Author Archives: Ashley

“We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers.” ~ Woodrow Wilson

Posted on by

Hello everybody!

I made a presidential quote in honor of President’s Day coming up soon! YAY! New Paltz only gets a day off, but some friends from the island are coming up so that is gonna be really exciting and I’m gonna have a LOT of different pics to show you all from that!

So campus happenings. Absolut A Cappella is having their annual Invitational this Saturday from 6:30-9:30 PM in McKenna theatre. Now, some of you may be asking this: Invitational? What’s that? Well, basically there are a cappella groups from other SUNY schools and they all come together for one big “concert!” I myself have never been to an invitational before (it’s open to all but I have always had prior commitments.) So if anybody is going to it this year, I would love to see pictures and videos! Here is what it’s also about, taken from their Facebook invite:

It’s that time of year again! Absolut A Cappella is hosting it’s spring invitational on Saturday, February 18th in McKenna Theatre! Doors open at 6:30pm and the show begins at 7:00pm. And it’s FREE!!! Come for an awesome night of A Capella music featuring SUNY New Paltz…’s: Male Call The Sexy Pitches And our Guest Groups: MYSTERY GROUP WOOOO From SUNY Plattsburgh – Minor Adjustments ANOTHER MYSTERY GROUP WEEEEE And of course the one and only: Absolut A Cappella! Would you rather spend your weekend mourning some dead presidents or rocking our to some amazing music? I think you know the answer.
 
—
For those of you who don’t know, we have an all male a cappella group called Male Call, and the all female group is called the Sexy Pitches. The co-ed group is Absolut A Cappella. :)
 
So now away from campus happenings and back to my daily life! Last Saturday, me and my friends Steph and Saf got our nails done. We went to USA Nails, which is in one of the major shopping plazas in town. They sponsor a 20% off student discount, which I didn’t even know about until I got there so that’s always nice! Here is a picture of our nails.

Mine are the blue ones!

It is very hard getting used to doing daily activities with them; however, I am really growing to them and starting to like them a lot! Another thing that is going on in my life is that I want to start going to this club:

COSMIC CLUBBBBBBBBBB

So we’ll see.. that’s something I’m very interested in! :)

Let me know what’s going on with you all! Sincerely, — Asshleeyyy!! :D

“Leadership is influence.” ~ John C. Maxwell

Posted on by

Hello everybody! :)

Hope you guys are doing well! My classes are finally starting to pick up and I have had a lot going on here. I feel like in my phonetics class I’m learning a whole new language, and math… is a language of it’s own. With that all being said, I’m so bad at foreign languages!

Extraciriculars have been going really well, too! Today I was tabling at the Student Leadership Fair. There was popcorn and warm pretzels there. It was in SUB100, which is a huge room that people can fuse space in to host different types of programs. This was hosted by the First-Year Coordinator, Tara Sestanovich. There were all different types of leadership positions sitting at tables around a room, and people can come in and talk to the students about the position and get more information about trying to obtain the position. There were many opportunities to meet new people and another cool thing was that the Career Resource Center was there! A representative came to assist people in resume tips! It was all just a really resourceful event!

This is the Residence Hall Student Association! Check out their website or find them on Facebook!

People from NRHH! (National Residence Hall Honorary)

Here are fantastic Orientation Leaders! Be sure to look out for GIs if you are interested in this position!

Student Ambassadors! These are the students that give campus tours. :)

THE WELCOME CENTER! :D Applications are due March 30th!

 

So that’s a few pictures from that! More exciting news is that I scored a place to Observe! I am in an Observations class for my major and we have to do 10 live observation hours! Luckily for me my clincial hours can count for 5 hours, but I had to find another place to do 5 hours. I officially am going to start observing at Dunzine elementary school! It is a far walk but I guess it’ll be good for me. :P

Well, that’s all for now! I’m gonna go get some ice cream. :) Byebye! ;D

- Ashley

Listening to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b8erWuBA44

SUPERBOWL! … & Other stuff.

Posted on by

Hello lovelies!

So… it is finally here. One of the biggest days of the year for men. SUPERBOWL SUNDAY. The Scudder RAs hosted a little party, and Scudder Hall Gov helped set up and clean up! Here are some pics from the party:

all of the yummy food!!

 

people watching it! woohoo!

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA my friend getting food :p and the box we had going on in the bg!

ALL OF US! :D

So what else has been going on in my life? Just been doing a lot of phonetics… but classes are going well. I hope classes are going well for everybody else. My schedule worked out reallyyy nice… I have one class every day and one class online. Pretty soon I have to start thinking about living situations for next semester.. FUN! :) I definitely want to live in a suite style building, preferably Crispell. (http://www.newpaltz.edu/reslife/crispell/) It was the most newly redone suite style building, and it is also closest to the Student Union Building, where a lot of clubs meet, and there is a food court and “entertainment complex” amongst other places. Right now I live in a corridor, which is what people traditionally think of when they think of a “dorm” building. A hallway with rooms, and a bathroom we all share. A suite has their own bathroom and living room, and to compenstate for it the actual bedrooms are a bit smaller. Nonetheless, I am excited for a change and I will try to keep you all updated on that!

Oh, also, last night I went to see Extremely Loud and Incredibly close. I’ll do a small movie review for you :)

I had to read the book of this for my First-Year Composition I class assignment. The book was a little confusing, since it had pictures that seemed out of place, random writing, etc. It was still a powerful message, but seeing it in the movies made me understand everything so much better! I highly recommend seeing the movie after reading the book (or just seeing the movie :P lol) It is about a boy whose father died in the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and how he tries to remain to stay connected to his father afterwards. Me and my friend cried a few times, so if you go to see this DEFINITELY bring at least a single tissue. More if you have been affected deeply by these attacks (I have been affected, but since I do not know anybody who has passed from these attacks I am sure my response could have been so much worse.)

Anyway, I would love to know what everybody else has been up to lately! Make sure to comment and keep me updated about everything!

Talk to you all soon.  Ya home gurl, @$l-ll_3`/

 

Welcome Back!

Posted on by

Hello everybody!

I hope everyone had a restful and relaxing winter break. Since I was posting somewhat regularly during this break, there is really not much to catch up on… but I do have a lot of things going on this semester that I’m very excited about and that I would love to share with you all!

So first of all, two of my classes are so exciting and I would love to share them with you! They are called Clinical Participation I and II. I am literally shadowing and assisting an Audiologist in our school’s very own Speech-Language and Hearing Lab. On my first day on the job, I was already cleaning hearing aids! It wasn’t what I thought it would be like. When I imagine cleaning hearing aids, I think of washing it under water or lightly scrubbing it with a cloth with water or something, and seeing all this gross wax and other nasty things. But technology today is so crazy! What I basically do is scrub the aids with a super strong disinfecting wipe (that even dries out hands to crazy extents!) and then I have a small tiny brush that I disinfect and clean all the microphones with. Then comes the  waxxy part– but technology makes it a breeze! There is a MIIIIICROOSCOPICCCC tube that’s inside the hearing aid that collects the wax, so all I have to do is replace the tube with a clean one. I also check the battery of the hearing aid, and I finally put my stethoset on it and listen to the hearing aid to make sure it is working fine. I also change this clear piece called the dome, if there is one. I am also responsible for some office like responsibilities, such as calling patients the day before their appointments to confirm.

Another really exciting thing that I have going on right now is working at the Welcome Center! (www.newpaltz.edu/welcomecenter) It’s so much fun and so far I really like every single person that works on making that department as successful as it is. My boss is the sweetest, and every single person on the staff has helped me so much and it’s only been the first week! I am also happy that I have already answered many phone calls and helped many people in person because I love leaving a good impression on people, not only on my behalf, but the school’s as well.

