Virginia is NOT for lovers.

You know, I always have known that Virginia is not my favorite state. It hasn't been until the recent weeks though, that I've been able to pinpoint what exactly I hate about this state. Before I go into a laundry list of such things, perhaps I should add a disclaimer here that yes, I still am living in this state and will be for quite a while. Thus, people tell me that I need to get over these items but really, why must they make it so darn hard!?

Top Ten Items why Ashley hates Virginia: (in no particular order, just what comes to mind first)

1. DMV. Those three letters give me hives. I have been through the ringer attempting to title and register my car in VA. Not only do I now have to put up with safety inspections but they expect us to get emission inspections for the Northern VA area as well. And of course my car has a crack in the windshield which means that I also have to schedule a replacement repair. Which leads me to freak out because I do not know or trust any repair shops in that area. Whew, glad to get that off of my chest.

The difficult thing about moving around when you are younger such as myself is that you change locations almost once a year. To think that I've graduated into the real world only to still have to pack up and move to a different apartment every year makes me shake my head in disgust. Yes, I have a roommate for the current year but what if she doesn't want to live in the same apartment with me next year? That means I have to memorize and change my address in all of my things yet once again. Gross.

2. Allergies. I actually blame my mother for this one. And God. When he was creating our bodies, do you think he took the time to contemplate whether or not we should discover our many allergies before we turn 24 and our bodies are adjusted mainly? Nope, nada. I mean I'm sure he thought about it and then chuckled thinking about how angry people such as myself would get when they discovered that they are really allergic to everything under the sun at the age of 23. Gee thanks. At least in my opinion, God has quite the sense of sarcastic humor, thus, this all makes sense. If you don't agree, just feel bad for my eyes/nose/throat/sinuses/pretty much everything above my neckline. And these allergies don't stop after two weeks of breakout. I thought I was done fighting them, but no, I'm discovering that when the seasons change, I have 20 new things to sneeze about. Hooray.

3. The hills. Most people who live in flatlands read this and think to themselves, "this girl's gone off her rocker." But hear me out. Hills are the devil when you are attempting to bike or walk up one. A simple procedure such as parking your car can even become quite the dilemma as many cars are not made with the acceleration and stamina to last a mini mountain. Thus, hills are not to be trusted, especially with the AC on.

4. Speaking of AC, let me tell you why the air here is awful. Humidity. Need I say anymore? Those of you who have visited or lived in Virginia are reading this and thinking, "Preach it sista, Amen!" Those of you who haven't, well, you think you have it bad with your 115 degree weather. While I am not trying to imply that you have nothing to complain about, I'm just asking you to walk in my sweaty shoes for 10 minutes and see what this whole humidity factor is. Your hair sure won't thank you but your skin might!

5. Okay okay, I really can't think of other items to complain about. I have a house, money, job, friends, and a closet of shoes that any girl would be proud of. God loves me, caramel popcorn is sitting on my desk, and all of my laundry is clean. Yet some days just make me want to scream in frustration. Combine that frustration with the fact that we are currently in week five of Becker Review and on my most dreaded topic of taxation and it will quickly become obvious why this post was needed.

I do want to add a quick shout out to Pam, who told me last night on Facebook that she is starting her accounting grad program this fall. Many bunches of good luck to you this upcoming year. As much as I may complain, it has been one of the most enjoyed years I have experienced! For those of you who read this and are considering going back to school, no matter what age you may be, I recommend it highly.

As promised with my last post, I am including my current Netflix watch: this week I am still watching Wings but a few other movies caught my eye. Daddy Long Legs and The Pajama Game went into my queue as I was craving some classic movies with Audrey Hepburn. Thus, my instant queue looks like something straight out of the 50s.

Bon Voyage for the day!

Ash

Life is funny that way

Brittany informed me tonight that my page has led to 16 people looking at her page. Which led me to continue investigating where my viewers were coming from. And Sondra, you lead the pack :) Congrats. Although, I will say that there was an interesting thing I came across, a majority of my views come from Alaska...am I missing something here?

In other words, I've started to include a new part of my blog that entails what my current Netflix playlist includes. Not that any of you care, but its my blog, I'll do whatever I like! Thus, this week it has been Wings, a popular sitcom from the 90s that ran for 8 hilarious seasons. I am currently on season 5 and love it. It's Cheers set in an airport setting. Highly suggest it.

