One Thousand Six Hundred and Sixty Seven Words

NovemberNovemberNOVEMBER! This is going to be a super short, super unclever, super non-witty blog because this week is ridiculously crazy. I have 2 exams, a quiz, need to watch Castle, and need to WRITE. For the rest of this month, the blogs, I apologize in advance, will either be relatively short in length or scarce in quantity. Why? Because I'm FINALLY participating in NaNoWriMo. Which, if you don't know, stands for National Novel Writing Month. Throughout the month of November, I, along with thousands of others across the world, will be writing 1,667 words per day to reach the final goal of 50,000 words by November 30th at 11:59PM. I'm not going to reveal what my novel is going to be about specifically, but involves an 18 year old girl, college life, satirical and dark wit by the multitudes, and a Motel 6. This is why my blogs are going to be scarce: because I need to spend the majority of my time writing my novel. My goal is to complete the competition on November 30th, but then also be able to add more and edit the novel to where I can publish it. I also have another Occupy Daytona rally this Saturday so I'll be busy with that. And I have rallies for Awake the State throughout the month! OH! And I'm definitely starting a YouTube channel this month. I'll post a link to my channel when that commences. So, I apologize if I, like, keel over and am unable to entertain you with my Thoughts of Awesome Entertainment and Whatnot. 

Sidenote: I had a superamazingfantasticmagical weekend with The Boyfriend last weekend. I won't recap everything except that we had sushi, had a bumpin' Halloween party with the family, went to my first college football game at UCF, got scared out of my mind on Test Track at Epcot, and had an absolutely DELICIOUS tour of the Food and Wine Festival. Ah, sososo good. Honestly, I would've had an amazing weekend with The Boyfriend if we were making mud pies. Every moment with him is different and magical and perfect. And I absolutely adore him. If you're reading this and are saying to yourself, "Oh my gosh, shut up. I really don't care about your relationship because I'm really super jealous and will never find one of my own." Well.. stop saying that. Or just stop reading. But I don't want to lose followers, so just stop thinking that. If you think you'll never find the right guy, stop thinking that too! Good things happen to those who wait; and the longer you wait, the better the guy is. I waited a really long time and I got the best thing I could ever ask for. <3

I was going to end this blog with that sappy-one-liner but I forgot to mention, if you want to track my progress for NaNoWriMo, go to www.nanowrimo.org and search "AshliWho". I'll also be updating as much as I can on Twitter: LINK HERE! and of course, via blog posts. That's all for now, folks. Time to enjoy this photo of me crying on Test Track!  

"These are my Confessions..."

I started last week's post off with an allusion to a YouTube video I had been featured in. I don't want to sound redundant, but now I'm going to say, "Go subscribe to this channel Here!" to understand what I'm about to blog about. Alex Day, "nerimon" posted a video entitled "YouTube Survey 2011". Considering I've yet to be able to conquer the procrastination I constantly endure, I haven't started vlogging, and am not on YouTube. This is getting wordy, so here it is: I'm responding to Alex Day's YouTube survey via Blogger. 

Question 1: Tell us about your first kiss

My "technically" first kiss happened when I was in pre-school with a boy named C.J. I remember chasing him around the playground and demanding him to kiss me. I finally tackled him behind the big yellow slide and told him if he didn't kiss me, I'd tell everyone he liked boys. His twin brother David saw the whole thing and told his twin that he better just do it. And so poor little threatened C.J. of the big yellow slide kissed me. Not on the hand. Not on the cheek. Right smack on the lips. I felt awesome. And then never talked to him again. 
The real first kiss happened on a rainy afternoon in 7th grade at Silver Sands Middle School with my first boyfriend, "Pseudonym". I don't feel like embarrassing myself and him in one blog.We had been dating 3 weeks and he kind of just grabbed my face and kissed me. I didn't really know what to do so I just stood there. It didn't last very long because how long does one keep kissing a mouth unpuckered? Suprisingly, the relationship lasted over a year. Even after 4 months when he told me he was going to make out with me whether I liked it or not. But that's another story. 

Question 2: What was the most expensive item of clothing you ever bought?

I don't buy many expensive items of clothing. But Junior Year of high school, I ran for Miss Atlantic and the contestants needed a dress for the Poise and Presentation portion of the competition. My mum bought me this gorgeous satin, sequin, ball gown for around $350. Needless to say, I lost the competition and am $350 poorer. 

Question 3: What was the first job you ever wanted as a kid? 

I wanted to be a professional figure skater. I used to watch figure skating all the time when I was little and would've given anything to skate in the Olympics. The "at-the-time" Daytona Ice Plex opened and my best-mom-in-the-world-mom put me in private lessons. 6 days a week, Monday-Saturday. I'd get up at 5:30, skate from 5:45-7AM, go to school, and get back on the ice after school until 4. Then, Saturdays consisted of 10AM jump class, 11AM ballet, then skating the rest of the afternoon. I honestly don't know how I did it as a mere 8-year old. But it was my passion, and it was my dream to be a Michelle Kwan when I grew up. And now, I want to control airplanes. Didn't stray too much from the child inside me. :D 

Question 4: Tell us about your group of school friends

I didn't necessarily have a specific group in high school, I floated with all of the cliques on campus. But in middle school I ran with a group that called themselves...K-JAB. Again, not writing names for courtesy purposes. K-JAB, of course, stood for all of our initials. And we were the most popular girls in school, your typical snobby clique that everyone wanted to be friends with and was jealous of. We had a notebook we all decorated after the tragic loss of our first one. "B" lost it at lunch one day and we were freaking out because everyone's secrets and rumours and drama was in that book and we were going to be "so dead." So we passed around this notebook everyday unless someone needed an extra class period or day. When someone had the notebook too long, everyone got all grumpy because they couldn't write down their drama for the day. The biggest drama I remember about the notebook was a massive fight that broke out between myself, A, and J. Pages and pages and pages of cattiness vomited all over a shared notebook between four girls. In addition to this beloved book, every Friday night we went to the movies. No matter what movie, we were there. We saw the movie, had a sleepover, and called boys all night because that's how cool we were. Oh, and we ate lots and lots of birthday cake ice cream. 

