Personal growth

First off, can I just say how crazy it is that it's March already. Wow!

And I may very well be the most excited girl in the country

as March Madness is just around the corner. My Spartans have probably secured a 2 seed in the big dance and at least a share of the Big Ten title. Woot!

Okay, now that that's out of my system...

These last few weeks have definitely taken me through some personal growth changes that I never expected. Today I feel like things are finally slowing down, or at least I see a nice little flicker at the end of the change tunnel, and I feel pretty good about how I'm coming out.

Alive.

Okay, so it's not quite that bad. In fact, I feel pretty good.

There have been some big, tough decisions to make that I never anticipated. But, in doing so I've come to realize what's most important to me at this point in my life -- where my efforts need to be focused.

And I gotta say, it feels damn good to finally have figured that out. Unfortunate that it took some stress, anxiety, and even a few tears along the way but I managed. And now, I move forward in a direction that feels nothing less than positive.

On an even brighter note, I have today off. Yay for 3-day weekends. Oh, AND it's sunny today. Yes, in Cleveland. I know, right?

Sure, I've got lots of chores and catching up to do, but at least I'm not at the office like all you poor bastards right now. Oh, did I say that out loud? I mean, I can't wait till I get back to the office, too. But for today, I'm enjoying a little me time.

Cheers!

-A

Celebrity Spouse

While in NYC this past week, a few colleagues and I ventured out to the bar to celebrate our arrival to the city.

As drinks were flowing, conversation turned to a rather interesting topic: celebrities.

More specifically, the question of the evening was, if you could choose, who would be your celebrity spouse?

We heard everything from Eva Mendez to Common to Lucy Liu. None of which should be a total shock to any of you.

I felt put on the spot for this question - I guess there's never really been a celebrity that just makes me all warm and fuzzy.

So I said this guy:


For those who are not familiar, Derek Luke played Antwone in the movie Antwone Fisher. Highly recommended if you haven't seen it.

This also was the moment where I revealed, in my oh-so-tactful fashion, that I'm into black guys.

Yes, that's exactly how I said it too. "I'm into black guys." As if it was this fact that's as ordinary as my having green eyes. Yipe! Smooth, Ashley. Just what your co-workers wanted to know.

Oh well, cat's out of the bag now.

So I proceeded to mention that my favorite part of the Superbowl was the post-game interview with Santonio Holmes.

(Ugh, he makes me melt.)

And yes, I'm aware that he's a former Buckeye, but his smile totally makes up for that.

I was so engrossed that I completely missed the conversation that the SO was trying to have with me at the time. Zoning out during football - talk about role reversal.

Anyhow, after thinking more about this question, I'm pretty sure I'd change my answer. If I could hand-pick my celebrity spouse, it'd definitely have to be Rob Lowe.

YUMMMMMM.....

Absolutely beautiful.

So tell me dear readers, who is your celebrity spouse?

Cheers!

-A

A little healthy compitition never hurt anyone

Last night after a strenuous workout I decided to attend a relaxation yoga class to end the day right.

Only...it ended up not being so relaxing, after all.

Attendance was minimal, probably because of the weather, and most of the people in class were new to the practice of yoga.

My initial concern was that the instructor would, in turn, make the class easier. But luckily for me she held a normal flow class with modified poses for the newbies.

As soon as I realized this, I proceeded as I normally would and even increased the intensity from time to time.

(Editors note: that's the great thing about yoga, you can make it as intense and challenging as you want it. Not that you care.)

Throughout the class I noticed the woman next to me keeping pace with my motions.

Upon further inspection she was a 50-something, frail looking woman, who had apparently been practicing yoga for longer than I've been alive. And this was something she was dying to prove to me.

To test this theory I went above and beyond in a couple of balance poses - and when she followed my lead and subsequently fell out of these poses I was thoroughly satisfied. Not only was I spot on that she was competing with me, but I totally beat her out in the balance category.

Point Ashley.

Then we moved on to a couple strength moves. I dominated.

The end of class was focused on flexibility. Not my strong suit. But of course I pushed my hamstrings until they were screaming at me - willing them to stretch just an inch farther. You best believe she took notice of this, too, as she proceeded to fold in half on top of herself, and make it look easy.

Flexibility FAIL.

At the point I wanted to lean in and let her know that "hey lady, I'm a runner, my hamstrings just don't do that."

But of course, after savasana [corpse pose = relaxation, for all you non-yogis], I was all zen and stuff and didn't give a crap.

