Time Crunch

100% Me

Each day is getting us closer and closer to the end of the school year. That's probably the most obvious statement ever, but it's just so crazy that this time last year I was still in high worrying about prom and Mattley. It's that busy time when we're all figuring out our schedules for next year and turning in our final projects, and stressing about our final grades. As per tradition I did something completely unnecessary to end the semester rather than studying my butt off I went to Dodger game to cheer on my favorite boys. Considering the amount of homework I have it probably wasn't the best idea, but baseball booty is always worth it. 

College is the experience of a lifetime and even though it's really hard and I don't have a ton of friends I'm still really excited to be here and learning at a higher level. I'm not going to be taking summer classes so I'm ready for a nice long summer filled with sunshine and happy times. I'm always the worst person to get study advice from but this is sort of my job so let's go!

My gals and I 

1. Keep your energy up. Sleep well, as horrible as it sounds don't stay up all night trying to finish everything at once. Instead calculate your time so you can get enough sleep and have plenty of energy for the following day. You'll find that more successful studying comes from this and you'll have so much more free time for fun things. You'll be happier and healthier too!

2. I do this little thing when I do my homework, basically I'll study for 20 minutes and then spend 20 minutes doing something non educational (like cleaning my room or watching tv), then I'll do another 20 minutes of homework but of a different subject. I find that I get so much more done and I'm more motivated to get things finished. It's a really good way to do housework and school work at once. You'd be really surprised by how much you can get done in 20 minutes.

3. Exercise. This isn't exactly studying but it does help clear your mind and helps you feel less stressed. Running in the evening is my favorite time for stress relief, it makes everything feel so much smaller and not so scary. Then when you get home your homework doesn't seem so hard to face.

4. Go to a baseball game. Like maybe not literally but find a way to relax after a day or weekend of studying. If you remember last semester I went and got a tattoo right before finals. It's nice to just go out and do something silly and freeing right before something like this.

5.Take a practice quiz, see if your teacher has some handy or can give your class practice problems to try out on your own at home. If not then maybe you can make your own based off of your notes and handouts from throughout the semester. Your books can be very resourceful and hey we paid them a lot of money for these things so we might as well use them to our benefit.

I wish I could explain this but I can't

Happy last week of classes before finals week, good luck to everyone and I hope you all do well! Life Update: My life is like my hair, surprisingly organized. I've managed to get my life mostly in order and I'm happier than ever. You can read my last blog post here and until next time!!

XOXO

Ashley

Seeing The World

The princess arriving at her castle

If you've never watched the movie Stuck In Love then you're missing out on everything. This movie is pure genius and I seriously had to stop and reanalyze my life. One of the most important of many good quotes is this one, "A writer is a sum of his experiences. Go get some." Although I don't really see myself as a writer, this quote really hit me. Because looking back at the last year of my life I did a lot. I graduated, started college, got a job, got a blog, made new friends, went to disneyland,  got four tattoos, fell in love, fell out of love, then fell back in, cuddled with my cats, lost weight, reconnected with my dad, and became and aunt again. Those are just a few, but I want to keep the experiences coming. Because even though I'm not a writer I do come back here every week to tell you guys about my life and my shenanigans and that is technically writing. 

I started my weekend focused on the notion of going out and experiencing life and all that is has to offer. I went to go see SBCC's newest play "Dead Man's Cell Phone", I went to golf n stuff with my friends, spent time with my nephew and unfortunately went to work.

Dead Man's Cell Phone

The Stage

This play was amazing and I laughed through the entire thing, it was held in the Jurkowitz Theatre. I don't know if any of you have been down there but it's tiny and not at all what I was expecting. But it was a 6 person cast and the set design was very minimal. We sat in the second row because sitting in the first row would have made us literally be on stage. The main character Jean, played by Jenna Scanlon was hilarious and seriously one of the funniest actresses I have ever seen. I could relate to her so well because she was so awkward and timid. 

Golf N Stuff

Our cool tattoos 

I don't really want to discuss the fact that I lost, and I now hate mini golf because that course was hard and the par was always three and I feel like the par should have been at least four or five on some of them. Golf n Stuff was a spir on the moment last minute decision my friends and I made and it was so much fun. It's nice to get away from work and school and go do something fun and childlike. I killed it at pinball and got a score of 3,450,000 and overall we got 115 tickets. My friend Janin and I both have birthdays in July so we got a ring to share and then we all got cool little stick on tattoos that people kept thinking were real. 

I kind of want to spend every weekend like this because it full of fun and I had so many cool experiences and I hope that with each day I will have something to tell you guys about what I've learned or what I've come to realize. My best advice is to go out into this world and experience everything. You can read my last blog post here and until next time!

Me and Otto this morning when I woke up

XOXO

Ashley

From Rabbits to Spanglish

Melanie and I

My day was rather eventful, I had planned on waking up and going to school early for some studying and going to class. Today was supposed to be average day full of average things. Instead of waking up early to do my usual morning exercise I woke up late but I had an invite to lunch and that seemed like a good sign. 

Since I was up and out early I decided that a day like today can't go wasted so I went to school early to get some work done. If you've ever been in the SBCC Luria Library then you know it's like the best study place in the world. The windows make it bright and open and there are so many seating options to choose from. Today I opted for a comfy chair and a foot rest and I spent a good hour catching up on my Spanish homework. Once I did a good amount of that I went downstairs to grab a few books on earthquakes for my math essay and went outside for some sunshine. 

My friend Valerie texted me when I was checking out of the library, she had just gotten out of class and wanted to hang out. Valerie and I have been friends since kindergarten, so it's really cool that we're going to school together still. Since we both have jobs and busy lives this was a great time to spend together and catch up. Valerie had to go to class and I still had an hour and a half left to myself.