Question 5: What would you name your kids?

I've thought about this a lot and I always either 1) forget the names I picked or 2) meet someone with the name I picked and they turn out to be someone I disgust. However, boys' names I've stuck to include: Ashton, Logan, Aiden, and Lucas. Girls' names: Skyla, Sophie/Sophia, Lucy, and Riley. Not sure why the majority of my boys' names end in an "en" sound and the majority of my girls' names end in an "ee" sound... o.O 

Well, that's all we have for today, folks. In the meantime, enjoy this picture of Usher singing "Confessions."

I'd Eat My Words, but I'd Rather Eat a Cupcake

A few explanations: If anyone saw the terrible and highly unpopular video of Chantel and I singing an Improv Duet at Atlantic's Cafe AMARD two years ago on YouTube, a) I'm sorry and b) you know that I prefer muffins to cupcakes and provided a well-detailed argument in regards to the ever-ceaseless: Muffins vs. Cupcakes War Saga Thing in acoustic song-form. However, despite my irrefutable zeal for the muffin, particularly blueberry and banana nut, I am, in fact, craving a cupcake. This could be due to the fact I just walked down the hall and two very nicely dressed women (I don't why I felt the need to say these ladies were nicely dressed) were talking at exceedingly loud about how much they wanted cupcakes. Normally, I'm quick to jump and say, "Hey, nicely dressed ladies, go get a muffin instead!" But rather than me being at the front lines of defense for the moist, fluffy, baked good, I kind of wanted to follow them out of the office and go wherever they were going to get a cupcake as well. <---That's actually really creepy now that I write it out. Anyway, in hopes of quenching my craving for cupcakes, I searched "Making Cupcakes" on YouTube. The only video I got through was the low budgeted adaptation of a Food Network Home Cooking show, where this highly unenthusiastic woman made cupcakes look like ice cream cones. They look so pretty, but I seriously think I have contracted diabetes upon watching this video. In case you feel like contracting diabetes as well, the steps on making an ice cream cupcake are as follows:

1. Fill the cone halfway with jellybeans (or candy of your choice) for that extra sweet punch in the face

2. Unwrap your cupcake and ice the top, then stick it face down into the cone

3. Take your MINI cupcake and stick it face down onto the larger, iced cupcake (ice that, too!)

4. Then, take as much icing as possible and spread it thickly onto your cupcake stack. This way, you'll be able to feel the icing glue your organs together with every bite. 

5. Don't forget to ice it like a soft-served cone, so if you need more icing, don't worry about it! The more, the better. 

6. Finally, sprinkles! Because who doesn't like a heart attack without sprinkles.

It's safe to say that after watching this video, I have reaffirmed my Team Muffin status. And now, a cute Muffin Cupcake Conflict War Photo:

The Weekend Lineup

This is going to be a relatively short post because a) I have very little time b) I don't want to post too much because I have to give reflections about everything I did over the weekend; therefore, c) you, as readers, will get antsy if I post two long blogs about the same events. And no one likes an unhappy reader. So here we go!


Friday: I'm finally going to get sushi! I haven't been since The Boyfriend left - I guess because it was kind of "our" thing and I felt like I'd be betraying him in a way.. if I got those amazing little delicacies of the ocean that ride around on cute little boats without him. Up until about three days ago, this was my adamant belief ... until I realized how much I missed eating those ocean delicacies. So gathered up some friends to go with. And I'm going. We're also doing the usual watch/mock Terra Nova thing, and then back home to make signs for...

BUM-BUM-BUMMMM!

Saturday: THE BIG DAY! I'm absolutely so incredibly excited about this. Hopefully everyone's all caught up on the news about Occupy Wallstreet that's going on right now and how that the event has exploded world-wide. It's even made it's way to little ol' Daytona! For those of you who are unaware, in the dark, ignorant, or a hermit, Occupy Wallstreet is the protest happening right now to get our country back in order - the citizens back to being individuals rather than under corporations and government control. Some topics being protested are unemployment, food recalls, oil spills, pay cuts, funding cut from public schools, tax increases to the poor and tax decreases to the wealthy, foreclosure, students in debt, people who can't even afford education, groceries, or a family. Et cetera. Pretty much anything wrong that the government has influenced on it's people, is being protested. Again, I will have more to say on this after the event Saturday. If you're in the Daytona-ish area, the info: 

When: Saturday, October 15th from 9AM-6PM

Where: At ISB and Nova at Tuscawilla Park across from Steak and Shake

*Don't worry, this is a controlled, organized event. We have permission to do this - see here for details.


Sunday: Going to see Footloose with my dear friend, Ashley! I'm so excited to see her AND this movie! :D


And that's all, folks. <3 See you at Occupy Daytona!  

"I Vaant to Eat My Chapsteek!"

I know fall officially started on September 23rd and that I should have posted an I-Love-Fall post on the 23rd, but I just feel that fall shouldn't officially begin until October 1st in Florida. I know this sounds incredibly hypocritical of me, considering I've been preparing for the holiday season since August. I was caught playing the ever-faithful Christmas radio station on Pandora and yes, I was mocked without mercy.  But I've seriously been obsessing. I've watched Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown(s) 1 & 2, The Scream Team, Don't Look Under the Bed, and Tower of Terror. Oh, and the Johnny Bravo Meets Scooby-Doo episode. I also have this really delicious Fall-Fusion chapstick that tastes like pumpkin and vanilla and if I were three or really desperate, I would definitely be eating it right now. In addition, I tossed around the idea of decorating my cubicle in Halloween spirit, but decided against it for "professional" purposes. 

