Lake Geneva

So, we went up to Lake Geneva. It was fun, and it was SO nice out. At one point, it was around 81 degrees today!!! I was happy. Work was okay, busy at first, then slow. Farmville is being obnoxiously slow, unfortunately, so I'm unhappy. I've got a lot to do tomorrow.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

I Love My Kitties.... But They Drive Me Nuts!

Yep, that sums it up. It starts with Cadet, who yesterday scratched the face of my brother that feeds her. No major injuries, but as punishment, Cadet did not sleep in his room. She was NOT happy. My affectionate nickname for this cat is Little Miss Whiner. Because she is a whiner. She meowed nonstop through the night (or at least until 1 am). And she's still being whiny today. Well, with Cody, a funny thing happened. I went to the fridge downstairs to get quiche for dinner, and as I open the freezer part, Cody jumps from the kitty condo into the freezer! Now I still don't know why she did that. But my affectionate nickname for her now is Freezer Cat.

Not much else, didn't watch Lost, only homework was a little algebra, and work was so-and-so.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Lazy Lost Days

Well, it has officially hit me that I am on break. I slept until 9:45pm today. Normally, that means I would have missed Piano and been drastically late to Geometry. But, I AM ON BREAK, so I didn't miss anything. :)

Unfortunately, being on break also means that I have ABSOLUTELY NO MOTIVATION to do ANY of my schoolwork. None. Zip. This is not good. My homework load over break isn't terrible, but it's significant, so I need to get cracking. I've got plenty of motivation to practice piano for a really long time, but everything else? Nope. I don't even have motivation to watch the entirety of "Henry V" or more than four episodes of "Lost". Now that's REALLY bad. Note to self: Relaxing is good, laziness isn't.

However, I am truly thankful that I get to sleep in.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Palm Sunday 2010

You know, it wasn't until little kids came down the aisles at church waving palms that I realized that it was Palm Sunday. Shows how clueless I am. :-/

But anyway, today was okay. A lot of life decisions planned out-I will definitely be at a community college for another year (and not transferring yet). Oddly enough, what bugs me most about this is what my friends will think. Real mature, I know. Guess my hypersensitivity is a problem. But unfortunately, way too many people know that I was planning to transfer in the fall and I almost feel like I'm letting them down. Plus, one irritating thing is that way too many people also try to, without meaning to, shove me into a "box of normalcy" (which is pointless, I'm never going to be normal). It seems like ALL of my friends are graduating in four years, which makes me feel like if I don't graduate in four years, then I am a freak. Argh. Why is our society so stupid??? Other than that, I'm somewhat okay about this. Though I'm NOT looking forward to going through the whole application process all over again. Grrrrr. But, Kenya will be worth it, I'm sure.

Other than all that, not much happened.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Who Knew a Cowbell Would Bring So Much Excitement?

My title has to do in Farmville. In Farmville, you can get collectibles, and if you get enough of certain collectibles, you can get collections (and trade those in for experience, coins and fuel). Well, a cowbell is one of the rarest collectibles in the game. It's a big deal to find one on your farm. And I managed to find one. It was really funny, the reactions of some of my dedicated FV neighbors; you would have thought they won the lottery or something! But, it was pretty cool.

Anyway, I worked.... 9-5. Another headache inducing shift, though not as much this time. Finally got to see "New Moon" DVD, it was... okay. Not great. Kristen Stewart has got to show more emotion than this.... And I personally think Robert Pattinson is better looking as Cedric Diggory.

I'M EXHAUSTED. And one of my bros is sick, so I'm back to major germaphobe mode.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Still Hasn't Fully Sunk In

Yeah.... It hasn't FULLY sunk in yet that I am going to Kenya. I am so excited to see God work in wonderful ways. It feels so surreal still. I don't think it will fully hit until I am on the airplane. Speaking of which, I discovered that a flight from the Chicago area to Kenya is a 20-hour flight.... Minimum. I am not sure whether to be excited about this or not, but it'll be a milestone for sure. Wow, what an opportunity.

