6.30.2010

Day 04 - A picture of where you went today

The above picture was taken at the Padres game (we won!). I'm currently working at a summer camp and this lil' guy is one of the campers. He was acting silly behind me, so I thought "I gotta take a picture of him." He's wiping cheeto-crumbs off his hands, in case you're wondering. I love his little fro :)

6.28.2010

Day 03 - A picture of your street


I knew this would be the most boring picture out of all of the challenge. I don't live in some cool metropolitan area with fascinating architecture. I live in suburbia...I've pretty much lived in suburbia all my life. Maybe that's why I'm itching to get away...and maybe that's why I chose a sepia tone for the picture. ha. It's also SUPER gloomy today, so everything looks nasty! (and yes, I took this picture in my car--see the reflection?--because I felt slightly crazy taking pictures of a suburb. haha).

Well since I got that ugly pic out of the way, how about I show some more interesting ones from the weekend?

Friday night, I went to the Goo Goo Dolls concert. And herrrrreee's Johnny!

Johnny Rzeznik ^

I get a kick outta 40-year-old stars that still rock their old hairstyles. heh heh. But that is besides the point, because this man sounded AMAZING! "Name," "Slide," and "Iris" were captivating to listen to (and it was nice that we were so close).

The only drawback to the concert was this crazy lady that was standing by us. And when I say crazy, I mean a tiara and a fur wrap-wearing, sippin' on (TOO MUCH) Gin & Juice, CRAZY LADY. What began as an annoyance, became a reason to change spots when she hollered out, "Being depressed sucks!" and," I know you're laughing at me, but I don't care!" When she started yelling at a tall dude in front of us for being...tall, that's when we took the cue to find a new spot.

But I digress, because on Saturday and Sunday...I was in Ensenada, Mexico. Yep, here are some more pictures:



Gotta have the water shot!

Wine-tasting :)

This highly inappropriate banana dude creeped me out!


Watching the U.S. vs. Ghana game. Sad that we lost, but at least we didn't get slaughtered like England and Mexico. Ouch! Especially because I watched that Mexico game in Mexico. Pobrecito!

That was my weekend. Did those pictures make up for my boring shot up above? Hope so!

6.23.2010

Day 02 - A beach picture that you have taken


This was a hard one for me. I have so many beach pictures! Probably because I am always so utterly entranced by the beach, the waves, and the effect it has over my body--a calm that always seems to melt stress away.

I am in love with the beach and am convinced that I could never live somewhere that isn't by water.

While I could have picked a picture that was from Turkey, or Ireland, or Mexico, I instead went with a beach picture right from Sunny SD. There's nothing about the above picture that is really unique...not when it comes to beach photos. But it is California through and through. It's our culture--what we are about, what we stand for, all wrapped into a snapshot. The beach is the Californian identity; therefore, it is part of my identity.

I look at those waves and that sun, and I melt...

6.22.2010

Day 01 - A Picture of Yourself

So, in the midst of my little accident (refer to post before this), in which I now owe $530 dollars--apparently it costs a lot to paint a bumper--I thought I would do something fun.

Krystal, over at The Village, posted this photo challenge days ago and I am finally jumping on board!! (scroll down to the end of this post to view the challenge).

Here is my first photo...a photo of MYSELF!


I've posted this photo before and I STILL find it really amusing that my old roommate, Candace, was sneaky enough to take this without me knowing about it. I was having a conversation in a coffee shop. The other chick at the table is Colleen (also an old roommate).

I like a lot about this photo--the lighting, the mood--but most of all, I like that I get to see myself from the outside. Ha. So there you have it. Here is the photo challenge, in case you are interested:

The (Revised) Photo Challenge

Day 01 - A picture of yourself
Day 02 - A beach picture that you have taken
Day 03 - A picture of your street
Day 04 - A picture of where you went today
Day 05 - A picture from your morning
Day 06 - A picture that inspires you
Day 07 - Post a picture from a recent vacation
Day 08 - Post a picture from your commute
Day 09 - Take a picture today that showcases motion
Day 10 - A picture that you took at one time that you love
Day 11 - Post one of the oldest pictures you have in your Picture folders
Day 12 - A black and white photo
Day 13 - A picture from last summer
Day 14 - A picture taken with your cell phone
Day 15 - A picture that you edited
Day 16 - A picture of you more than 10 years ago
Day 17 - A picture of what you wore today
Day 18 - A picture of you and a best friend
Day 19 - A favorite picture of yours
Day 20 - Any picture that you want!

6.21.2010

CRASH! into a lesson.

I got a lesson in being impatient yesterday; or shall we say, I got a lesson in the NEED to be patient.

