that's what weekends are for

Having fun. So, I may regret saying this one day and I may really start to miss college, but having a job is the best. It is so great to come in on a Sunday night from a fun-filled, exhausting weekend and not have anything to think about except starting the week on Monday morning. No homework. No quizzes to study for. Nothing. It's great. But, as I'm sure with everything, that joyfulness and fun with slowly fade as the newness wears off. Nevertheless, I'm enjoying it while I can.

This weekend was pretty incredible. Kevans (that's Katherine Evans, for those who don't know) came in town this weekend for a long layover on her trip to the Middle East - Turkey for a month and Jordan for a month. (blogging is inevitable, as she says... "kat goes (mid) east" http://evanska.tumblr.com/ ) Anyway, it was just like "old times" - way back when (when we were 21). Anyway, Friday we were reunited at our fellowship group. Saturday we all braved the rain and thunderstorms together in the city, went to a movie, and reunited with the "original" fellowship group for dinner. Thank you, Feng, for my dinner :) And then Sunday, was incredible. Perfect weather. Perfect activities. We met for breakfast then went on a hunt for bike rentals. We finally found them at Pier 84 on the Hudson River near 42nd Street and the West Side Hwy. We rode all the way down to Battery Park City (don't worry, Mom, there was a bike path...we didn't ride on the busy highway) and this could have been one of my most favorite things that I've ever done in New York City. (Ranks close up there with the kayaking, Amy Jicha...) Then after church we went out to eat with Buck and Christine at a restaurant called the Boat Basin on the Hudson River, which was pretty bizarre and somewhat of a different dimension - it was so weird. It felt like we stepped out of NYC and into Gulf Shores. I rather enjoyed it, and the company was good too.

So, I should probably get to bed now. Just because you don't have to do homework on Sunday nights doesn't mean you can stay up all night...

ps - pics are to come. I just can't upload them to my blog in my room...I have to trek all the way down to the 4th floor because the internet is better there , and since I shouldn't even be awake right now, I probably should save the photos until tomorrow...check back!

happy memorial day!

Yay - no work today because it's memorial day! I got to sleep in, got up and ate downstairs in the dining room. Today the Markle was having a special Memorial Day celebration feast. It wasn't quite like they do it in the South, but it wasn't too bad either. I asked for a hot dog, and the man in his foreign accent said "you want one of all the meat?" and pointed to all of the different options - hot dog, hamburger, fried shrimp, bbq chicken...so, I thought it must be the standard for everyone to get everything as a special memorial day treat (since normally you only get to choose one thing). So, I said ok. Needless to say, I looked like a little piggy with a hamburger, a hot dog, a chicken wing, several fried shrimp, french fries, and some asparagus (odd combo to the others...) Then when Elizabeth sat down with me to eat, she had ONE meat on her plate, I especially felt like a piggy then...AND, they had dove ice cream bars too.

Then this afternoon, LeeAnne, Elizabeth and I went on a hunt for real BBQ and sweet tea. You can't have a true Memorial Day celebration without those staples to any southerners diet...and LeeAnne and I were successful last year, and thankfully the three of us were again this year...

(Compliments of Daisy May's bbq)

made me miss McKay...

Even though McKay says she doesn't want to be Serafina anymore, it still made me miss her.

a lot of walking

this weekend was such beautiful weather and so much fun! so on Saturday, I went on an excursion that lasted way longer than I was expecting, but it was definitely worth it. I went to an art and design museum called the Cooper Hewitt museum...this was my favorite exhibit:
http://www.cooperhewitt.org/EXHIBITIONS/multiple_choice/site/?r=4-14-2008-sub

It was very perfect for an interior designer, because it was all about samples through history. Then I took a stroll through Central Park and made my way back down to Times Square, which I haven't even been to yet since I've been back. And much to my surprise, it looked pretty much the same (kidding) - it hasn't changed a bit. Even some of the same ads were up as last year - P. Diddy. I also wanted to see some of the military people who were in town for Fleet Week. I wanted to get the chance to tell them 'thank you' but I couldn't get the nerve up...

me, Elizabeth, and LeeAnne at the fountain that was in One Fine Day

My favorite statue in New York - we had just seen a little Chinese woman holding her hand too and taking a picture, so we thought it would be a good idea...

an addition to my humble abode

Well, thanks to the airlines and all of their new regulations, I had to ship a box of clothes, shoes, blankets, etc up to New York instead of being able to pack everything in a couple of suitcases like I normally would. (Ok, so I probably wouldn't be able to pack everything in a couple of suitcases anyway, but whatever...) But, because my box finally arrived (it only got here 3 days after me, but it seemed like forrrrever) I was able to make my room a little homier and a little less Motel 8-ish...

I think my t-shirt quilt adds a very nice touch :)

my humble abode

so I've kinda gone on a blogging binge because I am at LeeAnne's apartment and I can actually upload pics to my blog, which I haven't been able to do so far at the Markle.