It's that time again where Ashli confesses a part of herself that no one thought true - but I'm a major wimp when it comes to scary movies. (I had nightmares about Edward Scissorhands, [which apparently is a love story?] for weeks.) But with the hurricane we had last weekend, and Halloween upon us, I took it upon myself to gather the courage and watch the Scream Trilogy. During the day, with my sister awake next to me, and popcorn to semi-occupy me, I was completely okay with Scream & Scream 2. But when my sister fell asleep, and the day grew into 2AM, and I couldn't pack any more popcorn kernels into my teeth, I was terrified throughout Scream 3. My eyes were shut most of the movie, and before I went to sleep, I had to run to my room, turn on all of the lights, and watch Aladdin to take my mind off of it. I also thought my dad's jacket hanging in the garage was going to kill me. It's really, really pathetic. But I'm definitely sticking to Halloweentown from now on... o.O  

Besides the decorations, colours, movies, costumes, candy, and chapstick, the fall runs of all of my favourite shows resume! 

I usually stick to the same shows or don't watch telly at all because either the shows I love get cancelled, or they're absolutely horrible. But, I branched out this fall. (Pardon the pun.)

New show: Pan-Am (ABC, Sunday nights, 10PM) When I was first introduced to this show, I thought it was going to be some lame airline documentary. (Pardon the ERAU blasphemy). But it's the most un-documentaryesque show. Set in the early 1960's with flashbacks to the 1950's, the show draws out what it was like to fly Pan-Am, be a stewardess for Pan-Am, and your occasional Cold War conspiracy. The majority of ABC dramas all have that "ABC touch" - and it's very similar to the styling of LOST with the flashbacks, and the secrets, and how the island airline brought all of these very different people with very different backgrounds together, and each story is released a little bit more as each episode goes on. I'm 4 episodes in and I'm absolutely hooked. I definitely recommend this show. 

Oldie but Goodie: CASTLE! (ABC, Monday nights, 10PM) I've been with this show since it aired in 2009. The best way I can describe it, is it's your classic crime scene investigation show with less melodramatic acting, more humour, an underdeveloped love story, and the "ruggedly handsome," Nathan Fillion. Last season ended with the most intense finale *SPOILER* with Detective Kate Beckett being shot and Castle telling her he loves her (FINALLY). The premier was just as intense. And so far, I have yet to be disappointed. There's been super villains, Shakespeare, disappearing bodies..AH. I recommend this show in a heartbeat. <3

New Flop: Terra Nova (Fox, Monday nights, 8PM) I was so excited for this show because anything that has to do with a dystopian society trying to reach utopia interests me. Plus, it has dinosaurs. I could have not wanted to eat my words more than after seeing the season premier. The writing is poorly done: your typical corny humor and really bad acting. And where a child getting a scratch on his/her knee calls for the S.W.A.T team to investigate. And there's ALWAYS a power-hungry, "men-suck", blood-thirsty woman, who always speaks in sarcasm and downgrades the male species with her ability to shoot 36 different targets at one time. There's so many flaws to this show, I can't even list them all. Last week, it was Attack of the Birds at Terra Nova, and among the pecking and scratching, one poor soul was knocked unconscious and rolled away on a gurney equipped with oxygen mask. I was informed that perhaps the victim was allergic to birds and that's why he was in need of oxygen, but I'm still convinced it was another one of Fox's ploys for a dramatic moment. I will say though, the only thing this show has going for it is it's indefatigable way to keep giving me reasons to laugh and mock the show. And it gives me something to do every Friday night because a few of my friends and my sister get together, and over our pizza, drop jaws at the man who just fell 500 feet flat on his back on a pile of thorns and manages to miraculously stand up quick on his feet, without a scratch to his back. It's remarkable. If it isn't obvious, I don't recommend this show. Unless you really enjoy commentating on poor writing and lack of acting talent. 

On Fish Puns and Drowning

My financial advisor of my blog has informed me that for the good of the people and our business, he recommends a new post every other day. Considering I have a tendency to break 90% of goals I set for myself, I don't plan on blogging every other day. I feel as if my life-that-is-characterized-as-non-mundane will become mundane. You can't force a good story, they just have to happen. So anyway, now that I'm done going against my CFO's advice on how to make billions of dollars via blog post, let's make it aware that is in fact, October, and also in fact, the end of my mini-bucket-bucket list time.                                                                     

 RECAP:

1. Completed - I read 1 chapter every night of a new book. And it felt amazing.

2. Completed - I said "as many as possible" for a reason. I ended up finishing the first 3 seasons of Sex and the City. Considering those are the only complete seasons the library has shelved. 

3. FAIL - I was working out every day up until about 2 weeks ago when I got sick. Then, I got lazy. 

4. FAIL - I realized, once again, how I poor I am. 

5. Extreme fail - I think I went 10 days without a blog post. 

6. Failfailfail - Still wearing the same polish from 3 weeks ago. 

7. COMPLETED! I got an A on 3 Biology quizzes and my air traffic exam.

8. Completed! (For now) - I finally met a normal bloke in ATC. He's hilarious, hasn't stabbed me in the back, and doesn't look like a creature from the black lagoon. (Yes, this is how I judge Friend Criteria) 

9. Uhm, fail - I think I fell asleep once in weather. 

10. Completed - I actually earned 7.5 hours of lab time. 

Honestly, 5 pass and 5 fail is a lot better than I thought I would do so I'm not punishing myself because a) I just feel like being a rebel b) I'm happy with the outcome and let's be honest, c) No one's going to send me punishments anyway. 

Moving forward: Last week, a few of my friends and I suddenly decided we'd dive into a reely big war of fish puns. Soon enough though, we felt pretty gilty for being so crabby towards each other; we realized it was because we were so jelly of each other's ability to be the class clown fish. In the end, we roetated our way of thinking and decided we didn't want coralling within our grouper and remain friends instead of anemones. And whale, now we're the best of friends again.
I realize this isn't my best material as far as stories go, but it was a major highlight to my week because I sat in my cubicle, silently laughing to myself - probably looking slightly deranged. But, what else is new.