Anyway, I was quite happy to sleep in today, though I worked another headache-inducing shift at work.... And I'm working all day tomorrow. :( I swear that there's something in the air, 15 mins into working and I had a mild headache.... And it wasn't even THAT busy yet! Oh well. Dinner was good, chilled all night, re-organized my farm on Farmville. It looks very nice, in my opinion.

It just hit me that I have a lot to do tomorrow. And that I should probably pick up a Swahili phrase book from Barnes and Noble or something.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Um.... Kenya.... WOW!

All right, first, woke up freakishly early to go to school.... Even though I'm on break. Why? Because I get more stuff done when I'm at school, oddly enough. I "finished" all my geometry homework in one sitting, quite impressive. Okay, so it's "finished" in quotation marks because I still need to check that it's all right, but still. And then I went to my algebra professor's office. It took longer than I thought, I was there for almost exactly an hour. I always feel bad when I'm in a teacher's office for so long. Even though they don't seem to mind, are happy to help, etc., I still feel bad. I know, I know, I have no right to feel bad. Sometimes I think I'm way too considerate for my own good.

Well, I went home, checked my email.... And one of my emails had the subject line: "Welcome to the Kenya Team!"

I'M GOING TO KENYA THIS SUMMER!!!

Wow. I'm still in shock, to be honest. I go back and forth from being hyper and excited to practical and trying to figure out what comes next to reflective to prayerful to all sorts of stuff. I'm so happy to have this opportunity!!!

Of course, now there's the issue of other decisions, but I'll TRY not to worry about that until tomorrow.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Wait.... Is it Really Spring Break?

So today, I had my only midterm.... Piano.... Got a 97% out of 100. I'm relatively happy about that. Geometry *seems* to be getting better so far, aside from a classmate with a disrespectful attitude that ticks me off. Oh well. And I studied in between, and of course was reminded that cliques happen in college, not just high school. Just because I'm not "cool" or "interesting" doesn't mean I'm a complete loser!!! Whatever, I don't know why I'm annoyed, being a loner at school, this is to be expected. I have a backbone of Jell-O. Oh well, again.

And algebra was good, as usual. I am even more convinced that my professor is the most math obsessed person that I know. I kind of hope he doesn't go through math withdrawal or anything during break. :-/ Oh yeah-I'm on Spring break!!! It feels weird. Especially since I plan to be at school tomorrow. To study. Hopefully it'll be productive.

Also, I'm really nervous about Friday. I'm not sure what I want to happen right now. So many options.... Just have to continue praying.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Guess I am a Night Owl....

Well, I woke up, feeling pretty good.... Then saw the clock. 11:07am. NOT GOOD. Thankfully, I didn't have classes, but I missed breakfast and felt like a lazy bum. I like to sleep in, but not THAT late. Grrrr.... Math homework takes forever. I dropped my anthropology class today. Glad that weight is off of my shoulders. The reason? Well, I found the class interesting, but time consuming and difficult. If it was a requirement, then I would have stuck with it, but since it was basically an elective, I'm glad I dropped. I kind of feel like a quitter, but who cares? I've got enough on my plate....

Better attempt to sleep, not much on the agenda.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Why Am I So Tired?

I seem to say that a lot lately. Argh.... Oh well.

Um, it's a LITTLE bit nicer out. Not by much. My mom is sick (unfortunately), so I'm in hypochondriac mode right now.... Piano was nice, geometry was meh, as usual, algebra was pretty good. Overall. Unfortunately, because of poor planning on my part, I didn't eat my lunch until 2, so my blood sugar has been out of whack all day. :(

Well, I'm signing off, for some reason the Internet is being slow on me.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Snow: Here This Morning, Gone This Afternoon

Yeah, it's crazy, this weather. Today I woke up way too early for my liking but just barely made it to church on time because I had to scrape stupid snow off my car. I came home from church, wrote "DIE SNOW DIE" in the snow with a huge frowny face. Then I went to work (which was a long, hectic, non-stop running headache inducing shift), came home and the snow was all gone. The rest of the day was meh, Lost and homework. I finished the first season of Lost!!! Man, that show is good, but those cliffhangers can be so irritating....

