5.29.2011

Roommates vs. Lesbian Lovers

So, I've been apartment hunting with my good friend Lainey.

We went on an apartment tour yesterday, and obviously the landlord thought Lainey was more than just my roommate. Cause this is what he said:

"If you look to your left you'll see a rose garden, so you two can pick flowers for each other."

(pause for awkward silence)

"Or...errrrr...your boyfriends can pick flowers for you!"

Lainey and I were trying not to crack up at this point. Nice trying to save yourself, Mr. Landlord, but you failed.

For the record, Lainey and I have a chihuahua named Churro living with us. I mean, I guess that somehow screams gay couple. At least I'll give him that.

5.26.2011

Favorite Thing Thursday: Gettin' a Haircut

Got my hair "did" last Saturday. I adore haircuts. Getting a haircut is like a therapy session--you're physically cutting off frayed, distressed ends, like a cleansing of sorts. I always have to fight the urge to chop my hair super short, because for once I've been growing it out! But I am DEFINITELY not one of those chicks that gets attached to their hair, or that cries over a slightly bad haircut.

Hair grows, life goes on, and then you can get a new cut. Almost like a new start.

5.23.2011

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's perfectly acceptable...

  • to praise myself when I manage to make the perfect cup of coffee on select divine mornings. Perfectly-made coffee somehow MAKES me a morning person.

  • to opt to stay in on a friday night, drink some pinot noir and watch Independence Day. ID might be more of a beer movie, but whatevs. Might as well class it up.

  • to watch Justin Timberlake whenever he's on T.V., which is totally reminiscent of taping (because there was no DVR yet) episodes of Rosie O' Donnell's talk show whenever *NSYNC was on. Therefore, JT always brings out my inner-teenager. Justin, yet another smashing SNL performance!

  • to laugh hysterically at the potty-humor scene in Bridesmaids. It was disgusting, but really really great at the same time. GO SEE THAT MOVIE.

5.16.2011

Music Challenge, Day 7: A Song That Reminds You of a Certain Event


Alright, alright, alright. There's definitely a story behind this one:



OPERATION: KIDNAP JENNY

So a few years ago, in college, my friend Jenny was spending ALL HER TIME with her boyfriend Ryan. Did you ever have a friend like that? Someone who can hardly be away from their boyfriend long enough to pee by themselves? Yep...that was Jenny.

So me and two other friends (pictured above) devised a plan to kidnap Jenny from her boyfriend's apartment, all the while letting Ryan in on the the plan of attack (our confidant). We dressed in all black, brought handcuffs, and made sure we stayed in stealth mode.

On the way to the apartment, I blasted "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys. The opening line totally captured the mood of the whole event. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

We came up to the apartment, busted through the door, yelling "GET ON THE FLOOR!" (Try not to laugh while screaming like freakin' maniac). Jenny thought it was great, and of course we got thoroughly smashed after the kidnap.

I'm proud to say that I was the mastermind of the sabotage. I've got a little deviance in me.


***

5.15.2011

Part Four: Antalya, Turkey & a Farewell

Almost forgot to post the last pictures from my stay in Turkey! So here is Antayla, a city on the southwest coast of Turkey.

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The Mediterranean is by far my favorite sea.

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Chillin'

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I swam at this spot a few summers ago. It was a little too cold to swim this time around, but I was SO tempted.



Picnik collage

The many faces of Bartu, my new baby cousin...isn't he precious?


Cool tile in my cousin Leylan's kitchen. Turkish people opt for interesting tile throughout the house.

Park by the sea.

My two cousins Bertan and Leylan (surrounding me) and Bertan's wife.

View from the window every morning I woke up...

...which warmed up my soul, after being a bit distressed from making the decision not to stay in Turkey. Antalya was my last stop before flying back home, so I felt bittersweet while staying there. Still, I knew coming home was the right decision.

Turkey will always be there for me, a home away from home, and I will always go back throughout my life. Sometimes timing is off, but in actuality it may be perfect, even when it doesn't seem that way. I feel content to be back in San Diego. And I have no regrets for trying to live in Turkey. I think what I'm proud of myself for is trying. I tried.

I know exactly who I am and exactly where I should be, and there's something comforting in reaching that place. I wouldn't have gotten to that state of mind if I didn't first try for Turkey. Funny how life pans out...never as we plan it.

5.13.2011

Honored, Again.

So my lil' buddy Bethany, pictured to the left, is getting married.

"Married? Yes, Mereed...Geez." (Sixteen Candles, anyone?)

And I am the Maid of Honor!

I've been the MOH once before for my friend Jaclyn's wedding back in October.

I think...I should start charging.

hehehe. I AM EXCITED (especially because I know the groom equally as well as I know Beth, so I can roast them to DEATH in my speech).

MWAHAHAHAHA!!!

5.11.2011

Music Challenge, Day 6: A Song That Reminds You of Somewhere





hehehe. This one makes me laugh.

"Time After Time" takes me back to the late 80s, where I can barely remember much, because I was under 5 years old.

