Pot

(Disclaimer: This is not about marijuana)

This weekend I finished my homework early! So to celebrate I thought I would treat myself and go buy a new dress. I went to Target because I really like that store and I can usually find something that I like. This time however, that was not the case. So instead of buying a dress I bought a new pot. It's so shiny and new looking. In retrospect, I am happier with the pot than a dress because, well, I don't really need a dress and our apartment was in dire need of a pot. The only reasonable sized one we had had black sometime permanently burned onto it. The last time I made mac and cheese it was sprinkled with little black dots. I haven't died from eating them so I don't think that it is a bog deal; it's just gross.

i remembered that other thing

I remembered the other thing that annoys me SO much and I'm sorry, but this will probably offend some of you. (okay. I'm not really that sorry).

Those DUMB headphone speaker hands free phone buds. You know what I'm talking about.
I got back from my mission and I thought the amount of crazy people exponentially increased in Provo.
These people walk around, arms waving in the air, talking to themselves. They look absolutely ridiculous.
Excuse me, you're not in a car so enough with the hands free! Hold the phone up to your ear  like a normal person. You will not look like an escapee form the mental hospital. Trust me.
Geezzzzz!!!!
Well, I'm glad I got that off my chest.

somethings that annoy me

While there are many things can give me annoyance these are two things that, as of late, have been really getting on my nerves:

1. The bathroom on the third floor of the library, right outside the media/LRC place. There is basically a living room in the bathroom with the intended purpose of being a mothers lounge. I have seen it used only once for that purpose. I feel confident on saying that because I am always in the LRC and therefore always use that bathroom when nature calls. I instead have seen in used for napping, studying, and even eating. EW!!! I mean do those girls really want to be in there hearing all these other girls go about their business!? And the eating thing, that just kills--not literally but it might literally kill the person who is eating that food so exposed to bathroom...exposure.

2. Okay, I had a real good one, but now that I'm all heated up about the bathroom one I cant think straight. Until next rant.

Ashley

A Small Green Building

This is a picture of the Church in Tobago. For those of you who don't know, Tobago is Trinidad's sister island located not to far from the Venezuela coast. This green building used to be a grocery store: The Green Grocery, they called it. I love this building. I have many fond memories that surround it: looking out the window and seeing investigators walk through the parking lot (or car park as the Tobagonians say) towards the building, hearing Lasana give his first talk, running up the hill to make it in time for the sacrament--investigator in tow, teaching reading classes, and many many more. The building is small many with not many rooms, but it is full of love and faith. I don't think the members of the Tobago branch realized how much the touched my heart and helped my desire to be a disciple of Christ grow. I love them terribly and miss them everyday.

my "wa bottle"

This is my water bottle, more commonly referred to as my "wa bottle". You can thank my friend KJ for that lovely phrase.

I LOVE this water bottle. I have had it for...oh goodness, when did I even get it...oh yes, three years! I have had this water bottle for a little more than three years. I take it everywhere with me. I even took it on my study abroad to Italy (the proof can been seen in that blue and white sticker--Forza Onda!). Everyone there loved it, I guess because they don't have water bottles as wonderful and as attractive as mine. They were justified in their jealousy. I did not however take this water bottle on my mission with me. I love it too much and I was afraid to lose it. I brought a different one, still a Camelbak. It was not the same. Whenever I looked at that water bottle it only made me think of the one I loved, and missed. Now, my "wa bottle" can be found in the right pouch of my backpack or in my mouth. Like this:

(This is my first selfie. I was very embarrassed to take it. I was in the library.)

Unfortunately, after these many wonderful years, my water bottle is falling apart. The mouth piece has wiggled loose--probably from me allowing it to dangle so often from my mouth unsupported. This makes me sad. I heard that I can get it replaced for free though which makes me happy. 

This is a post all about my water bottle. I love it. I am not ashamed of it. I drink tons more water than I used to. Thank you Camelbak for keeping me hydrated. 

some thoughts

There has been a few things passing though the space between my ears quiet frequently as of late: school stresses, summer plans, boys, Harry Potter, how I can manage my unseemingly unmanageable hair. Usually these thoughts pass through as I am trying to get to sleep at night all the whilst freaking out about how I have to get up at 3:30 in the morning and if my brain does not turn off then I will be even more miserable tomorrow. Sometimes they pass through when the sun is out too. One that has been more frequent is my summer plans. You are probably thinking that I am thinking about all the cool/fun things I want to do this summer. You would be correct in that assumption, but you would be missing something very important, something that is actually stressing me out. My summer reading list. There are so many books I want to read! I consider myself lucky if I can squeeze in one fun book in a semester. Thus, my summer list is becoming ever longer. I wonder if I will be able to read even half the books that I want to. I am going to have to start prioritizing them. There are so many. Dang you Goodreads and your recommendations.

Passione

I went to the IC--international cinema for all you noobs out there-- and watched an Italian movie. I am trying to learn Italian, again, with little success. Going to this movie was a cultural event. It was the strangest movie that I'm sure I have ever seen and I don’t feel like it reflected Italian culture all that well. Longest hour and a half od my life.

