Ashley Robison

Okay, so I have tried writing this blog for the past two weeks, but the drafts have come out painfully boring. So I decided to write a poem and see if that keeps your attention. If you are looking for a fabulous poem….then go read Walt Whitman. But, if you want to read a poorly written  poem, then please, read on

The weekend of October 10 Brandon and I visited my family in New York City
We decided to drive and had to go through NJ which was rather shi _ _y.

In New Jersey you can’t pump your own gas
So we waited for what seemed like forever
Then finally got served and we were on our way
I never want to go back to that state….not ever!

When we arrived in NYC my sister gave me the best shirt ever
On the front it just says poop. I thought it rather clever

Then we all took a train to meet my parents for some BBQ
It was me, Brandon, Shilo, my parents and Melissa too

Here is a picture of daddy and me

Here is me in Time Square
I may look stupid in this picture, but I don’t really care

Here is a picture of Branny and me

The next day we had brunch at Superfine
I ate most of the bread but no one seemed to mind

A baby fell on the hard wood floor
So everyone stared because it was hard to ignore

Here is a picture of my sissy and me

I also took some pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge and  some more
But then we headed back to the apartment cause our legs were sore

That night we ate Rijsttafel at an Indonesian food place
And before we said goodbye, all of us made a funny face

I had so much fun with my family
Whom I love very much
I hope I can do it again soon
Because I sure miss being so far from them and such

Here is a picture of my family

THE END!

After a VERY crappy two weeks of not feeling well, my sister came to visit Brandon and me (mostly me….lets be honest). She took the bus Friday night from NYC and got dropped off in D.C. We picked her up and had a very conversational car ride back to the apartment. We talked about our weekend plans and of course…Project Runway.

After we got back to the house we chit-chatted and then went to bed. The next morning we had breakfast and watched LDS General Conference. After the morning session we got ready and went to the movie theater. I wanted to see Fame but Brandon didn’t so I was glad that Shilo came out and was able to see it with me. Shilo and I both had expired free movie tickets and thought we could be tricky and use them anyway. Because of Shilo’s sly skills we weren’t denied the free tickets and got to walk right in. Once we sat down in the best seats of the theater, Shilo left to get something to drink. She put her purse on her seat to save it (like all smart people do) and then some fat girls decided to sit RIGHT next to where her purse was. Not cool. So upon Shilo’s arrival, I motioned for her to come sit on the other side of me so that she didn’t have to sit between me and fat girl. As soon as I moved Shilo’s purse from the originial seat, fat girl plopped her purse on that seat. Rude much? And to top it off, these girls were loud and had annoying cackles which lasted throughout the movie.

Other than that incident, Fame was a pretty good movie for being free. Shilo and I, of course, left the theater dancing.

On our way home we decided to have dinner so we went home, picked up Brandon and walked across the street to eat at this mexican restaurant.

I was super excited about it, but apparently Brandon and Shilo were not. I ordered a chimichanga covered in cheese and it was delightful. Shilo and Brandon ordered “salads” and wondered why they didn’t like the restaurant. You don’ t order salads at a mexican restaurant! But desert made up for their meals…3 words: Fried Ice Cream. Yummy!!!!

After we walked home we watched There Will Be Blood. Shilo had not seen it and it is one of my favorite movies so I had to make her watch it. Then after the movie we watched the SNL parody “I Drink Your Milkshake”. A must see. We then watched last weeks SNL where Jenny Slate dropped the F bomb and then we watched this weeks SNL…which could have been so much better considering Lady Gaga and Madonna were on.

We also played some Rock Band. There were some hilarious moments, like Shilo singing Chop Suey by System of a Down, and the night ended with me singing Move Along while Brandon and Shilo were getting “failed out” of the drums and guitar.

Sunday morning Shilo and I decided to make biscuits and gravy….worst….idea…..ever. Our gravy tasted like glorified flour mush. But thanks to Shilo’s craftiness, we made it edible. We watched some more of the LDS General Conference and then Shilo and I thought it would be fun to learn the “Single Ladies” dance…..second…..worst……idea….ever. We gave up a few 16 counts into it. I blame it on the lack of a dance studio and leotard.

Now it is 9:30 on Sunday night and we just got back from taking my sister back to the bus station. I miss her already. I am so glad that she came down to visit with me and lift my spirits. Ya’ll should be so jealous that you don’t have a sister like Shilo.

Right Back What Is Wrong….Move Along.

I still have no job.

I sure miss my family.

It rains here a lot.

Yesterday Brandon and I (and some of his econ classmates) took the metro to Arlington to attend a lecture at the other George Mason campus. The lecture was “Economics and Charity” and, for a non-econ student, was really interesting. I honestly thought that they would be talking about something I didn’t understand but I actually understood 98% of it. I was the only person in there who wasn’t studying economics but I didn’t feel out of place. After the lecture, we all went to an Asian restaurant and ate and drank (Shirley Temples for me!) for a few hours. I was proud that I could keep up with the conversation on all the PhD students. And before you start to think very highly of me let me tell you what the conversation consisted of: Rockband, movies, Battlestar Galactica, Family Guy, “naggers”, religion, Rush Limbaugh and Anchorman. It was a fun night.