Not the best day, hoping tomorrow will be better.

Well, I should ATTEMPT to get a good night's sleep, even though I think it's highly unlikely.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Chicago: 70 degrees on the last day of winter; SNOW ON THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING?!

Can't believe it. I refuse to accept it. No way can white stuff be on the ground right now. Grrr.... I'm moving to Arizona.

Well, I am coming along with my extra geometry stuff, algebra is okay so far, and I got through several episodes of "Lost". And me and my dad watched "The Hurt Locker", quite good. I got a lot done. But I'm amazed at how much my legs hurt when I'm sitting around. Weird.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Homework Day: 3/19

Today was gorgeous. So, naturally, I did homework. For now, finished geometry homework. Now just need to do the extra stuff for geometry, polish up my prose piece and finish my endless algebra problems.... Fun time tomorrow.

Oh, and I watched many episodes of the first season of Lost. I may or may not be hooked now. Don't worry, I was doing other, productive stuff at the same time. Though I now have a headache. Wonderful....

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Um... Uh.... Happy, er, Awkward Moment Day?

Yeah, apparent today is officially Awkward Moment Day. Personally, I think that's EVERYDAY for me.

Well, today I took my anthropology test. I think it went okay, but I'm now debating whether I want to continue with the class or not. All complicated stuff.

Afterwards, I studied, which was okay, I got a fair amount done with my upcoming prose piece (for Creative Writing), but algebra and geometry I am just not getting right now. Argh....

After that, I went to the church and submitted my Kenya application! The rest is now in God's hands.

Then I chilled. And had a really nice spaghetti dinner. And watched "Paranormal Activity" which is creepy. Not in a thrilling-horror movie way, it's just... creepy. Not sure if I'd recommend it. But then, I spent an hour and a half Skyping with two of my closest friends!!! One is at school in Oregon, so it so REALLY nice to catch up with her.

Not much else. As usual.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

St. Patrick's Day 2010

I'm not a mathematician, but I do know this: 6 hours of school+4 hour shift at work+stress headaches+stress+running on 5 hours of sleep=Not a great combo.

Today, I performed two songs on the piano for my class, found out I got an awful grade on my Geometry test, had a math party, broke mathematical law and went to math jail, and basically went about my day as usual. Oh yeah. By "math party", I meant that I needed to go to my algebra prof's office and there were other people there. At one point, there were six students (including me) in his office at once! And it's not a big office. Also, when describing where I had messed up in one problem, my prof mentioned that what I had done was "not a legal math move" and that I would "go to math jail". Thank goodness he was only joking and that there's no real math jail. Otherwise, I'd be a terrible criminal.

; )

Also, I've been getting headaches on and off. They're mild, but annoying. I think it's stress, though some may say it's the weather....

Well, I should study for my anthropology test that's tomorrow, but I really don't want to.... But that in itself is a whole other blog post....

Oh, Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you all wore green! I did. And right now I'm craving a McDonald's Shamrock Shake. But they are probably all gone by now.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Ladies and Gentlemen.... IT'S NICE OUT!!!

Around here, this is MAJOR cause for celebration. I loved the warmer weather. I drove to work with the windows down!!! Anyway, not much else, just tired and have too much homework and stress, as usual.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Napping Day 2010! Or Not...

Even though I am EXHAUSTED, I can't celebrate Napping Day. First of all, I am incapable of taking naps. Secondly, for some odd reason, CLC does not recognize it as a national holiday.... A disgrace, in my opinion. ; ) Anyway, based on circumstances, today should have been awesome, but... it wasn't. I got a 100% on my piano test, but the performance date is on Wednesday (though it's not graded, it's still nerve-wracking). I am getting a head start on the NEXT geometry test, but I don't think I did great on this one. I got a 91% on my algebra test, but I couldn't believe what I missed. What's funny is that one section where I thought I bombed-I got that section perfectly right. BUT this section that we're learning now is NOT my favorite, at all. Grrrrr. And there's other stuff. I feel so stupid sometimes.