Being a loser in the bathroom

I had planned on reading one of my books and laying out on the hill, but on my way over I ran into one of my fellow bloggers Mark and we started chatting. I forgot where I was going and ended up walking with him all the way to BC Building. Since I was there I thought I would drop in to say hi to one of my blogging bosses Melanie. She's a super cool person and if it wasn't for her and Karen I don't think I would have been so confident and ready for college and all of its twists

and turns. Melanie and I ended up heading over to Garvin Theatre and listening to my Spanish teacher lecture about language and it's distinction. Every year a faculty member is chosen to address something of their general interest of a scholarly subject. It was really cool that it just so happened to be my Spanish teacher and she did a really good job and I learned so many new things. 

He's growing on me

The lecture ended a few minutes before my class started and I made it just in time to spend a good two hours learning about asymptotes and all that cool stuff. Dr. Monika Laskowaski-Cajoulle once said, "Now let's learn how to find these damn zeros", and I have used that to broaden my knowledge of math and at the end of the day it's all about finding the zeros. 

There's no need for a life update because this basically a giant life update. You can read my last blog post here and until next time!

XOXO

Ashley

Cool College

As my first year of college is coming to an end I'm getting sort of sad. I'm no longer a young little shy fry who couldn't look anyone in the eye. I'm now confident and cool (for the most part) and I have a better idea and understanding to adult life and what I have in store for the next few years of my life. I still don't know what I'm going to do and it may be awhile before I figure it out but heres a few things I've figured out in college.

1. In the foyer between the library and the LRC there are the cool little couch chair things where you can chill and do homework. There are these little black annoying circles on them that are sort of a nuisance. If you pull up on those little things they turn out to be outlets where you can charge your phone or your laptop. Fighting for a good spot near an outlet is hard in college so that's the place to be. During finals is especially crazy, kids pile up in the aisles of the library leaning against all the books fighting for those charging stations.

College Outfit: Comfortable shirt, hopefully clean
pants, cool socks and cat shoes

2. You're considered an actual human being with feelings and stuff like that. I can never stress this enough but in high school you are treated like crap. Even if your teachers are in love with you, you get little to no respect overall. The most important thing I've learned in college is that your professors actually look at you like you're a person with feelings and it just makes you have a higher respect for school and learning. Also the bs that professors don't accept late work no matter what happened and all those other myths. If you talk to your teacher they can be more lenient with you if something really does come up.

3. EVERYONE IS NICE. Holding doors open for people is a naturally polite thing to do and I'm telling you at CC nobody will ever let the door close in your face. People are polite to each other and making friends isn't at hard as it seems. Everyone is down for a group study and people are always willing to share their notes or explain how they got their answer if you don't understand. If you're in the library and you need to pee, the person next to you will watch your stuff and probably not steal it. The key to continuation of this politeness at CC is for you to do as people do to you. If you're just as pleasant it will spread and continue for years to come.

4. Making lists makes things a lot easier and if you guys haven't noticed I make a lot of lists.

Life Update:

I had a relapse in my diet but I'm back and eating healthy again, Lilly and I decided that our cheat meals once a week always ended with us doing badly so we cut them out. We found some good workout routines that we like and we're also looking to start insanity. People I knew in high school will see me in a few years and probably not recognize me, I think that's my ultimate goal. So here's to the new Ashley. Read my last blog post here and until next time!

Fighting my love

XOXO

Ashley

Summer Sesh

Got to catch up with my #1 guy

As the semester is winding down we are faced with the decisions of next semesters courses and are taking a step farther into adulthood and figuring our lives out. Will your next semester start in the fall or the summer? I've been going back and forth with myself this last week on whether I want to take a summer course or not? Do I want to wake up early four days a week for a three hour math class or do I want to sleep in and go to work whenever I need to. No school for three months presents itself with loads of possibilities. I have two days before I  can sign up for my classes and I'm so lost and so confused. 

I've decided that no matter what I decide Wednesday morning I'm going to register for Math 138 Summer Session 1, just because its the only 138 class offered and I want to hold a place for myself. Over the next couple of days I'll decide whether I really want to take the class and whether I'm willing to take on the challenge. Since I'm getting ready to register for my next two semesters, I decided I would give you all some ideas on how to enroll in your courses and how to be good at it.

I went to CSUCI over spring break

1. Don't sleep in on the day you're allowed access to your schedule. I overslept and forgot about my registration until the day after and I literally got waitlisted in every one of my classes except one. The waitlist is better than nothing but it still sucks and you still have to go into class not registered praying that your teacher will let you in. Being waitlisted for an online class is super awkward because you have to weirdly email them and be like hey can I do this with you over the internet or what. It's not fun.

2. Look up your classes in advance and find a few different schedules that will work well for you. Make sure you have time to walk and eat between classes, be realistic so you can make it on time. I was so stupid last semester and I had my English class 15 minutes after my spinning class which meant very little time for showers (I survived off of baby wipes until I had time for a shower). 

3. Don't log onto your pipeline every single day over summer just to see if something new has happened. Nothing is happening and syllabuses are usually unavailable on Moodle until the first day of class. You don't tinker with your fantasy lineup so don't tinker with your schedule.

That's pretty much all there is to registration, you're first time is always scary so it's probably best to meet with a counselor to make sure you've got what you need and you don't have shit that won't help you out.

My cat hates me

Life Update: I still am doing nothing and I'm boring and I'm sorry I've become more loserish. I did have an impromptu photo shoot with Mark and Melanie today so that was exciting. If you want to read my last blog post you can read it here, I forgot to let people know I posted so none of you have probably read it. Until next time!

XOXO

Ashley