Honestly, I'm thankful for my competitor last night. She helped me push myself in a class that I otherwise may have taken the easy route through.

Cheers to you, lady. Cheers!

-A

More crap about me

...because really, it's all about me.

Honestly, I can't stand talking about myself when I'm forced to - it's extremely difficult and nerve wracking. Case in point - interviews.

This, my friends, is one of those times.

Luckily, I'm fairly decent at talking about me on a daily basis, so I can fake it when necessary.

I was tagged. Yep. By one of my favorites in fact, and now I've got to share 7 'weird' facts about myself whether you care or not. But lots about me can be categorized as weird so this shouldn't be as difficult as it sounds. And for CC, I will do this!

So let's get this show on the road:

1. I own a television that I never watch - two, actually. The primary TV is this large flat panel LCD, 1080P, amazing. Or it would be, if I had cable.

2. I'm a thrill seeker - the higher, the faster and more dangerous the better.

3. I'm a vegetarian.

4. This is the first time I've publicly claimed #3. A proud moment. Though I do slip up with sushi on occasion - it's my weakness, what can I say.

5. I hate talking politics. H.A.T.E. In all honesty I think it's because I'm easily swayed by valid points, and both sides make valid points. Though I have my own set of political views, I rarely choose to discuss them.

6. I'm a perfectionist. Annoyingly so. I even piss myself off sometimes. I can't remember the last time I gave myself a break over anything.

7. I'm a huge sports fan, but hate professional sports in the towns where I lived outside of Michigan - Dallas Cowboys for instance. And no matter how much they continue to suck it up, I do love my Lions.

Okay, so that's enough about me. I want to hear about you!! So tell me dear readers, what about you is 'weird?'

Cheers!

-A

Another Football Post?

Yeah, I know, there are a few of you - or at least one of you - who have probably already quit reading because so many of my thoughts lately have revolved around football. What can I say, this time of the year gets me all nostalgic over my college days and tailgating with the 40,000 other undergrads at my alma mater.

Which is exactly what I got to do this weekend!

Party it up at the tennis courts, student style, with my girls from college and even some friends from high school.

(The crew, minus a few, at the tennis courts - a student tailgate hot spot)

Then I got to watch my Spartans kick some Fighting Irish booty in style, with one of the biggest MSU sports fans known to man, and one of my favorite people in the universe - my dad.

(Not bad seats, eh?)

Let me tell you, it was a fantastic weekend - as you can see.

And I get to do it all over again in two weeks when homecoming rolls around. I'll be home for four days to partake in more tailgating and joyous fall festivities including a trip to my home town cider mill and some much needed photography time - it's bound to be rather beautiful in Michigan that time of the year.

So tell me dear readers, what fall festivities have you enjoyed so far this year? What are you looking forward to most in the remaining months of 2008?

Personally, I'm getting excited for the holidays. But then again, not so excited for the snow and bitter winds. Again with the catch-22 - I'm full of them this week!

Cheers!

-A

Friday Frivolity

I stole the title of this post from the weekly Friday column of my good friend Luke Armour. I hope he doesn't mind - it just suited today so well. Thanks, buddy. If I ever manage to write anything good, you can borrow it too!

Yesterday sucked.

A big steaming pile of elephant dung.

Seriously. And this wasn't just the case for my little corner of the world. It was a trend. See here, here and here for proof. C'mon, you didn't think I'd expect you to take my word for it, did you?

But it's Friday now, and that's fantastic! That means tomorrow is the big day - MSU vs. Notre Dame.


It's a white out game - I love those! More than that, tailgating starts promptly at 10 a.m., at the tennis courts, with some of the best friends a girl could ask for. Turns out, this is an unplanned reunion for the girls I lived with freshman year. Guess that takes care of this problem. We're missing a few of the gang that became our Lou Ha's group every Thursday senior year, but plans are in the works for a later date.

But that's not the point.

The point is that I'm taking a long weekend to enjoy my time at home and soak up every ounce of Michigan State in the fall that I can. I'm counting on an Autumn-tastic weekend and getting to partake in all my favorite fall past times.

Therefore, I will not be posting for a few days. I know, you're heart broken, I'm sorry. And I'm not cool enough in the blogosphere (yet?) to have a guest blogger on the scene to fill your need of bad stories. But I promise, I'll be back with plenty of crazy encounters to share with y'all on Tuesday.

Until then, enjoy your weekend. It's supposed to be beautiful in the north!

Cheers!

