Why So Serious?

Tonight is the last night Phillip and I have together for nearly three weeks. I am really getting sad about this. Normally I am not an emotional person, but when it comes to Phillip, I’m the sappiest of all. I can’t help it. I mean, even writing this right now makes me almost break down.

So tonight’s it before the harsh reality of how terrible this summer is going to be sinks in. The last night with him before he leaves tomorrow. And what is he doing right now as I write this entry? Sleeping soundly. That’s right, he decided he was tired early and needed to get some shut eye. I suppose it’s fair.

Then why am I so upset? I guess I’m the more emotional one out of the two of us, but still. Would it hurt to shed a tiny tear? I’m really going to miss him and I know he’ll miss me too. But it’s hard to keep reminding myself when I’m a wash rag of emotions and he’s sleeping away.

Tomorrow I’m getting up early to go to class and won’t even really get to say goodbye. Tonight was it.

Goodbye Phillip. See you in three weeks. :(

Wanted: Married Couples

Yes, as the title implies, I am in search for married (or almost married) friends to hang out with. I realized today that Phillip and I are about to enter into a new world in which we need people to hang out with that have that huge step in life in common with us. The only couple we know (and truly love) are moving within a month. So the search is on!

We still have great friends that we love and love to hang out with, but it would be nice to have a large thing in common with someone. So please, inquire within about the job. We love double dates, good advice, and watching TV. Thanks!

My New Job

I started my new job this week. I am a student worker at Texas A&M’s Student Health Center in the Health Education department. Sounds pretty spiffy, doesn’t it? My department creates and distributes health information in various printed formats, provides anonymous HIV and STI testing, and give presentations to organizations, dorms, and classes on campus. I help with all of that and also perform basic office duties like answering the phones and making copies.

So this week, so far I have printed and folded tons of brochures to refill the brochure racks throughout the building. I am also now well-versed in the Health Center’s policies. I got to compile a list of potential donors for door prizes for a healthy campaign we’re starting up soon. I spent today getting rid of our outdated brochures, updated the computer brochure files, and organized the master brochure binder. Can you tell we do a lot of work with brochures? We probably have fifty different brochures and all of them have to be in-stock in the closet and all five brochure racks throughout the facility. Tomorrow I get to help another student worker distribute our health newsletter across campus in dorms and popular common areas.

Oh, yesterday I also got to sit in on a presentation my boss gave. She is pretty awesome at it and I hope one day, if I end up being a health educator, I’m that good.

I pretty much love my job so far and could really see myself doing this one day. So there’s the update. :)

Another Great Engagement Party

I feel so loved. Last night was great and I loved the turnout. It’s always nice to see how many people love you and how many are willing to take a night out just for you. It was a great success and it concludes the engagement parties. That’s right, I’m done with them. It’s bittersweet. Now I feel like we’re officially in wedding mode and moving forward.

Nonetheless, last night was a blast and I thank all of you that could come out. I can’t wait to see all of you at the wedding!! :D

Engagement Fiesta Tonight!!

I am so excited to have a great group of friends together for engagement party #2. I love them so much and can’t wait to spend time with them. It’s going to be awesome! Pictures coming tomorrow. I must start getting ready now so I don’t have to rush through a shower and/or getting ready. Ole!

“You still have plenty of time.”

That phrase is one I’m beginning to loathe.

Tonight I sat down with some colorful papers to look at color combinations for tables at the wedding reception. I really like combining royal blue and damask with a slight accent of lime green. It sounds odd, but that’s what my family thought before I wowed them with the final product of my ideas.

But anyway, I’m sitting there looking at different combinations and I can’t decide between two. So what is the response to my confusion? “You still have plenty of time.”

I am so tired of everyone saying that. When will I not have plenty of time? When can I finally make wedding decisions without judgment? I’ve been waiting anxiously to get within a year of the wedding. I’m finally here and decide to start finalizing a couple of things and still get comments. So do I wait until the wedding is nine months away? or six? When?

With having a long engagement, it’s difficult to figure out what you can plan and when you can plan it. I’m constantly scouring the internet looking for timelines that allow me to do something besides “envisioning the big day” or “hashing out a rough budget”. Been there, done that. Now what? I wait idly for the public to decide it’s time for me to think about it again? This gets to be exhausting.

I want to do what any girl wants to do the second she gets engaged – plan. I have ideas bursting out of my brain and want to get them set in stone.

