Bye Witch!

So, the going away party is over, but Ashley is still here and I like that. I think we pulled off a pretty great surprise party, full of lies and trickery. Here are some sweet group pictures from that evening. Funny followed by serious:


Highlights of the day:

1) My friend at work, Jenny, brought me back 2 little containers of sand from Hawaii. More specifically, Jenny got me sand from 2 locations of the beach where they shoot LOST. I was REALLY excited about it. One is from the plane crash beach site and the other from the campsite location.

2) I bought the new Ingrid Michaelson CD and it's good. It has 2 videos on there and I think it's going to be a good album, especially since we are about to see her in a few weeks.

3) The long-awaited photo shoot. I'm excited to take pictures tonight in my suit(s).

BW!

Your Mom Blogs

First things first. I have an adorable little family. Evidently my twin nieces take after us and take lots of pictures of themselves. I found this jewel on Forest’s FB and it appears as those little nuggets have learned the art of monkey arm photography. Doesn't it look like Kate is reaching out her arm to take the picture?

The caption would read:
Kate: “Hey, Lauren, get in this picture with me. I borrowed Dad’s camera. Okay… yeah, I think we’re both in it.” Right?

Subject change: Artwalk.
I got a letter Saturday to donate a piece of art by Wednesday for the Preamble on Thursday. Right. So I have to make that tonight. I’m feeling better about the new location but still really scared as time approaches and I haven’t had time to work on anything. Question: If I make that big cardboard piece into the bible page background/blk letter foreground, do you think i should cut it down or keep it one big piece?

Next, I echo MJ’s excitement about the fall. The concerts are going to be great and I can’t wait to dress up with baby doll hands for Halloween. I also hope I get my ears pierced this fall… maybe in Chicago. Tattoos anyone?

And finally, we went record shopping on Saturday and what wonderful things were found. I purchased two new records – Vampire Weekend and Fiction Family. VW is still one of my faves from the past year and FF is new to me, but the people are not… combo of Nickel Creek side guy and Switchfoot frontman, Jon Foreman. It’s good, or goode, as I might say. Also, I got the Animal House soundtrack and a Cure record. Both of those are great dance-around-the-house albums. Other things I’ve been listening to/ buying lately: Matt & Kim, Constellations, Regina Spektor, Michael Fronti (who I had the pleasure of seeing in concert and was awesome), Death Cab’s new EP and Phoenix. I also have bought my usual singles from the summer hip-hop hits, so I’ve been trying to rock it out in my new office. Maybe one day you will see my office. I have a giant (vagiant) poster of a Compassion kid outside my window and sometimes it scares me.

Thank you for being a friend!

put your thumb out, hitch it and reverse it

so like any good employee, the first part of my day consists of checking out the headlines on my Google homepage. and by headlines, I really mean my "Oddly Enough" and "How to of the Day" sections. please check out this "how to" treat for today.

it has to do with hitchhiking, but to sum up my favorite part, I will show this picture:




and please note that under "Take Precautions," what I would consider to be a pretty useful warning, is the last bullet.

"Pack some pepper spray, in case you encounter a shady character, on or off the road."

in case you encounter a shady character. yeah, just on the off chance that someone with less than honorable intentions picks you up on the side of the road. you'll probably be OK....you're wearing a bear costume and holding a sign that reads "won't kill you." good luck getting to Dollywood.

in other news, I'm absolutely loving the She & Him album. so flippin' good. this one is probably my fave.

mmm, good music on a Monday. delicious.

Friday, Friday, Friday, Friday

I think the most exciting part of my week has been discovering that Amy has a "back patio." had I known this before, we would have been hanging out there ALL the time. however, it was also exciting to see Amy's art. I think Artwalk is going to kick some major boo-tay. or ass, if you wanna put it that way.

so here's my random thought of the day. it baffles me how some people can be so completely selfless, caring and compassionate towards animals but treat people like (well, I was gonna say dogs, but they actually treat dogs with a very kind heart, so I'll choose something else), let's say, crap. I don't get it. and it's not that I don't think we should be there for our four-legged friends. I just don't understand how you can have such a heart for saving and caring for animals in need, and at the same time be so short and rude to our two-legged friends (well, and Heather Mills...her prosthetic leg counts). sorry, that was mean. maybe I should be saying these things to myself. so here's my suggestion: be nice to animals....and humans. let's all just give it a try. it's incredibly, incredibly easy to be nice to people. I promise.

