaud your use of subject matter very few authors touch on, I think it would have been more accurate if your novel (and, subsequently, your movie) included research from the lives of the women who encounter this type of relationship on a daily basis rather than living vicariously through a novel or movie. Clearly, this dramatization, a work from your mind, does not have any influence from the real-life reality of the military community from a woman's perspective. It's a disservice to the military community and to all the men and women who see your film to inaccurately portray this life just as other authors have done when writing romance-type novels. 

One consequence you and others fail to see from writing this type of novel, is the emergence ofThe Crazy Woman who, in believing the hype of the dramatized lifestyle of a military girlfriend, begins to develop into what many of us call a "dog tag chaser." These women constantly contend with each other in search of a soldier's affection, leading to unfortunate circumstances for all involved, such as heartbreak, quicky marriages and misunderstandings of one another's real intentions of the relationship.

Mr. Sparks, I strongly urge you to consider the real-life situation the next time you develop a storyline like this. It might not bring in the cash that The Notebook or this book/movie have, but its more true-to-life depiction will receive more praise and more of a following from the audience you attempt to portray.

Best, 
Megan

It is my pleasure to receive this Bloggy Award from Wife of a Sailor, one of my many mil friends on Twitter! It's the first award I've ever gotten on my site and I'm very excited about it!

Before I express who I've nominated, I'd like to say a few updates, since it's been a while since I've been here!

1) I began my new job at a law firm last Monday, and it's been...well, not easy. It's my first new job in 2 years and is so far the only job I really have cared about because how I do here can determine basically the rest of my life (if and where I attend law school, if I'll be working there later, etc.), so it's been challenging but I've enjoyed it.


2) Some of the craziness from my last post has died down, and I think things will be good for us this year. We have a lot of growing up to do and big decisions have yet to be made about  A LOT in our lives, but I think this year will be a good one. :) 


3) I got a new fishy! His name is Pauly and he's a betta. He's pretty neat. You might think it's kind of lame for me to brag about owning a fish, but most of the pets I had as a kid I didn't take care of; my mother was the pet caregiver. So having him is going to be fun! I have his fish bowl set up just perfectly and will transport him back into it tonight (his water needs to regulate to room temp. again, since I came back to my apartment at school.


And now, for my award: