It's That Time of Year

And no, I don't mean Christmas. It's Autumn, one of my favorite

times of year. The mornings are crisis and cool, the sun warms the air just right, all the hooligans are in school, and the leaves are starting to turn colors.

I love this time if year. Now don't get me wrong, the other seasons of the year are great as well, but there's just something magical about watching the leaves change color, knowing that you're not going to bake in the heat of summer, or freeze in the cold of winter, and there's almost a magic that comes at only this time of year.

Right now, Richard and I are visiting his parents, so we're not actually at home, but it's still a place where we feel at home. I'm sitting at my mother-in-law's islando as I'm writing this entry. Richard and his father have gone to fill up the GTO with fuel, so that it can be driven, his mother is doing the bills, and I'm writing till I'm needed. I love coming to my in-law's, it's a place where we can both relax and help out.

There are a lot of things that I love about Autumn, but I think my favorite thing about it this year is that I have one of the best jobs ever! I work as a library aide in one of the best library systems ever! I love my job, I love my co-workers, and I know what I want my future career to be. I want to be a librarian I had flirted with the idea for a little while this summer, while I was freaking out about not having a job, along with the idea of being a teacher.

As soon as I started my job at the library, I knew what it was that I wanted to do. I wanted to be able to work in a place that I love and feel like it's a home away from home. And all of my co-workers are amazing, they're geeky, weird, funny, and we all fit in with each other.

This has been my life, and I love it so far. I'll continue working at my library and start working on getting my Master's in Library Science.

Talk to you later,
Ashley

I Have Got A Job!

Whoo!!! I got a job, I got a job, I got a job! 

More like "You got me job!"

Yes, after a month here in Oklahoma City, I have a job! And I have got to say, it's most likely my dream job. I have finally got a job, and it's a job in a library. A branch of the Metro Library System of Oklahoma. It's a part time job, but it a place where I can figure out if I want to be in the library (most likely do), and just enjoy where I'm working.

So, here's to the next adventure in our lives! And mine especially. :)

Talk to you later,
Ashley

We're Going to Be Moving... GAH!!!

So, as you can probably read from the title, Richard and I are going to be moving. Like...really soon. As in, "the end of this month" soon. Holy. Crap.

But seriously, where did all the time go. April, I graduated from college (finally), and I wrote about the time going so super quickly. Now here I am again, writing about how time is going super fast. But let me give you a little bit of background for the fastness of this move and the "why" behind the move.

As you probably know by now, I moved to Provo, Utah in 2010 to begin my college career. In doing so, I switched my major, met and married my husband, visited India, and graduated college. This has taken me five years to do. Come this past April, I started looking for work. Now, remember, I am in PROVO, UTAH where college degrees are a dime-a-dozen. I had interviewed for several jobs, and I did well in all of the interviews. At least, those interviewing me said that they liked talking to me, that I would do well in the job environment, and I felt good about all of these jobs.

Yet, I would always get a call, and even one person emailed me rather than call me, that would say "Yes, we loved you, but we decided to go with someone else. But if something else comes us, we'll call you." Boo. I hate all of you.

A combination of this and many other factors, we're going to move. And we going to move to Oklahoma. Richard has a job secured there, and I have a better chance of finding a job myself. We're
going to move onto a new chapter in our lives, one that is sorely needed.

So, the next time I write, it'll most likely be from our new home. Till then, enjoy this picture of me as Rainbow Dash! :D

Talk to you later,
Ashley

The Last of Us

Or at least, the last of me in school.

It's true, this is my last year of college, and I'll be graduating in a week. A WEEK I TELL YOU! Yeah, I'm pretty shocked too.

For the past five years, I have gained higher education at Brigham Young University. For the first two years of my college career, I worked towards getting into the Advertising department here. My application was rejected, and I realized that I didn't really have the time to try and apply again. I switched my major from Pre-Communications to Anthropology and I realized that I should have probably started here from the beginning.

My first class was Anthropology 101, and I just feel in love with learning about so many different cultures, lives, and just realizing that while I thought I had an open mind before, it'll be nothing compared to how wide my mind is open now. I also realized that I needed a job, and my TA, Stefanie, suggested that I apply to be a Anthropology 101 Teaching Assistant. I did, and it was suggested that I wait for one more semester before applying again. I did so for Fall Semester 2013 and I got the job. And it's a job that I've had and loved ever since.

I then started to prepare for my field school. I knew that it was something that I needed to accomplish
in order to get my degree, but it wasn't something that really hit me till Winter Semester 2014 when I started to getting ready. I would be leaving my husband, my home, and my country, for three months to study cross-caste marriage in Visakhapatnam, India. Richard would be recently graduated and looking for full-time work and I would be leaving him. Not only was it hard for me to do, but it was also something that I realized that I can do. I can live outside of the country, and I can do what I'm supposed to do as an anthropologist. I can do what it is that I have been training to do for the past year!

I came back to realize that I only have a year of school left. A year left before I would be done at BYU. I analyze my data, and start to get everything ready for my senior thesis. This time is now...I'm finishing up my senior thesis, and I realize that these past five years have been all for this moment.

This little moment where I will walk across that stage at 8:00 in the morning and receive my diploma (cover...actual diploma will be delivered in 4-6 weeks in the mail @.@). It's so strange for me to think that just a few years ago I was getting married, and just a couple of years before that I was just graduating from high school and heading straight to college. I really can't believe that I'll be graduating in just a little over a week.

This has been a whirlwind ride, but it's a ride that I would do over again. I love going to school, I love learning, and I there are things that I never would have been able to do, unless I went to BYU and made my major Anthropology. I never would have gone to India, I never would have presented my research in UCUR, or the Utah Conference in Undergraduate Research, and I never would have discovered my love of teaching.

I have loved my time here at BYU and if there's one thing that I can say to upcoming students is take advantage of all that your college allows you to do. But most of all, enjoy your time at college to grown and figure out just a little bit more who you are. This is a time to learn. Why not learn who you are inside?

Talk to you later,
Ashley

Soon to Be Released!

Yes, soon to be released, the awe-inspiring...Ashley! Yep, soon, I'll be released into the wide, open world of the "real" world. Oh, jeez...

Anyway, moving on. As you probably know, unless you've been living under a rock, is that yesterday was Valentine's Day! Whoo!! For many here, it's a day to celebrate the time of love. Le sigh... For many others, it's a day to celebrate being single, being able to date many people, or just spend this time to being with friends. Either way you celebrate, it's just a good time to be with those that you love.

And yes, I do mean "love" in all it's forms. Romantic love, plutonic love, familial love, all the love! As the Beatles said, "All you need is love." What seems to get me though, is that a lot of people seem to have a problem with Valentine's Day; this day to celebrate love seems to create a lot of apathy.

What I like about Valentine's Day though, is that you don't have to go out and have a big to-do to celebrate being with those you love, be it spouse, friends, family, or your cat. I don't have a cat, but I

do have a spouse. We didn't go out to eat, we didn't go out to see a movie, or even have a huge dinner. We made our own chicken wings and green beans, and watched "George of the Jungle." That was our Valentine's Day. I ran into a girl on campus, buying a helium balloon so that her and her friend could suck the helium and celebrate that way. And for those of us still in school who have the three-day weekend, we can celebrate Valentine's Day with a glorious three-day weekend.

So, if you're married, single, or just enjoying time by yourself with your roommates all gone, I hope that you all had a happy Valentine's Day! Enjoy those chocolates, flowers, and movies!

Talk to you later,
Ashley