I was sitting in a car wash line, wanting to get home to make meat loaf for my dad (Father's Day wish). There were 3 cars ahead of me, and this dang car wash was taking FOREVER to get things done. I then made the executive, impatient decision to 'get the heck outta dodge.' I haphazardly backed up with a quick glance in my rear view mirror--a quick glance that didn't cover my blind spot, of course. And then...

BANG! Right into the car behind me that I didn't see and didn't know was there.

Great Ashley. Soooo idiotic.

The guy was nice, but gave me one of those pity glances. Don't worry dude, I thought, I feel pitiful enough.

But I guess that's my pride taking over, isn't it? Pride in the idea that I'm usually a good driver, with the exception of my idiotic moment. heh. But what really comes into play here is my impatience. And it may seem silly to you that I'm turning a trivial incident into a life lesson; however, if you read this blog you know that's my personality. I can find a lesson in anything, really.

And here's my lesson: What is the damn rush, Ashley?!? XOXO, God.

You're right, God. I'm always wanting to rush. Rushing to get to the store, rushing to get to work, rushing to get to Turkey, rushing to get on with life. And then, rushing causes inefficiency, which leads to accidents...which leads to what happened yesterday.

But patience...well...patience means that I assess the situation completely before making a rash movement. And what a good strategy patience is! It means taking the best route possible.

Anyway. It's not like I'm trying to be hard on myself. I'm not ALWAYS impatient, but it's something to be worked on. And if I would have waited, um, 10 more minutes for the car wash, then I wouldn't have gotten in this mini-accident, and I would have had a clean car.

Lesson learned.

6.20.2010

Those schoolgirl days, of telling tales and biting nails are gone,
But in my mind, I know they will still live on and on,
But how do you thank someone, who has taken you from crayons to perfume?
It isn't easy, but I'll try,

If you wanted the sky I would write across the sky in letters,
That would soar a thousand feet high,
To Sir, with Love

The time has come,
For closing books and long last looks must end,
And as I leave,
I know that I am leaving my best friend,
A friend who taught me right from wrong,
And weak from strong,
That's a lot to learn,
What, what can I give you in return?

If you wanted the moon I would try to make a start,
But I, would rather you let me give my heart,
To Sir, with Love

Happy Father's Day!!

6.18.2010

REALLY? Really?

Offsides MY ASS, stupid Ref. !#@*&!!!

***
Guess I didn't post as much this week, I hope to have a blogging revival next week! Hope your weekends are grand :)

6.15.2010

Sporty Ash

This past weekend I watched A LOT of sports. The proof is in the picture:

Dad and me at a Padres Game

I'm not an avid sports watcher. But when I do sit down and watch a game, I get really into it. It must be that competitive instinct that I have. For example, don't play me in cards...I will FIGHT TO THE DEATH!

The Padres game was super exiting because, well, the Padres are actually doing well this year!!! Also, we won by one run in the bottom of the ninth. Talk about edge of your-seat, chew-on-your-nail kind of exciting! The crowd was obnoxiously loud; thus, I loved every bit of it. Plus I got my spiffy hat, pictured above :D

Of course, I also watched the U.S. play England in the World Cup. Although America tends to not watch soccer, it happens to be my favorite sport to watch; although, ratings show that of all the places in the U.S., more people were watching the U.S./England game in San Diego. We are pretty big soccer fans here! Not to mention that I played soccer as a kid. Watching a sport where you understand every single rule makes a BIG DIFFERENCE.

Oh yeah, and we tied. Did you guys hear about that? hehe. Oh England, mistakes, mistakes.

Overall, I just think I'm getting into watching sports in my old age. With so many crappy, stupid reality shows out there, how can I resist watching some genuine competition? There's something that is thrilling and pure about watching a game--maybe this is accredited to the fact that the viewer ends up being a part of the sport, just through watching and cheering. Oh, and drinking beer. Let's not forget about beer.

6.12.2010

A Casual Saturday (and cussing to boot!)

I'm having a gloriously lazy day today. I did a little work in the morning: studied a little Turkish, and studied for my TEFL certificate. Did a little laundry...you know, a little here, a little there. But now I'm reveling in my complete, unadulterated laziness. I didn't have any real plans and I'm not really gonna make any plans.

It's one of those Saturdays where I am fulfilled by doing nothing.

Status: Currently watching Love Actually and wasting the day away...

P.S. Just for a giggle, let me teach you a turkish curse word! I was having a convo the other day with a co-worker who knows arabic, and she was telling me how to say the "s" word in her language. I then realized that I didn't know any Turkish curse words. I thought to myself, "well that is just unacceptable!"

My mom thought it amusing when I asked her how to say 'shit' in Turkish that very day. I'm surprised she told me: Bok. Bok bok bok. (pronounced 'boke'...like you are saying poke with a b).

heh heh heh.

Just thought I'd share that new little nugget of info with you fine people. Hope you are having a great Saturday!!

