Dear 2003:

No more heart surgeries for my dad. This is non-negotiable.

2002 took the last of my grandparents, as well as my marriage, so you have less to work with.

I would like for you to be nicer to my friends, a few in particular, who have been quite roughed up by 2002. I would also like to make it through you with an intact sense of self, or perhaps just this newfound perspective. The usual wishes, such as world peace, people being nicer to each other, and the cessation of Jewel being given book deals for her volumes of “poetry” still apply. Thank you kindly, and come on in.

_halsted._

P.S. Don’t fuck with my new apartment.