what!?

yesterday in one of my american studies courses, i read the most hilarious thing. okay, we all know that columbus thought the world was flat, right? WRONG! in fact, columbus believed that the world, and i quote, "is like a round ball, on part of which is something like a woman's nipple..." a woman's nipple? seriously? columbus thinks that the earth is shaped like a boob? i'm sitting in the library as i type this, giggling to myself at this newfound knowledge. i just can't even fathom... oh, the things we learn in college.

this week has been exhausting, and it's only the first! i don't know what i'm going to do this semester if every week is like this one. ugh.

if you recall from a previous post of mine, i mentioned something about a surprise, and since i officially took the days off of work yesterday, i can officially tell you that i'm going home for spring break! i found a ticket on jetblue, non-stop roundtrip, for $300. so sweet! i can't wait to see everyone :) i'm especially excited to see erika, since it will be the week before our birthday. last birthday was the first one spent apart, and i felt so lonely! most people believe birthdays to be the one day of the year where one is allowed to be selfish, but for me, it is meant to be shared. thank god jennelle's is right before mine, or i would have felt completely selfish.

i wish you all a lovely weekend :) superbowl! (even though i have no idea who's playing, nor do i even care, really...) but enjoy it!

xoxox

151.00

today was gnarly. i started classes at 8 o'clock, was out by two, and had to work from four till close (which is two AM...) i've been exhausted all day, but for some reason now that i'm home, i don't/can't fall asleep. a storm is coming our way, and i'm keeping my fingers crossed that classes will be canceled so this staying up late won't come back and bite me tomorrow.


one of the classes that i'm taking is "images of the body" and i am so excited for it. we have to choose an image for next class, and i chose this one by renoir:

tonight at work, i had this table of three little old ladies. one of them asked why i didn't have an accent, so i told her i was from sonoma. this cute little old woman shrieked aloud, telling me that she LOVES sonoma, is a member of the benziger winery club (which i didn't even know existed...) and she even guessed the crossroads of our neighborhood from my slight description! it was just the cutest thing.

it's kind of ironic that i would have such an encounter, because i've thinking very strongly about moving back.. i know i've written many ideas on here, and i very well may change my mind again, but it just seems like a wonderful moment of opportunity for me, kind of like moving back east in the first place was. it's not that i really miss home, or that i hate boston now; it's quite the opposite, actually. it really comes down to the yearning i have to be close to my family. two years away has been great, but it's really very difficult to be so inconveniently far away from them. it's very hard to put into words exactly what i mean, and because of that i don't talk about this very much out loud. i feel like a part of me is missing though, and it's beginning to ache a little bit.


i'm slightly ashamed to admit, even though my dad told me not to be, but i feel a little bit hypocritical. i was so adamant about moving away from sonoma, from california, succeeding in a new place, refusing to be one of those SVHS kids who ends up at the JC. even more so, i refused to be one of the kids who goes off their respective distant school, only to find themselves back in sonoma, taking classes at the JC, because they couldn't survive in their original destination. i don't want to make any justifications or excuses about why i am probably going to end up like my worst nightmare, but two years is quite a while to live somewhere else, especially straight out of high school.

pardon all of this talk.. i'll most likely end up writing an entry in the new few weeks that's declaring my undying love for boston, or jumping for joy at my acceptance to NYU or something, but in the meantime, all i crave is california.

xoxo, ashley

escuela.

my first class was this morning at 9 AM, and my friend james ended up being in the class too! i haven't seen him since last spring, so it was exciting to see him again. i have an enormous break from 10-1, and i'm so bored, i don't know what to do with myself. except take ridiculous pictures.. i don't know what to think of this one.

i've been thinking a lot lately about transferring to a school back in california. it's probably because it's the middle of winter, and i've been sick, but the southern california sunshine sounds beyond incredible.. this twenty degree weather is no longer my preferred cup of tea. i find myself dreaming of the house i grew up in, daydreaming about what my life would be like living in LA, SLO, san diego, or san francisco. i really miss (almost) constant warm weather, not having to check the weather six times in one day, and not worrying about getting brain freeze from being outside for two minutes. uhg. in state tuition wouldn't be too shabby either!