So, here are some pics of my room in NYC:

my closet, which by the way, is MUCCCH bigger than it was in my room last year!

my bed...that looks like I'm staying in the Best Western for the summer.

my room with my dresser and desk (and the lamp that I got electrocuted by...)

this is my bathroom...my VERY OWN!!!

(this is for my mom...) Hey Mom!!!

It's Fleeeeet Week!!!!!

life in NYC

so I have been back in NYC a little over a week now, and I have completed an entire week of work of my internship for the summer at Perkins Eastman. It has been amazing and God is helping me to see all the blessings, opportunities, and opened doors that He is providing for me right now. It is helping me to be thankful for where I am and not wish for things I don't have at the time - family, sweet tea, my friends from college nearby, etc.

However, God is preparing my heart and hopefully making it more malleable in order for my adjustment in August of where I will be living permanently (hopefully New York...) But it has been so amazing to see everyone from last summer, meet more new friends, and find such refreshing things in New York that I had already forgotten about in the short time that I was gone.

First night back in NYC at the Hope for New York benefit at the New York City Fire Museum

In the big apple...

So, the days that I had been waiting months and months and months for are finally here! My first weekend in the city was a blast! A little overwhelming at times, but still a blast. I met tons of fun people, reunited with tons of fun people, and got to hang out and try to reacquaint myself with this enormous city!

Not only did I get to see my fellowship group again, which was amazing and refreshing and every other adjective I can think of for great, but I also got to hear Tim Keller. I had this link at the top of my favorites - http://www.redeemer.com/sundays/service_info.html This church is amazing and I have been waiting for 9 months to get to return to it!

And today I had my first day of work! It was so great. Heather was really nice (LeeAnne was definitely right) and it seems like it is going to be a really fun summer and a really fun internship! It's weird to think this is what I'm actually going to be doing for the rest of my life - and ahhhh, no more school!!! But it's exciting too...I still can't believe that it's actually HERE!

The day has COME!

So, I haven't really updated this in a while to give an accurate countdown of how long until I return. The reason for that is mainly because I couldn't bear myself to actually admit how dang close it actually was. It kinda made me sad, kinda nervous, kinda scared, and kinda excited. Therefore, I've just decided to live the past week in denial and oblivious to reality.

But now I have 14 hours and 13 minutes until I am in the Big Apple for a good 11 weeks. Whew. How time flies!

What I'm gonna miss the most is actually not in Auburn this time, but in Auburn's arch rival city, actually, Tuscaloosa...

MY FAMILY! (and my family that is spread out in a few other places...Elizabethtown, KY. because the fam in NJ will be close enough to see before August - so I'm not really gonna miss them.)

Tonight we went out to eat at Cypress Inn to "celebrate" - hopefully not celebrate my leaving for 3 months, but maybe just a chance for us all to be together again before I left. Anyway, it's been a really fun week at home and I've gotten to spend a lot of valuable time with the fam and I'm gonna miss them tremendously until July when I see them all at the beach!

my fam at dinner

two nieces, Mayce and McKay

the rents

the GGs

my sister-in-law and oldest brother, Brent

sweet Tate probably isn't gonna even recognize me when I get back! (not that he even really recognizes me now or anything)

It's REALLY almost over

The count is down to less than 2 weeks now. 13 days 2 hours. Does anyone else find this extremely unbeeeeliveable besides me?

Senior thesis down, 1 final down, 2 to go. And 5 days left in Auburn. Bittersweet.

So an amazing feat was accomplished this week during the scurrying and hecticness of final presentations - I finished my project over 24 hours before it was due and did NOT pull one all nighter for the entire project! But, fun times were still had in the studio into the wee hours of the morning, and as always, good memories made. This is what I'm truly going to miss about interior design and Auburn - not the pointless, redundant projects that I have been doing for at least the past 2 entire years, but the girls in my class...

21 days. 3 weeks. Less than a month. I will be sitting on a plane at this very minute beside a total stranger listening to my iPod. or maybe reading.

I can't wait to be in NEW YORK in three weeks, but I can wait to be gone from Auburn in three weeks. It definitely set in last night - I hate change. And I don't like to think about leaving all my friends and my home for the past four years. I feel like my senior year in high school is happening all over again.

She is gonna die, absolutely die, if she ever reads this blog about her...which she might, because she is one of the only people in Auburn who even know about this blog or ever read it. But "what I'm gonna miss in Auburn" today is CAYLEN. She has enough big changes coming up in her life (WAY more than I do) because she is getting married in August AND moving to Phoenix in August. But, she's made interior design bearable, especially over the past two years since we've known each other a lot better. I'm hoping that even at opposite sides of the country, we'll still keep in close contact and text messages and emails will hold us over for, hopefully, an occasional visit...