Stop telling me I have plenty of time. Let me do what I want to do. :(

Love Him (still)

As if you need me to mention yet again how much I love him, I’ll rephrase that point – I still love him so much. When I’m back here at home, I remember why it is I can’t wait to get back here. This is my longest period back home until graduation in December and I fully plan on relaxing it and making it last as long as possible.

In other news, I may have found a wedding band I like – well, at least the style I like. I know, I know, you’re probably thinking “Ashley, you still have a year, stop getting ahead of yourself,” but I can’t help it. They’re shiny and pretty and there’s a jewelry store every 50 feet in the mall. I tried on a few last weekend and hated just about every one. Well, I wouldn’t say HATE, but they simply did not stand out enough to want to wear for the rest of my life.

But then today, I found one I really liked – might even love. It’s a double-banded guard that fits with my ring perfectly. It even has a section surrounding where the side diamond on my engagement ring fits quite nicely. And it’s symmetrical, which is the best part. That’s why I wasn’t liking any of the ones from last weekend – they made the ring look lopsided. Not this one. It’s perfect.

Now the plan is to watch the price over the next year (hopefully it will come down since it is a little price) and look into other options at different places. I’ll definitely keep you posted, as usual.

Summer :D

That’s right ladies and gentlemen (or should I say lady and gentleman since I’m convinced on two people actually read this), I am done with my junior year. WHOOP!!! I’m now a senior and ready to get out of here!

I’m all packed up and almost ready to go this morning. I’m headed to my love in Arlington for about a week and half (with Bedford thrown in there of course). It’s a tiny summer break, but I’ll take what I can get at this point.

Last night it hit me that this is my last summer as an undergraduate and I only have one full semester left here. Weird feeling. It’s being stuck between two worlds and two desires. I want so badly to stay here forever, but can’t get back home soon enough. It’s really hard to explain fully, but it has me super nervous and extremely excited at the same time. If only College Station were easier to leave...

But for now, I’m only leaving for a much needed break. Peace out College Station.

Almost There

I have all of my classes behind me except for my Anatomy final. The final is also my hardest. For about the next twenty four hours, I will be studying my heart out to make the best grade possible. I would like to make my desired grade for the course without the curve, so I need to do well. Therefore, I’ll be keeping my head in the book and notes until the exam at one tomorrow afternoon. It’s the only class standing between me and three weeks of freedom.

Staying an Extra Night

Yep. I caved in. I’m staying tonight in Arlington and heading back tomorrow instead of this afternoon. I have a paper due tomorrow via email and that’s why I was going to be back tonight, but Phillip has assured me he will make me finish it tonight so I can stay. Then tomorrow I’ll be studying math from when I get back to College Station until my exam Tuesday at 8:00. It’ll then be nap time and then I will literally be studying until my cumulative Anatomy exam at 1:00 on Wednesday. Then it’s freedom until June 1st!!! Yay!

Getting Ready to Leave

It’s been a pretty long week and I cannot wait to be back in his arms again. It know it’s only been a week and a half since I’ve seen him last, but I’m so ready. I’m about to take a shower pack, and be on my merry little way. Hopefully the radio will make it an enjoyable ride. Pray for light traffic in Waco too.

The plan for this weekend is simple: there is no plan. I’m going to relax with my love, hopefully work on my paper/studying, and see my family. Sounds like a great weekend, no? Then I’ll be home for a lengthier stay starting next Thursday. I love going home. :)

Reality Check

So as usual, the second everything falls into place, a little bit of unraveling occurs. I’m not saying this like it’s some novel idea or because I think I’m the only one this happens to, I’m just stating a fact. It’s true, life is like a roller coaster in the sense that you have peaks and troughs. I’ve experienced quite a large peak in the past week. However, over the weekend, I’ve had a slight decline in the height of my roller coaster car. I’m certainly (or at least I hope not) not reaching a trough by any means, but about 80% of things are going well, as opposed to the 100% it was at last week.

Yesterday morning I woke up to take an online practice GRE. Yeah. I wasn’t too happy about it either. I ended up making just below average, which is pretty good for hardly touching the material ever. Hopefully with some studying, I’ll be in tip-top shape for the real deal later this month.

So as I was taking the practice test, I wondered what GRE score requirements UNT’s Health Science Center had. So I clicked in my favorites bar, where the link to the website has resided since January. Then, suddenly I see it. The application deadline for Spring 2011 admissions (the term I’m applying for) has changed. It is no longer September 1st like I originally put in my planner. No. It’s not JUNE 1ST!! As in 29 days from now!! Oh my goodness. I have to now push my GRE test date up two weeks, study like crazy for it, and try to get my hands on three letters of recommendation ASAP. Oh gosh. Stressful.