So this past weekend my family and I were at a timeshare-pool-hotel-thing. And for some reason, children have this tendency to seek and find me in hopes of becoming my best friend. Which, they always succeed and I always end up babysitting this stranger's child. At the current time, I had a 6 year old girl following me around in her floaties and inner-tube - dressed to the nines in safety devices. While I, the near-20-year-old from Daytona Beach who has yet learned how to swim, is doggy paddling for dear life in this 10-foot deep water-filled pit of doom. As I'm envying the child's safety gear, she notices my struggle to stay afloat, and offers me her inner-tube. Normally, I'm not one to disarm a child of her safety device, but I was like, dying, so I figured I had a legitimate reason. Anyway, I was in this tube for all of 4 minutes when I realized the tube sort of shape-shifting from this: "O" to this: "0" and curving up on the sides. I decided it was time to squeeze myself out of this tube and paddle myself to the safe and welcoming, 3 feet 6 inches area. But as I was struggling to get out, this child decides she wants a piggy back ride and I, of course, am the piggy who sinks to the bottom upon the child clawing her way up my back. Naturally, my body decides to swallow a ton of water..because what would drowning be without swallowing water, right? And I'm screaming and trying to throw this piggy-back-riding-six-year-old off of me and after much struggle, she finally gets the hint that I'm like dying, like, again. So I'm choking and all of the post-drowning-things you're supposed to do after being held under by a six year old in pink princess water wingies. No big deal though, I'm just never being dubbed babysitter in the pool ever again. 

Reading is a "No-No"

It's Banned Books Week!

It's that time of year again, folks - where we honour the beautiful pieces of literary work that government throws out of our public schools and public libraries because they're "controversial" and could cause angry parents to sue the school system for letting his or her child read such filth. This "filth" is anything that has to do with: Offensive language, violence, having an occult* theme or promoting the occult of Satanism, being unsuited for an age group (<--the absolute most GENERIC reason to ban a book), promoting homosexuality, racism, sexual education, being anti-family, promoting a religious viewpoint, and/or nudity.

To me, the banning of books is just another way for parents to put on the facade of "Parent of the Year." It's like when someone curses in public and every soccer mom with her 18 kids turns around and says, "There are children present!" and runs to cover their 36 ears on their 18 heads with her 36 hands. When you know good and well, that an hour ago on the soccer field, she was sailor-mouthing the terrain in alphabetical order. They just want to cause a stink and be that parent who "made a difference in their child's life." Of course you made a difference - you deprived them solid, rich, and thrilling literature. You're shoving The My Little Pony Adventures and Go, Dog, Go! down their throats. Sue Douglass Fliess, author of education.com, made a fabulous closing argument in her 2007 article, "What Makes a Banned Book?" She states, 

"As parents, it’s up to you to decide how you want your children to learn about certain tough topics. But take a second to think back. When you were young, did you learn everything from your parents or had you possibly picked up a book or two?" I highly doubt any parent has ever marched into television stations like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, or MTV with a list of shows they need to ban for inappropriate content. Shows such as, Spongebob Squarepants have made figurative references to homosexuality, Wizards of Waverly Place references "occult" content, and Victorious has made figurative alcoholic references. And yet, these children's networks are still running shows with the same content. The same content in books that parents are causing a stink about to school boards and getting them banned. It just doesn't make sense to me. If you're going to ban something that you feel has inappropriate content, ban it from your own child and household, not the entire school. Be parent of the year to your own child, not to everyone else's. What's inappropriate to you, could be educational to another. Secondly, which would you rather ban: the inappropriate content that plays redundantly on television, turning your child's brain to "filthified" goo, or the inappropriate content that simultaneously strengthens vocabulary, spelling, imagination, and creativity? 

For those still lost, some examples of current and past banned books are:

-Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger: For sexual content, violence, and obscene language

-Catch 22 by Joseph Heller: For homosexuality, anti-military, and offensive language

-The Tales of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain: For slavery themes and inappropriate language

-Brave New World by Aldous Huxley: For inappropriate language, anti-family and anti-religion themes

-Harry Potter (Books 1-7) by J.K. Rowling: For the support of witchcraft and scary content

-The Giver by Lois Lowry: For support of suicide to achieve a Utopian society

By the way, I've read all of the above books, and they're all absolutely beautiful literary works. <3

*Occult:  Supernatural, mystical, or magical beliefs, practices, or phenomena

Muggles vs. Mortals: A Comparison Between Mr. Percy and Mr. Potter

"I don't go looking for trouble; trouble usually finds me." 

~Harry Potter

"I won't go looking for trouble. I usually don't have to." 

~Percy Jackson

I finally finished The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. This 375 page fantasy novel is the first book in the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series. I don't feel like typing out a whole synopsis - but I definitely recommend it. If you're dying for a synopsis, click This Good Source for Synopses!. And if you enjoy that link, and don't have a chance to get to a library near you, click This Good Source For Online Reads! to enjoy a free online version of this book. Now, for the compare and contrast. *WARNING: THIS BLOG MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

1. The Trios - Harry, Hermione, Ron vs. Percy, Annabeth, Grover 

Harry and Percy are both heroes, both unaware of their status until they reach the appropriate age. Hermione and Annabeth are both the only female in the Trio and the brains of the group. Grover and Ron are the best friends of the heroes and eat almost anything. 

2. Half-bloods...

...Are both evident in each story and have the same meaning. One mortal parent, one magical parent. 

3. Percy vs. Harry 

a. Percy never knows of his blood father, Harry never meets his blood-parents. 

b. Both heroes grow up in bad home-conditions as children. 

c. Percy destroys his math teacher, Harry destroys his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in the first book of the series. 

d. Harry's dreams are connected to Voldemort's thoughts, Percy's dreams are connected to Kronos' thoughts. 

4. Harry has an invisibility cloak given to him by his father, Annabeth has an invisibility cap given to her by her mother.

5. Kronos' and Voldemort's voices are both described as cool and oily. 

6. Hogwarts and Yancy Academy are both boarding schools. 

7. Muggles and Mortals are both said to not notice magic activity. 

8. Both main characters are asked to save the world at such a young age. 

I wish I still had this book to references more similarities. Through this entire book, I kept saying to myself, "Oh my gosh, that's JUST like in Harry Potter where (fill in the blank with Harry Potter circumstance.)" BUT sadly, I dropped the book off without realizing that I still needed to write this blog. In short, if you love Harry Potter, you'll love Percy Jackson.

