What I did today: Got my hair cut. Now it's pleasantly short. I think it looks sort of boyish, actually. I bought some new walking shoes. The old ones were so beat up it was embarrassing. And I also bought two shirts. Then I went to Barnes and Noble, browsed through some books, and had an iced mocha minus the whipped cream. Yummy. I ended up buying a book by Caroline Kepcher (Trump lieutenant on the Apprentice), since it was on sale for $6. Finally I inquired about buying a cell phone. $30 a month, but I think it would be worth it for the peace of mind in case of an emergency. But unfortunately the place I went to didn't have any of the free variety of cell phones available, so I left without getting one.

It felt good to buy stuff for myself. Like finally, I don't have to be so budget-conscious, I can spend a little of the money I earn. I don't know, it doesn't bother me that much to live without stuff, it takes very little to make me happy. I once went like six months without seeing a movie. As long as I have books, cable TV, and Internet access I'm happy. As long as I have jeans and T-shirts and tennis shoes to wear, an occasional chocolate bar, I'm OK. A car that works, a house that's warm, what else do I really need? My favorite idea is to save the money I earn from working and then retire early.

After that I want to travel. Even traveling to Des Moines, Iowa, this weekend inspired some wanderlust in me. Iowa really is beautiful. The rolling hills, the tall grass, the trees and wildflowers. On the highways, signs listing mileage to Minneapolis/St. Paul. If I had two weeks to spend in the Midwest, I'd drive there. I'd head to Chicago and St. Louis, too. Just to see, just to be able to have the memory of those places in my mind.

It's weird what a family becomes after all the kids have grown up. We're not bound the way we used to be when we used to live together. We have our own lives, and we seem to have less in common every year. The two things we will always have in common: our DNA and the memories of the time when we did live together. In a way it's sad, but that's how modern life goes. People move away and build lives apart from the family they grew up with. But we're still there for each other, we're there for the big events, the weddings and graduations and illnesses. It's comforting to know that if I needed them, I could call my parents and/or my sisters and they would drop everything and come and help me (and vice-versa).