I want to see your reaction, I want to see how it looks from way upon your cloud...

Well, it's been a few days so I'm gonna give ya'll an update on my life.
Saturday I got my hair cut. That was a good time had by all. I saw some Cony gals getting their hair all jazzed up for the Chizzle Wizzle Ball that evening. I also saw Jordan (her mother owns the salon I go to) because she was home on Spring Break and working at the salon. So, that was a nice reunion. I miss the people from my graduating class! :) Then for the rest of Saturday I just kind of hung around until about 11:30 that evening when Chris came and picked me up. It was wonderful to see him again. It had been just shy of 3 months since I had seen him and had been since October since I had seen him and we'd been dating so it was a really lovely night. We drove around and chatted and went to Wal-Mart to buy my dad a birthday card and just were regular ole Chris and Sarah. :)
The next day... Chris picked me up around 2 and we went to my grandmother's for a birthday party for my dad. I think he enjoyed the Elmo card I bought him. I think he also enjoyed the poem I wrote in it. It went something like this:
Hope turning 44 was a blast,
you're getting old very fast.
Before we know it you'll be 50,
and that's only 10 years 'til 60!
har har har. So, that was a fun party. I chatted with my brother about how the ball was and we ate cake and whatnot. After that, Chris and I headed to Gorham to see USM's production of Urinetown. It was GREAT!! They were excellent. I was very impressed. :) Then we went out to eat at Friendly's in Augusta and thennnn we headed to Orono. Chris met a few people here and we hung out for awhile and then he headed home.
Monday...I had a big speech to write for my speech class so I skipped my 2 lectures that day, 2 lectures that I NEVER EVER SKIP so I didn't feel that guilty about it. Plus, I really wanted to do a good job on my speech. It was a persuasive speech on gay marriage. I gave it this morning in class, I think people liked it. Today, I ordered some music for a possible audition for the music ed program here at UMaine. I haven't heard from Hartford yet, but if I stay here I really want to be in the music ed program. So, I should be auditioning for that within the next month. So, keep your fingers crossed for me. :)
Alright, I need to shower. I just did pilates, 8 minute abs, and 8 minute buns and I am sweaty and gross. So, later gators!!

old friends are wonderful!

What a fun night tonight was! Sara and I left campus around 2:15, we stopped at my bank, stopped to get iced coffee, went to register her car and then we went browsing around downtown Hallowell. There's this really cool new store called "Bling It On" that has knock off designer jewelry, purses, etc. I bought a Tiffany's bracelet for 8 dollars. It then broke 2 hours later. I shall return it tomorrow. It's still a cool store regardless, though. After that we went to Cafe de Bangkok with Jeremiah, Anna, Mike, Chantal, and Brian...which is where that picture was taken. It was a really yummy dinner. I had yellow curry which is always a delicious and spicy treat. :) After that we went to see Chizzle Wizzle. The new auditorium is AMAZING. It doesn't feel like Cony though, that's for sure. The show was great! I thought everyone did awesome. The ENDS were all fabulous. It made me sort of sad though to not be up there. My brother did well in the chorus...though everytime I looked at him he was laughing at the kid next to him. Ah well. :) Okay, well I am tired and I have a long day tomorrow. :) :) :) Christopher Ganza comes back to the Pine Tree state...oh me oh my. :)
Later, gators!

A weekend of fun!

I am really looking forward to this weekend. Tomorrow Sara and I are leaving campus around 2, heading home, and then going out to eat at Café de Bangkok with Chantal and Brian. After that we are going to see CHIZZLE WIZZLE, which I am very pumped about. Saturday, I am getting my hair done (always a treat) and then hanging out with CHRIS in the evening because he flies home Saturday morning!!! Sunday, Chris and I are going to my grandmother's for a bit during the day for my dad's birthday party and then we are going to see USM's production of Urinetown: The Musical.
I have never seen it before, but I have heard many good things about it. A LOT of colleges do it throughout the country. Actually, St. Olaf--where Chris goes, did a production of it in the fall. USM has a music theatre major and so I am certain that it will be a great show. For those that have never heard of Urinetown, according to the USM website: "Just about anything is fair game in this musical satire, including the musical genre itself! URINETOWN pokes good natured fun at everything from corporate greed and politics to romance to good-versus-evil. The setting is a bleak futuristic city plagued by a 20-year drought. A corporate monopoly controls the way people conduct their most private and basic of needs, but a hero rises to lead his fellow citizens against the greedy."
Only one more day of classes and I get to have my weekend of fun!! Yay!!! :)
Later, gators.

pilates!

