My dear friend Bethany (the only one who reads this thing) thinks I would look good with a shaved head.

I have been considering a new hairstyle and had thought about getting a much shorter haircut, but I don’t know if I’m ready to take it to the level of shaving all my hair off.

She thinks I should go for something like Natalie Portman in V:

Natalie definitely pulls this look off. But that’s because she’s Natalie-friggin-Portman. I am not (unfortunately).

I told her that there is currently a 30% chance that I would do this. It might be down to 25% now…but it could still happen.

I feel like my whole life I’ve always been pretty straight-edge. I never do anything some people might call ‘crazy’ or ‘eccentric’ or ‘rebellious’. Maybe this feeling of needing to do something so different from what I would usually do is part of the process of figuring out who I am and asserting my independence or some crap like that. I don’t know. I definitely want to get a tattoo though (yeah…I know…SO CRAZY). But I’m gonna wait a little while on that one. I want to make sure whatever I get is something I won’t regret having for the rest of my life.

I have found that there is a distinct difference between solitude and loneliness.

The following are definitions of the word ‘solitude’ according to the dictionary:

1. the state of being or living alone; seclusion
Ex. to enjoy one’s solitude
2. remoteness from habitations, as of a place; absence of human activity
Ex. the solitude of the mountains
3. a lonely, unfrequented place
Ex. a solitude in the mountains

The following are definitions of the word ‘lonely’ according to the dictionary:

1. affected with, characterized by, or causing a depressing feeling of being alone; lonesome
2. destitute of sympathetic or friendly companionship, intercourse, support, etc.
Ex. a lonely exile
3. lone; solitary; without company; companionless
4. remote from places of human habitation; desolate; unfrequented; bleak
Ex. a lonely road
5. standing apart; isolated
Ex. a lonely tower

As one can see, solitude and loneliness are far from the same thing. Solitude implies that one enjoys isolation and desires isolation, while loneliness implies that one enjoys and desires the company of others.

Consider the following pairs of sentences:
I ate my dinner in solitude.
I ate my dinner alone.

I did my homework in solitude.
I did my homework alone.

I rode the bus in solitude.
I rode the bus alone.

I went to the mall in solitude.
I went to the mall alone.

I myself did each of these things at some point over the last week. If I were to describe my week to you using the first sentence in each pair, you would think that I had a very pleasant week and that I was taking advantage of opportunities to have some peace and quiet. However if I described my week to you using the second sentence in each pair, you would think that I had a very depressing week and that I did not enjoy the absence of companions.

Now the difference between solitude and loneliness is quite clear. What is unclear is if I spent my week in solitude or loneliness. I won’t say much on this matter, but I will say that my week was spent in both solitude and loneliness. Some days just happened to be more lonely than others.

Today I thought about how much time people spend every day logging in to websites. I’d say it takes about 10 or so seconds to type your e-mail/username and password into sites that require such information. Do that just 6 times a day and you’ve already wasted a whole minute of your life. I’m pretty sure I login to websites at least 20 times a day. Probably more. Think of those precious minutes I will never get back. I know I could check the box that keeps me logged in forever, but I don’t always want to do that. I’d rather not have my password already filled out so that anyone can go on my computer and just login and get access to my stuff.

Plus it’s also a pain to fill all that crap out over and over and over again.

I guess I’m just lazy

There are several instruments that I wish I owned and could play. Currently I am capable of playing the trumpet at a decent skill level. I used to be proficient at piano, but now I can only sightread and play with my right hand with moderate skill.

Since I was about 10 I have desired a steel drum. Don’t ask me why; I don’t really know what drew me to the instrument. I guess I like tropical sounds. Something about calypso music just soothes me. Anyways, I’d have to say that a steel drum is at the top of my list of instruments I want to master.

Then there is, of course, the guitar. My family happens to have an old one from some relative. I once attempted to teach myself how to play using the lesson book I found with the guitar that was literally falling apart. Then I discovered that I played guitar left-handed and that the guitar and book were intended for righties. And thus my guitar days ended prematurely.

Close behind the guitar is the ukelele. I guess my interest with this instrument goes along with my fascintiom with steel drums. I love the sounds the ukelele makes. It instantly transports you to a beach. More specifically a Hawaiian beach. After my school trip to Hawaii my desire for a ukelele only grew. Sadly I could not buy one because it wouldn’t fit in my suitcase, but a neighbor recently went to Hawaii and brought one back for me. Problem 1: the strings are cheap. Problem 2: I don’t know how to play the ukelele.

The final instrument I want to learn is the drums. Typical, I know, but you can’t go wrong with guitar and drums. Especially if you still harbor the fantasy, as I do, of one day being a rock star. I feel like I might have potential on the drums but I don’t know if or when I will be able to buy a set. Until that day, I have to fulfill my musical desires by playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band which only briefly slake my thirst for more musical knowledge.

I am currently flying from Boston to Chicago on my way back to school.