In other news, I have developed terrible sleeping habits. I stay up until the wee hours of the morning and sleep until 12 the next day. I know when I have a job I will (hopefully) start sleeping like a normal person but right now its kinda annoying. I feel like a bum…which I guess I am since I don’t have a job. I have been averaging about 2 applications per day and yesterday I went to a job fair. I will have 2 interviews next week. If I don’t get a job next week, I will probably start working someplace that doesn’t pay much, but at least I will have some income.

That’s about it. Exciting my life is, I know. Until next time…stay classy readers.

No, we did not have a BBQ but we did drive to Maryland to celebrate Labor Day. We left our house this morning and drove to Chesapeake Beach, MD. When we got there it was a bit overcast. We decided we wanted to eat fish and chips for lunch so we stopped in this pub (which I wont tell you the name for privacy reasons). When we stepped in, no one was there to greet us. So we shlanked on over to a table and sat down. As soon as our butts hit the chairs, we realized that we were surrounded by flies. Brandon and I looked at each other and decided that since no one had come talked to us and since our table was infested with flies (we were indoors btw), we were going to leave. So we went and parked by the pier and walked around to try and find another restaurant.

When we got to the pier, we saw a sign that said “You must purchase a beach pass to be able to enter the beach area”. We got worried. But apparently you are free to go to the pier but must pay to go to the beach. So we walked down the pier and looked at a great view of the area.

There was a hotel right next to the pier and they were having some kind of kids day. They had snow cones and a play area for kids. They also had this CREEPY pirate guy!

Yeah, if I were a kid, that would scare me. Anyway, we were really hungry by then so we got some fish and chips at this little hole in the wall restaurant. It was good.  After eating we walked around the little shops. We went into this big antique store that smelled like pee, but it was pretty interesting. Then we went to a candy store and they had my favorite candy of all time…KOOKABURRA LIQUORICE!!!! I can’t tell you how excited I was that they had it. I bought 2 bags to last me for awhile

After a little shopping we up to Annapolis, MD. By that time it was pouring pretty much the whole way there.

But it was an extremely pretty drive. When we got to Annapolis we went to a huge mall and walked around for a bit. Brandon bought me some shirts and a pretzel . All in all, it was a great day that I got to spend with Brandon. I am s o glad that I live on the east coast and can take day trips to different states.

Still haven’t thought of a sign off, so…

Not having a job yet and no school to attend, I feel like a real  housewife… minus the rich sugar daddy. Every day I have been job searching but I still haven’t gotten hired. I think every employer in Fairfax has my resume. So that being said, you can imagine how inadequate I feel that no one wants to hire me. But, I have to keep a positive attitude because I am sure something will come up soon…I hope.

I really enjoy our apartment. The scenery outside our place is just gorgeous.

The only thing I don’t like about our apartment is there is a creepy lady who lives here. A few times when we have gotten into our car, or out of it, she will be sitting on her balcony and stretch her neck over to look at us. And she will STARE at us the whole time we are walking. She reminds me of the lady from Drag Me To Hell

The weather has been great. I guess it was hot during the first week we lived here, but we didn’t really notice it. Right now the weather is in the mid to high 70s during the day, and it gets down to the low 50s at night. I am loving it! I just don’t think that I will be saying that once the weather gets cooler.

Brandon and I bought bikes so that we could ride around. We have been 1 1/2 times so far. I am not used to riding up hills yet, so I will need to exercise more. It has been fun though, minus the sore glutes, but I will be getting a new seat soon. Here is a pic:

The first day we rode, we dropped our bikes off at a bike store to get some things fixed. So we went to eat at this awesome place that had digital menus and yummy food:

Brandon started school on Monday. He had Walter Williams as a professor last night which was pretty awesome. He has been studying and doing homework a lot.  So yeah, that is pretty much it. I need a sign-off because I don’t know how to end this blog. So, until I think of one…

Well, it has been one week and two days since we have moved to Virginia. I think we are settling in pretty nicely. Brandon and I have started eating healthy since we moved here (minus the first two days, I mean, there is a Wendy’s like three minuets away). We have been going to Whole Foods & Trader Joes and getting organic food. I can tell such a HUGE difference in how I feel after I eat. Maybe its just psychological but it still makes me feel better so we are loving it! We also have some cousins out here (Tim and Katie) who have been helping us get situated. We went over to their house on Friday for dinner. They have 2 precious girls, and a little boy on the way. It is nice to have some family out here!

One huge difference between Fairfax and Las Vegas (other than the obvious climate) is how many educated people there are out here. About everyone I have met has asked me “What did you major in?”…like they all assume that you at least have a Bachelor’s degree (thank goodness I do). It seems like having a BA is like having a GED. The good thing is that it is inspiring me to go back to school sooner.

Other than that not much else is going on. I still don’t have a job but hopefully that will change soon. I hope you are al doing well. TTFN