Father Heft!
My goodness, how time flies. I apologize for how long it has taken me to reply! I am busy most days for 12 hours, and doing homework on top of that...I also went out to Denver over Labor Day weekend for about 4 days to see Mike.
How are you doing? I can imagine how strange it would feel to be so far from the midwest. The west coast is almost a different world! Your class proposal looks great - very interesting. I wish I could take it! Have you had much interaction or chance to form relationships with the USC students yet? I saw you are living with the Vincentians. They seem to keep showing up in my life! First, I got very involved with St. Vincent dePaul society and went to the national conference and fell in love with some of their charism. Then, Mike went off to the Colorado Vincentian Volunteers. Now you're living with some, too? What are you doing mostly? I think I remember something about you getting lots of money for their school...is that true? I saw a poster for your talk next Friday - I'll definitely be there. You seem to be the resident expert of politics and religion, you have given many talks about the issue! :)
Life has been good. Busy, as always. :) Last weekend, I led my first retreat at Bergamo, Mt. Saint Johns, for high school seniors from Columbus. I have always loved retreats, and it was nice to see the teenagers learning more about each other and themselves through the times of reflection and such. Unfortunately, however, the retreat barely focused on Jesus or God, or even faith! Later at a meeting, we asked a few of the teens how their faith or idea of Jesus had changed as a result of the retreat. They all just stared at us blankly. Not a good sign, I would say. Also, the other facilitators (mostly college students) cringed at the idea of having mass or reconciliation at the retreats. It's as if they are so afraid of scaring the kids off with religion that they want to make it all about feelings and "bonding". I know there has to be a better way...I feel so passionately about having youth understand and embrace their Catholic faith, and there seems to be a large disconnect between the "retreat experience" and Catholicism. It's difficult, because I know they just want to reach everyone, so they keep it as neutral as possible. When I was in high school, I was in a retreat program that balanced it so well - retreats were full of relationship forming, BUT it was also focused on our relationship with God, on reconciliation with that relationship as well. We had mass and reconciliation, and also a ton of fun. :) So I will just hope and pray that the youth formation at Bergamo can learn to find the balance between attracting teens and not watering down our faith. Well, I just went on a lot longer than I had intended. I guess it was bothering me more than I had thought! :)
A looming issue in my life right now is What To Do After Graduation in May. I feel pressure to decide on a career path NOW for some reason. Although the current plan is to do some sort of service for a year or two before I pursue a graduate degree...just to gain some experience, some perspective, and take a little breather if I delve into graduate work. The problem is - I can't decide if I want to go into education/social work OR theology/ministry. I am acutely aware the needs of our society, especially working with kids on the west side of Dayton for the past 4 months. Their basic needs of education and health seem to overshadow the work I would do in youth or pastoral ministry. But I also long to help instill the gift of faith that saved me as a teenager. I literally remember a day sitting in the chapel as a 16-year-old. I had recently started going to Adoration (with our beloved Eileen Sullivan!) and I was really feeling down about myself. I remember feeling absolutely useless - I had no real talents, I wasn't the prettiest girl in the world, and I didn't have tons of friends. Then, I got this pervading sense of peace, and I felt... "I can't be good at everything - but I can be good at loving Jesus." It sounds pretty corny, I know! But at the time, it was such a relief to feel the burden taken off of me. I want other teens and young people to know their value and their place in the Church. Well, I have lots of discernment to do. And I know the decision doesn't have to be made TODAY, but sometimes it sure feels that way!