Sara, Meagan, and I have begun doing Pilates every day. It's actually pretty fun and I was sore this morning when I woke up so I know it's at least working a little bit. :)
I am really tired so I am going to get going, but I will write a longer entry tomorrow. :)
Later, gators!!

a new hobby.

So, over vacation I bought a "how to" book on knitting. I failed miserably. I'm more of a hands on learner. So, tonight I asked Sara to teach me to crochet. It was pretty simple and it's fun to do while watching tv. I haven't perfected it yet, of course, I am starting a scarf, but I've had to start over a bunch of times. Like anything it'll get easier with time. I am exhausted. More tomorrow. Later, gators.

It's that time of the year again!

Jealousy does not even begin to describe how I am feeling about everyone who gets to be in Chizzle Wizzle this year. That pin is the one from last year. What a fabulous show we had last year. This year's theme is "Grande Opening" and I am über excited to see it on Friday. So a shout-out to the Ends and special shout-out and good luck to Miss Ariel Pelletier...the only returning End from last year, loveeee you! Oh, and of course a shout-out to my brother who will be in the chorus this year. :) OH and if you read the Chizzle Wizzle article I linked above, and you get down to the part that says "Last year, four of the six ends were girls." One of those 4 is me. Woot, woot! :) hehe.
I just really miss Chizzle Wizzle week...the jitters, the friendships, the fun, the booths, the directors, Gerry & his trio, the dance!!, everything. It's so much fun. It'll be interesting to be seeing it from a totally different perspective on Friday, but I am very excited. Alright, geology time.
Later, gators!

Meet Senorita Cookie A La Mode.

Well, I saw enough of those "become an M&M" commercials that I decided to go check it out for myself. I didn't make an M&M into myself, but I did make a nice pink one with pink hair and a pool. Her name is Senorita Cookie A La Mode. :)
Haha!
I am back at school. It's nice to be back. Of course the lugging my belongings up to my room process is never a fun one, but my mum and I managed to do it in one trip.
Then Sara and I went to the grocery store. We got some yummy snacks. I am not looking forward to class tomorrow, but luckily tomorrow is my late morning, so YAY! :)
Alright, gotta run.
Later, gators!!!

school, glorious, school!

Here I am at home on the last day before I head back to school and I couldn't be more excited to get back to professors, and tests, and a cramped dorm room, and public bathrooms, and cafeteria food, and everything else.
Because UMaine is pretty much the only school that has a Spring Break these two weeks... pretty much NO ONE is home. I don't understand how people take a year off from college. Granted, they have work to go to during the day (hopefully) but even so where in the world is the social life? All the friends from home are at school and there are no new friends to meet. I have been so bored this vacation it's not even funny. I found myself getting excited about trips to Wal-Mart with my mother...now THAT'S sad.
Don't get me wrong, it's always nice to be home, to be back to the familiar, but if you have no one to enjoy it with it can get pretty lonely. I look forward to getting back to school, what has become my normalcy, and this summer home will be much for fun when those people I relate HOME with are HOME as well.
Later, gators.

whatta couple of hotties!

So I woke up this morning and quickly after heard the sound of my brother and his girlfriend outside knocking on the door to our house. Apparently they had a half day at school.
It's always nice to have company though so I gladly let them in.
It's been fun hanging out with them, Heather and I gossip about all the crap going on at Cony and Chris just kind of hangs out. hehe. It's a good time.
I love them. :)
Later, gators!

43!

