Update: We solidly beat the 1st place undefeated team (well...not undefeated anymore). Can I get an AWWWW YEEEAH??

(I played badly, or not at all...but it doesn't matter. It's a team sport.)

Also, I don't know what the heck I ate today, but I'm SUPER WIRED tonight. BLARGETY BLARG!! ::throws oven mitt at the ceiling::

I'm really happy, guys. I like it here. A lot. Life is good.

Oh man, so hot today, high of 103. Hopefully this is the last real hot day. Highs in the 90's for the next 10 days. Yessssssss.....

We play the current #1 team tomorrow. I'm excited!

As I was driving home from pickup tonight, it occurred to me that I will probably be playing pickup with these same people for two years at least. It's really nice to finally know that I won't have to leave soon.

I wonder when (if ever) I will be able to say that I feel like Arizona is my permanent home. When does the point come when I belong here, fit in better here, more than Florida? Will I ever go back Florida only to visit my friends and family, not to go "back home?"

I guess it depends on what happens while I'm here, huh? The relationships I forge, the jobs that I acquire, the groups that I belong to...I never felt like Tallahassee was my home, but this is different in so many ways...

-------------------------------------------

Also, this is a little embarrassing, but too funny to not post. This is a series of IM's I sent when I got home from the after-ultimate get-together on Friday night, obviously to someone who was not online:

Ashley: hey dumn dumb
Ashley: are you up right now
Ashley: cause I AM @!!!!!
Ashley: yaaaaayayayyayayayayaya
Ashley: wowowowowowowoww
Ashley: woooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!
Ashley: yeUh
Ashley: so awakw
Ashley: I ahd too much
Ashley: toootototto
Ashley: drink
Ashley: euoowowow
Ashley: I got a ride home
Ashley: yeah

I am so awesome.

Dear Ashley of the Future,
Stop being lazy. I know these weeks are long and strenuous, but that doesn't give you permission to do absolutely nothing all Saturday. It's 4:35 and you have accomplished very little today. Get off of your butt and go practice lady!! Seriously!!

All my love,
Ashley of the Past

I had a dream last night that I played Oregon Trail, so when I woke up I wanted to play it for real. I found an emulator online and downloaded it, and after playing it once I made it to #6 of the top ten list. See for yourself:

http://www.virtualapple.org/oregontraildisk.html

Fail no. 4 Green Card just can't catch a break but I had aGREAT tIME. Might go to sectionals tomorrow if I sleep soon. Bye YALL.

Firefox does recognize the word "derp." Fail.

The seasons are coming! The seasons are coming!

And tomorrow...Bob Marley Friday, studio, Green Card/Four Peaks, and the dawning of another weekend. Yeehaw! Life is good.

Kanye walks up to the stage at Patrick Swayze's funeral:

"You know, I'm really sad for you all, I'm gonna let you guys finish...but I just wanted to say that Michael Jackson had one of the best celebrity death of ALL TIME. OF ALL TIME."

(This post is brought to you by The Ability to Not Have Comments Boxes on Blogs. [insert advertisement].)

topical..

I am really happy right now. Things are looking up. I'm making friends, meeting people. The music is wonderful. The ultimate is awesome. Beautiful Tempe still amazes me. My teacher...I just can't say enough good about her. I love everyone in the studio (it makes me realize how unfriendly a studio FSU actually was--it really only takes one person--but that discussion is for another day).

In short, I'm integrating with the area. And it's really nice. It took a little time, but I'm finding my place.

AND HOW ABOUT THEM YANKS--FIRST TEAM TO SECURE A PLAYOFF SLOT!!!!!!! WOOOOO THEY'RE TAKING IT ALL THIS YEAR!!!!

The rest of the post is going to be about ultimate, so if you don't care about that, then stop reading. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Tonight's game was AWESOME!! I love Tuesday League. My team finally decided on a name. Our color is silver, so our team name is Cheaper Than Gold. What's better is that we played the gold team tonight. We started out badly and had a 5 or 6-point deficit going into halftime. But we made a comeback and caused an 11-11 universe point situation which we fought very hard for...and lost. Still, though, it was a great game. I scored 3 points out of our 11, and one was a sweet layout grab that even I didn't think I could get. Holy moley, Batman. What a totally rad sport ultimate is.

It was really windy today, so both teams played zone defense. I discovered that I'm really good at playing wing. I have A LOT of experience in that position because that's all that the guys in Tally would let me play (it's true). Also my back is back (pun intended) and healthy once again. Yay!

