Saturday, December 26, 2009

1 More Day Until Urbana 09/End of 2009

So, this is my last blog post of 2009! This is because I will not have access to a computer while I am in St. Louis. I can't believe a year went by so fast. And I can't believe that I'm going to a missions conference tomorrow. I'm actually going. Normally, with these kinds of things, I'm more of a dreamer than a doer. But with this conference I'm actually going. So crazy cool. It still hasn't fully sunk in yet, even though I'm pretty much packed.

This is so cool, that I almost forget how we got a snowstorm that lasted at least 10 hours nonstop and received 10 inches of snow (we were supposed to only get 2 to 3 inches). Or I almost forget how work wasn't great or how my New Moon outing was cancelled because of snow. Almost.

I just cannot believe I am truly going. It's so surreal and exciting. When I get back, I will do my best to write stuff down (if I'm not too tired). But in the meantime, Happy New Year everyone!

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas 2009!

Hello all! Merry Christmas! ¡Feliz Navidad! Joyeux Noel! Natale allegro! Frohe Weihnachten!

To those fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who might be reading this, I hope you got to have a moment to rejoice the birth of Christ in addition to the rest of the festivities. To those who are not Christians, I hope you had a great day with family.

I had a rather good day, if I say so myself. Got a few good gifts, such as "Hairspray" DVD, "Fiddler on the Roof" DVD, a bunch of gift cards, Rick Steve's "Europe Through the Back Door 2010" (probably my favorite travel writer), and a year's subscription to the magazine "Budget Travel" (now if only I can afford airfare and rack up flyer miles, I'll be set!). Saw mom's side of the family, that was nice, and then we watched "Julie and Julia", which my mom got for Christmas. It was great second time around, SUCH a cute movie (you can't help but smile when Meryl Streep comes onscreen) and even my dad liked it! That was cool.

Well I have a BUSY day tomorrow. Tomorrow, I work from 8:45-5pm (ew), then I am watching New Moon with a friend around 5:45pm, get back around 8:30ish, spend the rest of the day packing and cleaning my closet, and going to bed EARLY because I am getting up EARLY.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Eve 2009

Well, it was a nice day. Weather was nasty, though. Here's a summary, since I don't have a ton of energy:

-Went to Christmas Eve service at family's church, it was good.

-Went to my grandmother's house (on my dad's side) for dinner and opened presents, it was nice (my youngest bro was THRILLED about the presents).

-Moped slightly because I couldn't go to the Candlelight service at my church because of weather.

That's about it. I'll try to clean my closet a little.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Birthdays and Other Stuff

So, today one of my brother's turned 6. Hard to believe. I think he had a good day. We went to Chuck E Cheese for lunch *shudder*. Just a weird place. At least a couple of the arcade games were decent. And the pizza. Cake was fine, watched "G-Force" which was... interesting, and had Panera soup for dinner. Oh how I love that Baked Potato soup.... Anyway, printed off some important info for Urbana (Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!!!), cleaned off a little part of my closet (hoping to do more before bed!), finished "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" (on to "The Lovely Bones") and I'm hoping to actually complete my wrapping (not that there's much to wrap).

I know there was more, but I'm not sure.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Productive Day=Somewhat Boring Day

Well, I slept in until 10:15 am today. It felt pretty amazing.... But I was kind of thrown off "schedule". Anyway, cards were finished last night, mailed this morning, and I spent the whole afternoon cleaning my closet (and it's only half done). It looks nice, it felt nice to be productive, but didn't have enough time to catch up with friends on Facebook before I went to work. So today was somewhat boring. Oh well. Work was fine, by the way, seemed to go by quicker than usual. Got some reading of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" in, that was good (I'm only halfway through the book and I have to return it on Saturday! Eeek!). I got a couple emails from Urbana 09, which made me SO EXCITED. I can't believe I'm leaving on Sunday. So weird and surreal, but exciting.

Oh, and an update. I found out that I got a B in Astronomy (YAY! Amazing for such an evil class), an A in Photography, an A in Basic Algebra, and an A in Spanish!!! Woohoo!!! Unfortunately, the B in Astronomy drops my cumulative GPA down from a 3.9 to a 3.8, but hopefully if I stay on top of my grades next semester, I'll be in good shape. In case you're wondering, the scholarship I got from Trinity requires a 3.7 GPA. Even though I'm not 100% sure I'm going there, I still want to hold on to any scholarship that I can!

