Why Do I Live in the Midwest?

Okay, so today wasn't AS cold, but I'm still planning on moving to Florida, California, Arizona or Costa Rica when I graduate (whichever one is cheaper....).

Photo was okay, I still don't think I have great pics, but I'm not sure whether I should develop more film or just work with what I have. Either way, I need to figure out when I'll be in the photo lab. Math was okay. I had an Astronomy test-it was evil, I probably failed. Um, I saw a friend today at school. Yay! And.... Not much else. Except my cough and runny nose refuses to go away, yuck.

Well, I should go to bed early for once (I have been going to bed around midnight-like I said, can't really sleep when I'm sick, even though I desperately need to).

Ashley

Why do the Words "Homework" and "Procrastination" Seem to Go Together?

.... Because that's what happens when you're a college student! Yeah.... I have homework to do, and of course I want to do anything but that. It's actually sort of entertaining the ways my brain can procrastinate. But I need to focus, my problems aren't bad now, but they will be later.... Maybe I'll go hang out in libraries and bookstores more often.... After all, I've heard it's typically a bad idea to study in your dorm room, why can't that rule apply to bedrooms, too? Oh well, I'll figure something out.

I've been feeling okay. I have a really bad cough-my throat is raw because of it. Nose runs on occasion. It's very attractive (yeah, right). Spanish was fine. Work was fine. Driving around was fine. I should probably attempt to do homework for once and maybe go to bed "early"! We'll see. If only my body could run on 4 hours of sleep, things would be easier.

Ashley

Remember When I Used to Be Creative?

Hey all, so I've decided my titles have been boring for so long. I'm going to attempt to spice them up a little.

First of all, it's FREEZING here. Okay, so my definition of freezing is 58 degrees, but still. My mom thinks this weather is wonderful. Ri-ight. Um, my mom took the boys to an apple orchard (I think) while I was at school. They brought back apple cider doughnuts, which was cool. But anyway, back to the cold weather. Because it was so cold, I had extreme difficulty getting up. Okay, it's always hard for me to get up, but when it's cold, that makes it even harder because all I want to do is stay in bed.

Photo was okay, made a print, which was dark and blurry. I underexposed a LOT of my images, though, I'm not quite sure what I'm doing wrong. Hopefully I can go to the lab more this week-I have a project due one week from today!!!

Math was fine. So far, for math, things are good, but there are these two really catty, immature, bratty girls who must be just out of high school and they CAN'T STOP TALKING IN CLASS. They don't talk very loud, but I'm amazed my teacher hasn't said anything (though she did give them a "look" a couple times). Every class I really want to go up to them, smack them both and tell them to shut up and grow up. But I wouldn't really do that, not at all. Guess I better let the teacher deal with them eventually.... Darn. Doesn't anyone at my school (well, that's aged 18-25, that is) realize that they are legal adults, therefore they should at least TRY to ACT like adults? I don't know. It used to take a lot to get under my skin, but I've been so sick of the human race these days.

Went home, did a little homework, vacuumed my rug, played Farmville, browsed Facebook in general.

Astronomy was fine. Had an interesting lab for once. I'm a little nervous about the test on Wednesday, though.

Now, I'll probably attempt a little homework. Maybe.

Ashley

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Well... My biggest symptom is definitely a cough. I'm almost out of cough drops already and I think Mucinex DM will probably be my best friend either tonight or before school tomorrow. I still have to blow my nose a lot, but not as much as yesterday. Still, it wasn't exactly fun to work today (the air can be so dry inside a library!). I didn't go anywhere else because I wanted to attempt to rest and I didn't want to share my germs with everyone at church. Oh well. I forgot to say I got paid on Friday, and I now have a fair amount of money in my London fund! Yay! Oh yeah, should probably mention it. I decided that I'm going to London in my lifetime no matter what, but right now, I don't have the money to just go out and travel now. So I'm setting aside a small amount of money each paycheck that I plan to use for a trip to London someday. I do the same thing for other things I'm saving up for, like grad school (should I ever go). With the amount I have now, I could probably only afford a night or two in a ridiculously cheap-hostel, maybe a souvenir or meal, but it's a start! I have no idea what my overall trip cost would be, but if I keep up my current rate I could probably afford airfare in 2 years. Okay, so I want to go NOW, but 2 years or so is better than nothing, right?

Oh, and I'm currently reading "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl". I've obviously heard of it many many times before, but I've never actually read it. So I'm doing so now. Very good book, if you ask me.