As far as classes - I'm taking Ecclesiastical Latin, my hardest class for sure. We get about 100 or so new vocabulary words a week....we just move so fast. And I am one of 3 undergrads in the whole class. I have gotten 100% on our first test and quiz though! Actually, I've gotten perfect scores on all of my work so far. It's a little surreal, definitely the grace of God!! Nice to start off with solid grades, but I'll feel disappointed when they stop being 100s. :) I'm also taking Faith and Justice with Luzzaragga (a new prof, he's pretty fun, but challenging.), Prophets with Branick, Capstone - Religious Pop Culture and Film with Smith (LOTS of silent, black and white films about Jesus...not exactly current pop culture!), and Christian Tradition and Prayer with Sister Angela Ann (a nice chance to pray and read about discernment for homework!). The classes are pretty interesting so far, and it's so relieving to feel absolutely no regrets about not being in education classes. The peace lets me know that God had a hand in my decision. :)
In other news - my family is back in Ohio! Which is wonderful, I had two weeks to spend with them camping and at home before I came back to school. The three siblings at home - 12, 13, and 17 - are having a rough transition to life in the US at public suburban schools. I feel selfish being happy that they are within driving distance because they are pretty miserable at school. But being around extended family is nice for them, though. My mom has 4 siblings around the area, and their kids. Also, my wonderful grandparents are there. :)
Well, I should get going, we're heading downtown to some art shows tonight. This turned out to be a whole lot longer than I had intended! Hopefully you didn't stop reading. :) Have a wonderful weekend!
Prayers and love,
Ashley
Friday, September 15, 2006
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
40 facts
I wrote this while I was in Hawaii, but never posted it...
it's actually pretty hard to think of 40 random things! Enjoy :)
it's actually pretty hard to think of 40 random things! Enjoy :)
- I like only the red skittles
- I eat only white conversation hearts
- Buttered popcorn is my favorite jelly belly
- I love when people call me Ash
- When I as little, I was teased by being called “ash tray”
- I didn’t know my dad had a twin until I was in 4th grade
- I chose my confirmation name because I wanted to be like Elizabeth Wakefield in Sweet Valley Twins
- I always felt that my personality was more defined when I had distinct likes and dislikes.
- Red is my favorite color.
- I’ve been told many times that I look like Piper from the TV show “Charmed’
- I’ve also been told many times that I look like I’m 12, or in middle school, or in high school.
- I crashed a go kart and twisted my lateral meniscus in my knee
- I broke lots of crucibles in high school chemistry
- My first ever CD was the Spice Girls’ single “Stop”
- I eat only the red Sprees
- I am the oldest of 20 grandchildren on my mom’s side
- I am the oldest of 5 children
- I’ve been to 16 airports outside of the States
- My favorite movie as a child was The Neverending Story
- I have never gone to the same school for more than 3 consecutive years.
- I got my belly button pierced without my parents knowing…I took it out and they still don’t know
- I was always the shortest one in my class in elementary school
- I ran track for one year and hated it with a passion
- I am pro-adoption
- I am a bargain shopper
- I lose everything, including 5 school IDs, 2 drivers licenses, and a credit card
- Zack was my favorite member of Hanson
- I don’t have a favorite TV show
- My three best girl friends are all red heads
- I am a family person. Big time.
- My dad has 13 siblings and my mom has 7. That doesn’t include spouses.
- I was named after a man
- I like change…change of pace, change of location, change of major
- I don’t like changing friends
- I am fascinated by serial killers
- I love roller coasters
- I was prom queen
- I don’t really care about #37
- I am horribly passive and go to extremes to avoid confrontation
- I want to go to jail once in my life
My newest cousin Dominic! Born August 31st, 5.5 lbs
My two-year-old godson (and cousin) with his new glasses :)
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Schoooool Already??
Well, well, well.
I'll just pretend like it hasn't been more than FOUR MONTHS!!! since I've updated this lovely journal.
Some things to know (in no order of importance):
1)I am back at Dayton for the school year and SO glad about it!
2) My house is awesome, as are my housemates
3) My computer has a new hard drive
4) I must have a boring life if #3 is important to know
5) 9/11 is our one-year 'anniversary'!
6) my family is probably moving back to America at Christmas
7) I am working at Stuart again
8) I need to be better at keeping in touch...
9) I spent the summer babysitting 6 adorable children, and going on vacation to New York, South Carolina, and North Carolina with them
10) I bought a ticket to go to London for Thanksgiving Break yesterday. yay!