Anyway, better go to bed. Sometimes, I think I should update this BEFORE bedtime, but oh well.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Monday, December 21, 2009

New Low: Procrastination DURING BREAK

So, you may be wondering, "How on earth can a college student procrastinate when they're ON BREAK and DON'T HAVE HOMEWORK?" Well, I will inform you with a few choice words: Cards and cleaning.

See, my closet is a bit of a mess. Okay, that'll make even Eeyore laugh. My closet looks like the aftermath of a hurricane that swept through a disaster area that's been thrown up and then exploded. So it needs to be cleaned during break, before Urbana so that I don't have to worry about it for the rest of break. However, I really despise cleaning... so I'm putting it off. I cleaned one section a few days ago, but at this rate I'll need to clean for hours tomorrow before work. Ew.... I told myself today that I'll be productive in other ways, like writing Christmas cards to friends. But I'm procrastinating that too. Argh. So I need to get on that.

On a different note, had breakfast with my mom today, we went to Walker Bros. It was very nice. : )

5 MORE DAYS UNTIL URBANA 09!!!

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Progressive Dinners, Scavenger Hunts and White Elephants, Oh My!

Church was good, youth pastor gave it and it was cool. Saw some friends that were home, that was nice. Got to chat with a friend who's going to Urbana as well, that was pretty cool (he's not coming up with me, obviously, he's going with his group down at U of I). I seriously cannot believe that exactly one week from today, I will be in St. Louis. Crazy.

Now, with my Bible study, we did a Scavenger Hunt/Progressive Dinner (a progressive dinner is where you have different courses at different houses; for example, appetizers at Person A's house, entree at Person B's house and dessert at Person C's house). Now the way we did it was we had clues of what we need to find, we take a picture of what we need and send it to one of the leaders (the majority of people have camera phones). Then once we got our two clues out of the way, we get the address of where we will have appetizers, dinner, etc. It was fun, and what was funny with pictures is that we ALL had to be in the picture in some form or another. So usually that meant the picture taker stuck their index finger in the picture. It was funny, cuz the finger always looks bigger than the people.... Anyway, at the dessert place, we had a White Elephant gift exchange. I got a Soccer Nightlight.... Yeah.... It was funny. So good night, good night.

Um, still wanting to go to St. Louis, which is good. And I will probably totally regret staying up late, especially since I'm getting up semi-early. But it's all good.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Saturday, December 19, 2009

The Final Countdown Begins: 7 DAYS UNTIL URBANA!

Yeah, I'm getting excited. I may have done this in a previous post, but again, here's the link, for those who have no freaking clue what it is: http://www.urbana09.org/home.main.cfm

Anyway, work wasn't great. So busy. Had a good lunch, at least. Cleaned a portion of my closet today. And I need to go to sleep, because I'm still fighting... something. I don't think it's a full out cold, but it has similar symptoms. I don't feel bad most of the day, but I feel worst in the morning and at night. So bye, I just want to go to St. Louis.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Friday, December 18, 2009

Saturday... Oh wait, it's Friday, isn't it?

Yeah.... I kept thinking today was Saturday. But it's not. So weird.

Met some friends at Panera. Worked. Watched "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian", which was okay. I need to sleep soon, so not much today. I'm still feeling kind of sick, though not nearly as crappy as I normally feel with a cold. Well, I'm not taking any chances, I'm going to get as much sleep as I can (which isn't much tonight, cuz I work tomorrow, but oh well), drink water and tea and... do other stuff.

Today I want to go to England, Costa Rica and Kenya.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Thursday, December 17, 2009

I'M FREE!

I'M DONE FOR THE SEMESTER! The Spanish final seemed too easy. And I gave a friend a ride home, that was neat. Also: "Un día en la mañana, el sopo dice "Hola, la presa". El fin." My friend wrote it. Look for it someday. It's gonna be big.

Anyway, watched Half-Blood Prince, and chilled, right now I should have gone to bed an hour ago. Why? Well, remember that sore throat that I said I had? It had been mild all week , so I thought I could be okay staying up later. Big mistake. Now my throat feels really sore, so I need to sleep. I always seem to be sick during big breaks, what's the deal? Anyway, must go. Very happy that I'm meeting friends at Panera tomorrow, I need soup.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

You Know, I Just Remembered Something: I DO NOT LIKE MATH

So, why did I forget the fact that is stated in my title? Well, first of all, my hatred of Astronomy was so strong that I forgot about my hatred for math (somewhat). Secondly, my math teacher made things a little easier. Third, my tests weren't that long, when you think about it. Well, all the above factors were gone the day of the final. My math teacher was sick, so someone else handed out the tests. Astronomy is over, so those intense feelings are somewhat gone. And the test just did not go well in my opinion. I used up almost the entire time (which is not good for me), and I completely blanked on one word problem. Ugh. I hoped I could get an A on it. Hopes dashed.