I came across this really cool website tonight.
http://www.43things.com
It is really neat. You can enter different things you want to do with your life and see entries from other people who want to do or have done that thing. It's really cool. There's also another one called
http://www.43places.com
(I really think you'd like this one, Uncle Jim)
It's the same thing as 43 things only you enter different places you want to go or have gone and read entries from others about that place. It's really fun!
Check mine out & then make your own!
http://www.43places.com/person/sashleyt1987
http://www.43things.com/person/sashleyt1987
Later, gators!!

Holy...Toledo!

I was sifting through old photos on my computer and I came across my pictures from my trip to Spain in April 2005. It was a fabulous trip. I went with a group of Spanish students from school and our favorite Spanish teacher so it was good times with good people. The town that stuck out most to me was Toledo. We drove through it on our way out of Madrid and into...somewhere. Haha. I don't really remember the order we went places anymore. BUT Toledo is BEAUTIFUL. I hope to go back someday. The picture is a view from the bus as we were driving up into the hills. Doesn't it look like something out of a movie? The hills go sooooo high and you drive all the way up these windy, steep, roads--sort of scary in a big bus, but fun nonetheless. The other scary thing was that from the bus the guardrails couldn't be seen so when you looked out the window you looked straight down hundreds, if not thousands, of feet. Sara made me sit by the window for that bus ride. Anyway, I just wanted to share that picture because I think it has a lot of culture and uniqueness to it. If you ever have the chance visit Toledo. I promise that you won't be disapointed.
Later, gators.

Welcome to America.

I have written blog entries about gay rights, about transgender rights, about how absolutely liberal I am and yet the blog entry about American Idol gains the most negative feedback. I could at least have respect if a conservative left a comment completely obliterating everything liberal I say because at least it's an opinion on something that actually matters. American Idol is a TV show. A very POPULAR TV show at that. I don't understand why people feel the need to defend it when my opinion is the minority among America. You don't need to defend it, it does enough defending on it's own. It's wildly popular and my opinion doesn't matter, but I can write my opinion on my own blog and expect that people won't have a hayday defending a TV show. Apparently that is not the case.
I apologize for offending the Clay fans and apparently the Kelly haters. My point was that I believe those that American Idol rejects turn out to have far better careers than American Idol could have ever offered them.
I guess that's truly America, though. The issues that really DO matter get tossed aside while a makeshift talent show causes an uproar.
Later, gators.

American Idol...a talent competition. Really?

Can I just be the first to say that I have never been a big fan of American Idol. I do have reasoning to back myself up, though.

Number one...Kelly Clarkson has been the ONLY winner to go on and actually do something. Clay Aiken had sort of made a career for himself, only to quickly squash the career when he squashed Kelly Ripa's mouth. Clay Aiken, however, was not even a winner. He was runner-up to Ruben Studdard. Have we seen Ruben Studdard? Nope. Fantasia Barrino? Nah. Carrie Underwood? Kind of, but only in the country world and she's even died down there. And finally we come to Taylor Hicks. And once again we come to another nope. So where are all the winners? Yes, they're in America, but are they Idols? Not by a long stretch.

Number two...I take issue with any show that just gives people careers that others have been working a lifetime to achieve. DO NOT even get me started on that damn show that is giving someone the lead in a Broadway musical. The thought of it makes me fume from the ears. Though these people may want to be singers and it may be their dream, they didn't achieve it the way that they should have. The way that everyone else is forced to. They were told by a guy who over-uses the word "dawg", a has been pop singer trying a bit too hard to stay young, and a pompous British guy with a tendency to show more chest hair than any of us wish to see, that they are good singers. Once they pass that hurdle they face 13 year olds who stay up until 2 in the morning voting for the one they think is cute 677 times. Which brings me to my final point.

Number Three...I think in the beginning American Idol was a talent competition. In fact, I love Kelly Clarkson and I think she's an incredibly talented woman. When season two rolled around they had an AMAZING singer by the name of Frenchie Davis.

They kicked her off the show because of pictures of her topless that had surfaced even though she had admitted from the beginning that the pictures were out there. Regardless of her honesty she was kicked off. Frenchie has since gone on to star in RENT and has a career far greater than it seems Ruben will ever have. So, I must laugh at little at AI's stupidity.