Sometime within the next few days, I’m going to get a glass retainer put in my nose, or get my nose ring taken out. :( I just got it so I’m kinda upset about it. Okay, I won’t lie, I’m very upset about it, but honestly being that I will eventually be getting my AuD degree and I will always be working in a professional setting, I will need it out at some point. I’ve tried to put in retainers before but it got really irritated, so right now it is still in my nose. May it R.I.P. I will take a picture with it before it comes out. :)

Anyway, that is all for now. Sorry for the whole wall of text– I’ve just been very busy lately and haven’t had time to make any videos! I actually have one for a YouTube channel I was thinking of making, but it’s all about my nose ring and I don’t think anyone wants to see that :P But there will be videos, pictures, and a whole lot more to come this semester! The school has a lot of exciting events going on (i.e. Accepted Students Open House) and I know there are always a lot of Community Service events and such going on in the Spring when the weather is nicer. As well, tomorrow I am hopefully going to the Poughkeepsie Galleria so maybe I can get a picture of the nearby mall for you all to see! (Which is accessible via busses… yay!)

Talk to you all soon! :)

– Ashley

A whole lot of NOTHING! :)

Posted on by

Hello Readers!

I don’t know if it’s just something about this year, or if I was under a rock last year, but a LOT of people that I know are travelling to different parts of Europe over winter break! I can’t wait to see pictures all over facebook before school starts. For now, here are some more pictures I have to show you all!

I made a scarf for my Aunt’s birthday. I asked my uncle what color coat she has, and he said it’s like an offwhite/eggshell. I mailed it a week ago, and they said it should only take 3-5 days (she lives in VA) and she hasn’t gotten it yet. I’m hoping it’s just a little slow bc it’s holiday time and the mail is backed up since postal workers have off, but here is to hoping. Here’s the finished project! It is my third, and probably best-to-date, thing I have knitted. It was also my first time adding frills to the end of something! I learned that off of youtube. :)

 

this is the scarf sitting on my couch :D

 

close up of the work! size 13 needles, which are considered big.

 

folded up and ready to go to my aunt :D

For New Years, I went to my friend Helaina’s house and we had a sleep over and had a small get together with our closest friends. I am actually surprised that two friends from New Paltz came, since we invited mostly high school friends. It was so nice to hang with everybody at once! We just played Rock Band/Guitar Hero, watched the ball drop, listened to music, munched on some food, etc. Here is a picture from that night:

What did everybody else do for New Years? Does anyone have any cool New Years traditions? If so, I would love to hear them!

Other than that, I am mostly chilling and relaxing. Today I ordered a math textbook. I am really not too excited about that, since math is my weak subject… but I have two friends in that class (and I am sure when I see the roster on blackboard I will know at least one other person) so I am not too worried. For those people who are new to ordering textbooks, I highly recommend the following: chegg.com, barnesandnoble.com, half.com, amazon.com. As well, there are some comparison websites that find the cheapest textbooks out there. As long as you are willing to rent, I recommend chegg!

Good luck with ordering textbooks! I’m gonna knit and watch movies, talk to you all soon~ Keep me updated on your relaxing break! :)

– Ashley

“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” ~ Clarke Gable

Posted on by

Hello everybody! I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season this year, and you are all preparing for New Years!

I have a lot to blog about and I have been really busy latley, so I’m gonna break them up into smaller blogs and make a few of them throughout the winter. :) The first blog I will do right now is about the movies I’ve been watching lately. I chose this quote because it is from Gone With the Wind, a very famous movie, and it’s also how I’ve been feeling lately. It’s great to be able to just relax and not care about anything for once, and get ready for the next semester to come.

Normally, i am not a big movie watcher. I don’t like sitting through them, I don’t like not knowing what will happen, and I absolutely HATE it when my friends text through movies. I mean, looking at your phone for a split second and seeing who it is and telling them, “I’ll talk to you later,” is MUCH different than texting them throughout the whole movie! I will admit, I have a hard time putting my phone down so I’m mostly a person who does the first thing. So overall, there are many reasons why I do not like watching movies, but I have been trying to stay home and save my money (the Ashleywantsacar Fund) so I’ve been knitting a lot and watching movies on the HBO channels we have. Here are my reviews, and I would love to hear what other people think of these movies as well!

The Dilemma, Despicable Me, and Daddy Day Care (which I’ve seen, but a super long time ago) are the movies I’ve seen over this break so far. It was my first time seeing The Dilemma and Despicable Me. So here goes nothing! My reviews!

The Dilemma. On the poster it CLAIMS “A comedy that doesn’t pull any punches.” I did not think this was a comedy at all! I am a truly a bigggggg Vince Vaughn fan, and I’m not crazy about Kevin James but he’s alright. So I thought it would be a movie I would enjoy. The only giggle I got out of this movie was when Vince Vaughn was spying on someone on the train, and he was in a cart behind the person. He was trying to look into the cart in front of him, and there was a girl sitting by there so he told her, “I’m not a pedophile, I swear.” The girl said, “too bad.” I chuckled and thought it was so twisted, but that was the only laugh I got out of the movie. It got extremely violent at times and had a lot of drug references, which I am not really into. There was a lot of he-said-she-said and the whole movie focused on such a silly concept. Overall, I’d rate it 5.5/10 and I am actually a little happy I did not see it in theatre’s.

The second movie I saw was Despicable Me. It was actually much more enjoyable than what I thought. It was basically about that evil guy you see up there, Dr. Gru, and how he wanted to be the best villian in the world. He abducted these girls in hopes that their cuteness will gain him the necessities he needs to take over the world. In the end, he ended up being the best father ever, which was NOT his original intentions. I am usually not a huge fan of animated movies, but this movie was actually pretty good and I’d recommend it to anyone of any age! Overall, I rate it 8/10. :)

Finally, Daddy Day Care. A movie I’m sure some of you may have seen. I forgot how adorable Eddie’s “son” is in this movie! This movie was about a man who got laid off, and wanted to open a day care center in his house to get some spare money until he found a real job. There were many inspections and complaints that came Murphy’s way and he had to handle them all, but in the end he became so passionate about his day care center. In the end, he was offered his job back, and took it. Until a certain something happened….. Which you must watch to find out!! :) Overall — this movie is for any audience, just like Despicable Me (but NOT The Dilemma) and I rate it a 8.5/10!

I hope everybody else enjoyed these great watches, too! I will post more soon and I’lll talk to you all then!

Truly, Ashley :)

The end of the end… !

Posted on by

Hello everybody,

Well this is it — finals week. I can finally say that in one week from this very moment in time, I will be home in Long Island doing absolutely nothing! I cannot wait. My first two finals are Friday, with two more that following Monday and my final exam is on Tuesday.

This semester, I have accomplished a lot that I would have never thought I could accomplish. Last semester I was very bored all the time. I had an easy schedule, and all I did was go to class, eat, and nap. That is why I applied for so many positions, and to my surprise I got most of them. I realized after the fact: am I going to be able to handle all of this? When I am not doing my core classes (which are all upperdivision 300/400 classes besides one) I will be with my Mentees working. When I am not with them, I will be at staff meetings, one-on-one meetings, and such. I also was going to be on the Executive Board for the National Student Speech-Language and Hearing Association, which I had no idea what I would be in for since it was my first semester in that club. A lot was going to hit me fast, and I had no choice but to take what was coming to me and try to conquer it all.

Luckily, I have. My grades are not as good as what they used to be, but I am taking much harder classes and getting much more involved with my school (which I am SO happy about!) I am still in a good grade range, too, which is very important to me since I am a student first. I have gotten closer with some professors in my major which led me to great opportunities I will explain later. I have also made great connections within the EOP family, the group of amazing people I would probably not be in college if not for them. If all of that doesn’t scream successful, I don’t know what does.