At least I got money from my Astronomy and Photography book. And my photo project seemed to go well, I got some good feedback on it. And I had a good dinner. And I DID NOT HAVE ASTRONOMY TONIGHT! Man, I love that feeling of being done with a class. I'm anxious about my grades, though.

De todo modos, necesito estudiar para español. Es posible que fuere dificíl, pero espero que hiciere bien. No estoy motivada-no bueno. Estudiaré mucho y tendré exito. Esperanzadamente. ¿Por qué estoy escribiendo? ¡NECESITO ESTUDIAR! Y necesito dormir....

También, ¿por qué leo las cosas deprimentes? Muchas personas puedan ser tan desagradables. Ellos no son desagradables a mí, a otras personas. Es muy triste. Bueno, estudiaré.

Buenas noches.

Desde reino al azar (aproximadamente),

Ashley

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Today is a Balmy 8 Degrees

Yeah, I live in the Midwest. I don't know why though. What's even more confusing is that I am not leaving the Midwest for at least 2-3 more years. So I'm stuck with these winters forever. Seriously, it's SO COLD. Not happy.

Anyway, studied a bit for math test, then work. Actually, I should sign off early, cuz I need to study and I need to get up early tomorrow (therefore, I need sleep). Grrrr, I liked sleeping in. Oh well....

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Monday, December 14, 2009

I'M DONE WITH ASTRONOMY FOREVER!!!

THE TITLE SAYS IT ALL!!! Actually, I never have to take a science class ever again, because both Astronomy and Environmental Biology will transfer to Taylor and Trinity! Yay! Even though studying for it took FOUR HOURS AT LEAST, and felt like TWELVE HOURS, it's DONE! And now I don't want to go to bed, not good.

Also, I had a minor panic attack a few minutes ago. Okay, it wasn't an ACTUAL panic attack in any way, but whatever. I look through my events on Facebook and notice that Urbana 09 was not listed there anymore. When I searched, it said "This event has been deleted". For one horrible, awful second, I thought that Urbana had been cancelled. But when I checked the official website, it was still up and running, just the Facebook event is gone for some reason. And I also reasoned afterwards that they would most likely not cancel such a huge event with only 12 days away. So things are good now. Man, I swear, I'm going to get diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder someday. And I need to be less gullible.

Today, my only thoughts are toward ST. LOUIS!!! 12 DAYS!!!

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Sunday, December 13, 2009

So Close to Being Done with Astronomy....

I never have to think about that class again after tomorrow night. I never have to know what cosmic microwave background radiation is or how to calculate the age of the universe or what the Hubble constant is or what it's used for, or what the crap is the difference between an elliptical galaxy, a spiral galaxy and an irregular galaxy or any more of this crap. I will be FREE!!! Well, okay, I'll still have 2-3 more finals, but in a way I'll still be FREE!!! In the meantime-yick. For the entire day for tomorrow. And I need to go to sleep NOW and sleep in way late, because I still have an on-and-off sore throat (sometimes I hardly notice it, sometimes it's pretty sore), and I have a headache (partly from studying, partly from a very hectic evil work shift this afternoon). Praise the Lord I only have one final tomorrow and none Tuesday. Sleep feels nice. And my desk is a disaster now. And I don't know where I'm going with all this. I need bed. I mean sleep. Argh. Good night. Astronomy is killing my brain cells. So glad I don't have to take another science class after this.

Today, I want to go to an era long ago, in a galaxy far, far away (okay, I'm losing it).

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Saturday, December 12, 2009

A Magical Evening

Okay, so the only reason I say tonight was magical was because I FINALLY HAVE THE DVD OF HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE!!! Not like I've been waiting for it or anything.... Anyway, great the third time around, but there's only one disc! There's absolutely no bonus features! Quite stupid, in my opinion. Oh well. I now want to go to Orlando to go to the Harry Potter theme park that's supposed to open next year.

The rest of the day was non-eventful, studied for Astronomy, played with my dog outside. I will say, that is ONE good thing about snow. When it's not freezing cold, of course.

I might go to bed early, my throat isn't feeling great and I want to take every precaution to ensure that I don't get sick.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Friday, December 11, 2009

Christmas, the Story of Light

Today, I went to the Christmas performance at my church, it was really cool. The theme was "The Story of Light", very neat. Some of my fave songs were "Let There Be Light", "Welcome to our World" (by Chris Rice), and "The Story of Light" (by Mark Harris, but the soloist at church was amazing). Fun time, nice to refocus for the CHRISTmas season. Otherwise, not much.