Hmm, I should probably get off Facebook and work on some Astronomy homework. Yick. Or maybe Spanish homework, that would at least be more fun....

And now, I sign off with a hypothetical question: Why do weekends always seem to go by WAY too fast???

Ashley

Saturday, September 26, 2009

I am feeling slightly better. I'm starting to develop a cough, my eyes are watering, my nose is bright red and painfully chapped, and I pretty much have to blow my nose every five minutes, but at least I can kind of sort of breathe through my nose.

Today, I watched "Fiddler on the Roof". Then... I took some pictures for a photo project. Maybe THIS time the negatives won't be too bad this time. I will be doing a TON of developing on Monday and Wednesday, that's for sure.

I wasted a lot of time on Facebook, especially playing this application called Farmville. It sounds so corny, but it's oddly addictive. And I attempted to play a little "Les Miserables-Easy Piano" on the piano. I sucked, but it was fun. Oh, and I got a printer. Still need to figure out how to use it. My uncle gave it to me.

Okay, I better get off the computer and get to my more important homework.

Ashley

Friday, September 25, 2009

I'm still feeling lousy, but not as bad as yesterday. I just had work for a few hours, and it wasn't bad. I don't know what else to say, kind of boring. Um, my nose is chapped and red from blowing my nose so much and I used a whole box of Kleenex in the past 24 hours. Attractive, I know. The entire day I've been, to quote Dave Barry, "playing the snot trombone". I have an article by him called "Waging Germ Warfare", it's soooo funny. I should dig it up from somewhere....

Ashley

===

EDIT: I remembered what I was going to say! What on earth am I still doing up? I need rest! It's amazing that when I am sick and need to sleep more, I end up sleeping less. It's so complicated.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Still very sick and stuffed up. Upper back hurts. School had its 40th anniversary party. It was good. Spanish was fine. I felt lousy all day. I should sleep soon.

Ashley

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Why do colds make me feel so miserable? First, I had a horrible sore throat that was irritated so badly, then I got congested, all stuffed up and can't breathe, and now it's liable to get irritated by the slightest dust particle! Stuffy nose is a miserable symptom, but the sore throat is brutal for me; I always wonder whether I'm getting strep when I have a cold.

Well, besides the whole cold business, today was fine. Developed a couple negatives in photo-yay! One turned out great, the other not so much. Oh well, I'll reshoot this weekend. Math was okay. Astronomy was actually cool. Let's just say blackbody machine that I can't remember the name + cool glasses that I can't remember the name + light = endless entertainment. Well, I look it up... tomorrow? When I'm not miserable. But I should rest. Good night.

Ashley

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

I am sick. I have this AWFUL sore throat and I'm starting to feel congested and I just feel miserable. Ugh, I'm amazed how a stupid little cold can get me down so much.

Anyway, I went to the YMCA-finally! I probably should have rested, due to my illness, but I need to exercise and I felt good for a while. Spanish was okay. I forgot my book which will probably cost me some point. :-/ Work was fine, I was in a daze, though. However, despite feeling like crap, I got all my homework done! Yay!

Well, I should at least attempt to get some sleep. Not sure how I'll survive tomorrow.

Ashley

Monday, September 21, 2009

Argh. It's MONDAY. Grrr.

Well, I had a really hard time getting up this morning. I woke up at 5:30am yesterday and was fine, but I woke up at 6 today and I had so much difficulty. This makes no sense.

Walked into CLC, saw a friend and we walked to class together (we're not in the same class, of course, why on earth would that happen? I rarely have class with a friend. Oh well). Photo was fine, didn't get to develop any new negatives yet, but I made some prints. Hopefully I'll get to develop soon, though I don't know how long it'll take-I have 4 rolls to develop!

Lunch was Jimmy John's (yay). Math was okay, I had a sub. He was pretty good, funny, but it always jars me a bit when there's a substitute teacher.

Rested a little, tried to do some homework, had a pasta salad for dinner (yay!) then Astronomy. Hopefully this class is going to get better. Seems like it is. But, it'll still be hard, and I'll be happy if I get a C. *sigh*

Well, should probably go to bed. I have a LOT to do tomorrow....

Ashley

Sunday, September 20, 2009

First of all, I realized I made a mistake with my last post. I should have signed off as, "Lady Cap'n Ashley" not just "Ashley". Oh well, I'll have to remember for next year.

Secondly, September is flying by so fast! What the heck? So weird.

Okay, now to the boring stuff.