I am pretty darn happy right now. :)
10) I bought a ticket to go to London for Thanksgiving Break yesterday. yay!
I am pretty darn happy right now. :)
my cousin and I
two of the kids I babysat for
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Where do I even begin?
It's been almost two months since I last wrote in here, because my computer broke. I had an awesome last two months in Hawaii.
Some of the highlights included:
* Kat visiting over Spring Break (Pearl Harbor, Swap Meet, lots of bus riding, lots of eating out, hiking Diamond Head)
* skydiving with Shannon
* running my first 5K with Shannon, Vicky, and Jon (Vicky's brother)
* going to the Chaminade Ball with Marissa, then riding the bus and going to the dollar movies all dressed up!
* running with the Niketown Running Club!
* my roommate getting married, getting a dog and continuing to live with us...yeah...
* watching '50 First Dates' on the beach
* going to Kahala Beach with Marissa and watching kite surfing
* Mai Tais at On Stage
Now I'm back in Malaysia with my family! *minus Tara, who's coming on Saturday*
Mother's Day was hilarious. We definitely tried to make it special...we just kind of failed!
Our itinerary for the evening (given to my mom on a colorfully decorated card...):
4-4:15: entertainment
4:15-5: board game of your choice (she chose the math game '24'...and yes, we played.)
5:30: leave for mass
6-7: mass at Assumption
7-8:30: dinner at Marmalade, a health restaurant
8:30-9: dessert at Baskin Robbins, a unhealthy restaurant :-P
Entertainment was provided by Mel, Em, Anth, and I. Picture this: Indian dancing to some Indian music because my mom thinks Bollywood is so cool. Anth comes on stage and says "Guys, that is NOTHING like Bollywood!" (it isn't). So we proceed to do a cheerleading routine, complete with cartwheels and a song about Mom to the tune of the Mickey Mouse Club theme song. Yeah, we cracked up laughing in the middle and couldn't finish. It was great. I was like "Wow. I'm 20 years old". Emmie told me that it's cool that I can act like a little kid, though. So if Emmie thinks I'm cool, who cares?
After mass, we felt like failures, so we decided to express our love in a group hug. The plan was that Anthony would initiate it and the rest of us would follow. Somehow, it ended up like a group Hemlich Manauver. Sorry about that, Mom. After that was good. We to a really cool restaurant and I got a grilled eggplant and tomato with hummus sandwich. Mmmmm!
Yesterday, I ran for 4 miles on the treadmill downstairs and thought I was going to die of bordem. I wish it wasn't so dangerous and humid here! It's like 105 in the middle of the day. Ick! And I'm not really allowed to go running alone anyway, because there are lots of construction men. Not to be like stereotypical, but Malaysian men are really, really different...as in if you walk by them, they will make kissy noises and hollar at you. Ick. Plus, rapings are pretty prevalant here. Needless to say, I don't WANT to go running outside alone!! So it kind of sucks that I either lose my progress in running or I get bored and run in place in a little tiny room. Eh, I guess I'll just have to be bored! :-P
I will be doing a lot of substitute teaching with my mom while I am here, so that will be excellent, because it will give me a better idea of what I am getting into! Also, we will be doing different grades, so I will be able to see if I really like K-3 the best. I was looking at my mom's subsitute lesson plan from a 2nd grade teacher and she has to plan out every minute of her day! Whew. And she also put "Keep reminding them to _____" (turn in homework, sign attendance sheet, etc.) I THOUGHT patience was one of my gifts, but maybe not! Yikes...
My mom's ring tone on her phone is Anthony saying "Mom, pick up your phone! You better pick up your phone or it will become a missed call! Pick it up! It's in your bag!"
Cute.
Okay, time to get going. Today is PE for middle schoolers.
Oh yeah, for once, I'm the tannest one in my family!! Yess.....Except because of all that sun, I got a cold sore on my lip. :-( Ouch and ew.
It's been almost two months since I last wrote in here, because my computer broke. I had an awesome last two months in Hawaii.