So then last night, after spending the evening with friends and getting into my pj’s, I decide to get something from the kitchen. I turn on the light and THERE HERE IS RIGHT THERE ON THE COUNTER – a gigantic roach. For those of you who know me, you understand my irrational and anxiety-filled fear of roaches and crickets (almost as bad as my fear of broccoli, although I won’t jump at the sight of the vegetable). I instantly called Phillip, as if he were going to jump in his car right away and drive over to my apartment 3 hours away, and save me. Shocker, he didn’t. So I called my friend Emily who graciously came over (hockey stick in hand) to kill the nasty critter. But alas, but this time, we could no longer find him. I can only hope I literally scared him to death. Needless to say, I had a restless night.

This morning I woke up to meet with my Health Communication project group. I drove to the Kappa Delta sorority house for this. I have never even come close to stepping inside of a greek house, so this was quite the adventure. I tried to hide my tourist-like face as the girl opened the door and led me to one of their many meeting/multi-purpose rooms. Did I mention that the other three girls in my group are Kappa Delta sorority sisters? I was definitely a fish out of water, and spent much of the meeting sitting aside while they talked about last night’s formal and the upcoming social events. It was awkward.

After all of that, I was upset all day because Phillip couldn’t make it down here for a couple of days. Now, him coming down here wasn’t in the plan, but I thought maybe after the rough 24 hours I had, he’d be able to make it. I thought wrong. Turns out, he has a really busy week and can’t be here. So I spent the day bummed out. I still kind of am a little bummed.

Then I had to go to the mall and buy a new pair of jeans. I’m sure most of you don’t think this is a bad thing, but for someone who really can’t afford to shell out money for a new pair of American Eagle jeans (the only ones that truly fit me in all the right places), it’s an added expense. And of course this day had to be the day they were having a buy one get one half of sale. Therefore, I bought two pairs of jeans. They’re super comfortable and super cute, so I guess I don’t have buyer’s remorse and I will wear them to their death like I do every other American Eagle jeans I own. Ah, oh well.

Since I was still bummed around dinner time and was still afraid to enter the roach motel (aka kitchen), I picked up some Panda Express to take back to the apartment and eat in bed. I was just about finished eating when I found a sliver of broccoli in the noodles. See above to grasp the full severity of this situation. At least I was finished.

I’m thinking tonight might look up. I opened my fortune cookie and it told me my good luck would hit a high point soon. That’s good right? And now I’m just waiting for midnight to roll around to register for a class. Then it’s off to bed and then a day of dead classes. Here’s to a better tomorrow!

Ode to the Future

After the craziness of the week ended, I couldn’t help but enjoy the present and look to the future. For some reason, a lot of my friends are pouring in their engagement/wedding/proposal/honeymoon pictures into online outlets and I can’t help but be reminded of the night Phillip proposed and look forward to our big day and honeymoon. It all excites me so much!

Last night Phillip helped a friend and his friend’s wife move into a new apartment. He was texting me about how he couldn’t wait for us to move in together, and I must say that I feel the same way. I can’t wait for us to be able to spend all the time in the world together and enjoy each other’s company all the time. It’s so much fun when we get to spend weekends together in our respective cities so I can only imagine how great spending every day will be.

Since the wedding is just over a year away, I’m starting to think of all of the many things I want to do before Phillip and I tie the not. These activities aren’t necessarily those “oh-my-gosh-I-need-to-live-out-my-singleness-before-being-tied-down” things, they’re just simply some things I need to do. For example, there are some places and events in College Station that are considered native traditions that I still have not seen or done. It’s about time to get a move on since I’ll only be here until December. But there are other things like that too. I want to take a road trip to the Austin and San Antonio area one weekend with Phillip to taste food at all of the little restaurants that have been featured on Food Network.  I want to tube down the river with my girls again and remember it this time.

As this semester comes to a close, I’m reminded that I only have 8 months left in this city that I have called home for so long. Nostalgia is already setting in and I’m realizing that college is about to be a completed chapter in my book of life. College Station will soon be that place I lived in while going to school once upon a time. There are so many memories here and I only have  short while to wrap them up and move on.

I mean, there are definitely bigger and better things to look forward to in life, but I’m feeling a sense of finality as of late. I need to get going. My life is heading in a new direction and it’s almost time for me to pack my bags and leave this town behind. Just writing that makes me feel a little sadness. Change is inevitable and it’s coming sooner than I think. These last 7 months of being engaged has flown by, and I can only imagine how fast the next 13 will zoom past.