Newest Blog

Hello all.

A quick update.

I've decided that, after the disappointment that was Oxford, I am going to start taking my writing a bit more seriously. I've created a new blog devoted to my writing, in hopes to push myself to improve my ability.

http://lovenotwisely7.wordpress.com/

At this point in time, my poetry is a far cry from wonderful; however, even the greats needed to start somewhere and I figured that what better time to start than now.

Please visit and enjoy!

Thanks!

-Ashley

Rolling with the punches...

For those of you whom do not have Facebook, I received my letter from Oxford today informing me that I was not accepted into their programme.

For much of today I was extremely upset; however, with much encouragement from a variety of friends and family (thank you again everyone), I'm finding myself already feeling better about the situation. I suppose when one doors closes, another one opens. As cliche as that sounds, it's so very true. Thinking back to being rejected from Northeastern, that landed me at Towson, eventually leading me to the Towson Study abroad programme ( one of the many positive things), finally landing here in the UK. No doubt my experience at Northeastern may have been completely different, altering my experience after university.

Anyway, tomorrow is a new day and a new outlook at that.

I'm too tired to write anything else this evening...more in a few days.

God Bless you, Dylan Moran.

Oxford makes their decision tomorrow.

Right. Breathe.

For the next 4 days or so--or until I receive notice--I may be something of a nervous reck. Yes, this is completely out of my hands, but the thought that someone currently has my future resting on the surface of their mahogany desk, in some small upstairs office-like closet, in a building that probably dates back to Chaucer, makes me feel the slightest bit uneasy.

Let's put things into prospective.

Being accepted to Oxford could lead to the following:

Becoming one step closer to becoming a university professor.

Publishing my first piece of writing.

Networking with some of biggest names in publishing.

Coming out with a resume that may look like it's on steroids (metaphorically speaking).

And yet, being rejected could lead to the following:

Looking to other schools in hopes to complete a Masters in Writing/Literature.

Traveling with Adam to India to do some volunteer work/teach English.

Moving back to the US (NYC) sooner than expected.

Saving a bit more money to go towards more traveling.

All of these seem like viable possibilities--none of which are less than the others. Either way, in this situation, I think I win. Yes, I will be relatively disappointed if I do not get this; but let's be truthful here; who wouldn't be?

Moving away from Oxford for a while, I've been a bit homesick for a the past few weeks or so. I'm not quite sure what it is. Perhaps it's the fact that I've been listening to specific music that reminds me of home. Perhaps it's looking at pictures from University that makes me wish I was back in Baltimore, even just for a weekend. Or perhaps, with the coming of Spring and Summer brings back certain smells, which bring me back to certain places and times, reminding me that this will be the first summer NOT spent in the US. Luckily, I know that this pang I'm feeling will pass. I'm happy to say that, when I'm in Notting Hill/London, I don't feel it nearly as much (if at all), as I do here in Milton Keynes. I suppose that's a good sign as well.

'I'm not done with my travels, so lets run, lets run, lets run...'

A real quick update...

...for those of you whom I haven't spoken to, I finished yesterday's half marathon in 2 hours and 12 minutes; a whopping 5 minutes faster than last year. Running with another person certainly helped, as did not having stomach cramps and resisting walking at all costs. Sarah was my saving grace at times as she certainly kept me going during the painful 9 and 11 mile marks. Well done Sarah!

There are quite a few pictures up. My favourite happens to be my finishing picture caught on film. Take a look! This is, indeed, the look of pain (the last mile and a half was immensely painful). Regardless, I managed to sprint to the very finish! My next will be in July and I'm looking to cut my time down by 2 minutes. Fingers crossed.

' 'Cuz I've still got miles to go...'

A very quick post...

Milton Keynes Half-marathon this weekend. Very excited at the prospect of finishing in under 2 hour especially considering the people I'm running with and their incredible endurance levels (it'll be good to have a running group so we can keep one another going--or rather so that they can keep me going). Looking forward to that same feeling I felt when I finished last year--only this time, it'll be almost 20 minutes sooner and Adam will be running along side with me, rather than standing out in the pouring rain (like the awesome boyfriend that he is) waiting for me to finish. Not much else to say. More to come after Sunday...

'I'm a million different people from one day to the next...'

I have a bit more time now to update this and give an overview of our trip to Istanbul.

First and foremost, if you ever want to go on a trip where your main purpose is eating, I highly suggest Istanbul. Turkish food, actual Turkish food, not just some kebab place found in West London, is the best I've ever tasted; it even trumps that of the Cafes of Paris and the hole in the wall Pizza places in Rome. LonelyPlanet called it a 'gastronomical orgasm' and I fully stand by that. The mezze plates were always fresh, and you never had the same item more than once; I never knew there were that many types of humous! The lamb was flavourful. The coffee was a little bit of sweetened heaven; that is, if heaven were to have an IV drip filled with caffeine jabbed into its arm. The baklavah was flakier and sweeter than I have ever tasted (sorry Grandma, I think this may be the one and only time when I will EVER say I found something you make, made better). All in all, the food was well worth the amount of money we probably spent (and even that didn't even come CLOSE to compare to Rome and Paris).

Moving on to the actual sights in Istanbul. If you ever wondered what it was like, imagine taking Oxford Street or Madison Ave. and mashing it together with images from '1,000 Arabian Nights' or Disney's 'Aladin'. One moment you are walking down a cobble stone street with shops ranging from Monsoon and The Gap and the next thing you know you're hearing the Call To Prayer from the surrounding Mosques as you enter into one of the many side street bazaars and are being pulled in every direction to buy a carpet or a puter Turkish coffee maker. Women in Hijab and full length burkas juxtapose women carrying Louis Vuitton purses and wearing Burberry jackets. Everywhere you go has a different smell: spices, onions, honey, incense, petrol, shit--sometimes mixed and sometimes completely separate. Listening to the shouts from the bazaars drown out the noise from jackhammers coming from the adjacent buildings. The sound of continual progress and growth. The people could not be more hospitable and willing to bend over backwards to ensure you are comfortable and have what you need. That is, until you meet a cab driver who realises he has two obvious foreigners in his back seat who have no idea where they are in the city; our second cab ride, costing us 25 TL should have only been 10 TL max. With that said, everyone needs to make a living and the exchange rate was in our favour.

All in all Adam and I had a fabulous time. It was a great way to spend our one year, Valentines Day weekend and the start to my half term. We saw most of the main sights: Blue Masque, Aya Sophie, Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, Asia (from the European side), and a few other places that I can't remember off the top of my head. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who is looking for a slightly different experience to that of Western Europe.

Tesekkür Ederim!

I've returned from a weekend of phenomenal sights, sounds, smells, and tastes as a result of the collide of Eastern and Western culture. Istanbul was an experience of a life time, yet three days was not nearly enough. Pictures will be posted both on Facebook and my new 'photo blog':

www.flicker.com/lifelessordinary7

Enjoy :)