 SO GO READ THIS BLOODY SERIES! <3

"My Pepper Jack Cheez-Its Taste Like Baby Food Carrots"

Right now, I shouldn't be blogging. I shouldn't be distracted. I shouldn't be rambling about the strange comparative nature between Pepper Jack Cheez-Its and baby food carrots. I should be doing Economics homework. But I'm not. So, here we go. 
I have a few things to discuss today, which is saying a lot considering nothing happens anymore that's worth blogging about. And what better way to discuss things than to compile them into one of "Ashli's-Famous-Let's-Talk-About-These-Things-List". 
1. "Jeepers, Creepers"
I wish I could get off with saying that I'm going to write an eagerly-awaited review on this terrible 2001 horror film, but that would be too easy. In today's news, we're discussing the all-around creepy man. Because I seem to attract extremely creepy people. Like the one's that you find leaning closer to you because you "smell good." Or the one's who just straight up ask you to hook up. And then you get the clearly mentally-unstable who threaten to poison themselves if you don't love them back. (No offense, Juliette. That whole thing was cool in your day.) Anyway, last week I ran into a former-stalker of mine from about 3 years ago. He would always follow me around, call me, tell me he was in love with me, and other things that creepy men do that are considered the norm. I haven't seen him in years, and there he was, sitting in the reception desk where I was supposed to be working. Conversation as follows:
Creep: "Oh.. hellooo, Ashli."
Me: "... Hi." 
Creep: "It's sooo good to see you." Creeps like to draw out the "o" vowel. 
Me: "..."
Creep: "You working here?"
Me: "Yeah."
Creep: "Do you still go to Atlantic?"
Me: "No."
Creep: "Oooh, so you're graduated. That's really cool. Soooo good to see you." *creepy smirk*
I didn't even remember this guy's name, and he still remembered what high school I went to. I've seen him 3 more times since that instance. (I've typed, erased, and retyped a clever concluding sentence, but it's not working.) So here's an old-time favourite, "FIN."
2. Instant Shiny Objects 
Lately, I've been doing this thing where I start talking about something, by the way, I'm 18 pages away from finishing The Lightning Thief, and then my mind goes in a completely different direction, which is a lot like the Harry Potter series, actually, and I link thoughts together, I've found myself making comparisons to Rowling's work throughout the entire novel. (Ha.) Oh, and as soon as I finish the book, stay tuned for a Harry Potter vs. Percy Jackson-themed blog. So anyway, my mind has been trailing off into weird places. I read a book entitled, Looking for Alaska, *SPOILER ALERT* a character was said to have "died instantly upon impact." And as the story went on, it asks the question of what is *instant*. Is it one second? Three seconds? Half a second? Or did she never even make it past one second? Here's a list of self-claimed "instant" things: 
a. Instant Pudding. Duration: Approximately 7-10 minutes.
b. Instant Jell-O. Duration: 4 hours.
c. Instant Rice. Duration: 5 minutes.
d. Instant Oatmeal. Duration: 2.5 minutes.
e. Instant Messaging. Duration: (depending on the speed of one's internet) 1.2 seconds. 
f. Google Instant. Duration: 4-7 seconds.
So what is instant? One of the many well-strung thoughts my mind has vomited up upon dazing out. If anyone can give me an answer to this question, send the answer to This Email Address Here! like you were supposed to do with the punishments. -.- *notbitter*
I'm not sure where I was going with this post.. so I'll just say, 

FIN.

Status Report:

 First, I want to start off with a heart-felt apology for taking over a week to post new content. Here's a little apology I've been practicing in the mirror for the past three hours:

"I'm heart-feltly sorry for taking over a week to post new content."

Whew, now that that's off of my chest...

Status Report on my Mini-Bucket Bucket List for September: 

1. I got a new book! "The Lightning Thief" - it's fictional Greek Mythology, fantasy, and hilarious, and I'm in love. And I've kind of been reading more than one chapter a day because I'm a book addict. 

2. So far, I've gotten the whole first season of Sex and the City and completed it! Getting the second season tomorrow since the bloody library closed when I went today. -.-

3. Crunches... not so much. But I've been working out on the Wii Fit everyday? Count? Yes? No?

4. Still haven't found money to buy two more books.. 

5. Already failed this - had a busy, and yet not-eventful-enough-to-blog-about-week.

6. I've repainted my nails. 

7. Not applicable - haven't had any exams yet! 

8. Still haven't made a normal friend. Everyone I've met fits into one (or in some cases two) 

of two categories: 

     a. The Nonversationalist: (aka: One who can't hold a conversation) 

           aa. They consist of three statements: "Hey." "How are you?" "How are classes?" And then they kind of just nod and agree because they are incapable of forming their own opinions or stories; this is then followed by a pursed lip and broken eye contact, which in turn, ends the conversation. In response to the previously stated, I could say, "Hey." "Suicidal." and "I murdered my weather professor today, so that class is good now." And they would nod and agree. 

     b. The Play-Flaker: (aka: One who makes all of the plans to hang out, but never follows through)

             bb. This has happened to me on at least 4 occasions in the past two weeks. Conversation is as follows: "Hey! Oh my gosh, how are you? (For the record, the "Hey, how are you" is stated throughout all groups of people, it's just the inflection that changes. Inflection is key.) I haven't seen you in forever! Let's totally go to the beach/movies/dinner/lunch/salon/apartment/club/whatever this weekend! Text me!" But you know something? They never say, "I'll. Text. You." This way, when you don't text them, because you weren't really sure if they were being serious or fake, the blame is on you for falling through with the plans. So they've played you - and flaked out on you. The Play-Flaker. 

So in short, no, I've not made one normal friend yet. 

9. Uhm, failed this one. I fell asleep in class Wednesday morning. So start thinking up a punishment for me. 

10. Still in progress! But so far, I only need an hour and half more until I reach six, so I'll definitely be over. 

I have two punishments already! PLEASE submit punishments in the comments, or email them to This Email Address, here! if you don't have a blogger account. 