We'll see how Friday league goes this week. I had a bad experience the first game for several reasons, and I didn't play last week because of my back.

If I can play as well at Friday league as I do on Tuesday, I'll be happy--but I don't know if that's possible. Friday league is WAY more competitive than Tuesday. Everyone runs harder, throws better, cuts smarter...I feel left behind, in a way, almost like I don't belong. Maybe I don't. Like I said, we'll see how this week goes.

These are long days. I'm exhausted.

So, I went on a date with a professional chess player today. I asked him what his favorite chess piece was. He didn't have a favorite.

(True story)

Carrie Fisher (aka Princess Leia) is 5'1"
Eva Longoria is 5'2"
Jennifer Love Hewett is 5'2"
Reese Witherspoon is 5'1"

Just sayin'.

Round one begins
ding ding!

The winds of change--of newness, of life, of vitality--blow my way once again. Oh to once more experience the freshness of wonder--but this time with the warmth of the Arizona night against my face. Truly a blessing, truly a blessing.

I've been thinking a lot about the phrase "all's fair in love and war." What does that mean?

I don't know anything about war, but I imagine that all is fair in war. I mean, when it becomes okay to kill people, then I'd pretty much assume that all rules can be forfeited. Still though, there is a notion of bravery, and if you save yourself rather than risking to save someone else too, you might be blamed for that. I don't know. Like I said, I don't know anything about war.

I do, however, know a bit about love. And this phrase confounds me. All is fair in love. Is it?

I have trouble putting together a set of rules to live by when it comes to love. I like to follow rules; I like knowing that I'm doing the right thing. But there ARE no rules in love. Maybe that's part of the reason why relationships always seem to treacherous--there are no guidelines to live by. The Bible offers minimal help--there's nothing about dating in there! And so we say that all is fair--that's it's okay to break hearts (which I have had to do more than I care to tell), that it's okay to cheat--it's okay, I'm in love! That makes everything better.

Maybe it's the fact that in romantic situations, it's accepted behavior to be selfish. I don't like you, therefore I want you out of my life. In what other life situation is that an okay thing to say? Not within friendships, not within family, not within colleagues.

Or how about the fact that it's okay to break someone's heart, the most fragile part of our being. Sometimes I think about what would happen if our physical well-being mirrored our emotional well-being. What would happen if every time we hurt each other, it would manifest in our body? We beat each other mercilessly (myself included), and we are all walking wounded. We would come close to killing each other at times. And this is OKAY to society. Of course, our emotions heal just as our body heals. Still, there is not much we can do to prevent this from happening. We can't control our own emotions, and we can't control others' emotions. And these situations arise, and we sometimes had to choose between the lesser of two evils (I hate it). Maybe that's what the saying means, that all is fair because sometimes there is no way to be fair.

I don't really know what I'm trying to say here. Just offering some thoughts on a phrase I have been thinking about.

Cause snuggies are the roof and the objective is to raise them

An interesting tidbit: my vocabulary actually expands when I drink. I start using words I didn't know that I knew. (Real words, not ones that I make up, though that sounds like something I would do as well.)

Happy weekend everybody!!

I survived my first concert! It takes a while to get settled in when you move 2,000 miles away and don't know anybody--I know that now. But things are looking up. I can do this. I can be happy here...(I think).

Also, I hate my hair right now. It's taking SO LONG to grow it out for locks of love (I've been growing it out for close to two years), and right now it just doesn't look good. It's long enough to get cut right now, but shearing 10 inches off would put it chin-length. I'm just not brave enough to do that, so I guess I'll just have to hate my hair for another few months till it's long enough to cut and still retain my style. Eh. It'll be worth it. I hope.

So I had a friend at FSU who had this theory about time. I don't remember if I've written about this before, I don't think I have. Anyway, he called his theory the "Gas Law."

The properties of gas cause it to fill up the entire space that it is given. It is the same with a task we must accomplish (like practicing a certain amount in the day, or doing a research paper). We take up all the time that we have to finish it. Just like gas fills up all available space, tasks use all available time.

This is why we end up in the practice rooms at 11:00 at night, or why we stay up until 2 AM to finish that homework. It's the Gas Law.

I have my own addendum to this law. I would like to suggest that the less time we have, the more we will get done. Personally, I somehow get more practicing done on the days when I have the most class, probably because I know that I have to practice in my free time or else I won't be able to practice at all. Having more to do actually somehow expands the time in my day, and having less to do makes me lazy and not want to do those few things, contracting my time. Therefore, to remain in a state of optimal production, I must always be in a mild state of panic about how much I have to do. It's essential.