what i am excited about is that erika and i have been video chatting again! it's so much cooler than just talking on the phone.

i'm obsessed.

with this song. i've unknowingly listened to bonnie raitt since i was about four years old, and i just adore her and her music. she has one of the most heartfelt voices.. she's fantastic.


school starts tomorrow! i'm actually pretty excited because i am so bored of just work. here's to you, christmas break. it's been nice :)

route 66

i have woken up the past two mornings feeling like a combination of a middle-aged woman having a hot flash and a 95-year-old woman who's body is just barely functioning anymore. this flu is kicking my ass, and it's also giving me the most random dreams..

two nights ago, i dreamt i was back in sonoma, in the house on la placita. i was just visiting from boston, but while i was there, i got this tiny little white puppy. i don't know what kind it was, but he was white with a short coat, and he had all these little wrinkles! i showed him off to everyone, making people feel how unbelievably soft he was, and i could not figure out how i was supposed to bring him back to boston with me. i have never really been a dog person, but i could not bear to leave this little guy behind or to give him away. he was just so little, so soft.. and i never even gave him a name!


a friend of mine recently asked me, most likely jokingly, if i wanted to road trip across the country with him this summer. even though we probably won't go (although i hope we do!!), i had a dream last night about this potential road trip.. it was pretty vague, and considering the route we took and the sights we saw, it didn't make sense, but the whole trip seemed like so much fun :)

i heart obama.

this has been quite an incredible week! i feel like i have so much to say, but i don't know exactly how to word everything. i'll just give a mini update..

sunday night, the girls and i went to our friend Anacia's birthday party at her apartment right across the lawn from us. It was funny because Anacia is Greek, and I just felt like her life seemed exactly like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and i couldn't get over how hilarious that was.. quick turn of events though, we ended up having to call an ambulance for heather because she felt like she was going to have a seizure, and i have never been more worried. they took her away and didn't even let her sister ride with her, so we drove through the snow to the ER and waited until 5 AM until we were able to go home. her parents came, so i wasn't ever able to see her :(

monday, jennelle and i thought it would be a good idea to begin our new year's resolution and try bikram yoga. BAD IDEA. maybe it was because we were exhausted and slightly hung over, but the entire time, we were nauseous, light-headed, and miserable. then we went home and got ready for the MJ O'Connor's HOLIDAY PARTY! so much fun. i really really love my job, my coworkers, and everything about it.



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TUESDAY, the greatest day of my life. i had to work, but it was fine, because we had every TV set to CNN. i should have remembered to wear waterproof mascara, because i just cried and cried tears of joy, happiness, relief, excitement, etc.. everything about barack obama makes my heart flutter, and i cannot wait to see what he does with his presidency. michelle looked absolutely gorgeous, and those kids of theirs are such cuties. SO EXCITED! have you seen anything more precious?


yesterday, i came down with the most horrendous case of the flu, and here i am, at a quarter to six in the evening, and i still feel completely miserable. i went to work last night (bad idea, probably..) but they let me go early, so it was all good. i seriously love my job!

half nelson

my sincere apologies for not writing for a week! i've been busy busy.. my six-day work stint was no biggie, and last night i picked up a shift at the other MJ's downtown. pretty cool, very busy, very chaotic, but i made some good (unexpected) money, so whatevah ;)

on thursday, my first free day, i went with jennelle up to her house, spent the day chatting with her and her mom, catching up on some reading, napping, and then we went and she got extensions in her hair! very cute. then her parents made us dinner (yummy!) i love her family.. i kind of look at them as my pseudo-family. 143 ciullas!