Still Kenya and Costa Rica for top places. And England, as always. Oh, and Oregon and South Dakota!

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Why Do I Live in the Midwest?

It's freaking 9 degrees Fahrenheit here! And it was -1 this morning!!! Crazy.

Anyway, Spanish project went okay, I finished my photo project!!! Now I need to study for my Astronomy final, however, I am NOT motivated....

Also, today was my dad's birthday!!! I think he had a decent day (he never makes a big deal out of birthdays). We had pizza and cake. It was good.

I want to go to Kenya, then MOVE to Costa Rica.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

It's Still Cold and Snowy

It is currently 16 degrees Fahrenheit. There's snow everywhere and the roads are a mess. And people actually LIKE this stuff?! Crazy.

But anyway, school wise, it was a decent day! In photo, I finished printing all my prints, so now I just need to mount them, maybe spot them (ugh....). But they look good! I got a 96% on my last math exam! So I now have a chance at getting an A in the class! Okay, so I need an A on the final to achieve that, so there's pressure there, but that's still cool. And Astronomy is DONE! Until the final that is. Ew....

I have a project for Spanish that I NEED to work on tonight, so that's what I'm going to do now.

I still want to go to Costa Rica (or anywhere in Central America). I still want to go to Kenya (or anywhere in Africa). I would still be willing to go to Arizona, California, Florida or Hawaii (hey, those were in alphabetical order!).

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Walking in a Winter.... Wonderland?!

Snow has completely covered this area. I don't know how much, maybe a couple of inches. So I had to be dropped off at school and work today. I already miss my car (which looks like a snow beast or frosted cupcake outside). Everyone is ridiculously excited about the snow, for some reason. As for me, I've already decided I'm moving to Costa Rica. I mean, the snow is kind of pretty, but it's way too cold and makes a mess of the roads.

So yes, today I want to Costa Rica. Or Kenya (again). Or Florida. Or California. Or Hawaii. Or even South Carolina!!! *sigh*

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Monday, December 7, 2009

One Week Until Astronomy Final!!!

After that, the rest of finals will be a party. It will be wonderful.

Anyway, got some stuff done at photo lab, Math test was fine, yada yada, I don't feel like talking about my boring life right now, and you probably don't want to hear it, plus I'm tired, so I'm going to bed. Wish I could stay there for a really long time.

I still want to go to Kenya.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Sunday, December 6, 2009

19 days until Christmas

Church was good, saw some people. We sang some cool songs in worship, including "Come Thou Fount", once of my FAVORITES. In fact, I'll post the lyrics, just because I can:

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon it
Mount of Thy redeeming love

I was lost in utter darkness 'til You came and rescued me
I was bound by all my sin when Your love came and set me free
Now my soul can sing a new song, now my heart has found a home
Now Your grace is always with me
And I'll never be alone

Come, Thou Fount, come, Thou King; Come, Thou precious Prince of Peace
Hear Your bride, to You we sing, come, Thou Fount of our blessing
Come, Thou Fount, come, Thou King; Come, Thou precious Prince of Peace
Hear Your bride, to You we sing, come, Thou Fount of our blessing

O, to grace, how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

Come, Thou Fount, come, Thou King; Come, Thou precious Prince of Peace
Hear Your bride, to You we sing, come, Thou Fount of our blessing
Come, Thou Fount, come, Thou King; Come, Thou precious Prince of Peace
Hear Your bride, to You we sing, come, Thou Fount of our blessing
====
All right, so the lyrics are different in some versions, but that's the version we sang. Also, during the sermon when the passage Isaiah 9 was read, I kept getting a song from Handel's Messiah stuck in my head: "For unto us a child is born, unto us, a son is given...." Yeah, I must be in a music mood.

Anyway, did a little homework (just photo, some Spanish, and a little review for Math), watched Angels and Demons (which was a nail-biter that can only be viewed once) then went to Tribe, where we had waffles for dinner and I was the ONLY student there. It was basically me and the four leaders. But it was still good.

Also, at Tribe, there was a very brief mention about a possible mission trip to Kenya. Initially, the Tribe was going to go to Alaska for a mission trip this summer, but as one of the missionaries there is suffering from a serious illness at the moment, I don't think that will happen. Now, it's probably not likely that a Kenya trip will happen soon either, as it was just a casual mention right now, but my mind is already going at 250 miles an hour anyway. I've been wanting to go on a mission trip to anywhere in Africa for a long time. Initially, I was planning on taking my last math class over the summer, but if this mission trip really happens, then I'm considering taking that math class at my four-year-school or summer of 2011 instead....