Woke up at 5:30 am. Why, you ask? Because the church service I was going to was at 8am. Didn't you go to a church yesterday?! Yes, but I also went to my church. A double dose of Jesus can be good. Are you crazy?! Why, yes I am. But in a good way.

Okay, how many people actually followed that.... Yeah, that's what I thought.

Worked all afternoon. Actually got my Astronomy homework done. I probably failed it all, but at least it's done-guess we'll find out if that's enough to get me by. How will I survive this class? Maybe the copy of "Astronomy for Dummies" that I got from the library might help....

Watched parts of "Hairspray". I say parts, because I think the disc is majorly scratched or dirty-the movie kept skipping and I have no idea how it ends! Maybe I can clean it and try again another day? Who knows. The parts I saw were okay. Some of it was fun, some of it was cheesy in a good kind of way, and some of it was painfully cheesy. But, I still want to see it again, so that I can actually see ALL of it.

Well, another week starts tomorrow. Groan.... I now despise Mondays like crazy.

Ashley

International Talk Like A Pirate Day 2009

Ahoy mateys!

This here day be International Talk Like a Pirate Day! It is also the day when the fictional wench Hermione Granger (from the crew o' Harry Potter) first set sail! Happy Birthday ter ye, Hermione! Rum all around!

I been a lazy, scurvy dog today. I be writin' some scrolls fer for me school o' higharrr learnin', but it not be much writin'. I may have to swab the deck after the sun sets, or walk the plank!

I also been ter the place o' superstitions with me nearest o kin, and one of them who set me first at sea. Was a jolly time! Yo-ho-ho....

Well, shiver me timbers, I must complete me scroll relatin' to the starrrrrrrs. And head to me chambers, as I must set sail tomarrrrrrow, 'round sunrise. Arrrrrrrr.

And forgive me mistakes, I am a mere lass who be not good with the tongue o' Pirate. Arrrr....

Ashley

=======

Very Rough Translation:

Hello friends!

Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day! It is also Hermione Granger's (from Harry Potter) birthday! Happy Birthday, Hermione!

I was lazy today. I did a little homework, but not much. I'll have to do WAY more homework tomorrow.

I went to my family's church with my brother and mom. It was good.

Well, I should complete my Astronomy homework. And go to bed, as I'll probably be getting up really early tomorrow.

And forgive my mistakes, I'm not good at speaking in Pirate.

Ashley

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: Avast! That was very fun, though sometimes painful because it broke so many grammar rules. And just so you know, I DON'T think of Christianity as a superstition (duh), but pirates think all religions are superstitions, so yeah, had to go with piratey stuff. If you want to have some fun, go on to Facebook and change the language to English (Pirate). So fun.]

Friday, September 18, 2009

Sooo, I did basically nothing today. Just some homework. And I cleaned a little. And I researched Europe stuff. *sigh* Man, I want to go there. I'm posting on here (just to liven things up), a couple pictures from a website called I Can Haz Cheeseburger. The grammar is atrocious, but for once I don't care-I love that site! Enjoy.

Ashley

^Cute!

^Amen!

^This one is SO TRUE, at least with my cats it is....

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Today I drove to school and back. It was slightly easier than last time, but still not my favorite route. The "joys" of being a commuter student. Español fue bien. I didn't do too much after that. Which isn't good, the only homework I did was take pictures of my brothers and dog playing outside, and it didn't even feel like schoolwork (it's for a photo project, demonstrating depth of field and motion... I may explain another day. Who knows). Oh well. Because of the boringness of this post (and many others) I will attempt to post a picture or two on here. We'll see how this turns out.

Ashley

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Hmm, I should really do more with this blog than just blabbing on and on about my life. Anyway:

Today was okay. Photo was fine. Had a math test and I THINK it went well, but I'm not sure. That's one of the things I hate about algebra, it's sneaky. You may think you've done a problem right, then BAM! It surprises you, taunts you, makes you feel like a complete idiot because you didn't follow all the little, persnickety, evil rules. But, I would actually rather do that than Astronomy. Ugh. Not a fan of that class right now. Although I did find out that Isaac Newton invented calculus (which is insane, you probably need to be some super-genius to INVENT a type of math). So now I'll know who to blame should I ever be forced to do any type of math related to calculus.

But, I should probably get some homework done before I go to bed. I'm starting to get sick, too, so hopefully I can get the major stuff done before I start feeling too crummy.

Ashley

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

You know, I should be more creative with these titles, but I don't really feel like it. How sad.