Some of the highlights included:
* Kat visiting over Spring Break (Pearl Harbor, Swap Meet, lots of bus riding, lots of eating out, hiking Diamond Head)
* skydiving with Shannon
* running my first 5K with Shannon, Vicky, and Jon (Vicky's brother)
* going to the Chaminade Ball with Marissa, then riding the bus and going to the dollar movies all dressed up!
* running with the Niketown Running Club!
* my roommate getting married, getting a dog and continuing to live with us...yeah...
* watching '50 First Dates' on the beach
* going to Kahala Beach with Marissa and watching kite surfing
* Mai Tais at On Stage
Now I'm back in Malaysia with my family! *minus Tara, who's coming on Saturday*
Mother's Day was hilarious. We definitely tried to make it special...we just kind of failed!
Our itinerary for the evening (given to my mom on a colorfully decorated card...):
4-4:15: entertainment
4:15-5: board game of your choice (she chose the math game '24'...and yes, we played.)
5:30: leave for mass
6-7: mass at Assumption
7-8:30: dinner at Marmalade, a health restaurant
8:30-9: dessert at Baskin Robbins, a unhealthy restaurant :-P
Entertainment was provided by Mel, Em, Anth, and I. Picture this: Indian dancing to some Indian music because my mom thinks Bollywood is so cool. Anth comes on stage and says "Guys, that is NOTHING like Bollywood!" (it isn't). So we proceed to do a cheerleading routine, complete with cartwheels and a song about Mom to the tune of the Mickey Mouse Club theme song. Yeah, we cracked up laughing in the middle and couldn't finish. It was great. I was like "Wow. I'm 20 years old". Emmie told me that it's cool that I can act like a little kid, though. So if Emmie thinks I'm cool, who cares?
After mass, we felt like failures, so we decided to express our love in a group hug. The plan was that Anthony would initiate it and the rest of us would follow. Somehow, it ended up like a group Hemlich Manauver. Sorry about that, Mom. After that was good. We to a really cool restaurant and I got a grilled eggplant and tomato with hummus sandwich. Mmmmm!
Yesterday, I ran for 4 miles on the treadmill downstairs and thought I was going to die of bordem. I wish it wasn't so dangerous and humid here! It's like 105 in the middle of the day. Ick! And I'm not really allowed to go running alone anyway, because there are lots of construction men. Not to be like stereotypical, but Malaysian men are really, really different...as in if you walk by them, they will make kissy noises and hollar at you. Ick. Plus, rapings are pretty prevalant here. Needless to say, I don't WANT to go running outside alone!! So it kind of sucks that I either lose my progress in running or I get bored and run in place in a little tiny room. Eh, I guess I'll just have to be bored! :-P
I will be doing a lot of substitute teaching with my mom while I am here, so that will be excellent, because it will give me a better idea of what I am getting into! Also, we will be doing different grades, so I will be able to see if I really like K-3 the best. I was looking at my mom's subsitute lesson plan from a 2nd grade teacher and she has to plan out every minute of her day! Whew. And she also put "Keep reminding them to _____" (turn in homework, sign attendance sheet, etc.) I THOUGHT patience was one of my gifts, but maybe not! Yikes...
My mom's ring tone on her phone is Anthony saying "Mom, pick up your phone! You better pick up your phone or it will become a missed call! Pick it up! It's in your bag!"
Cute.
Okay, time to get going. Today is PE for middle schoolers.
Oh yeah, for once, I'm the tannest one in my family!! Yess.....Except because of all that sun, I got a cold sore on my lip. :-( Ouch and ew.
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Easy As A-B-C
I haven't updated this in too many days...not a ton has been happening - but I thought I'd do a little ABC's instead of rambling ::
A: Alexis picked Kat up from the airport today
B: The grade I am getting in Statistics because I forgot we had a test yesterday.
C: My contact is stuck in my throat because I swallowed it yesterday.
D: Down to Earth is a natural foods store that is really yummy
E: Elizabeth Corsetti is a nice girl who I haven't talked to in a while
F: French fries from McDonald's are taste yummy but are deadly (I watched Supersize Me!)