On the plus side, Girl Scout cookies are amazing. And I went to Go Roma with a friend, that was wonderful. And Celtic Woman is amazing, I'm kind of obsessed with "The Call". *happy sigh*

But I'm very tired, so bye bye.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Oh No! It's Daylight Savings Time! AND Pi Day 2010!

Yeah, DST messed me up BIG time-I almost missed church! My body was very stubborn.... Fro some reason my sinuses were bothering me, weird.

Anyway, because of the wacky schedule, I am keeping this short. Today was pi (π) day!!! But no pie today. :( Oh well. Work was okay, small group good as usual, and I need to sleep because around 3pm a HUGE wave of exhaustion hit me. So bye bye.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

I Have Accomplished So Much.... Yet Absolutely Nothing

I never seem to get much done, do I? Well, not enough done, that is.

The rest of the fam are home from Indianapolis-yay! But me, Dad and my one brother had fun. Anyway, as for homework: I studied for my geometry exam on Monday, but I felt like it did no good. I've got to change something.... Now precisely what, I don't know.... Maybe I'll start with motivation. Oddly enough, I'm more motivation to do my algebra homework, though it still likes to kick my butt. And I've basically finished my Kenya application-yippee! I still need to find some info, but basically I'm done, which is a relief. Some of those questions are HARD and I sometimes feel like I have to be a super-Christian or something. But you know what, the best I can do is answer the questions as best and honestly as I can and whatever God wants to happen will happen. *sigh*

Even though I did so much, I feel like I've bummed around all day. So weird.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

I Need to Stop Going to Bed Past Midnight

I'm wide awake and everything, but seriously.... It's not doing me any good. Especially when I have to get up early most days. Argh.

Anyway, today was good, the best part about it was going to Fridays with some of my coworkers. Seriously, it was fun. I'm really happy that I have such nice coworkers.

Well, unfortunately I procrastinated BIG TIME today; oops. I'll be paying for that tomorrow....

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Waiting Games Kind of Stink

Yeah.... That's all I'm saying there.

Um, went to Noodles with my one bro for lunch, went to Panera with a friend for dinner. Both were so nice. Watched "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". Freaking funny. And.... Girl Scout cookies are so addictive.

Well, better do something semi-productive before bed. Hasta luego.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

International Day of Awesomeness? Yeah Right.

Um, yeah, so I have so much stuff on my mind it's not even funny. Piano test was okay, but Algebra wasn't that great. I blanked out at a couple parts and it took me forever to finish it. Grrrrr. And I'm just stressed about other stuff. Um.... At least this choir concert I went to was fun.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

"Happy" Panic Day 2010

How appropriate. Today is Panic Day. I'm definitely panicking right now. First of all, I have two tests tomorrow and I'm dreading both. Especially Algebra. Secondly, at this rate, I'm never going to be able to afford college. Argh....

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Run For Cover Everyone, We've Got a Math Storm Upon Us!

Um.... Yeah. More adventures of algebra. Our second test is on Wednesday (FREAK OUT!!!) and one student had meant to say that this time there won't be a snowstorm that could postpone it.... But instead of saying snowstorm.... He said math storm. We all laughed at the idea of a math storm. I'm not sure what that would look like. I swear, with the amount of tidbits and inside jokes, we could write a novel from this class....

Oh, the rest of school was okay.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

And the 2010 Oscar for Best Picture Goes To....

The Hurt Locker. I've never seen this film, and I'm a little sore that it beat Avatar, but still, I guess I'm happy for it. I may need to see it....

Now, its director, Kathryn Bigelow, if I remember correctly, is the first woman to ever win Best Director. Tons have been nominated, but none won before. Cool.

The four acting winners were predicted AGES ago, so no surprise that they won: Sandra Bullock, Jeff Bridges, Mo'nique and Christoph Waltz.

Avatar did win some awards, like Visual Effects (DUH!) and Cinematography, so I was happy, even if it did beat Harry Potter in the latter category. C'mon DH, pick up Oscar next year!!!

Oh, and Up won for Best Animated film and Best Score!!! That was cool, one of my fave Pixar films.

