Hello friends,

Once again, I've proven to be an awful regular blogger. In my defence, I've had a heck of a lot of work to do over the last two months or so, but I currently have nothing to do, so I'll write an update. All in all, it's not been the best two months, with thanks to a few unfortunate events mixed in with my own stupidity.

Beginning at my own stupidity, in the last few months, it's come to my attention just how awful I am with money. I have been absolutely, completely, totally and utterly broke for just about two months now (yes - I even used all of my overdraft). This came as a result of careless spending (not even on anything of substance - just the odd £10 and the odd £20), trying to keep up with friends who have a fair amount more money than I do, and not even attempting to keep track of it all. Budgeting is so easy, and I never once thought to do it, leading to a very broke and often very bored Ashleigh. I've been seriously bailed out by the Royal Bank of Mam and Dad when it comes to food and bills, and all the necessary stuff, but I'm lucky I have them. If I didn't I would be well and truly on my arse. So a great lesson has been learned, and will be put into practise next term - BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET.

On to horrible misfortune - my aunty was diagnosed with breast cancer back in September. It was all treatable, and an operation removed the tumor, but she still had to undergo chemotherapy, which she started a few weeks ago. Obviously, it's great news that it's treatable, but it's still shaken us as a family. It's not something you imagine to be a part of your life until it actually happens. The chemo is making her really sick too, and she'll be receiving treatment right up until the day before Christmas eve, which means she'll be feeling rough over Christmas. But we'll make the best of it, and make sure she has the best time she can. These kind of situations are all about positive mentality, which she has thankfully pulled right out of the bag. I know she'll be back on her feet and fighting fit again soon, and I can't wait for her to get there.

Misery struck again last week, as my dog Jess died at the age of 13. Again, this was something I didn't expect to affect me quite as much as it did, and I still haven't been home since happened, so heading home from university for Christmas is going to be weird this week. She was such a sweet little dog - an absolute idiot, but lovely. She's been part of the family since I was 6, and she's going to be missed.

Onto a more positive note - last week, I had the news that I'll be spending a year at the University of New Mexico next academic year! It wasn't my first choice (or any of my choices, to be honest) so I was initially quite disappointed, but then I took a moment to think about it. I would never have chosen to even visit New Mexico, let alone study there, so I'd never know what I was missing out on. Being placed somewhere out of my comfort zone is actually a great thing. My first choices for the universities were places I'm going to want to visit in two years, five years, and further into the future, and they're still going to be there when I'm done with university! But for now, I'm excited for my placement, and I'm happy. I'll be making another blog for my time over there, as it's something I'd really like to document and look back on. But I'll worry about that come next August when I'm jetting off. 

As of right now, it's the last week of the semester. I've but one presentation remaining, and then I'm free to leave. I actually can't wait go home this year. In the first year, nobody seemed to want to leave for Christmas, but it seems to be a completely different ball game - everyone's exhausted and ready for their home comforts! I'm headed to London for the weekend on Friday to stay with Emily, my cousin-turned-Mary-Poppins who now lives in Clapham. I may make a post about it... but I'm not promising anything.

Until next time, buddies.

xoxo

G2: The Experience

This isn't what I anticipated using this blog for, but I'm going to share anyway!


