Archive for category: history

Let’s Play 20 Questions

June 14, 2012/6 Comments/in Blond, Fun, history, Nerd Herd, Photos, Redesign, Space Camp, Study Abroad, Vintage CB /by Megan

As part of the redesign and relaunch of Crazybananas, I went back and put together a new FAQ section to answer all of your burning questions. You can thank me later. This little section can always be found by clicking the FAQ button on the left sidebar, but for today, I thought I’d feature it front and center as well.

1. What the heck does Crazybananas mean? Yeah, if I would have known when I created this site at the wise age of 21 that I’d still be doing this eight years later, I probably would have put more thought in to the name. The truth is during my senior year of college, a partner in my final journalism class and I were joking around about starting a business and we decided if we did, it would be called Crazy Bananas. Because when you’re crazy, you’re bananas. Dudes, we were hilarious. Anyway, then I basically stole the name when I created this website because I couldn’t think of anything else. He forgave me and was one of my first and most loyal readers (Hi Eric!).

{Super attractive photo of me during the early days of the blog…
ahhh college…and wood paneling.}

2. What was the first thing you wrote about on this blog? When I started Crazybananas, I was living in Florence, Italy and using the site as a platform to update friends and family on my adventures. My first post was cleverly titled “My First Entry,” and it went a little something like this:

Ciao tutto! I’m in Italy and I’m finally trying to make this web blog work. I’m not very computer literate, but I’m trying at least. Things are amazing here. This city (Florence) is great and I’ve made a lot of good friends already. I’ve also been to Roma and Cinque Terre (on the Mediteranean Sea). In a few weeks I’m heading off to Venice. OK, that’s all for now. I just wanted to see if I could make this thing work:)

Don’t be jealous of my fabulousity. (All of my posts from Italy can be found here.)

{Photo from a day trip to Venice and night photo of the Florence Duomo from Piazza Michelangelo…I did not have a great camera or any camera skills when I was 21}

3. Why have you continued blogging all these years? I’m a starter. I like to start things. Projects. TV series. Cooking experiements. Whatever. But, honestly, I’m not much of a finisher. I’m as surprised as anyone that this blog is still up and running, because usually I lose interest in things pretty quickly. I think the somewhat short answer is I really like writing here. When I started it was to talk to a few specific people and then it grew and expanded and changed. Even though my day job can be a bit mind numbing, this gave me a place to be creative, snarky and funny. I am able to be myself here. I also love that I unknowingly created a digital scrapbook of my life as a young mom. It makes me smile to know that someday my kids will read this and understand me a bit better.

4. If you had to pick between Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling and Neal Patrick Harris, who would you pick? That is an unfair and stupid question and I will not dignify it with an answer. (But if I did it would be, d. all of the above.)

5. What’s your favorite current television show? That would be a three way tie between Doctor Who, Game of Thrones and Fringe. Nerds of Earth, unite!

{Me kissing a plush Tardis on a rooftop in NYC. Nerd alert!}

6. Favorite movie? I used to say it was Shakespeare in Love because I used to be ridiculous. Now I guess I’d say Bridget Jones Diary because my love for Mark Darcy springs eternal.

7. Did you really go to Space Camp? Yes, yes I did.

When I was growing up, my dad had a grant with NASA and had several ongoing experiments on shuttle missions and on the International Space Station. I was (am) a space nerd. I went to Space Camp for two summers, during what can only be categorized as the most awkward years of my life (space nerd + puberty = oh no) and loved every minute of it. Those nerds are my people.

All of my Space Camp posts can be found here.

8. What is your favorite color? Orange.

9. Do you think you’re a good photographer? I used to say no, but now I’d say yes. Mostly because I’ve worked really hard at it and also because with age I have grown vain and obnoixous.

10. What kind of camera do you use? I have a few: A Canon Digital Rebel XT for still photos (example), the Sony Cybershot is my little point and shoot (example), a Kodak Playsport HD Video Camera for motion (example), an old Diana F+ for film (example) and my iPhone for everything in between (example). I also use Photoshop CS5, Illustrator CS5 and InDesign CS5 to edit photos and put together layouts / image spreads. For iPhone photos I use several apps to edit images. A few favorites are Instagram, PicFrame, Best Camera, TiltShiftGen and Mill Colour. I also like the Shake It Photo app because it makes that awesome Polaroid sound when you take a picture. (For a recent roundup of my favorite camera apps, click here.)

{Smile!!! Seriously, dude. Smile.}

11. Which member of The Babysitters’ Club are you most like and why? I guess I’d say Claudia, because I desperately want to be able to pull off earrings made of beaded feathers. I used to want to be Dawn, but we all know I’d never make it as a vegan. I also had a few years of thinking I was Mary Ann, but that was mostly due to my ongoing crush on Logan Bruno.

12. If I were to meet you in person, what should I do to get your attention? HUGGGZZZ!!! Just kidding, don’t touch me. I don’t like to be touched. I guess you could just yell my name. Or, if we want to start a super secret society, you could give me the code word. I suppose I should make up a code word then, huh? Okay, the code word is “tardis.” If you don’t know what that means, please don’t bother trying to join my super secret society because we’re very exclusive and don’t want your kind of trash around.

(You’re not trash. I promise. I love you! Hugs!)

13. What’s your sign? Virgo. Not joking. Totally a virgo. Me and Cameron Diaz. We rule!

14. I’m visiting Kansas City, what should I do while I’m there? Okay, first of all, you’re gonna need to eat some BBQ inside a gas station. Other than that, check out the Kansas City section for more ideas! Thanks for visiting! You look cute in those boots!

15. How do you balance everything?! Hahahahaha. Ha. I don’t balance anything, but I try very, very hard. I think the most important thing is to try and be a present as possible. When I’m at work or putting together materials for a client, I do my best to just get it done. When I’m with my kids I do my best to enjoy every second of it. I’m a huge proponent of To Do lists and keeping journals/scratch pads around so when I get an idea, I can jot it down quickly and then get on with whatever I’m doing, instead of letting my mind wander.

{Me, generally, working moming it.}

16. If you could give a younger you some advice, what would it be? Do what makes you happy, not what you think you should do to make everyone else happy. Explore your creativity. It’s there, even if you doubt it. The friends you think are amazing, really are amazing. The ones you think are a little off? They are batshit insane and you should stay as far away from them as possible. You will be an incredible mom. Drink more water. Wear SPF 100+. Try macaroons, you’ll love them. You’re prettier than you think you are, so stop telling yourself otherwise. Don’t worry that you’re too old to watch television shows made for teens, because someday you’ll be thirty and you’ll still be doing it. It’s because you’re awesome.

17. You’re kidding about your love of Britney Spears, right? That girl is crazy. If you ever speak of B. Spears in that way I will cut you. Not kidding. My love for B. Spears is non negotiable. How’s that for crazy? (Bananas.) (Yeah, I just did that. You’re welcome.)

18. Do you plan on selling any of your artwork or photos? Yes, I do! Plans are in the works and I’ll keep you all updated as I know more.

19. Do you do sponsored posts or reviews? I do! If you’d like to sponsor Crazybananas or have me do a review of your product, please shoot me over an email at megan [at] crazybananas [dot] com. But beware, if your pitch sucks, I reserve the right to respond to your request with a photo of Wil Wheaton collating paper.

20. How can I contact you? You can email me at megan [at] crazybananas [dot] com or you can find me all over the web at my About Me page.

{Trust me, you totally do.}

A Note on Memory Keeping

June 14, 2011/0 Comments/in Happiness, history, Lucy, Tate /by Megan

Oh me, oh my, where do I start? I’ve been putting off writing about our trip to Disney for many reasons, the most important of which is that so much happened, and I just don’t have the time to get it all down. But, as I told Trent on the way home from the airport, my purposes in writing this blog (or Twitter even) has changed so much in the past few years. Whereas this used to be a place for me to spew whatever nagging thoughts were swirling around in my brain, now I look at it as sort of a time capsule. I remember Gwen Bell saying once (on Twitter or her blog or the like) that she wished her mother had some sort of online journal or Twitter account. Her mom, who died when she was quite young, is somewhat of a mystery to her, and she wondered what her Twitter would say, what she would share with the world, and wishes she could peek into her private thoughts. Every time (well, almost) I write something here or anywhere online, I think of that. Of how someday my children will read this, and whether I’m still on this Earth or not, they will gain some insight into who I am as person, not just their mother. They can read my perspective, learn about things I was interested in, understand me so much better. Sure, there are things I don’t want them to know that they will probably learn here and elsewhere, but it’s all part of my truth, the person I am. And them seeing that I am a mere mortal, a person who makes mistakes and learns and grows is more important to me than sheltering them from said mistakes.

What I’m trying to get at, is although I have no time, and honestly, not much desire to chronicle our trip to Disney here, I know I have to. Lucy’s experience of this trip will be remembered through five year old eyes and ears, it will be muffled and selective. I want her to be able to read this in five or ten or twenty years and learn what she said the first time she saw the castle over the horizon or how she grinned while sitting on her dad’s shoulders or what she said as she met Cinderella for the first time. I want her to see her beautiful self through my eyes. So even though it may take forever to get it all down, and regardless of who will read it today, I need to write this story. For her. For Tate. So they can remember.

In the sun I feel as one

April 21, 2010/0 Comments/in Grumples, history /by Megan

Dear Frank,

I love you.

You suck.

I miss you.

Love,
Megan

I’m Left Black

April 21, 2009/3 Comments/in Grumples, history /by Megan

When I was sixteen years old, I had a friend. His name was Frank. Frank was one of those “once-in-a-lifetime” people. Smarter than most people I knew, Frank had an exterior that kept some people at distance, but once he spoke two words, you were entranced. I met him on the first day of school in ninth grade. I had just started public school after eight very sheltered years at a small Catholic school, and I knew about three people in a class of over four hundred. For reasons that I can’t quite place right now, I had decided to take a freshman level drama class. I had absolutely no talent whatsoever as an actress, had never taken a drama class before, and when I walked in to the room I had no idea what to expect. The class ended up being a real live Breakfast Club, only there were more of us and no one ever started dancing around the class after smoking pot in the library (okay, maybe they did, but I was shy and insecure and sort of a loser who probably didn’t realize what was going on).

Frank was someone I’m sure I’d have never spoken to otherwise, but in the confines of this particular class, we were forced on a daily basis to interact with people we’d normally steer clear of, and not only interact, but just plain act. We’d have improv sessions where we’d have to come up with characters off the top of our heads, monologues that we’d write ourselves (usually about the total pain and crappiness of being a teenager) and have mini-love scenes (nothing too racy, we were fifteen) with people that wouldn’t think to look our direction in a crowded high school hallway. All of this up-close and personal activity bonded us in a way I honestly haven’t found since. I remember wishing the semester would never end, and in an act of warding off time, we all signed up for Drama II the next semester.

Frank was probably the most interesting and unique person I had ever met. He wore black eyeliner around his beautiful green eyes, fishnet shirts with his thumbs sticking through the holes, and giant jeans with a wallet chain hanging out of his back pocket. He was soft spoken and brilliant, and we spent many classes talking about everything, from his love for his gorgeous girlfriend to politics to music (always, always talking about Nirvana). I ended up briefly dating his best friend, and that led to a whole new level of friendship for Frank and I, especially when his friend threatened to kill himself when I broke up with him. I’d never been around people with such raw emotion, and had no idea what I was dealing with. Frank talked me through it, always calm and cool, his kind eyes and handsome face searching mine to see if I’d be broken, to try and mend any damage. He knew how insecure and lost I was, and was one of a very few who knew that even though I was portraying an exterior that suggested otherwise (popular-ish, captain of sports teams, straight A student), I had no idea what I was doing.

Frank never exploited my trust, never lied to me and never hurt me. I’m not sure if I can say that of any friend I’ve ever had. I only knew him for a year and a half, but he touched my life in ways that still affect me. He was an incredible person, an amazing soul.

Frank took his own life ten years ago today. With my vacation and work and friends and life, this awful anniversary somehow slipped from my mind, until a sweet friend called today to talk about her sad heart and reminded me of the calendar. I found myself driving home from a meeting, pulling in to my parking lot with tears running down my face, as we tried to talk through the bad stuff and remember the good. Trying to remember Frank’s laugh, his neverending support, how he was the first person to teach me how to correctly apply eyeliner and how he helped her through one of the worst years of her life. Remembering how the flyers that hung around our high school on the first anniversary of his death, and how the administration made us take them down because they said it supported suicide. Fucking assholes. I still have one of those flyers hanging up in my bedroom at my parents’ house, and I’ve found my mind constantly picturing it today.

I think of what my life has become, and what has become of the lives of so many of Frank’s friends, and my heart drops even more. What would he have been today? Who could he have been? He and his lovely, incredible girlfriend would still be together, I’m sure of that. They were what someone with a less cynical view of the world would have called soulmates. She is hurting today, I’m sure. Though all of our lives were changed by Frank and his death, hers was affected the most. I’m sending her peace and good vibes today.

I’m so sorry, Frank. I’m sorry I didn’t stay in better touch when you moved away. I’m sorry I wasn’t the same shoulder to lean on that you were for me. I’m sorry you didn’t think you had anywhere to turn. You’ve left an imprint on my life that won’t be diminished. I know you believed in some sort of afterlife, and I hope’s it’s as lovely as I have imagined.

Lovely Frank, I miss you.

This was posted by request and with permission from a few particular people who knew Frank best of all. If anyone has any problems with what was said, please email me at megan@crazybananas.com with your complaint. If you or anyone you know could be considering ending their own lives, please contact the National Hopeline Network at 1-800-SUICIDE or by clicking here.