Other than Oscar stuff, not much happened today.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

"Inconceivable!"

Yep, the line is from "The Princess Bride" which I watched with my mom and a friend. It was very fun, though I am exhausted (partly from work. I HATE working weekends).

Super short post, I know, lame sauce. Nighty-night.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

STUDY MARATHON! Yuck

Yuck. It was sunny out. How did I spend this day? HOMEWORK. Ew. I spent a tiny bit of the morning, all afternoon and most of the night studying, almost nonstop. But it was kind of worth it. Both of my assignments for creative writing are done and sent to my professor, I actually got some decent work in for anthropology, and my piano pieces sound freaking amazing (well, for a novice). My geometry homework is finished for now and is decent if my prof. doesn't reply back by Monday (if she does reply back and gives helpful hints, then my homework will go from decent to spectacular! Okay, maybe not, but whatever). And my algebra homework is almost halfway done, but once, JUST once, I would like to get through a section where I DON'T have at least one problem that kicks my butt. Grrrr. If algebra was my boyfriend, I'd be in a very rough relationship.... That statement in itself is worthy of a whole blog post or Facebook note. Maybe I'll do that sometime.

But anyway, I had a really productive day, feels so good. Now headache-inducing shift at work tomorrow, but a fun night afterwards.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

National Grammar Day 2010

Hello all,

I hope you all properly celebrated National Grammar Day. Grammar and spelling is not dead yet! Oh, it was also my birthday. It was a good day, went to Panda Express, had pizza and Baked Potato soup (Panera, of course) for dinner, and watched "Up". All in all, a very good day. I feel old, though.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

Happy "What If Dogs and Cats Had Opposable Thumbs?" Day 2010

Yeah.... Probably the weirdest and most random holiday ever with a ridiculously long title. Who comes up with these???

Anyway, I had a pretty good day. Algebra was entertaining as usual. Contemplated the idea of whether my math teacher should give his wife (who is also a math teacher, had her last semester) a math equation instead of jewelry next time a big event comes around.... It was interesting. Then comes the story that is really hard to explain but sort of funny. I guess there's some update in the operating system in our calculators (I don't fully understand). Our instructor was able to install this new upgrade into someone's calculator by plugging a USB cord into his calculator and the calculator that wanted upgrading (I don't know the precise magic, it involved some button pressing and waiting or something; can you tell I'm an exact sort of person?). Well, it worked for the first one. Then when the second person was getting HIS system upgraded but pressed some wrong buttons and so our instructor's calculator was getting DEgraded. When the USB cord was pulled, our instructor's calculator didn't work. Slightly horrifying yet oddly entertaining. Thankfully, the problem was fixed, everything's good again, but now no one wants anything done to their calculator.

So now I've realized two things in this story. 1) It doesn't really seem that funny, I'm guessing you probably just had to be there. And 2) I had never written the word "calculator" so many times....

Anyway, need to attempt to sleep. Can't believe tomorrow's my birthday.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

I Can't Think of a Creative Title

Yeah, I hate when that happens. Also, I will share more Urbana stories. Really I will. Just not tonight, or tomorrow (busy day tomorrow). I'll aim for Friday, we'll see what happens.

Anyway, did a fair amount of homework (but of course, never enough), then worked. Not much else. Two days until my birthday. WEIRD. Way too much in my brain right now.

Well, I'm gonna go study now. And play some Farmville at the same time, let's see if I get another windfall of collectibles! Yes, go ahead, laugh at my hobby.... At least I'm not addicted like some people. I swear, there are some people who never sleep! Or eat! Or go out in public! They just play Farmville all day! A bit ridiculous.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley

March is Upon Us

Why did I phrase it like that? Who knows. I just felt like it.

Man, I am BEAT. My bones are tired, that's how exhausted I am (well, at least it only just happened, last semester I was bored weary all the time). Weird. Anyway, piano was good, geometry was okay. Went to my algebra professor's office because a couple problems were killing me. Then algebra was good. Got a fair amount done with my online classes. That was all good. So long, productive day, I'm so tired though.

From the Realm of Randomness,

Ashley