Well, I drove to school and back. It was... interesting. I made it in one piece, didn't crash my car or anything. But college kids can be such maniac drivers, I swear. I was scared for my car's "life" for the first few minutes when I walked from the parking lot to the building. Spanish fue bien. Today was the Independence Day of Mexico (I think it's also Costa Rica's Independence Day, but I'm not 100% sure). My teacher brought it chips and guacamole, which I liked. Did a small amount of homework (I'm never motivated to get all of it done, even though I eventually finish, there's usually some procrastination involved, not good, that needs to change). Well, I worked tonight. Driving there was a breeze in comparison to this afternoon. Now I'm exhausted, and I just want to spend time on Facebook.... *sigh* And I want this semester to be over.

Ashley

Monday, September 14, 2009

Today started out rough because I didn't get a lot of sleep, got the only frozen, non-cut Panera bagel for breakfast, and something else happened too that I forgot. I made a print in photo today-yay! I guess it's semi-decent. Had lunch, which wasn't good. Math was okay, as far as math goes. Astronomy was terrible-why? I got my quiz back and I did TERRIBLE. Not good at all. The only comfort is that my teacher drops the lowest test at the end of the semester. But that means I have to do stellar on all of them. I just hate this class, but I can't drop it. And to top it all off, Patrick Swayze died. How sad. This has been a horrible year for celebrities. And not a fantastic one for me.

Ashley

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Both church and young adult group were good (yay for driving there by myself), but for some reason I was in a weird mood. I keep wracking my brains, and there should be no reason why I'm like this. Anyway, I did a lot of homework. I discovered that math homework is VERY time consuming, because there's so many steps. Um, I took a ton of photos of my dog. I have no idea how I'll get everything done. But I'm determined to, even though I may die trying. And I think I know more reasons for my angst: Lovesick couples! Ugh, they can be awful. Oddly enough, married couples aren't too bad, but dating... ick. Maybe part of it is knowing that it probably won't last, so there should be no reason to get all lovey-dovey and attached to the hip. *sigh* Maybe that's yet another reason why I don't have a boyfriend (besides the fact that I'm horrendously ugly and annoying and average): I'm scared of what will happen if it doesn't end well.

Alright, should probably go to bed soon. Thanksgiving break cannot come soon enough....

Ashley

Saturday, September 12, 2009

I worked 9-5 today. It was long. One of my co-workers was working on an assignment for a library class she was taking online. It looked cool, it looked like something up my alley.

After dinner, I did a little homework, went on Facebook, listened to music and angsted, whined and wondered about things outside my control. It's pretty much the story of my life.

Ashley

9/11 2009

Hard to believe that it's been 8 years since the events of 9/11. Crazy.

Anyway, I had breakfast at Panera with a really good friend who is going away to school in Oregon. It still hasn't hit me yet that this was the last time we got to meet. But the meeting was great and the food was great-I highly recommend the Spinach and Bacon Baked Egg Souffle.

I studied a little, then worked for 3 hours. It was hectic. Plus we have a new packing system, which is confusing and will take a little while to figure out. Not the greatest shift.

Other than that, homework. Got a fair amount of math homework done. Hopefully I can get some done during my lunch break. 8 hour shift tomorrow.... Yippee?

Ashley

Roller Coasters 2009!

Woke up somewhat early. Studied. Had Spanish. Fue bien. Necesito practicar MUCHO. Then I went straight to the local Six Flags for Homeschool Day (yay for being a homeschool alumnus!). I met some friends, and we went on two fun (but scary) roller coasters, then they had to go. So I went on Raging Bull twice (the best roller coaster EVER) and the spinning teacups (don't get in my teacup if you have a sensitive stomach). We had ten minutes left, so me and my one brother raced to a cool roller coaster. We barely made it-the last group to go on. After we went, the worker asked us all "Do you want to go again?" So we got a bonus ride! It was cool. And then we came home exhausted.

Well, tomorrow will be productive, to say the least. Buenas noches.

Ashley

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Woot-it's 09/09/09! Kind of cool. Anyway, photo wasn't bad. Maybe a test strip, so now I'll know (for the most part) how to make a print. Math was fine. Astronomy was good, we got out early thanks to our test. The rest of the day was weird.

I'm tired, thirsty, and signing off.

Ashley

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Work wasn't that great. It was hectic and I felt like I couldn't do anything right. I was lazy for most of the day. I already have time management issues. Now, how to solve them.... Maybe I can go to more libraries or so now that I'm driving myself more. Because it's clear trying to study in my house doesn't always work. *sigh* I'd rather go to Europe, but sucky stuff comes first.