6.10.2010

Favorite Thing Thursday: Fortune Cookies

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TOTALLY the best fortune I have ever gotten!!
But anyway...

It's not like I really believe fortunes of the cookie variety (unless I get one like the one above). But there's something really magically delicious about opening up a fortune cookie after a good Chinese meal; although, I've been told that the fortune cookie idea originated in America and not in China. What the heck?

Mostly, fortune cookies are one of my favorite things because they are purely for entertainment value. It's really fun to crack open a cookie (what Mom? You say I can play with my food?), and it's even more amusing to pull out a little piece of paper that supposedly reads the future. Seriously, who thinks of this stuff?

By far, the funniest fortune cookie I have ever received stated: AMONG THE LUCKY, YOU ARE THE CHOSEN ONE.

hahahaha!

How does one become a fortune cookie writer? I'd like to know!


6.08.2010

Speaking of the Dark Side...

Even if you don't like Star Wars, you MUST watch this!! It's a commercial for a GPS that features Darth Vader's voice:

6.07.2010

MacBook Photo Monday (And In a Darker Mood)

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^
haha. I'm not sad, I've just dyed my hair a little darker!

You can still see a lot of blonde, but I eventually want to ease toward more brown so I don't have to worry about keeping up the dye job in Turkey. I can just see this totally bad scenario where I try to explain to a Turkish hairdresser how I want my hair dyed, and ending up with green hair. haha.

On top of that, I've been a blonde for about 3 years. Long enough! It's time to enter the dark side again!

Speaking of Turkey and that whole plan, this is probably how it's going to go down:

I was going to go to Turkey in September (if offered a job); however, I've changed my plan to November for a few reasons:
  • One of my best friends (Jaclyn) is getting married, and I am the maid-of-honor, and would like to be there for her big day (er...days. She's having two weddings). Those weddings happen in late October, early November.
  • Because of this, I will have more time to learn Turkish. YAY!
  • On top of this, I will have more time to save some money. ALWAYS important.
So yeah, that's the plan so far. As we know, plans don't always work out the way we want, but I'll see how this pans out as time goes on.

6.06.2010

Typical Girl...

I changed my blog color again. haha. Forgive my dorkiness.

I chose white (for now) cause it has a clean kind of vibe. I like how it's classic, and I wanted something breezy and airy for the beginning of summer.

P.S. Purple is still number one in my life!

6.05.2010

Check Yes or No.

Like the colors and layout?

Yes or no?

Si o no?

Evet veya hayir? <--this one is Turkish :)

You know that I adore purple, but I kinda wanted to mix it up a bit (and green is my second favorite color, anyway). Is the green too bright? What do you think?

*Update: haha. I switched it back to purple. Still hard to part with my favorite color.

6.03.2010

Favorite Thing Thursday: Roadtrippin' It

The topic this week for my favorite things series? ROADTRIPS.

I actually love all types of traveling, come to think of it. Flying is awesome, trains are exciting, and even boats are fun (as long as they don't make me sick). But I believe my favorite way of traveling is by car. Here are the reasons:
  • Have you ever noticed that when you are in a car, it feels like you're flying? I love that feeling.
  • Gas station stops can be quite hilarious.
  • You can blast crazy, crazy pop music (think "Wannabe" from the Spice Girls) and it is accepted, because, well...you're driving for 8 hours so WHY NOT?!?
  • I like the feeling of control when I drive.
  • I love the feeling of FREEEEEEEDOMMMM when I drive.
  • Lots of double shot espressos/red bulls/sugar=dance party while on the road.
  • If you drive overnight, delirium sets in, which is always amusing.
  • You see funny signs like "Smokey Bear Rd." or "Casa de Fruta." I joked that Lance Bass liked to hang out at the last one :)
  • Priceless memories are guaranteed.
I think that covers it. So with that said, let me share a few photos from my most recent roadtrip (this past weekend) to San Jose:

Seals at Santa Cruz!
Harvey Milk Cafe, awesome food, interesting info about the Castro district.
My friend Rachel's doggie :)
Hats that Ali and I found at a pit stop. Front reads: Redneck Woman.
You know how I love Purple! Also at a pit stop.

Rachel and I are Space Cowboys!!

6.01.2010

Eight and Eight

Got this idea from Krystal and her site, The Lovelist.


Here, Ali (a good friend) and I were lollygagging around Little Italy, taking pictures on a lazy, pasta-filled evening. We ordered two pastas--Cappellini Pomodoro (angel-hair with basil, tomato and garlic), and Penne Arrabiata (spicy sauce!).

Just before our dinner, Ali and I had gotten a free makeover from the Benefit counter in Macy's. Tee-hee. Overall, a cute little evening :)

What is your 8th photo in your 8th folder?