Well, tomorrow is the start of my LAST WEEK OF CLASSES! Both excited and dreading it, cause it means a lot of work....

Today, as you can probably tell, I want to go to Kenya! Oh, and Rome, too.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Saturday, December 5, 2009

20 days Until Christmas!

Have you finished your shopping yet??? I *think* I have, I need to check. I definitely haven't wrapped most of them yet, though. Oh well, not worrying about it. I know I will probably only buy stuff for my immediate family, as I'm a little tight on funds.

Anyway, work was busy, though I still managed to find a few slow periods to attempt to do homework. And I found a few Astronomy books, including one that says "Astronomy for the Utterly Confused". That sounded up my alley. Not too much otherwise, ate Jimmy John's for dinner and watch a Harry Potter trailer. Already excited for Part 1 of the seventh movie to come out!!!

I think today, I want to go to either Costa Rica, Paris or China. And of course England. Very different places, I know.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Friday, December 4, 2009

Caution: Driveways Slippery When Icy

Yeah, today there's still snow on the ground.... Along with ice. Yuck. There's black sheet ice on our driveway, it looks like glass. In fact, I was walking to my car (just to test out how it would do with ice), and I slipped on some ice. My keys went left, my purse went right and I went down. If it didn't hurt, it would have been pretty comical; I'm pretty sure I looked like one of those cartoons where the character slips on a banana peel or something. No bruises yet, but I'm sure they'll come tomorrow.

Other than work today (and getting paid! I NEEDED money badly), I didn't do much. Which isn't good. I've got finals coming up, I should be studying like crazy. But I have no motivation right now. That's not good, but I am just so done with this semester.

I'm actually not sure where I want to go today. Probably Costa Rica. It's FREEZING here, I need to escape.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Thursday, December 3, 2009

2 More Weeks Until Winter Break 2009....

So, I think I'm feeling okay now. Still not great, but I think getting a good amount of sleep helped. Although I'm very mad that my body requires 8-9 hours of sleep in order to be fully rested. Doesn't it know that this is not often feasible with college students??? Oh well.

Anyway, today we had a sub for Spanish. She was funny, if a bit crazy. ; ) Also, it snowed today. Like, flurries all day. I was very unhappy and had no idea why everyone was so happy about this. I hate snow! But then I realized that it would make a nice picture for photo class. So the situation changed. I also took pix at night and even though the camera and I had some disagreements, I think I got some good shots (hopefully my aperture was right!).

Well, better go to bed. I'd rather take a crazy travel adventure right now....

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

15 More Days Until Winter Break 2009....

So ready. Anyway, photo was good, math was okay, I'm always vague, aren't I? Well, I think that's because I post these at the end of the day, when I'm tired and don't feel like elaborating. Oh well.

We got our Christmas tree up! It looks nice, though it's tricky trying to find a way to keep the cats away from it.... Normally the tree goes up the day after Thanksgiving, but I think we were all busy at that time.

2 class periods and a final exam and I am DONE with Astronomy. So hard to sit through it tonight. Ugh, 2 more classes, 2 more classes. Um.... I want to go on a crazy European adventure. Just because. I don't know.

Anyway, I NEED to go to bed semi-early tonight. I think I'm starting to get sick. I'm not certain right now, but if I don't get adequate sleep tonight, then I will DEFINITELY get sick. So I am taking all precautions.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

World AIDS Day 2009 and How is it December already?!

Seriously, where has this year gone?And how did I not remember World AIDS Day sooner? So sad.

Anyway, today was okay, I'm tired, work was good. Very short summary.

Also, remind me not to read religious debates on Facebook before going to bed. I don't even know why I do. I HATE debates of almost all kinds, even if it's something stupid like "Harry Potter movies are great" vs. "Harry Potter movies suck", or "Team Edward" vs. "Team Jacob" (well, okay, that debate doesn't bother me, cuz I don't like either one and it's so ridiculous anyway. For those who aren't aware, that's a Twilight thing. Google it). Debates with people denouncing God and just stamping on Christians (or anybody) who are trying to make their point just makes me sick. Ugh. You won't be seeing me as a debater anytime soon (another reason why I wonder how me and my one brother are related; he's on a debate team this year).

Well, enough about that rant, I should go to bed. 16 more days until break! And I want to go to.... Italy.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley