Up at Dawn

I drink way too much water before bed, I always need to get up at ~5am to pee. Drinking a lot of water is a good thing, though. I was just at my Great Aunt and Uncle's house for Easter, and I don't think either of them had a single glass of water all day. Do you ever notice how when you drink a lot of water, it somehow makes you thirstier? It's strange.

I was up for about an hour, and I had a bullet-point style list of thoughts coming into my head. I said I'd write them down later on when I was more awake, as bizarre as some of them may be, for a few reasons. The first being, I figured someone somewhere must agree with me on some of them. The second, and more important reason really, is that I will want to reread it later. Isn't that fun? Rereading your own thoughts after some time? It's kind of like listening to a specific song that brings you back to a specific moment in time and place - you start to visualize where you were when you wrote it, what the air smelled like, how peaceful it may have been...

So here it goes:

I love the morning light before sunrise. Everything is so blue. I'd love to be a bird at this time of day sometime to join in on what all of the birds are singing about. Are they singing? Or do we like to say that they are, and they're really just chirping the daily "Time to go eat worms!" chant of their dialect? I wonder if all of the birds I can hear right now are aware of the fact that they are living on a warming Earth, and if they are as nervous about it as I am.

The only good thing about Rachel being on Friends is her hair. I realize that every time I rewatch that series. She's otherwise just pretty awful.

Is it too early to try to sneak out of bed and have some peanut butter?

I'm about to start my last semester of my undergrad degree...holy shit...

There's no greater power on earth than the power of music. It's one of the only forces that is able to produce and reproduce emotions of all kinds. Goosebumps from music or powerful vocals are incredible...speaking of which, man I wish I had the opportunity to be Mr. Falker's student in high school. For those of you who do not know, Mr. Falker was the orchestra and band conductor. He was passionate about his love of music and teaching it to his students. He unfortunately died a few years ago, but he will never be forgotten.

My sister was really, truly one of his favorite students. God, she's amazing. I'm so proud of her. Wtf. She had the courage and guts to get up and move out of this shit cold area that gets dark way too early in Winter, and now lives in beautiful, warm Florida. Or as I now call it, Flerd. Oh, Flerdy Derd. I can't wait to go to Flerd again. She's so good at keeping a home beautiful. I can't wait to ask her for some tips on how to do the same one day. Bahaha, like I'm ever going to be able to afford a home.

The average home cost in Massachusetts is fucking ridiculous. RENT is ridiculous, never mind the possibility of considering taking out a mortgage on anything right now. Somerville and Cambridge are my heart's home, but they're turning into the next mini Wellesley. I miss all of the little shops that small business owners with quirky tastes and interests were able to keep. It's going to be all well known bank and company names soon...that's not what makes this area so beautiful and unique...

I wish I didn't have the same constant pessimistic thought process during my morning commute, I like to be a happy and peaceful person. But looking around and sitting in traffic gets me angry...

My morning commute is bullshit. It takes on average 45 minutes to drive not even 7 miles.

The roads are seriously terrible. Where are Massachusetts's tax dollars going? The MBTA is no better. Those should be the two primary focuses of what needs fixing. I'm so thankful to not need to take the MBTA right now, but I am contributing to the traffic problem and climate change with my car. At least I'm carpooling...

The MBTA is literally the worst train system I have ever taken. It's an embarrassment, really. Remember when Boston was considering hosting the Olympics? Bahahaha ya okay. That'd have worked out really well.

At least there's an abundance of roadways that are so well maintained as a second option for people (That's sarcasm, if you can't tell). It's not like you can see the cement crumbling on almost every single column of a bridge supporting another major roadway or highway around the city or anything.

Literally all of the bridges and roadways that go over Storrow Drive are a little frightening.

I know that I have read about a concrete that is able to strengthen itself when water hits it, I can't remember what it is called though. Why can't modern scientists extract samples of it to try to reproduce it to use now? They'd make millions - they could even call it "New England Pavement", because I don't think roads around the rest of the country can be any worse than they are here in New England.

Okay come on, stop incessantly complaining...

There are not enough people in the world like Mr. Rogers.

I love the internet. YouTube (aside from the MOMO bullshit recently) is so great. You're able to search for anything, and boom there's a video for you to watch. I always watch Mr. Rogers videos when I start to lose faith in humanity and society. Those, and interviews with Michelle Obama.

Oh my good God, do I love Michelle Obama. What an amazing woman.

Read Becoming by her if you haven't yet. It's beautiful, and I am only about 45 pages in.

I should read more biographies and autobiographies of people. It's a great way to gain a personal, inside look at what builds a person and their character. Character development is something that we has humans, I think, take for granted. What really makes us, what sparks our interests, where we come from, how we grew up, who was a part of our lives and who continues to be...it's all part of our own authentic, unique, and beautiful story.

The head coach at my gym has some stories about his life, wow. I really don't think I've ever met anyone in my life who has a more interesting and unique background than him. I always love hearing about it. He's been to so many places and countries...

I want to travel more, I can't wait to graduate, aah!! My partner and I will be taking an almost 2 month long road trip of the country together. I can't wait to experience it all with him. He appreciates everything in life - all of its little details. It's beautiful. I can't wait to hear what he has to say about everything and all of the places we go, what we see, the podcasts and music that we'll listen to along the way...

I should ask some of my Professors what some of their favorite places are that they've been to, and why. I've been really lucky, my Professors are generally pretty spectacular.

My clients are spectacular, too. I'm so lucky. My bosses are wonderful to allow me to only work one day a week.

Being in school 5 days a week full time and then working on Saturdays can be challenging. I hate waking up almost every Saturday morning. But once I start my drive to work with my morning coffee and some quiet time to myself and then see my first client of the day, I'm always happy to be there.

Being a hairstylist is unlike any other job, really. It's a shame that here in America, the industry in general is so underappreciated compared to in other areas of the world like Europe. In America, it's a labor of love - you work for every single dollar. But you also create some wonderful relationships with your clients along the way. The conversations I get to have with my clients at work, and the insight I get on their backgrounds or careers, their families, their vacations and experiences that they are eager to share with me - all while I am enjoying creating what I consider art and sculpture through ways of cutting and texturizing their hair - is remarkable. It's such a rush to be able to give someone something they love and that they will live in every day, knowing that I love it too, and I am thankful for my time with them during their appointment.

It's really cool to be good at more than just one thing. It's scary entering a new career path, but it's so exciting. If you're thinking of switching careers, do it. Just do it. Because YOLO. You don't want to look back and say, "Man I wish I tried this..."

It's really fun living a life that revolves around that statement, and making sure I never have to say it. I am sure once my time comes and goes, there will be some things I wish I did. But for now, I am happy.

I have to remember to write to my friends that I haven't talked to in a while. They're thinking of you. Be the one to reach out first. They'll be glad you did.

I need to read more books. Computers and electronic screens have a luring way to them, they're powerfully distractive. But books and stories can take you to where you wish you could go, while keeping you still.

Game of Thrones is phenomenal. I need to read that series after I graduate. I'm so nervous about this week's episode, I love too many characters that are in Winterfell right now and some are definitely going to die...

Oops, spoiler alert. That's too late to say.

I love Radiolab.

I don't sing enough anymore.

I can't wait to have a dog.

Ooooh, I can hear an owl...there are owls in Somerville??

I think that's everything. I fell back asleep around 5:45. This entry is like what I would have written to myself on my LiveJournal in 2004. I am not going to think about how many years ago that was (yes I am, it was 15 years ago...WHAT!?)