G: Got money from work today...yesss...
H: Hot chocolate at Denny's last night! mmm
I: Ingrid wrote me an email, and I haven't heard from here in TWO years
J: Just seven more weeks on this gorgeous island
K: Kathryn Elizabeth Morris is sleeping in my bed!!
L: Lent is almost over...can't believe it's almost Easter!
M: Mike is the best
N: Nutrition classes sound fun...
O: On a Marine base is where we went today
P: We had pizza at the Cheesecake Factory tonight
Q: Quit my job at Cold Stone!
R: Relaxation is going to be awesome for spring break
S: Sunshine and sand are nice :)
T: Tijuana is where Mike is right now
U: Unfair!! I watched Pay It Forward and the ending was so unfair it made me cry :(
V: Victoria's Secret is nowhere in this state!
W: Walking everywhere is good for you...
X: Xcited to spend time with Kat! (yeah...that was lame!)
Y: Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day and I didn't wear green!
Z: Zooxanthellae is a hard word to pronouce (it's algae found in coral reefs)
A: Alexis picked Kat up from the airport today
B: The grade I am getting in Statistics because I forgot we had a test yesterday.
C: My contact is stuck in my throat because I swallowed it yesterday.
D: Down to Earth is a natural foods store that is really yummy
E: Elizabeth Corsetti is a nice girl who I haven't talked to in a while
F: French fries from McDonald's are taste yummy but are deadly (I watched Supersize Me!)
G: Got money from work today...yesss...
H: Hot chocolate at Denny's last night! mmm
I: Ingrid wrote me an email, and I haven't heard from here in TWO years
J: Just seven more weeks on this gorgeous island
K: Kathryn Elizabeth Morris is sleeping in my bed!!
L: Lent is almost over...can't believe it's almost Easter!
M: Mike is the best
N: Nutrition classes sound fun...
O: On a Marine base is where we went today
P: We had pizza at the Cheesecake Factory tonight
Q: Quit my job at Cold Stone!
R: Relaxation is going to be awesome for spring break
S: Sunshine and sand are nice :)
T: Tijuana is where Mike is right now
U: Unfair!! I watched Pay It Forward and the ending was so unfair it made me cry :(
V: Victoria's Secret is nowhere in this state!
W: Walking everywhere is good for you...
X: Xcited to spend time with Kat! (yeah...that was lame!)
Y: Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day and I didn't wear green!
Z: Zooxanthellae is a hard word to pronouce (it's algae found in coral reefs)
Friday, March 04, 2005
Hello, Operator. Give Me Number 9!
A milestone event in my time here at Chaminade University has occurred...
I made it an entire week without missing ANY of my classes or labs!!
Thank you, thank you. I know it's amazing....
This week has been pretty uneventful (see, that's what happens when you attend class!) I worked Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday - closing all three days! I also put in my two weeks notice (which I was super worried about, but was fine!). I went to Starbucks one night to study. I really love that place, even though it's about 10 degrees COLDER than Dayton!
I complain too much. Sorry, I'll work on that.
I wish I could take a month off life and just work on all my flaws. Okay, so maybe I'd need a YEAR off life.
Melanie emailed me and asked me to be her confirmation sponser. Yay! I love that girl SOOOOOO much. And I miss her. Family is really the best invention ever. :) Thanks for that, God!
I'm sorry I don't have any funny stories or things to share. I just wanted to let everyone know I'm still alive. :)
I made it an entire week without missing ANY of my classes or labs!!
Thank you, thank you. I know it's amazing....
This week has been pretty uneventful (see, that's what happens when you attend class!) I worked Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday - closing all three days! I also put in my two weeks notice (which I was super worried about, but was fine!). I went to Starbucks one night to study. I really love that place, even though it's about 10 degrees COLDER than Dayton!
I complain too much. Sorry, I'll work on that.
I wish I could take a month off life and just work on all my flaws. Okay, so maybe I'd need a YEAR off life.
