LOVE: 2008

2008 was an awesome year! And I'm truly sad to see it leave. 2008 was a year in my life where I excelled at my job, housecleaned all unnecessary people, developed stronger bonds with my friends and family, and even met a celebrity or two! At work I made a great career decision that led me to work on projects that I love with some of the most talented and fun people I have ever met. (And I think they may like me too because I got a great promotion!) I said good-bye to people/relationships that had weighed me down and kept me from achieving my potential. I also rid myself of moochy girlfriends and people that couldn't keep up with me. My family is my life and this year truly made me realize that I have the best parents in the entire world. I miss them with all my heart now that I don't live close to them 2008 also made my dad's old saying come true, my sister has absolutely become my best friend. We moved past all the fighting and jealousy of our childhood and I love her to death. Oh and for the celebrity thing this year I met Aerosmith (somehow I rode in their limo, after them of course), Melissa Etheridge (she shared her nachos with me), Gavin Degraw (he helped me on the red carpet), Seal (he sang me and two co-workers a song backstage), Panic at the Disco and Dashboard Confessional (we rode the elevator at Hard Rock Vegas together several times)Natasha Bedingfield, Tom Brady and Gisele, David Wright, David Cook (twice), Joss Stone, Gavin Rossdale, A-Rod, Selena Gomez, CT From the Real World, a male-model I wanted to marry and I'm sure few other's I'm forgetting. Anyway...Good-bye 2008 I will definitely miss you and I hope 2009 is half as good!

HATE: Strollers at the Mall...well really anywhere

So this past Christmas, I hit up the mall several times and every single time I was practically mowed over by over eager moms and the screaming children in a stroller. I mean its bad enough that I have to listen/watch people's children cry, pull everything off shelves and look generally dirty and crusty, but do you really have to bring a mini-van sized stroller to the crowded holiday mall? These tank-like apparatuses block aisles, cause chaos and I can't even count the amount of times I have been run over by one (it's really laughable to me that these women seem to think that because the are pushing a small Winnebago that they have the right of way at every juncture.) I mean really when you think about it, why do children even need to be at a mall? It's not like they try on clothes until they are like 5 and I cannot imagine that having a drooling child that needs attention can possibly be enjoyable for the parent. It's really not just malls where strollers and their occupants bother me, on a recent visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art I once again felt like I was in a nursery school classroom. What can your 6 month old possibly contribute to your museum experience, besides ruining it for all the other patrons? Is he going to comment on the African tribal masks or discuss the colors in a Monet? The moral of the story is that even when I have my own kids they will be home with a babysitter until they are of walking age. And I'm sure that there are people thinking well what if a family cannot afford a babysitter...and to that I say if you cannot afford a babysitter you probably shouldn't be at the mall!

HATE: All I Want for Christmas Away Messages

Ever since I have been an AIM user, so since like 6th grade, people have been quoting Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas" in their away messages (and with the invent of Facebook their status updates). While this may have been cute 1. when the song was semi-new and 2. when I was in middle school, there is a point in life where it is no longer acceptable to put "baby all I want for Christmas is you" in an away message. If you are in a relationship then you actually do have that special person for Christmas, thus eliminating the need for this statement entirely. If you are unable to be with the target of your little message it becomes slightly pathetic to post subliminal away messages once you reach past the age of 12. Either way, this overuse of this phrase has become a Christmas cliche that has ruined on of my favorite holiday songs.