Before the movie I had dinner with some friends with whom I went on a study abroad to Siena. That was nearly, oh gosh, four years ago and we are all still pretty close. It was fun to be with them. We ate Italian food and reminisced and caught up. I love that after all this time we can still get together and talk about what happened that summer in Siena. We never tire of it. We always talk about how we need to go back. I hope that happens one day.

Something unusual that I feel to note: Usually when we get together we watch a Bollywood movie and eat Indian food, an obsession that began in Italy because the only girl tat thought to bring movies had only Bollywood films. Che bella.

Lunchbox

I judge people who carry lunchboxes.

Big boxy lunchboxes. Plastic lunchboxes. Lunchboxes with super hero figures or princess print. Fabric lunchboxes with their own cooler-lined inside.

Let me clarify, I judge people who carry lunchboxes on BYU campus.

I always assume that they are married. If you are carrying a lucnhbox that is somehow associated in my mind with marriage. There is probably behind that lunchbox, a nice wife who so thoughtful packed a loaded ham sandwich, chips, some sort of vegetable, two granola bars, a pudding cup, a bottle of water, and a napkin. Or perhaps a husband, knowing his wife was going to have a busy schedule packed a simple lunch to carry her through the day. Maybe he even included a little note. Maybe it said, "I love you!" or "You're the best" or something cheesy like that that husbands say to their wives via lunchbox notes.

I see them all over campus. As I'm walking to the JFSB, the JKB. I see them in the library. I see them sitting silently next to students seated on floors, their heads down in a textbook. I see them being peeked into for a snack. I see them strapped across chests, hanging from hands, tied to backpacks. I once even saw one being handed to a tall brown-haired boy from a thin brunette girl. He must have forgotten it.

I bet that if stopped all the people weighed down with a lunchbox and asked if they were married their would be a resounding yes.

I do not carry a lunchbox. My PB&J sits in my backpack next to my pencil pouch, feeling pressure form my textbooks.

monster truck

Have you ever been to a Monster Truck rally before?

You're probably thinking to yourself, "who has!?"

Well this girl has. No, I am not a redneck.

My best friend forever had tickets to this monstrous event. No, she is not a redneck either. Because one of her brother is special needs, her family gets tickets to sweet events such as Monster Truck rallies and the like about once a month. And this month they invited me to tag along. Despite the fact the neither of us are redneck or ten year old boys, we were super excited to go.

After we all loaded into an oversized van, Eliza's mom began to dish out some treats while instructing us to stash the goods into our jackets so security wouldn't take them away. This reminded me of my grandma, every time we go to the movies, "Ashley, bring your big coat! We're brining our own popcorn!" Oh Granny.

When we arrived at the event center in West Jordan there were hundreds of cops. Okay, maybe there weren't hundreds of them, but it sure seemed like it. They were every where. Did these kinds of events usually get out of hand? Should I have been scared for my life?

As we got our tickets and proceeded up the stairs to our seats we were handed bright orange earplugs. I have been to plenty of concerts so I placed them in my pocket thinking that I would not need them. Boy, was I wrong! Those trucks were so loud. The poor children around us couldn't take it and they refused to wear their earplugs. Parents were covering their children's heads with coats trying to soften the noise for their their tender little ears. There was this sweet little girl in front of me who appeared to have down syndrome and she was just burying her head into her daddy's chest while he covered her ears for her. It was a precious sight. I watched them for a moment or to and could see how much this dad cared for his daughter.

The whole shindig was a lot slower than I expected it to be. There were safety checks before every event and it seemed like the contestants just moved slow getting into the arena. Along with these over sized trucks there were dirt bikes and car races. The dirt bikes were pretty cool. The riders would go off of a ramp and flip their bikes or do the splits in the air and other dangerous stunts. I kept thinking, "I wonder if their mothers are watching this?" My favorite part of the whole event was at the very end when Toxic, a green and black monter truck went off the really big ramp. He just flew through the air like well, a monster truck. It was pretty neat. The whole crowd cheered.

I had a delightful time at the Monster Truck rally. I even put it on my already completed bucket list.

Sundance Film Festival: First and Last

I went on a date this weekend. First one since the Mormon mission I served. It was just a friend date, but still I was excited for an excuse to put on more than just mascara and chapstick, even though it was just a friend date. We dove to Ogden in Ted’s car, who was not my date. He reminded me of a boy that I used to know except taller and not quite as funny. Why to Ogden you ask? To watch a movie for the Sundance Film Festival that was not being shown at Sundance. Confused? I was. The independent film began and it seemed to be a pretty funny commentary on hipsters, but then the F-bomb began to pour down. After was seemed like an eternity I turned to my date who read my face and said, “We can leave if you want.” I responded my grabbing my coat in my arms. We fled that theater and took refuge in a nearby hotel lobby while we waited for our ride. We were both very grateful that the other wanted to leave. I think my favorite part of the date was when Ted was pulled over for speeding and the office asked where we went for dinner. Apparently Mongolian barbecue leaves a strong linger smell.