What I do remember is riding in my dad's new Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. Ohhhhhh yeahhhhhhh. And in true 80s fashion, the Oldsmobile came with a nifty little cassette tape that had popular hits on it. The two songs from the tape I remember the most are "Billie Jean," from MJ and "Time After Time" from Cyndi Lauper.

So, now every time I hear those two songs, EVERY TIME, I think about toddler Ashley jamming to the 80s in a sweeeeeet ride.

And you know what? I STILL love those two songs.


The Challenge so far:

5.09.2011

STD Free?

Today my co-worker and I had a laughing fit during our training when the lecturer abbreviated students as "stds."

WHO DOES THAT?

And we were laughing even more because it was a quiet moment of the training. Of course. It's like having a laughing fit during church.

I still have a childish sense of humor. Glad my co-worker shares in my childishness :) :) :)

5.07.2011

Music Challenge, Day 5: A Song That Reminds You of Someone

You know the first few lines of "Express Yourself" by Madonna? It goes, "Come on girls! You believe in love?" Well, it makes me think of my flamboyant little friend Andy lip synching to the words, and me acting as his back-up dancer.

*silence*

Let me explain.

Andy (who now goes by Andres because it's more mature? ha) has been a good friend of mine since high school. And this song takes me wayyyyy back to both that time period, and a very special project we worked on.

Andy and I are very creative creatures. Put us together and we create one weird, creative supermind. Accordingly, all the projects we collaborated on were fabulous. The best project, BY FAR, was one called "Enrique's Dance Video." Andy and I still laugh and reference this particular project because it was AMAZING.

I won't give you all the details, but it involved Andy (renamed Enrique) acting as Madonna with his two back-up dancers: me and one other girl. This was videotaped, shown in front of our HIGH SCHOOL class, and received a standing ovation, including an A from our sarcastic teacher with the following commentary: "That video was JUST WRONG."

Looking back, we were brave souls for doing this in high school, of all places!!

Anyway, I still call Andy "Enrique" to this very day. And this song never fails to remind me of our dance video.

...and in case you're wondering, you'll never see Enrique's Dance Video here :) Well...maybe someday, if you're lucky.






The Challenge so far:

5.05.2011

Favorite Thing Thursday

These are a few of my favorite things...



1. Tea Time

Picnik collage

I love Tea Time...I do, I do, I dooooooo! Especially tea of the English variety. The sorority I was in (college days, people) had an alumni event complete with schmancy china, finger foods and great teas.



2. Americanized Cinco de Mayo Celebrations


Ask an American the significance of Cinco de Mayo and they'll either shrug or mumble something about Mexican independence. In fact, I've heard that Cinco de Mayo gets little recognition in Mexico. Yet, we celebrate, have a beer with our street tacos and dedicate festivals to the day. heh. Bless our little uneducated hearts and overall ambivalence in caring about significance. Sometimes I love America's absurdity. Because we can be absurd.



3. Baby Nephews



That's me going "What's my name?" and Sebastian answering with "Aunt Ashy." Melt. My. ♥.

5.03.2011

This is Your Brain on Work

Remember that old drug commercial with the egg in the frying pan? You know, the "this is your brain on drugs" spiel? Yeah, yeah...that's my brain right now. But switch drugs with work.

I realized (spoiled brat that I am) I haven't worked since the end of February. I started my new job yesterday and I see a lot of good things about it. But the hard part is in the next few weeks: I have to know all the policies and procedures about the University, their requirements and financial aid.

It was once of those moments out of a movie where my boss handed me a stack of books filled with information we have to know.

Realistically, I don't have to know it all. Of course not. I'm not a computer or a robot or anything of that nature. But the perfectionist in me wants to be a robot. I gotta tell myself to calm down...seriously, Ash, you're not made outta metal.

What's good is, I like my boss (he's suuuuuuper laid back) and I like a coworker that I've met (I meet the other two members of my team next week). You can't ask for better than that! The rest will all fall into place...

5.02.2011

Music Challenge, Day 4: A Song That Makes You Sad

This song is brilliant. I makes me pensively sad, but in a good way. I always remember every friend and family member I've lost when I hear "Fire and Rain." James sure knows how to write 'em.





The Challenge so far:

P.S. I suppose I should put a little blip on here about Osama being assassinated, for when I look back on old posts. But, I don't have a "hooray!" to say on the matter, because I can't really rejoice when anyone has been killed. However, he was an evil force that manipulated many, and in that sense it's a better world without him.

5.01.2011

Music Challenge, Day 3: A Song That Makes You Happy

Everytime I hear this song, I melt.

It's hard not to adore Stevie, and it's hard not to smile when I hear the first "la" of the song. I particularly like blasting "My Cherie Amour" while cruisin' down a beach-side highway, windows rolled down, swaying (Stevie style) to its amazing melody. People must think I'm insane. But as the title of this post suggests, I'm just happy.

I love this song so very much. Enjoy, kids.