Deuces and juices. 

It's September!

The majority of the American population falls into a cultural fad of "New Year's Resolutions." We all make them, we all break them. It gets to be this recurring cycle of performing bad habits or not performing good habits all year long until January 1st, 12:01AM. And we make a list of changes we promise we're going to keep this time. Common items include: lose weight, read a book a week, lose more weight, read a bible verse daily, eat healthy (to lose weight), and exercise for 30 minutes a day...to lose weight. And then within a few days, we don't follow through with our promises, and wait an entire year again, to make the same resolutions we're just going make, break, and then wait again for. A catch-22.

I, too, fall into this tradition. For example, last year my resolutions were:

1. Write down my dreams daily.

2. Learn a new word each day.

3. Some other third thing.

I kept the first resolution going for about 2 weeks. The second, about 2 days. And the third...I don't even remember what it was; henceforth, the chances of any effort being put forth to act on the resolution are slim to none. 

It just occurred to me, why do we wait an entire year to change our bad habits or create good ones? Why not start today? Or every week pick a new thing to change. Or every month? <-- See where I'm going with this? I've decided that at the start of each month, I'm going to make a Mini-Bucket Bucket List. (Yes, I did this for summer vacation, but you have to admit, it worked out swimmingly.) The list will consist of things to do and habits to change. At the end of the month, for every item not completed on the list, I will give myself a punishment. (Not eating 105 tomatoes.) Reasonable punishments include: I can't go on Facebook for the entire next month, or I can't drink any soda the next month, et cetera, et cetera. For those of you who follow me on Twitter, you know of the 30-Day Challenges I used to do. One month consisted of no Facebook, another, no junk food. The punishments will be like this, except these will be, um, punishments - not voluntary acts of "bettering my self-motivation, self-control, and self-whatever-else-is-uplifting." In closing, 

My Mini-Bucket-Bucket-List for the Month of September: 

1. Read at least one chapter of a NEW book of my liking every night, no matter how tired I am.

2. Go to the library and get as many seasons of Sex and the City as possible and actually make time to watch them. 

3. Do a minimum of 25 crunches/sit-ups a day.

4. Buy 2 books to start my Life's Library.

5. Blog at least twice a week. 

6. Paint or "touch-up" my nails every Friday night. 

7. Make an A on at least 2 out of 5 "First-Exams-of-the-Semester."

8. Make one normal friend. 

9. Not fall asleep in class.

10. Have more than six hours of practice time in the simulation labs for ATC. 

Going to keep this updated as things are accomplished and in-progress. Be thinking of good punishments; the chances of me succeeding at all of this are highly unrealistic.

A Dejected Ashli Ford and her Tear-Soaked Slipper

Told you there would be a blog in the future entitle that. ^^

Topic Number 2: The End of Summer

Looking back on this summer, I feel so incredibly accomplished. Usually summers for me entail sleeping in, sitting on the computer, and eating every possible thing in the cabinet to mask my boredom. But I actually DID stuff this summer. Things I never thought I would experience. Some things: 

1. LEAKY CON

2. The last shuttle launch 

3. A weekend away in Clearwater/Tampa. 

4. Dinner on top of the Hyatt. 

5. Sailed on a pirate ship.

6. Made homemade ice cream/a slip 'n slide/a time capsule/a Lego Burrow/and a cake!

7. Had a surprise candlelit picnic in the park, by the lake, on a hillside. <3

8. Yankees Game 

9. Went to my first off-Broadway show: HAIR!

10. BBQ on the beach. 

11. Was a co-parent for 10 days. xD

12. Bowling/Mini-golf/Daytona Lagoon 

13. Finally experienced all 4 Disney parks. 

14. Played Xbox for the first time ever and WON. 

15. Went on a boat to Disappearing Island. 

16. I need to end this list now! 

The best thing though was spending it with my best friend. It's just an amazing feeling waking up every morning next to the person you care about and knowing that the day you're about to tackle is probably going to be crappy, but when you come home, they're there to make it better. I truly feel like you don't know a person until you've lived with them. And from everything I've learned, I like even more. 

My room is so empty now without his millions of cords and over-flowing hamper and stacks of papers and piles of random odds and ends. And it's more quiet without his video games blaring, or the loud noise of the fan on high, or just another voice there. It's also a lot warmer without that fan on high, and the covers to myself. But I still miss all of that. Because it was clutter and noise and cold that I enjoyed. 

I'm so much more content with the move-back-home today than I was yesterday morning. I was bleeding mess. But blimey, just a few of the right words from the right person made it all the better. And I go to Pennsylvania in 3 months! And he comes here in 3 months! And it's just a beautiful thing. I'm so happy I could burst. It's like ..  "pretty cool" to be in a really fantastic relationship with a really fantastic person you have a really fantastic time with. I'm so unbelievably grateful. <3(:

On a more serious note...

I haven't blogged in dayssss. This past week was crazy and emotional and busy and just overwhelming. But in that crazy, emotional, busy, overwhelming week, I had time to think; henceforth, blog topics. 

Topic Number 1: Cyber Bullying

Until last week, I only "knew" of cyber bullying, (not that melodramatic teen movie on ABC Family) I mean real cyber bullying. Yes, the cyber bullying I was involved in was minimal, but due to being hormonal and a woman, I blew it out of proportion. But bullying is still bullying, whether one is hormonal or not. Synopsis Time: 

(Pretend this is a Facebook News Feed, thanks.)

Ashli Noelle Ford-Murphy: So my lovely boyfriend, best friend, and roommate, Andrew Strunk is moving back home tomorrow. Someone bring me ice cream to eat away my sorrow, the credit card to buy away my pain, and sappy love movies to cry away the despair. Heh, heh. Going to miss you muffin, ♥. 

Cyber Bully: I love when couples show affection over the internet. 

Except the post via Bully was posted 3 minutes after mine. Now that I'm rewriting it, it seems ridiculous. But it was embarrassing because I didn't feel as if my post was mushy or puke-worthy at all. I was actually kind of mocking the fact of missing him. It was sarcasm. Yes, I did go on a shopping spree and bought Birthday Cake ice cream, but I definitely haven't watched any sappy movies, so I think I'm doing alright. *twitch*

The most hurtful part was that everyone immediately started liking her post and it was just like everyone was against me, so it hurt. But the fighter in me commented on her status cheekily, "Omg, me too!" Well, she bit again with, "I can tell." And then everyone started liking that comment. So I felt I needed to rid of the haters. I commented back with, "Well, let me make sure you don't have to read my affectionate posts anymore, bye!" and proceeded to delete and block her, along with deleting my status. Oh, and report her to Facebook for harassment and bullying. Well, I was an emotional wreck after that. I'm talking sobs and snot and dry heaves and I think I cried out every tear in my body. Ugh, I hate being a woman. 

Fast-forward, more haters jumped in and they, too, were deleted. I don't need negative people in my life. And they don't deserve to even get a glimpse of my happiness. It's a win-win. 

So the moral of the story is, don't let others control how you feel. If it bothers them, they don't have to read or hear it - they can leave (or be deleted). Thanks to mommy, I reposted the status because it "IS MY OWN FREAKING WALL" and I'll say how I feel. It's such a cliche, "don't care about what others think of you." Everyone says it, but no one follows it. But you are you. And people don't like to see you happy; especially the ones who are miserable themselves. They want to hurt you and squish you so they can feel powerful. Don't. Let. Them. Do. That. Don't ever be afraid to say how you feel or fight back or wear something ridiculous because you think others will laugh or not talk to you or not be your friend anymore. If they do any of those things listed above, they were NEVER worth it in the first place. And if they leave you, it wasn't a healthy relationship in the first place. The universe takes them away for a reason. To make sure you have the best support system around you as possible. People who love to build you up, share your happiness, and wear ridiculous outfits with you, not tear you down and see you fall. You're better than that. Believe it.   

Orlando, Disney, More Disney, Tampa, Clearwater, More Disney

I feel like the worst blogger ever because I didn't follow my peers around all day with a recorder and/or notepad to remind myself of all of the fabulous moments I encountered this weekend. I've been writing really, longgggg, blogs lately - so I feel it's time for a shorter one. Some highlights and facts of this trip: 


1. There is no such thing as a Caramel Macchiato at McDonald's. The real name is "Caramel Mocha." 
*Fact: The difference between Mocha and Macchiato is that the Macchiato is sweeter and has "a lot more flavors going on" (e-cigareteforum). While the Mocha has more of a coffee flavor - just chocolate and coffee. 
2. For the first time in 19 years, I saw the Welcome Ceremony at Magic Kingdom and am still singing, "Good mornin', good mornin'! To you, and you, and YOU!"

3. "Your bow is crooked!" Drizella, Carrie, and everyone else on the entire planet made that clear.

4. "Bibbidi, Bobbidi, boo; may all your wishes and dreams come true." I. Love. Sparkly. Wishes!

5. I conquered Animal Kingdom, chewed the thought of stealing a baby gazelle (aka Tommies), cried at both The Lion King show and Finding Nemo show, and experienced the best caeser salad and pizza of my life.

6. Yetis scare me. Even if they're the nice Yeti who plays checkers. o.O 

7. Flamingo pins don't exist anywhere in any park at Disney. 

8. England (and The A-Team) is beautiful in the Epcot-Time-of-Year. See?!

9. My future was decided! Click here to see my future!

10. I GOT A FIGMENT PIN AND HE'S THE CUTEST THING EVERRRRR. (Which, upon entering my house, was almost confiscated by my pin-crazed mother.)

11. There's an ice-cream dessert called "The Kitchen Sink" which is really funny because it has everything in it and is displayed in a mini-kitchen sink. Clever and delicious.

12. Andrew's mum kills bugs with brooms; Andrew kills bugs with pillows. Like mother, like ... son. 

13. The Party Bus. 15 passenger van passengering 12 people. One. Epic. Trip to Tampa. 

14. The University of Tampa is the single most gorgeous campus I've ever seen, and I desperately want to live there. 

15. Their swim team needs to find a new method of posting announcements on outdoor bulletin boards. Laminate them, or try the scrolling marquee method. Printed paper isn't hurricane-state-friendly.

16. Hitting curbs, screaming IT'S HOT, and singing Friday = Highlights of Party Bus.

17. Talked Harry Potter with Stevie: a really awesome gal who knows her Potter. Love. HER. 

18. Andrew and I sleep with our mouths open on the trek back to Orlando via Party Bus. 

19. Found JUSTIN BIEBER SINGING TOOTHBRUSHES. 

20. Crazy Cake free sampled ice-cream is where it's at. <3 

21. Remember the show animorphs from the 90's? Everyone kind of morphed into massive garbage disposals at T-Rex. Which, in my opinion, is a fabulous eatery.

22. Downtown Disney/Chaser Hunting/Gift-Card-Collecting/Window Shopping/Oh, and pouting because I didn't get a really boss Alice and Wonderland t-shirt. lulz.

23. SNEAKING, POUNCING,  AND GET-OFF-YOUR-KNEE-IS-IN-MY-SPLEEN! = Alarm Clock.

24.  I don't pack enough clothes. 

25. Ate Starburst and watched clouds and listened to Johnny's House on XL 1067 on the way back home. 

I could go on with the numbered list until a million, but I said this would be a short post. It was an amazing weekend. I met a bunch of great people and made a bunch of fantastic memories. <3

Sunday, Monday: HAPPY DAYS! Tuesday, Wednesday: HAPPY DAYS!