(IF she ever reads this, she is going to KILL me for putting this picture up...haha)

Ok, so only 22 days and 16 hours. That's pretty crazy.

Today is the 22nd of April, I have 22 days until I move to New York and it is one of my best friend's, Rose Lynn, birthday today! (her 22nd, in fact!)

So in this blog I'm gonna miss Rose Lynn. She will still be living in Auburn and going to HSOP (that's Harrison School of Pharmacy, for anyone who doesn't know) and preparing herself to make tons of money...and I'm gonna miss her. A lot.

Now only 23 1/2 days. I'm not sure why I'm blogging now instead of sleeping, but I've got a lot of energy left over from the day, I guess.

Here's another thing I'm gonna miss...my room in BH303. Even though I haven't lived here but one semester, it is so cozy and homey and I love it...and my bed is really comfortable.

And getting on the roof of BH303, even though we can't do that anymore anyway, or else we will be "arrested and evicted for trespassing"

And, of course, another thing that I'm gonna miss tremendously in Auburn besides just my room in BH303 is my roomMATE and one of my best friends ever...KATIE! It has been such a fun semester living with her again, and I can't wait until she comes to visit in May for Fleeeet Week!!! And hopefully more often than that if I stay in NYC in the fall...

24 days 1 hour and 23 minutes. in-saaane.

And I'm starting to get really sad again. I just walked to the Goal Post to get a drink and for some reason the Goal Post brought about a lot of nostalgia...which is really weird, because today was only the third time I've ever set foot in there in the past 4 years.

Anyway...what I'm gonna miss today is :

My twin (apparently), Anna Curl and our weekly TCBY visits and all of our other random hangouts, chats, gchats, text messages and people calling us each other and telling us we look alike at every single function where people know both of us.

I guess you'll just have to come hang out in NYC every once in a while, and we can go to Tasti D-Lite...not quite as good as TCBY, but as close as you'll get in New York.

ONE MONTH!!! ONE MONTH!!! ONE MONTH!!!!!!!

It is soooo close now! And yesterday I found out that my housing is FINAL and today I got my official offer letter so my internship is FINAL! I really can't believe I started this blog at 200 days or something and now it is down to a mere one month.

And "what I'm gonna miss in Auburn" on this blog is:



ASHLEY RUTH YORK, doggone best Mom! I'm gonna miss all of our Zaxby's meals and drives around Auburn and leaving our classes in Spidle to escape the craziness of studio and go sit out by the dumpsters and talk! ahhh! And, of course, living together. But I already miss that!

Wow - I just realized THREE days later how super cheesy that last post was...sorry. I promise, no more mush from now on.

tears are coming

So, now the count is down to 32 days. Can you believe it? That is barely over a month until I move to the Big Apple once again. Who knew time would go by so fast?? And it's starting to hit me like a ton of bricks...not the fact that I have less than one month until I take my last academic final for the rest of my entire life. That hasn't really set in yet. But the fact that I'm going to be leaving one of my favorite places in all the world in less than a month...that's starting to settle. (In fact, I'm getting that burning feeling in my eyes and nose right now as I type this.) To make all of this even worse, I've been extremely emotional in the last week, for me anyway, so not only have I been thinking about this, I've been CRYING about it too.

Today I was looking at something posted on the Auburn website about the graduation ceremony and I started to tear up. Then later in the day I was reading a poem about "moving on in your life" and I started to cry again. Then when I was making my dinner tonight, I realized that there are only two more Saturdays that I'll be in Auburn living here (excluding exam week...but nothing counts during exam week). Ever again.

Anyway, so I decided to take Pam's advice and start documenting on my blog, not only just the number of days that are left until my return to the city (since originally my blog was solely dedicated to the number of days left until I moved back), but the things that I'm going to miss so much when I don't live in Auburn anymore.

Here's a start :



Ok, so I actually killed several birds with one stone in this pic, because it's loaded with things I'm gonna miss. The first and most obvious...CHICK FIL A! I know that there is a Chick Fil A in the NYU food court on campus in NYC, but it still won't be the same. It won't be as convenient and I don't think the food court is open during the summer months, so it'll be a while before I get this again, once I move. However, I have a feeling during final project week, I'll get enough to have my fill for a while. The second thing in this picture that I'm gonna miss is the studio. Sounds crazy, and I'll probably regret saying that in a few weeks once I spend approximately 120 straight hours there. But that studio has also been the home to many great memories, the place where a lot of great friendships were made, and my second home for the past four years. And last but not least of the things I'm gonna miss in this picture, is Peek's square project. Yes, I hated this project when I did it. But if you can see it, look how amazing they are once they're finished. And each year, it's fun to see the paintings and the art that the current sophomores pick to do for their project. It'll be sad not seeing all of the finished products again next year...

34 days til the big move!!!