-A

The great hockey debate

While curled up watching the Stanley Cup finals last night, all three overtimes of it, I had a small debate with a close girl friend about the sport of hockey. My love of the game was challenged with a question of which states 'actually follow hockey,' followed by comments alluding to a small following of the sport. I gave her the benefit of the doubt on this one, given that our city does not have an NHL team, neither did her small college of under 5,000. Further conversation led to a statement that blew my mind, and ended the debate purely out of frustration: soccer is just as popular, and as big a money maker, as hockey. Maybe if we're talking ages 6-12 but I've got NHL on the brain, and on the TV at the moment.

Now I pride myself on being an avid sports enthusiast and last night my sports knowledge was challenged - and I'll be the first to admit I'm out for blood in such challenges; more to prove that I know what I'm talking about than to prove others wrong - that's just a bonus (kidding!). But given that I grew up watching Bill Laimbeer and Isiah Thomas run the court for the Pistons, and Steve Yzerman and Sergi Federov rule the ice for the Redwings, my passion in this issue lies not within being right (though I often argue for this fact alone...hey, at least I can admit it), but to defend those sports that have been such a large part of my life for so long.

During our short debate I had mentioned that when thinking of the "big 4" of sports in my mind they would be football, basketball, baseball, and hockey - both college and professional - as the most popular and the biggest revenue generators for cities and universities alike. Her argument is that more people in the U.S. play soccer than play hockey. This may very well be the case, given the nature of the sport as well as the amount of money it costs to play. This does not mean, however, that it has a larger following.

Now, I'm trying my hardest to see both sides of the debate, so I decided to do a little digging to find an objective answer and found the following in a Wikipedia article (about as official as I could find in my quick Internet search during commercials - good ole Stanley and The Joe were much more important at the time).

"Sports in the United States are an important part of the national culture. However, the sporting culture of the U.S. is different from that of many other countries. Compared to any other nation, Americans prefer a unique set of sports. For example, association football (soccer), the most popular sport in most countries, is not as popular in the U.S. compared to the four most popular team sports, namely, American football, basketball, baseball, and ice hockey. The major leagues of each of these sports enjoy massive media exposure and are considered the preeminent competitions in their respective sports in the world. The preeminence of the major leagues is partially attributed to their strong financial power and huge domestic market, as well as the fact that relatively few other countries play some of their dominant sports, like American football, to any significant extent."

Thank you, Wikipedia, for making my opinions and knowledge of sports a little more valid. But because I don't always take Wikipedia's word as fact, I'd like to see what everyone else thinks. What do you consider to be the sports "big 4"?

Cheers!

-A

A very Pistons birthday

In honor of my birthday that typically falls during NBA playoff time, my co-workers decided to go above and beyond with a special personalized cake this year.



The "Go Pistons" in the lower right-hand corner and the basketball cookie was the icing on the cake (pun intended). My guess is, this would not have happened if the series was Pistons vs. Cavs - it certainly didn't last year at this time!

What a wonderful surprise! Thanks to all for the special birthday wishes. Still to come, a blog on the top 24 encounters of the past 24 years.

Cheers!

-A

Creepy geezer

Recently I've been working closely on a project in my office that involves a social media component. Part of the campaign discusses the types of men that women tend to come across and/or get approached by at a bar. One of my favorites was the creepy geezer (think blading, middle aged and above men, wearing their shirts half unbuttoned with chest hair in full view, smelling like teenage boys because they purchased the latest Abercrombie scent, and hitting on all women in sight under the age of 25). Well folks, last night I met the creepy geeser in person - and it was quite disturbing if I do say so myself.

After work my roommate and I decided to take advantage of the recent lovely weather and headed to a baseball game. This game was a double bonus because we got amazing seats for cheap and my team was playing the team I dislike most in the MLB (and we whooped 'em)...but I digress.

Before we took our seats we grabbed a couple of drinks and were watching the game from a great standing spot. There were some other young professionals who had wandered to the game that night and we were chatting them up when we noticed a rather young woman (I'd say not older than 20) drinking a beer next to my roommate. As she was finishing this beer, in comes creepy geezer with another in his hand. She was smiling and flirting her way into free beer from this very creepy man. YIKES!

To make matters worse, after she left (apparently she'd had her fill), he turned his attention on my roommate. This was funny for about 2.5, then I did my friendly duty and interjected. We were both saved shortly there after by another of our friends who escorted us to the amazing seats, and the night only got better from there.

The lesson: when you see creepy geezer approaching, abort immediately. Don't wait around to see the entertainment, because before you know it, he's talking to you.

Cheers!

-A