As for my weekend plans, I'm heading to Pennsylvania tomorrow! When I get there, I'm heading to the beach with Trish and Wendy for a weekend at the beachhouse!!! How lucky am I? I know, all of you reading this that are located in Kansas, be jealous that I live close enough for a weekend jaunt. Perhaps I'll have to do the rare thing and post some of the photos that I plan on taking of the sunsets.

Today was a landmark in my Becker course as well! It was the last day of Auditing which is the second section that I've completed. Regulation is next though, and taxes are the devil in disguise. Therefore, I plan on it being a flop. Don't you love my own self confidence?

I have my new address and will be sending it out to all. If you do not normally receive my emails and wish to have my new address, shoot me an email and I'll hook you up.

The grown up duties have been fulfilled in my life this week as I have proceeded to replace the air compressor in my car, get new auto insurance, renter's insurance for my new apartment, bundle up around 16 more boxes full of my room's belongings, and actually fixed my own dinners. It's been an amazing experience, haha. Suggestions on how to further my career in being a grown up are now being accepted. Although, be prepared for a slight case of sarcasm to come your way.

Bright Lights, Bigger City

Ahh and the sound of another weekend winding up comes sweeping into my ears. While this weekend was funfilled with activities such as going to a Rihanna concert in Baltimore, MD or spending the first weekend with my new roommates, it was an adventure. Yes, you all heard me correctly, I have new roommates for the month of June. Two brothers, and they haven't murdered me yet in my sleep so for all of you people out there that were alarmed for me to be living with random people, it has worked out yet nicely.

Kat, Dougie (Kat's boyfriend), Maria, and I all drove up to Baltimore yesterday afternoon to catch a concert that included Rihanna and Cee Lo Green. For those of you that watch The Voice, seeing him live was quite the different experience! I had bought her the tickets for her birthday and so two months later, I'm glad we finally got to celebrate!!

This weekend also marks the continuing end to my existence in this city. I only have a couple more times of living here before the move to the large city. Thus, I have made a bucket list of things to do before I end this journey. I will admit, most of the items include food of some sort as I have my favorites in this town.

I also scheduled a visit to Florida this week. I shall be in the sunny state July 2-9th to spend some quality time doing nothing but lounging and being a bum after racking my brain out these past six weeks. The concept of not thinking for a week is slightly foreign in my vocabulary but I think I'll find room to fit it in. :)

For those of you who enjoy cooking, my mother sent me this recipe in the mail this past week and I can't wait to make it. Does Hamburger-Bean casserole sound familiar to anyone? Ground beef, onion, garlic, mustard, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and baked beans all in a skillet. Dump on a piece of bread and it's the second best thing that Mennonites ever discovered, besides Verenika that is. When looking over the copy of the recipe though, I discovered that they spelled ketchup, catsup? Interesting little tidbit for you all :)

Loves.

Happy Memorial Day!

Today has been amazing. For one, I am coming to the end of a three day weekend, which has led me to catch up on my desperately needed sleep. Secondly, Kline's Dairy Bar (which means nothing to most of you reading this) has cake batter as their flavor for the week. Yummmmy. Kat, Dougie, and Joseph (a few friends left in town) came over last night. It was a night of homemade pizza and brownies with a few card games thrown in. I attempted to go to the pool today but they were closed. I understand that it is a Governmental issued holiday so that a publicly run pool would probably be closed but come on....it was 97 degrees today!!

Which leads me to this, yes, it was 97 degrees. There are no words to describe how that hot, mixed with some humidity makes a person feel. I just took my second shower of the day. Its been slightly depressing to realize that is my life for the next couple of months.

My new roommates are moving in right now and therefore it was a great time to sit in my room and write a post to all of you so that I am out of their way. It will be nice to have roommates that are around constantly again as the last month has been hit and miss with George and I being here at the same time.

I know that it would be nice to be at a cookout yet as I do not own a grill, this is not possible. Something to look into once my move happens June 25th. :) Speaking of moving, today I spent the whole day cleaning up the kitchen and moving all of my stuff to a corner. Thankfully after moving four times, one learns the best way to handle different items. Thus, moving slowly over this month will hopefully make the process not seem as bad as it has been in the past.