It was ever my friend's mission to fight the gas law, to finish things before the last minute. But I think sometimes you can't fight it, you just have to go with the fact that things are not going to get done ahead of time. And that's okay, because we're college students, and that's the way life is supposed to be.

It's starting to get a little cooler here. It's still hot out, but not blazing hot. I appreciate that. You gotta appreciate the little things.

My teacher is so stinkin' smart. She amazes me every day. I literally cannot think of a way she could be a better teacher. (I'll probably think of something soon enough.)

Probably won't be able to play at league tomorrow because my back still hurts. Dang!

Today in theory there was an EPIC THEORY BATTLE. It was awesomely unnecessary and therefore hilarious.

I had to play savage on Friday, and it really messed up my back. It hurts so much right now. Please help me, and pray that it returns to normal. I'm a little scared.

If I was ever on survivor, my luxury item would either be a Bible, a set of earplugs (or multiple sets, if they would allow that), or a frisbee. It would be a tough decision.

I did NOT have a good time at Friday league.

C: How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?
A: I would be...16 years old on the outside, 20 on the inside. But my back would make up for it because it's 65.

First Friday league game today! Green Card go!

Time to practice! I like this whole new teacher thing.

Enchanted:

Morgan: "Remember when you go out not to put too much makeup on, otherwise the boys will get the wrong idea and you know how THEY are..."

[Giselle's wide-eyed look]

Morgan Philip: "They're only after one thing."
Giselle: "What's that?"
Morgan Philip: "I don't know. Nobody will tell me."

So I discovered recently that my ducky soap dispenser quacks. It's supposed to quack when you use it, but I think it's broken, because now it quacks when I'm not anywhere near the bathroom. It quacks whenever it wants to--it's got a mind of its own--it's ALIVE!!

So here's my explanation of the day.

This post is made for all guys out there who play ultimate, especially those of you who are (or think you are) superstars.

You guys have it all wrong. You think that making a d-block on a girl, or making a good play when a girl is covering you, is a "jerk thing to do." This type of thinking isn't limited to any specific place: I've heard and seen it in Titusville, Tallahassee, and Arizona alike, all three places I have played.

Now don't get me wrong; I don't want to get hurt. If you're taking it easy on a play because you think that you will hurt me, then by all means, take it easy. You are probably a lot heavier and stronger than me, and if we collide, I will in all probability be the one who is injured worse.

HOWEVER, if you are taking it easy on me (or any girl, for that matter) because you simply "don't want to be a jerk," then I have a problem with that. This means that you think that you have some kind of inherent advantage; this means that you think that girls somehow "need help" from the opposition to be able to make plays. This is disrespecting womankind's athletic ability. And let me tell you, I've seen some AWESOME woman ultimate players out there. Just yesterday at the game, one of my female teammates made a catch over the head of her male defender.

I have asked guys about this before, and a lot of them respond that in casual pickup games, they take it easy on girls AND inexperienced guys. They do this because they want these people to have fun and keep coming out to play. This is my response:

Less than 6 months ago, I was one of the extremely inexperienced ones. I often had guys let me make catches or refrain from making defensive blocks. And you know what? It didn't make me like the sport more; in fact, it made me MAD. I felt disrespected. Maybe I couldn't have made the play, but so what? Sport is based around the fact that some people are better than other people.

I hated feeling like nobody thought I was a good player. Having people take it easy on me didn't increase my confidence, it lowered it. And I only gained confidence back when I actually did get better, when guys saw that and started to play like I was actually one of them. Now when I make a d-block, it means something. When I run down the field to catch a huck pass, I know that I outran somebody. And it makes you feel GOOD.

In regards to you all thinking that I need help because I'm short and small...
I realize that I am not quite built for sport, but you know what? I've got certain other skills: I'm fast and smart. Believe it or not, I am actually faster than a good number of guys that I've played with, and I'm certainly smarter than a lot of them. And these skills mean more than being height. In fact, they mean so much more that there were several girls who played on the co-ed teams at NATIONALS last year who were my height, 5'1"...or shorter!

Think of it this way: you wouldn't automatically take it easy on a 5-foot-tall guy, so why would you take it easy on me? WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

(P.S. While I don't want you to take it easy, I neither want you to TAUNT me. This is not a nice thing to do to anybody in any context. Please do not taunt.)

First league game today! We lost a very close game--that we were WINNING until the end, grr--and it was a really great time. I think the team played splendidly for the first game, we all put in a really good effort and learned a lot too.