Anyway, back to my point. This season, a girl who quite frankly couldn't sing a damn note (and I am not just saying that. I am pretty sure my cat could belt it out better than this broad) was found in some nude pictures online too. And she had NOT been up front about it. So why then was Frenchie Davis, an amazing, talented, full figured woman kicked off of American Idol but an untalented, tone deaf, skinny girl allowed to stay on?

Thankfully, Antonella Barba has since been kicked off because of the fact that she, seriously, sings entire songs almost an entire half step below where she should be. It's like nails on a chalkboard. And though I am happy that she is gone, it does not make me feel any better about what American Idol truly stands for. Has what was once aimed at being a competition for elite singers turned into a place for untalented bimbos to gain recognition? I don't know. Perhaps that's for America to decide. I, however, will be watching those that American Idol rejects. The Frenchie Davis' & the Jennifer Hudsons of the world that go on to do greater things than American Idol ever did for them. They should be proud that Simon's constant remarks about their weight didn't deter them and that now as he sits next to Paula Abdul judging people that will go nowhere in their careers, they are getting standing ovations on the Broadway stage, on the Oscar stage, on the stage that America is really watching.

Later, gators.

it's progress!

Most people that know me well know that I despise driving. It makes me nervous, I get stressed while doing it, I find it boring, etc. I do it only when I ABSOLUTELY need to and the rest of the time I am riding passenger. I like riding in cars a bunch, long distances even, but I just don't like being behind the wheel. Before today I hadn't driven since August, mostly because I don't have my own car and I am at school most of the time, but also just because I try to avoid it at all costs. I made a pact with myself this break that I would drive a little just so I could get back into the swing of things and because I realize that in life driving is a necessary evil. Hopefully I'll be city-bound after college though and I won't need a car. SO anyway, I drove today!! Granted my dad was in the car and it was only for like 20 minutes, but still I did it! I am making progress. Maybe someday I won't hate it as much.
I bought a book today. It's by Jodi Picoult. I'd never heard of her before I saw her newest novel featured in People magazine. Her newest sounded really great so I went to the bookstore today in search of it and 0nly found it in hardcover and I didn't want to spend 27 dollars on a book so I went to see if she had any other books. To my delight she had 14 other novels!! After reading the blurbs to most of them, I picked one called Perfect Match. All of them seemed like they'd be great though so I think I'll read the rest of them while I wait for her newest, Nineteen Minutes, to be sold in paperback. I always like to find a good book.
Alright, a good SVU is on so I'm going to watch that.
Later, gators!!!

Vacation...not all I ever wanted.

I am so bored!! I am glad to be on vacation for the facts that I can sleep in and I don't have to worry about school work, but other than those things, I think I would rather be back at school. Lounging around the house all day isn't my idea of a good time. Although, I do really enjoy being able to watch The View every day. I have classes at 11 every day so I can never watch it. So, it's a nice treat to be able to watch it while I'm home.

Here are my opinions on all of the hosts:

Elisabeth Hasselbeck:

I don't agree with most anything Elisabeth says, but she has a certain charm that makes me like her. She has Conservative views, but she's not in your face about it (as much as Rosie is with her liberal views, anyway) so I can respect that and she's super pretty.

Joy Behar:

I LOVE HER. I agree with most everything she says and she's soooooo funny.

Rosie O'Donnell:

Oh, Rosie..gotta love her. I was a huge fan of her show back in the 90's and I still love her. I agree with most everything she says, but I sometimes think she is way too in your face about it. BUT it's her own perogative to express her views however she feels fit.

Barbara Walters:

She's not on the show much, so it's hard for me to have an opinion on her. I think she's fine when she's on the show. She's in a different age group than the other three women so I think it's hard for her to relate sometimes, but she's Barbara Walters nonetheless. :)

Alright...can you tell how bored I am!? Haha. :)

Later, gators!

animated me!

As promised I am posting the meez.com ME that I just created. Anyone that knows me well knows that I dance around my dorm room like a crazy fool on a regular basis. SO there I am!
Later, gators.

hahaha

So, I came across this website tonight called meez.com where you can make animated photos of yourself or others. I decided to make one of Chris. I would have rather had an organ to use as a prop, but that wasn't an option, so I settled with this electric keyboard. Other than that though I think it's pretty much him to a tee. The gospel choir, the black pit clothes, the big blue eyes. :)
You guys should all try it out. I'm going to make myself next. I'll post it when it's finished.
Later, gators.

are you getting somewhere, or did you get lost in amsterdam?