Melanie emailed me and asked me to be her confirmation sponser. Yay! I love that girl SOOOOOO much. And I miss her. Family is really the best invention ever. :) Thanks for that, God!
I'm sorry I don't have any funny stories or things to share. I just wanted to let everyone know I'm still alive. :)
Monday, February 28, 2005
Dude Looks Like A Lady
The moment of truth.
On March 30th, I will be registering for my classes, and I have till then to decide what I am doing about my major...There is so much to weigh into my decision, and I am really really overwhelmed by it, so if you could please pray for me, that would really help.
This weekend was fun and filled with DRAMA! Friday we went to Waikiki and ate at Cold Stone, Saturday morning I went whale counting (for environmental science class), then worked, and then went out to Blue Tropix, a club. It was pretty fun. Some funny stories. No time to talk about it though, so call me! :) Sunday (yesterday), I slept in for a LONG time, because I went to bed around 3:30 on Saturday. I went to church, studied, and worked!
I am planning on giving my two weeks notice sometime this week. I'm just going to miss free ice cream. Yum! Alright, I still don't have a computer, so please call me if you want to talk!!!
Some things that happened at work....
Funny customer:
"Thanks, Ash! Ash is my people."
Most embarrassing moment:
*I was helping a family with a dad and a brother and a sister, who were probably 11 and 13 years old. They were all rather large and the dad and sister had long, messy hair. I made the sister an ice cream and gave it to her. Then I made the brother an ice cream and while I was giving it to him...
Me: Here you go, don't get jealous that her ice cream is bigger...she got a brownie in it, so it made it bigger.
Dad: What did you say?
I repeated myself.
Dad: Him. It's a him.
Me: Oh.
What can you say in the situation?! I wanted to justify myself...Well, sir, he is kind of fat so he has a chest! And his hair is long and he looks like he has blush on. I just thought he was a manly girl. A tomboy!
Instead, I just apologized. The dad said something like, "Hasn't anyone ever seen a guy with long hair?" After the paid me, I proceeded to run back to the kitchen and tell everyone about it. They just laughed! I felt awful and terrible and SO embarrassed.
My manager just kept singing "Dude looks like a lady!"
On March 30th, I will be registering for my classes, and I have till then to decide what I am doing about my major...There is so much to weigh into my decision, and I am really really overwhelmed by it, so if you could please pray for me, that would really help.
This weekend was fun and filled with DRAMA! Friday we went to Waikiki and ate at Cold Stone, Saturday morning I went whale counting (for environmental science class), then worked, and then went out to Blue Tropix, a club. It was pretty fun. Some funny stories. No time to talk about it though, so call me! :) Sunday (yesterday), I slept in for a LONG time, because I went to bed around 3:30 on Saturday. I went to church, studied, and worked!
I am planning on giving my two weeks notice sometime this week. I'm just going to miss free ice cream. Yum! Alright, I still don't have a computer, so please call me if you want to talk!!!
Some things that happened at work....
Funny customer:
"Thanks, Ash! Ash is my people."
Most embarrassing moment:
*I was helping a family with a dad and a brother and a sister, who were probably 11 and 13 years old. They were all rather large and the dad and sister had long, messy hair. I made the sister an ice cream and gave it to her. Then I made the brother an ice cream and while I was giving it to him...
Me: Here you go, don't get jealous that her ice cream is bigger...she got a brownie in it, so it made it bigger.
Dad: What did you say?
I repeated myself.
Dad: Him. It's a him.
Me: Oh.
What can you say in the situation?! I wanted to justify myself...Well, sir, he is kind of fat so he has a chest! And his hair is long and he looks like he has blush on. I just thought he was a manly girl. A tomboy!
Instead, I just apologized. The dad said something like, "Hasn't anyone ever seen a guy with long hair?" After the paid me, I proceeded to run back to the kitchen and tell everyone about it. They just laughed! I felt awful and terrible and SO embarrassed.
My manager just kept singing "Dude looks like a lady!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)