I played well, made one out of the seven points that my team scored (super long points, the final score was 7-9) and made some really good D-blocks. I finally deel like an intergral part of the team. That's all I really want, you know--to feel like I'm doing something.

My team is cool, they all seem pretty chill. I can't compare it to Fhloston--I don't think any team I play on will be quite that crazy. Oh man, the memories, those were good times. Anyway, I think it's harder to get to know people in this league just because it's so large. 16 teams, can you believe it??

That post is still coming, I haven't forgotten.

I can't explain why, but the talking muffin joke really annoys me.

Also, note to self: write the post that's been a long time coming--why ultimate players shouldn't take it easy on the girls.

Finally used some of my iTunes dollars on some rad tracks from an indie pop compilation CD, Dark Was the Night. I haven't heard of basically any of these artists, but really good stuff, it makes me happy.

STUDIO POOL PARTAY!!! WOOOO!

Strange face, with your eyes
So pale and sincere
Underneath, you know well
You have nothing to fear
For the dreams that came to you
when you were young
Told of a life where spring has sprung

You would seem so frail
In the cold of the night
When the armies of emotion
Go out to fight
But while the earth
Sinks to its grave
You sail to the sky
On the crest of a wave

So forget this cruel world
Where I belong
Ill just sit and wait
And sing my song
And if one day
you should see me in the crowd
Lend a hand and lift me
To your place in the cloud

Beautiful words, beautiful music.

I'm not going to write a post about how I have no friends.

It's been raining all day. COME ON ARIZONA I DIDN'T COME HERE JUST TO HAVE A LESSER FLORIDA.

I got stranded at school today. I was practicing at night and when I finished, there was a monsoon outside and I couldn't ride my bike home. I kid you not. There were a good number of us music kids, The Stranded Club, just sitting outside under the overhang, waiting for it to stop monsoon-ing.

It's only rained four times since I've been here. All have been at night, and all have been really windy, intense thunderstorms. I'll tell ya, it doesn't rain much here, but when it does, man, it really means business.

You never know what life is going to bring.

I came to ASU thinking that when I got here, I would start my own studio. Get a lot of teaching experience and make money at the same time.

WELL, a couple days ago, I got an email from a lady who taught at a music store here (conveniently called "The Music Store"), who was leaving her job to go to nursing school and needed a permanent replacement. She said that Dr. Buck had recommended a few masters students, and that the owner of the store would be interviewing us to see who fit best for the store.

Well, I went in for my interview today. It's a pretty cool place; it's a large music store with like 11 practice rooms for teaching studios. I interviewed, talked about my education and teaching experience, tried to be positive, and played a little bit for the owner and the teacher who was leaving. (I think they really liked my playing.)

As it turns out, after it was all said and done, the owner says "I like you. Would you like to teach here?" I was in disbelief. I'm sure they must have interviewed flutists with more teaching experience than me. But I got the job, right on the spot. I feel truly blessed, and very excited to start this new venture in life.

So effective Oct. 1, I'm the flute teacher at "The Music Store!" If anyone in the Tempe/Phoenix/Mesa area is looking for flute lessons, I'm your girl! I'll have about 5 or so students to begin with, but if I can recruit more, the store will provide space for me as much as I want, as much as my schedule can handle!

In addition, my roommate's cousin was able to turn my hard drive into an external hard drive, so we saved all of my documents, pictures, and music. I didn't get anything done today, but man...what a good day. When it rains it pours, but when it's a perfect sunny room temperature...man, it's a beautiful day.

(Edit: yeah go green team! AND grey team!)

It's too late for this. I don't want to do homework anymore. I'm going to explode or pass out...or both at once!

Wellp, my hard drive crashed tonight. I can't say I didn't see it coming. Yeah, I've been saying that my computer is on its way out for ages now. And you know what? I didn't do anything about it. My roommate's hard drive crashed about two weeks ago, and it still didn't spurn me into action to back up any files. So if everything is lost, then, well, I probably deserve it. But I really hope everything isn't lost...

I went to Best Buy immediately and bought a new computer. It's a Dell. It's very large. I just can't be a college student at the beginning of classes and not have a computer. It's just too essential. Course, this doesn't have Microsoft Office in it...lame.

Anywho, that's my story for the day. Bad luck is contagious, kids. Stay away from me.

(Oh, and BTW: my first order of business, even before I registered the computer, was to download Firefox. Even on a brand new system, Internet Explorer just plain sucks!!)