Let’s face it, I have been procrastinating for finals a LOT. I feel so burnt out because my classes this semester were somewhat demanding. I am hoping next semester my classes are a little bit easier. I am doing a stats class, phonetics, and the two classes I’m the most excited about — Observations in CMD, and CLINICAL PARTICIPATION! I cannot wait to tell you all about my clinical experiences! I had the Orientation for it on Monday, where I found out I will be keeping up with patients by calling them to remind them of appts, get their case histories, make sure hearing aids are in, clean hearing aids, and eventually I will be running (if I feel comfortable with it) basic audiological tests. I am extremely grateful I was given this opportunity. Only 5 or so of us are getting this chance, and it will definitely solidify my decision to go into the field of Audiology, and it will give me a taste of what I am in for. I will also be more familiar with the material in doctorate programs, where I will be dealing with these things on a daily basis.

Another great thing that is coming towards me next semester is being a Welcome Center Greeter! :) :) :) It is something I have wanted to do for a while, but I was originally going to wait until senior year for this experience because I thought it would be hard getting used to having a job/extraciriculars besides just classwork. Since I have assimilated so well this semester, I decided to go for it and as I have told you all, I got the position. I cannot wait to get to know the staff, and I want to learn more about the school so I can better help myself, as well as others.

Overall, all of the experiences I have come across this semester have helped me become a stronger, more confident person. This confidence does not only help myself, but it allows me to help others since I know that what I have to say is valuable, helpful, and that people actually WANT to hear what I have to say. It is truly a miraculous feeling that I hope everybody can feel at some point in their life. <3

None of these great things can come to me until I finish this semester. So, after all of this rambling… here is the fun stuff.. GINGERBREAD HOUSES! We made them out of graham crackers, ;) yummm !!! So this is what I’ve been doing instead of studying. :D Enjoy the pics! After dinner tonight though, I’m definitely gonna crack down and start to work.

ps. I hope I don’t sound cocky. That was just a really deep flow of emotions that kept coming out and out. :p

the table full of supplies!

 

one of the sides of my house.... that's supposed to be windows lmao.

 

another side! of my "house" aka box

 

my friend safire's !

 

i wish this beautiful house was mine!

 

Clever Blog Post Title Here!

Posted on by

Hey everybody,

Good luck to all of those who are witnessing the last week of classes and beginning their finals! I have been really busy, but to keep it short and sweet here is what I’ve been up to lately! We had our semi-annual NSSLHA banquet, where we had a nice dinner, raffles, and guest speakers from the Helen Keller National Center. As well, professors from the department were there so it was a great chance to mingle!

The College Terrace, where it all took place!

 

Our two AMAZING speakers!

 

Our speakers demonstrated tactile signing!

Another exciting thing that went on this weekend was this past Sunday. I went to a pre-hanukkah event in the Student Union MultiPurpose Room that was held by Chabad of New Paltz. Here are some pictures from the event!

Car racing games and wii games!

 

Inflatable Bouncy House! I went in this!

 

Carnival games!

 

Inflatable race thing!

As well, keeping up with the carnival theme, there was free popcorn and free cotton candy! There were raffles here too as well, and there was yummy Jewish food such as potato latkes to snack on! New Paltz has many different clubs and organizations that celebrate our diversity, and I promise I shall try to go to more of them and — more importantly — remember to bring my camera.

So that’s been my social life as of lately… my academics have been going pretty good as well! I just found out about an hour ago that I got accepted into an undergraduate version of CMD507, which is an Audiology Practicum. I have not accepted the offer yet, but I probably will by Friday afternoon. It is a chance that not many people in the major will be able to experience, and I also think that I will really be able to contribute in the clinic setting, as well as learn a lot. I will keep you all posted on that!