friday, i ran some errands, FINALLY found a copy of into the wild (ever since i started reading and finished the book, i've been so curious to see the film adaptation again). i bought the two-disc limited edition one, just so i could see the making/behind the scenes look. i hadn't seen hunter since i came back, so he and i had dinner, and then we came back to my place, got some ben and jerry's, and watched the movie. SO INCREDIBLE! emile hirsch does the most breathtaking, groundbreaking performance.. if you haven't seen it, i highly highly recommend it.



it's snowing pretty heavily right now, and it's been absolutely freezing, which is funny because california has been in the 80's! so not fair.. the girls and i are going to a birthday party tonight. classes start in one week, and i really hope this semester goes better than the last.

p.s. i have a huge surprise, and i cannot wait for it to happen!

boo.

i had a dream last night that i was alone, somewhere, i don't know where exactly. the streets weren't very busy, but i would walk up next to every single person i saw, with no apparent intent, just so they wouldn't quite acknowledge me. just when i felt like they were comfortable with my presence, i would quickly turn to them and yell/growl/"boo" at them and scare them.. "whaaa?!" you ask? yeah, that's what i thought too. how funny is that?! i'm literally laughing out loud ("lol") as i write this, thinking of how ridiculous it would be if a situation like that were to actually occur. i, for one, would NEVER have the courage to actually pull it off, but it's kind of funny to think about. what does a dream like that mean?

today marked day two of my six day work extravaganza, and i'm already feeling exhausted. i had finally found my groove at MJ's, and i could handle eight tables at once like it was nothing. tonight i had five and i was dying.. it's very frustrating. get me out of the restaurant business! (i hope hunter doesn't think i copy all of his ideas, but he comes up with the most brilliant realizations that i can't help but agree.)

random picture of the day:

i love erika.

i'm a worm..

a BOOKworm, that is. i've read more books this winter break than i have in a while.. longer than i can remember, actually. this may be one of my nerdiest confessions, but one moment i'm looking forward to when i get my own place is filling up my first bookshelf. i cannot wait for that moment when i put that last book into place, step back, and admire the miniature library i have gradually acquired.

ice + snow = ashley + couch

i got back into boston yesterday morning after a pretty decent flight. american airlines is gaining some points back! i slept 4 of the 5 hours of the flight :) our plane got stuck on the runway for an hour though because the other planes at the gates were de-icing, and it was taking a while.

lemme tell you, boston is a cold, windy, slushy mess right now. yuck. yo quiero california, por favor!

i ended up falling asleep on the couch until almost 4 PM, which made me feel completely ridiculous. i spent all evening reorganizing my entire bedroom, storing some of my old school work, and putting together my ever-growing book collection (yeee!). my body is still on west coast time though, and with no help from that super-nap, i couldn't fall asleep until 3 AM. i took some medicine for my aching jaw/head, which i didn't think helped me at all, but i could NOT get out of bed this morning until 1, and because i forced myself to get up. some powerful stuff she gave me!

so i've spent the day reading, catching up on some work stuff, and staying away from the misery that is outside. my first day back at work is tomorrow, followed by an additional 5 shifts in a row (not fun!) so my schedule's looking pretty frightening right about now. i need to start making money again, so i guess it'll be worth it. 6 days straight, and then at least four days off. here i go!

there's no place like home, part deux...

so, i'm sadly leaving california tonight. usually i am very anxious to get back to boston at this point in my trip, but this time, i am almost dreading going back. being home is so comforting, and after this homesickness-filled, stressful semester, there is no where else i'd rather be. BUT, i think mother nature might be eavesdropping my thoughts and concerns because boston is getting a storm tomorrow morning, and my flight is supposed to land right in the midst of it, so i may get to stay for a bit longer! i doubt it, but it's a possibility :)

this entire break has been filled with the twilight saga, collegeboard.com, photobooth, and lots of money spending (yikes about the last one.. i need to do some serious catching-up on my finances. well worth it though :)) here's some documentation:






i also think there is a possibility of moving to new york city earlier than i had planned! i've applied to a couple of schools there, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that one of them works out. i was considering looking for schools in oregon, washington, and chicago, but i think staying on the east coast makes the most sense. i cannot quit.