          I have the type of fatigue where your head is all fuzzy and it feels as if your brain is running into the inside of your head. And your eyes burn with angst towards you because you didn't allow them to stay closed long enough, so they're going to gain revenge by randomly closing shut throughout the day. Oh, and your muscles are screaming at you because you were twisted up in this little ball in an attempt to find a comfortable position. I have that. I have that, and it sucks. 
          Henceforth, this will not be a post spilling with profound thoughts or rants or eloquently strung phrases. (See what I did there?) This has just been an amazing extended weekend - it needs to blogged about. 
Saturday: (See previous post about this day here! ==> Saturday's Details :D )
Sunday: I spent most of the day cleaning, but Sunday NIGHT was where it was at. 
Sunday Night Where It Was At: The Newlywed Game! Three couples. Not a single one of us "Newlyweds," but still a ton of fun, nonetheless. The Boyfriend and I started off slow, but you better believe we came back and tied the game with my sister and her "The Boyfriend". Somehow the night turned into 3 AM and we were craving Dunkin' Donuts. Except Dunkin' Donuts had to be like, the worst place ever, and not be open 24/7. And then my sister and I decided to start singing that really melodramatic lullaby from The Rugrats Movie; the one that, as www.rugratonline.com phrased, "a dejected Tommy Pickles" holds a ratty slipper and sobs in the corner, "Baby, please, don't you see? I want mom and dad for me!" Yeah, that one. We sang it the entire ride home. By the time I got home, I decided that I would ask my boss if I could take off a few days to spend with The Boyfriend since it's technically the last few days I have with him. Stay tuned for a blog about a "dejected Ashli Ford and her ratty, tear-soaked, slipper."
Monday: I dressed up for the first time in weeks. It felt good to look like a girl again. Naturally, what does one do when she looks like a girl again? Go to the mall, of course. The Boyfriend and I had lunch at the mall - I had an amazinggg wrap from Nature's Own, and he had an even better pizza-inside-pizza thing from Sbarro's, which I kind of ate most of... *guilty*. And we were off to window shop and be depressed about how poor we were, and were out of there within the hour because our wallets felt like strangling us due to lack of use. So we went to Publix to indulge our wallets' desires to get the 100 tomatoes and stuff to make homemade ice cream! Oh, and we won $4 from the lotto. How nice of it. 
          Skip failing miserably at playing catch because it was 9 billion degrees outside, but let's highlight the fact that I STOMPED The Boyfriend in Madden, 38-21.. or something like that. And we took a 3 hour nap, but woke up just in type for the best sloppy joes ever and to make homemade ice cream. Which also, was delicious. 
Tuesday: Batting cages, batting cages, BATTING CAGES. The Boyfriend, my brother, and I went to the batting cages and even though it was pitching terrible, I still hit like, more than zero. And it kept getting stuck, but that paid off too - because we got 4 free tokens for next time. We got lunch at McDonald's and I had my first "Quarter-Pounder." (Which, by the way, has a thicker bun than the dollar menu burgers.) We continued the afternoon by FINALLY building my Lego set: The Burrow and listening to Live ATC. I surprised myself at how many pieces I found and connected properly without losing patience and storming off in an impatient, spoiled, rage. Ten points to Slytherin. 
Then I ate 105 tomatoes. That's all I have to say on that. Go watch the video! Watch Priceless Gag Faces Here! And we played catch before my brother's practice - which was awesome. So awesome, that I had to go straight home and play more catch. And it was 9:00 and we were starving and we went to get sushi and it was delicious and we came home and we watched Boy Meets World and we went to sleep. Because that's what you're supposed to do apparently.
Wednesday: PARTY DAY! Got everyone together for a slip 'n slide day after training my brother extensively for baseball season. I was a warrior. The Boyfriend popped the slip 'n slide, but no worries, we had a backup plan and it worked beautifully. We all showered, played a board game, and decided we were going to dress semi-formally to go to McDonald's. See:

So naturally we had to do that whole Do-This-Pose/Do-That/Take-One-More/Prom-Standard-Procedure-Thing and we were off to be fancy with our fast food.
Cashier: Oh, ya'll look cute! Is it Prom or somethin'? (Because it's August, and school's not even in, and everyone goes to McDonald's before Prom).
Sister: Nope.
Cashier: ...Oh, what's the occasion?
Sister: No occasion, just wanted to dress up!
Cashier: Oh, dang! Well, ya'll look CUTE!
And we walked around Wal-Mart after that; my sister and I talking in British accents and the boys failing in British accents. The rest of the evening was spent editing my video - which if you haven't heard, Go. Watch. Now.
Thursday: I'm suffering from bad fatigue and I'm back at work and I'm writing. Can't wait for Disney this weekend. It's going to be so, magically, boss.

Dropping By to Post Links and Stuff -

Can't say anything. Too tired. Time to pass out now. But the real reason I've gathered here is to post the video of me taking my challenge to eat 105 tomatoes! HERE. GO WATCH. NOWNOWNOW! :D Click Here for Tomato Challenge!


That is all! More to post later.


<3

Fantastic Words and When to Say Them

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: 

I bought the 100+ tomatoes today, and the challenge shall commence tomorrow. I also had to endure the facial ridicule from the check out lady when she saw that I bought 6 plastic containers of grape tomatoes. But I had to suck it up and remember: I do this for the fandom. 

On another note: 

I was recently told that the choice of vocabulary I use is attractive. I believe I used the word, "flippant." (i.e. Not showing a serious or respectful attitude). So I got to thinking about other words I enjoy using, just because I like the sound of big words. Not because I like to sound educated, but because I generally enjoy the feeling of extending my vocabulary. To provide an example, if vocabulary were a store, I'd be like the child pulling on her mum's shirt tassels kicking and screaming for the bigger, better toy. But in this case, vocabulary word. Pearl Strachan said, "handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs." I believe so highly in the power of words. Words can cut a person down; words can build a person up. I love words, so my gift to you, if you're looking to be attractive, are some of my favourite vocabulary words.

• Writhe: A twisting, squirming movement
• Adjacent: That which is near or bordering upon
• Contiguity: Proximity
• Intrinsic: InherentEgoism: The theory that places man's chief good in the completeness of self
• Explicate: To clear from involvement
• Nonchalance: A state of mind indicating lack of interest 

Your words speak lightyears. You can be reaalllll attractive to somebody. ;)

Pieces of Gum Chewed: 1

Nail Polish Colour: Yeah-Still-Chipped-Sparkly-Silver