I have to go soon, I have a Peer Mentor staff meeting where we will be exchanging our Secret Santa presents! It is our last staff meeting, which is a little upsetting :[ I really like going to them and catching up with my fellow staff members, but alas it must come to an end (just like this semester is!) Is anybody else here participating in any secret santas? I love them!

Anyway, I will talk to you all soon! Thank you for reading my blog, everybody. It truly makes me so happy.

Peace out cub scouts! – Ashley

The post we are all waiting for…

Posted on by

I am so sorry I have not been able to upload this any earlier as I had said I would! It took forever to upload an 11 min long video… Anyway, I hope some of you find some comedy/craziness in this! Black Friday 2011 @ midnight @ Walmart. <3

Seeya soon! :)

PS GO TO CONDOM CASINO TONIGHT. It is sponsored by the Residence Hall Student Association, and it is from 8-11 PM in the Student Union Multipurpose Room!

CLICK ME! —> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oki_2SKY9Dk

Since last time… Major news!

Posted on by

Hello all of my readers! :)

So I have literally been uploading this video for you ALL DAY. It was taking a few hours in the morning, then I stepped away from my computer because I had to get blood work… and then when I got home later that day, it was frozen at 73%. So now, the video is at 50% and it has been uploading for 3 hours. I have no idea why it is so slow, but I will make another post in a few hours with a link to the video!

Anyway, a lot has been going on with me right now! I will start with what I’m personally the most excited for… on Tuesday, Nov 22 at 3:34 PM I found out that I was hired for a position with the Welcome Center! I am honestly soooo excited to get to know the staff and learn more about the school. I feel like having this position will overall make me a much more well-rounded person. :) If you want to find out more information about the Welcome Center, click this link: http://www.newpaltz.edu/welcomecenter/

Also, I have some things to share with you guys! My grandma went to visit my uncle in the Netherlands for like 2-3ish weeks, and she brought me back a magnet and a necklace! Here is a picture of it, which I saw Tuesday night after coming home:

isn't it pretty! i am wearing it as i blog this :p

Also, another thing I have to show you all is my first ever “scarf.” Basically, I didn’t count the stitches because I thought, “how is it possible to add or drop stitches? I just keep doing what I did before.” Well, obviously, I was wrong. This is what it looks like:

Yeah. It’s not even a matter of perspective. It’s just that wide. I stood up and took it from afar. SOOOO! Now I am knitting another scarf and I am being very conscious and always counting stitches… and it is actually coming out to look like a scarf! :)

Also, today I went to see ^^^^^^. Movies in Long Island are SO expensive! We went matinee (am I even spelling that right? hmmm..) and that was 9 dollars per person! Then, a large number one, which is one large popcorn and one large soda was 13.50! Outrageous! Overall, though, the movie was alright. It had it’s moments that were cute, and there were many cameos from other stars in it! I love love LOVE Adam Sandler. Billy Madison, Anger Management, Spanglish, 50 First Dates.. you name em all, and I love em all. But lately, I feel like his movies are not the same. Let’s take Funny People, for instance. I didn’t like it! I felt like it was just people looking for an excuse to be profane and dirty. Then, Bedtime Stories, Grown Ups, and this movie are like… too family friendly? I don’t know a family friendly film here and there is nice but I just wish he would do some teen appropriate things. Ah well, that’s just my opinion. :)

Nothing else that major is really going on. I’m mad tired from making the video, which I really can’t wait for you all to see. The video is 52% uploaded. I am sure my laptop wants to kill me, it’s so overheated it’s not even funny. Oh well. A woman’s gotta do what a woman’s gotta do :P

Well, thank you for reading my blog everybody! I promise within the next day or so I will have the video up that is taking legitimately hours to upload, and I will keep you updated with all of the exciting things that have been going on in my life!

Until then! Tell me all about your Thanksgiving! :]

- Ashley!! :]]]]]]]]