With this being said, I suppose I am going to try to round up some food! I think people are coming over later so I should get my act together! Happy camping out to you all!

Survival of the brains

I did it. I survived my first full week of the CPA boot camp. Let me take a consideration of my body parts:

Mental capacity: full. probably not the best due to me still having five weeks left.

Eyes: hurt. too much computer staring.

Ears: full of knowledge that I'm going to forget in a couple of months.

So to sum it up: I'm at maximum learning ability. I wake up at 7, am at class by 9 and finish my homework around 8 most evenings. I have such an exciting life here. :)

On other pieces of news, ya, there's not too much to state. I do have off this Monday however due to the holiday. A three day weekend, I don't even know what to do with myself!!

Anyway, this is short and sweet. Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm alive and kicking.

Ash

First Wednesday...

Today was my first day off in the review class and was I ever busy. Well, according to my standards I set for myself on my day off, I think I got a lot accomplished. I started packing things up as the other boys taking over my lease are beginning to move their things into the apartment. Thus, there are boxes and bags laying all over my room. Its amazing what organized chaos looks like. I downloaded several new CDs as Lady Gaga dropped her new album. While many of you reading this dislike her, her new album is pure genius.

At one point today I sat in the middle of my room and looked around at all of my possessions. It is out of control how many things I possess at this young age. Yet when looking to get rid of items, I couldn't pick out but a couple of things to part with. Is it attachment? No, I just have this ability to use items once a year. Thus, when you apply the rule, get rid of something if you haven't used it in a year, its very hard for me to get rid of anything. :)

I went to a movie with Mallory this afternoon, Bridesmaids, which I strongly suggest to anyone with a strong stomach. VERY FUNNY, but disturbing in many places. When they compare it to the female version of The Hangover, they weren't kidding. Definitely an excellent choice to start my summer of movies off. After using our expired college IDs for one last night at IHOP's college 1/2 off, we left feeling unmotivated to go do any of our homework. The strange thing about this homework is that I'm not doing it for a class. The only thing motivating me is passing the CPA exam and that is still too far off for me to care. Thus, motivation needs to be worked on. haha.

While it's rare for me to post two times in one week on this blog, I feel like I should use this extra in my life to fill everyone in on what's been going on. I know that while I'm not that interesting, I had a friend in Kansas tell me that I live a glamorous life compared to many people. Therefore, here you go, the tellings of my so called life. While I'm not complaining by any means, the simple difference between my life and many friends in Kansas is simply the fact that I got away. I moved into the big bad East Coast and developed a brand new life for myself. Someone asked me the other day if I ever saw myself moving back home to Kansas. After pondering this point, yes, I can see it. But not for quite a while. Thus family in Kansas who are reading this, no fears :)

Anyway, tis late.

Name Change. Game Change.

As I logged in to write an update, I realized that I need to change the name of my blog due to not being in grad school anymore. Thus, I am taking suggestions from any of you people who read this. You are the only ones who really care about my life anyway :)

I did graduate and now have my Masters. It was a pleasant feeling but because I did not walk across that stage, it almost doesn't feel real. I am, however, in day 2 of the Becker review course and it is as expected, awful. I went to class for 4 hours yesterday (as I will everyday) and did about 5 hours of homework (which hopefully won't be quite as long everyday). The amount of information that I am attempting to stuff inside my head is incredible. Only to have to recall random bits of information from each section for one exam question. These next two months truly will stretch my mental capability, that much is true.

While I was home in Kansas, I did get to see many of you. Before I continue with that thought process however, I must insert here that I had to backspace on that earlier sentence and insert "in Kansas" in it due to many people thinking that Florida is now "home" for me. Be rest assured, Kansas is and will always be home to me. Anyway, I did get to make the rounds with my brother and saw tons of family members and friends. I also got to go to WSU's graduation and watch Brittany walk the stage which was very exciting! Congrats Brit!

I would type more but the next four hours of homework are calling my name. I can't wait to get them done though because we do not have class on Wednesdays. Therefore, tonight will be a celebration!!

Once again, life changes constantly. It is up to us to adjust and have faith that things will work out in the long run.