OK, done with that.

some things I'm looking forward to:

visiting the folks at the new house in St Simons (Sept 7)
Artwalk (Sept 11-12)
Sidewalk (Sept 25-27)
Ingrid Michaelson concert (Sept 24)
NEEDTOBREATHE concert (Oct 3)
Brandi Carlile concert (Oct 11)
Halloween in Chicago (Oct 31)
car ride up to Chicago with Amy and Claytong (October...whenever he goes...probably leaving at 9:00 p.m.)

I'm also looking forward to doing more things that I say I'm gonna do. I really want to start writing more. well, let's be honest...start writing. so tell me to write. ask me if I've written. write me a story, and tell me to do the same for you.

good things to come. I'm excited about life. by the by, we're having banana split ice cream again today at Luckie....and we're playing Rock Band in the main conference room at 4:00. get. it.

give me an awkward side hug when you see me,
mj

Around the World in 60 Days?

As I sit here in the office of biology looking at a tarantula in an aquarium, I thought "Hey, this is a good time to reflect." I feel like most summers are just "blah" but the ones has yet to let me catch my breath. You know, it's not enough that I'm preparing for probably my biggest life change ever - let's throw in a lot of rando/awesome trips that just keep popping up as well.

Costa Rica was pretty stinkin awesome - it rekindled my desire to be a Spanish speaker. So, that's a goal for 2009/2010...and an already overwhelming goal at that. Hola, me llamo Ashley. There, that's a start.

Chicago trip 1 - Martin family adventure was everything a family trip should be - exciting to be able to show my parents my future home and place of learning - (ta da!)
while still dealing with the various frustrations of life together 24/7 after living apart for a number of years and the added stress of finding an apartment so I wouldn't be homeless.

Then there was the beach - which I can never get enough of.
(see photo evidence)

followed by a 6 hour drive to Atlanta to fly to NYC.
to rock out at All Points West Music and Arts Festival. More photos available on FB.

Came home and a week and 2 days later realized that it was time to go BACK to Chicago so that I'm not homeless. So, what better way to do that than drive 10 hours through the night without sleeping?! woo wee! After a weekend of greasy hair, apartment shopping (that didn't include being murdered by a craigslist killer), a Cubs game, Garrett's Mix popcorn, the El, the Bean, stuffed pizza, 22 hours in the car, and stop at a rando dairy farm in Indiana, I can confidently say that I feel much more like a Chicago resident (that has applied for an apartment) but I'm not any less sad to be leaving Birmingham.

Well, there you go....a reflection.

Mo' Money, Mo' Problems

So I started my new job yesterday. It feels like a fresh start, but my employment was just resurrected at the same old place. So it will be an interesting transition. My new job title is Fulfillment & Inventory Specialist. It's a fancy way of saying that I'll be doing a lot of counting. Don't be jealous. As a part of my job, I will be working in the warehouse and managing inventory. This requires me to be trained on the forklift! So today I took my online training course and exam. I found it to be very humorous. This was a warning illustration of possible death by forklift.

I'm pretty sure that's a coffin. But the description was more about falling off the edge of the platform. But I guess having a coffin by your forklift just cuts out the middleman. Also, I have to learn a physics equation, the Inch Pound Forklift Equation. Watch out math geniuses... here I come!

Step 1:
You must first determine the maximum Inch Pound capacity of the truck. To do this, you must use the equation (A + B) x C = Inch Pound, where A = 18", B = 24", and C = 5000 lbs.
(18" + 24" ) x 5000 lbs. = Inch Pounds
(42") x 5000 lbs. = Inch Pounds
210,000 Inch PoundsWhat? My brain exploded because I haven't done math in a really long time. Well, other than to calculate the interest I could've gotten on the money Melissa owes me from 2006. (J/K MJ)
So I am off to go learn more things. I hope you all have just as much fun as me today. Coco crispies!

Bright Sides of a Suckfest

So this week has been filled with every type of frustration - personal, professional, and logistical. I've had those mornings where you realize you're already late and then knock over the basket of clean laundry that you just folded....or kicked an ant bed while walking across campus getting dirt AND angry ants all in your dress shoes. All-in-all....fabulous.

But there are some bright spots:
1. I just had cupcakes for breakfast, and I had cupcakes and Diet Sunkist for dinner after a run on Tuesday. That balances out, right?

2. Someone shared this video with me - and I really like it.

3. Last night I went to a wine tasting with dad, and then spent a large portion of the evening dancing around the house to Lady Gaga as I cleaned.

4. My washer isn't spitting stuff at me anymore. No more of this.

Friday is promising. One more week of work. Beach next Saturday and All Points West after that. Here's to July's exciting end.