Ashley

Labor Day 2009

Well, Happy Labor Day! I didn't work or have classes, but I did do math homework. Thankfully, now all homework is done except for some Astronomy review. Eww. That class is kind of kicking my butt. I'm not feeling confident about this class already. Maybe I should go to the Math center on Wednesday....

Anyway, I researched London and Paris stuff. Cuz I want to go so badly. I decided that maybe I should move to New Jersey-it's slightly cheaper to fly from Newark to London than O'Hare to London, right? Okay, not THAT much cheaper, but it's something! Didn't do much else. When I have breaks, I become a lazy bum, and that is not good. Especially since I want to be with my friends when I have breaks. Argh....

Not much else.

Ashley

Saturday and Sunday, September 5th and 6th, 2009

Sorry I didn't update yesterday, I lost my mind.

Saturday I didn't do too much. Watched Camelot with the family at night (I am apparently the only one who likes it). Did math homework. Fun fun.

Today, I drove to church totally by myself (I can totally get used to this). Service was good. I was lazy for most of the afternoon. Then I met a friend at a nearby forest preserve. That was really nice. Then the young adults group. Yayness. I have some concerns about this missions conference I want to go to, though. I need to ask this week, but right now, it doesn't look likely that we'll get a group together. *sigh* I need to pray a lot about this. Because I am going no matter what it takes. I have to go; it looks amazing, and I need a spiritual high. If I don't go on something like this soon, I am going to lose it.

Ashley

Harry Potter: Exhibition

So, today me and most of the family went down to see the Harry Potter Exhibition in the city!!! For a second we thought we weren't going to make it, but we did and it was SO WORTH IT. It had all sorts of amazing movie props and it was just so cool! I found another dream job... working in a Harry Potter exhibit or museum of sorts (maybe there will be a Harry Potter library in England someday... THAT would be a perfect job for me, even though it's highly unlikely). Anyway, I got a T-shirt and book from the gift shop, though I wanted to get a hat and a scarf and a keychain and all sorts of stuff, but not enough money. Ryan and Dad pitched in their money and got the Marauder's Map. I'm actually proud to be related to them. The rest of the museum was interesting too, but I loved Harry Potter the most.

Well, had Potbelly's for lunch and pizza for dinner. Tonight, my dad and I (and Kevin, though I have NO clue why) watched Valkyrie. It was very interesting and good, if slow at parts. Not sure what to do tomorrow. I'm just glad I have a five day weekend.

Ashley

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Um.... Spanish was good. Recognized one person (and, of course, my teacher). This will be my hardest Spanish class yet-but it should be fun. The rest of my day was kind of boring. But it was nice to chill, I guess.

I'm feeling so isolated these days. Like all of my friends have daily connections (i.e., they're at the same school) or they have all this fun togetherness, and I just feel... left out. Forgotten. Lonely. I know I SHOULD be content that God won't leave me, but that's easier said than done, not gonna lie. :-/ And it sucks, the people that I WANT to hang out with the most are the ones that are the least available or willing to let me hang with them.

And... I feel crushed that, to my memory, not a single male outside of the family has ever called me beautiful. All of my female friends have been called beautiful by a male... except for me. And I don't want to hear crap about how it shouldn't matter, it DOES matter to me. In my 19 years of existence, a male has never called me beautiful. What is wrong with me?!?!

Well, that was angst-ridden, depressing, and emo. I shouldn't be, especially since I'm going to the city tomorrow. I swear, one moment I'll be in an inconsolable funk, the next I'm totally fine. I hope these emotional mood-swings go away soon, or at least subside.

Ashley

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Well, today is our dog's birthday. She's five. And cute. I am so tired. Photo was actually okay, I made some okay negatives. For five bucks I had Asian food at school instead of a lousy PB sandwich. Math wasn't bad, I forgot my calculator, though. Astronomy was fine.

I'm so tired these days. Y mañana es español. I'm not looking forward to it, for some reason.... Probably because I liked having free days on Tues and Thurs.

Ashley

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

It's September. Not possible. It cannot be possible. Argh.

Well, I didn't get nearly as much done as I wanted to, but I got most of the important stuff done. For lunch, we had Sonic, it was pretty good, I liked my milkshake the best. Got gas. I helped Kevin (at parts) with a computer game. Went to work. Work was okay. Came home from work. Listened to music. My life is boring. Therefore, my titles for these posts are boring.

Ashley