I’m flying Southwest, my personal favorite of all the airlines (other than Jet Blue). There are many things that make Southwest great: relatively comfortable seats, slightly larger overhead compartments than American, friendly and funny flight attendants, and cool color schemes and exterior designs for their planes. But the best thing about Southwest is their complimentary snacks! More specifically their trademark honeyroasted peanuts.

‘What’s the big deal?’ you might ask. ‘Peanuts are peanuts.’

This is not true, my friend.

Who wants plain old peanuts when you can have honeyroasted peanuts? Their sweet and sugary goodness is just a step above your usual salted variety.

So you can understand my dismay when the flight attendant handed me my free snacks (that’s right, you get multiple snacks on Southwest!) and I soon discovered that I had been given salted peanuts.

This is a tragedy, my friends.

I had been looking forward to, and greatly anticipating, the honeyroasted peanuts.

I mean, yes I am thankful I have any peanuts at all, but I expect great things from Southwest. To be let down like this…it hurts.

In my opinion, a simple bag of peanuts can make all the difference in the world. It’s the difference between starvation and adequate sustenance in a world where cheap, let alone free, airport/airplane food is extremely hard to come by.

So I will eat my salted Southwest peanuts, but I will mourn the absence of honeyroastedness.

is my favorite food.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t make myself like this sport. And I watch a lot of sports. I’d rather watch curling than soccer.

I admire the rest of the world’s passion for soccer, but I just don’t get what they love so much about it. I’m sure they feel the same way about football (not futbol).

Maybe it’s because I had bad experiences when I played soccer as a child (I could only stand to play for 2 years). I don’t know what it is. I just don’t like soccer.

I’ve tried multiple times to like soccer, but it never works out. I’ll watch the USA play soccer in the Olympics, but once that’s over I move on and forget my brief tryst with the sport.

I don’t know why I felt compelled to write about this. Just thought the world should know where I stand.

So this summer Bethany and I are gonna go roadtrippin’.

We’re gonna start small and work our way to longer, farther, and more epic trips.

This is something I’ve always wanted to do. For now we are just in the early stages of our planning, so I’m just gonna throw some destination ideas out there.

Day Trips
- Salem
- Newport, RI
- Hyannis
- Plymouth
- Western Mass

Weekend/Longer Trips
- Nantucket
- Saratoga Springs
- Portsmouth, NH
- Concord, NH
- Portland, ME
- DC
- Hershey, Pennsylvania
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Canada (eastern part)
- Lake Placid, NY

Dream Trips
- California
- Cross-country trip
- Canada (western part)
- North/South Carolina
- Florida
- New Orleans
- Texas
- Montana
- Santa Fe
- Vegas

Beyond Epic Trips
- Hawaii
- Europe
- Alaska

As you can see I have big ambitions and high hopes for our travels. We probably won’t get to most of these for a few years (namely when we’re 21), but at least we’ll have something to look forward to, something to keep us motivated. We need to start saving up a lot of $$$. We should probably rent a good road trip car. Like a station wagon. Or a VW van. And it’ll take awhile to make the perfect road trip music mix. I’ll start thinking about that in my next few posts.

Anyways, I just wanted to get some thoughts out there. I’m really excited about this. I love traveling.

I have an addiction to online shopping.

More specifically to buying movies online.

I blame this addiction on several things:

1. I love movies
2. I have a job that pays me money
3. I have a credit card to spend my money with
4. I’m in college
5. Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble send me e-mails about movie sales
6. I have a list of movies I want to buy
7. I want to have a movie collection that rivals my friend Bethany’s collection
8. My friends do not discourage my addiction
9. I want to buy all the movies Johnny Depp is in
10. Target has movies for $7
11. Wal-mart has movies for less then $7

So as you can see there are many things fueling my addiction. Today I bought 6 movies. This is my biggest purchase to date. I blame it on Amazon’s ‘Big DVD Sale’ that they just had to inform me about.

Who could pass up awesome movies for under $5.99?

Not me.

Please help.

Today Nomar Garciaparra, my favorite baseball player, did the coolest thing ever: he signed a one day deal with the Boston Red Sox and then retired.

I have been a Red Sox fan my entire life, and Nomar was one of the players I grew up watching and admiring. He’s the reason why I wore number 5 when I played softball. He’s why I aspired to be a shortstop. I loved that quirky little dance he did in the batter’s box. I bought Nomar batting gloves. I still have the worn red t-shirt with his name and number on the back. It doesn’t fit me anymore but I can’t bring myself to get rid of it.

I still remember the moment I found out he had been traded. I was sitting in the back seat of my family’s van. We were driving out of our neighborhood to go somewhere. The radio was on. Then the sports announcer informed us of the trade that sent Nomar to the Chicago Cubs. I was shocked. That night I printed out a Cubs logo and taped it onto my Nomar poster. I left it that way until Nomar got traded again.

He may not have been the best shortstop out of his contemporaries, (as much as it hurts me, I will admit that Jeter is better…) but Red Sox Nation loved him all the same. I’m glad he’s retiring where he belongs.

Nomah forevah.