Meet Mitzi. Is she not adorable? She is Mira-Su's parents' new Chiwowa (sp?) puppy. She's sooo little, but VERY energetic. It was fun being able to play with her last night when I went over to their house.

I had to get up at 5:45 this morning. I was not impressed. So much for being on freakin' vaca. I had to get up that early because I had to come to mum's house and my dad wouldn't be able to take me until like 7 if he didn't take me this morning and I have an appointment I have to go to tonight. Sooo getting up that early was very icky. Alright, well The View is on and I LOVE THAT SHOW so I am going to go watch it. Later, gators!

oh..orthodontry.

So, I got scolded at the orthodontist today. I don't wear my retainer enough...but you know what, I think my teeth look fine (see picture to the left). Don't worry everyone, I'll start wearing my retainer more often. Dentist/orthodontist offices annoy the crap out of me. Because I am a Thurston I am ALL about timliness and I hate when such offices are like 10 to 15 minutes behind. Mostly because I am really impatient and I hate waiting, haha. BUT that's the way I am!
Alright, well I am going to Mira-Su's parent's house in a bit so I can see their new chiwowa puppy. Should be cute!!!
Later, gators!

go cony!

Cony Girls won the state championship game today! It was a good game against McCauley, but we never let them get ahead! I am proud of my alma mater! :) My brother's girlfriend, Heather, played really well. She's a guard so she is primarily in the game to play defense...and play defense she did! :) So congrats, ladies, on another victory!
Alright, I am going to go lounge around.
Later, gators!

you ain't never had a friend like me...

Well, today was a pretty relaxing and uneventful day. It snowed lots and lots. I stayed in my pajamas most of the day and spent some time with Annie, the kitty to the left. She's the kitty at my mom's house. At dad's there's Owen, but here is Annie. She's a really silly and playful cat. Which is strange because usually female cats are very independent and stay to themselves while male cats are cuddly and friendly.
I am such a cat person. I mean don't get me wrong, I like dogs too. I love all animals, really...but cats are my pet of choice.
So anyways...tomorrow I am going to the Class A Girls Basketball State Championship with my family because Cony is in it! I hope they win!!
Alright, well I am going to go watch some TV.
Later, gators.

home, sweet home...

I am home!!! :) It's good to be home. Sara and I left school around 4:45ish yesterday, went out to eat at Uno's in Bangor, then headed for HOME! :)
It's like a freaking blizzard outside right now. Sucha bummer. There was a lovely little heat wave the past few days and now it's back to snow, snow, snow. Okay, well I'll write more later. I just wanted to let everyone know I am home for Spring Break! Though my first day of Spring Break feels anything but Springy. Oh well!
Later, gators.

SNOW DAY!

Alright, I take back everything bad I said about snow earlier. :) Classes have already been called off for tomorrow, which means I am going home TONIGHT! Yay! They called them off so early because tomorrow would be the last day before vacation and with snow coming in they wanted to give everyone a chance to get home before we get stranded here so that's nice of the university. Alright, I am just really excited so I wanted to share my excitement. I've got to pack and stuff now though.
Later, gators!

enough with the snow already...it's March!

Okay, so I know that all you skiing fans are probably really annoyed with my utter distaste of snow especially since you all have gotten the shaft this Winter. BUT this Winter is just how I like it...barely any snow at all! & now on the radar for tomorrow is a snow storm! Hellooooooo. It's March, Mother Earth! Wake up and smell the flowers, hear the birds chirping, bring on the rain! And of course there just HAS to be a snow storm on the day I am supposed to be going home. Looks like I'll be spending another night up here.
::sigh::
On a happier note, this morning was the last morning I had to wake up at 7:10 before vacation. I don't have to get up that early again for another 19 days! Woooooo. I am so excited to sleep in during break. :o)
Alright, I've got Spanish class in a few.
Later, gators!