So this weekend, I attended Starfury's G2 Glee convention. It was incredibly pricey, and there were debates as to whether or not it was worth the money they charged. In my humble opinion, it most definitely was.
The guests were Curt Mega, Ashley Fink, Max Adler and Steven Tobolowsky. I have to say, they were absolutely fantastic. I have to say, I was more excited about meeting Curt, Ashley and Max, but Steven turned out to be great too. Right from the beginning at the opening night meet and greet, he was captivating. He only had a few minutes to speak to a small group of us, but he had as hanging on every word. You could tell that he was putting thought into what he was saying, and he had such a strange way of making things make sense.
Meeting Max Adler was wonderful. I feel like I could have said a lot more to him, but didn't really get the opportunity. I could have talked about how affected I was by his character's suicide story. In fact, when it was mentioned in the Q and A session, I may have had a small cry, and I wasn't the only one. He's such a friendly guy, and it's obvious that he cares a lot about his supporters. He took the time to get to know his fans, and invested a lot of interest in them, which I thought was admirable. An example of that was with my friend Lucy. We told him she was a singer at the meet and greet, and he promised he would come hear her sing at the party in the night, and he did. He was so encouraging, it made us all smile!
Then there was Curt Mega. I really could talk about this man all day. He is such an inspiring person, and he doesn't even need to try. I have so much admiration for him. He is my go-to person if I'm having a bad day. Everything he says seems to cheer me up, and to know that we have spoken directly, that we have engaged in conversation, and that he is as grateful for us as we are for him means a lot. Before I left, I thanked him for everything he has done for me, and assured him that he has helped me on countless occasions without even realising. He told me that meant the world to him. A lot of people say things like that to their fans, but he's such a sincere person, you know he means it. And I'm incredibly grateful. I don't think I'll ever be able to say that enough.
And then we have Miss Ashley Fink. I'm fairly sure this girl made the whole weekend for me. We are, as she would put it, 'the same kind of crazy'. Everybody constantly reminded me of how similar we are. However, I can assure that she is so much funnier than I will ever be. Ashley is hilarious. Her talks were so entertaining, even though she was super awkward in between questions. But once she got going, you could not stop her! She is fierce, inspiring, and altogether amazing. And we got on well too. At the signing, she saw how I spelt my name, and told me it was 'so much cooler' than hers. She said "I want it... in fact, y'know what? I'm having it", and proceeded to write her name with my spelling in her autograph. We also had a little llama-related connection.
I got a llama puppet for my birthday. I absolutely love llamas for some unknown reason, so I took him along and he came in my picture with her. She loved him. It's common knowledge that she and Chris Colfer are best friends, and this weekend, I learned that he has the very same puppet (named Patrick), which simply astounded her. So she took a couple of pictures of myself and Patrick's long-lost British twin, to show to Chris. I think this was perhaps my favourite moment of the weekend. I have an infinite amount of admiration, respect and love for Chris Colfer, so to know that he would even acknowledge my existence is pretty mind-blowing to me. I owe a huge thank you to Ashley for that. She's a fantastic character, and I'd love to meet her again.
So that was a short summary of my brief-but-unforgettable experiences with some of the greatest people I have ever met. Not that I could forget the load of new friends I made along the way. People from the Darren Criss UK Street Team, a bunch of Warblettes (some surprisingly close to home!), the DJ who kept me up until 5am drinking, and so many more!
Over all, it was a fantastic weekend, and I'm grateful for every single person who made it as worthwhile as it was.

Stuck In The Middle

It's difficult being in the middle of a situation. When you know that no matter what you decide, somebody is going to get hurt or offended, or make you feel in the wrong. But there will always be a time where you have to be the bad guy, and make the decision to piss somebody off. 
In my case, the occasion is my 17th birthday party. I could either have it next Friday on Saturday. If I had it on the Friday, one friend would be late because she works until 10pm. If I had it on the Saturday, another friend wouldn't be able to make it because she'll be working until at least 1am. So I chose to hold the party on the Friday night, triggered by the logical thought of preferring somebody turning up late than not at all.
Of course, the consequences were unfavourable, to say the very least.
My good friend who works Fridays is not impressed. She has decided not to come at all because she'll be too tired, which is admittedly annoying or upsetting, or somewhere in between (though nowhere near enough to pick a fight). I feel terrible about it, but it's a decision I had to make. It wasn't as though I prefer the company of the other friend (as her mother so tactfully put it), and it is by no means personal. The fact was, I had to choose between friends, so I let logic make the decision for me. Evidently, logic doesn't agree with everyone. 
But then again, does anything agree with everyone?