Quite literally: My ratio of haircuts-to-redesigns is something like 1:4. Oh, well.

Today I am on vacation. I have to keep saying that out loud, because I keep forgetting. I've had a lot of vacation this year, and this week is the final gasp before plummetting into the cold months. The bitter winter. The long nights filled with sorrow, longing, and other people's mail.

People keep asking me if I'm going anywhere this week, and I keep telling them the truth: I don't know. And therein lies the rift between my way of thinking and the ways of others. I think: How the hell can I be expected to know whether or not I'm going somewhere on my vacation? And they think: How can you not know if you're taking a trip when such things require all manner of planning, not to mention worrying?

I suppose if you have children and/or a tightly clamped anus, you might need to plan a trip for weeks in advance. But under my circumstances, such planning does nothing to enhance the experience. I don't even pack for a trip until I absolutely need to, and for that I have a backpack with special pockets for the essentials: laptop, cell phone, iPod. A clip for keys. A large pocket for hygiene items such as a toothbrush and deodorant. A large open area for 3 shirts, a pair of pants, socks, skivvies, an extra pair of shoes, and a book. These items, plus cash and credit cards, is all you will ever need on any trip, (unless you're going camping or skiing or doing anything that involves any kind of special equipment, of course). If you need more than this on a regular vacation without children, you are doing something wrong. Even the deodorant, really, is kind of ridiculous.

I truly believe that as long as I have a decent place to sleep ("decent" meaning "private" and "dry" and "roach-free") I can have fun anywhere. Because when I travel, the main thing I like to do is walk. The secondary thing I like to do is look at stuff.

I also like to eat, to drink adult beverages, and to take photographs. I'm not afraid to spend money, but I usually don't shop, unless the stores or markets are really weird. I like to find strange foods that I've never tried before. I like to ride public transportation.

But all in all, I doubt that I'll go anywhere this time, or at least I won't go very far.

Because more than all these things, staying home and playing Wii kind of sounds best.