welcome to my dorm

I just realized i havent shared any pics of my dorm (except for you guys who are friends with me on facebook!)

here are a few:

300 bananas a day

I'm goin bananas!

The other day the head chef of UTC called me and wanted to know if i wanted 2 boxes of ripe bananas. Of course I said yes.

layers and layers and layers of bananas. So many. Too many! They were all really ripe.

So. I froze about 3-4 big tubs of them for banana icecream. I have been making smoothies with the fresh ones all day for the past couple days.

I took about 10 bunches over to my friends house who has an excalibur dehydrator and I dehydrated them into banana chips (I actually just returned from their house to pick them up --- they are really good!) I usually don't eat much dried food but when you have this many RIPE bananas, you would too! I can't wait to share them... dried at low temperatures, nothing added!

I still have about 10 bunches of fresh ripe bananas left. I think i may have to cram more into the freezer... but we are running out of space! haha! I've been offering bananas to all my friends too.

Its banana city up in here!!!

Here are pictures of just a PORTION of the bananas we had...

My meal plan

Last week I moved into my dorm at UTC (University of Tennessee in Chattanooga).

At UTC, if you live on campus, you MUST have a meal plan. The cheapest plan is $525 a semester.

We have lots to choose from. Chik-fil-a, a pizza place, sushi, subway, and more. Yum! I can't wait to dig into that thurrr chicken!!!!!

The small fruit stand has apples, bananas, and oranges. ONE piece of fruit costs $1.09. Yes, ONE BANANA. ONE.

When I found this out I freaked out a little. If I can eat up to 22 bananas a day (on banana island, which I do a LOT during the winter), then that would be over 23 bucks just for one day. Ridiculous.

I got in contact with food services... but before I talked to them, my good friend steve (who got me into raw foods) talked to the head chef of UTC who works for aramark.

I met him when I first got here and he was SO nice. He basically told me that whenever i need food, I can go back behind the UTC kitchen into his HUGE walk-in fridge and pick out anything I want. He also told me that he can order me boxes of fruit.

I walked in the fridge. There isn't a lot of variety, but I can definitely get by. There were apples and oranges (they didnt look good). There were also honeydew and i think cantelope... but those wont be there too much longer. There are also veggies like cabbage, lettuce, and spinach... but if i do eat greens, i prefer them to be organic.

There are also boxes of bananas.

So....... I guess I will have to get by. If i get a box of apples, I will make applesauce. or my raw oatmeal (bananas and apples pureed in food processor... left a little chunky... sprinkle raisins on top... and dash of cinnamon if desired)

Last time I ate an orange at UTC, it burned the outside of my mouth. weird.

But i do somewhat trust the bananas. They look good. I guess I will doing a lot of time on banana island this year.

I can do this. If anyone has any suggestions, tips, or ideas, please let me know!

I am so glad i talked to food services.... i have a good deal now! I just need to play around with the variety somehow.....

Honoring Sam

The memorial for Sam was incredible.

It was one of the best nights i've ever had. Sam was there.

The lightning was magical. Lots of musicians were playing outside and thats when the lightning started. It got closer and closer to us until it was right above us, lighting up the sky every few seconds. Everyone could feel Sam. He was with us.

Sam and Becky made me a scrapbook a couple years ago. It was being passed around.

Johnny wrote a poem about Sam and read it out loud.

Videos of Sam were being watch.

His favorite cd's were being played.

His music friends were playing outside.

We were sharing funny stories.

Crying.

Laughing.

It was a great night.

Sam has touched so many people.

For the climbers, he was so encouraging. Even though he could climb everything with ease, he still had no ego whatsoever. Every climber respected his ridiculous strength.

For the musicians, he was pure inspiration. The best dobro player around.

Everyone loves Sam.

Everyone misses Sam.

RIP, Sammy Sparrow!

Here are some pictures I found:

RIP SAM

My friend died yesterday.

Honestly, I don't know what to do or what to think.

Sam was one of my best climber friends. He was one of my climbing partners last year. The crew was always me, Josh, Sam, and Becky. I had some of the best times of my life with them. We went climbing almost every weekend together and made more memories than you can imagine.

Sam was hilarious. He was extremely talented. He was an amazing musician and a very strong climber. He was so honest, loyal, and kind. He was one of the most fun people to be around... always making me die laughing.

I miss how he ate spinach straight from the bag. I miss he called me Atchilly. I miss how he talked like a pirate and our weird and hilarious discussion about open wound intercourse. I miss the nail game. I miss his overuse of the word "Frantic!" I miss how strong he was. I miss how much fun we had. I miss the "sweaty, douchebag" muffins. I miss climbing with him.

I lost a good friend.

The nashville climbing community lost a great member.

I will miss him forever.

Rest in Peace, Sam. I love you.

Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers!

sam and becky at cavefest in southern illinois. so much fun.


"Yarrrrrr" This is Sam on the boat when we went deep water soloing in southern illinois


chillin by the river. Sam, Becky, Max, Me, and Josh


me and sam watching josh climb in southern illinois:





p.s. i didn't go to the red...

packing for college

just givin an update:

Tomorrow I am going to the Red River Gorge in KY to do a little climbing. I return on Tuesday night and I leave for college on Wednesday.

Time is going by way too fast! I'm excited to move but i am not excited for classes....

I've just been packing all week. I'll give another update soon...

I hurt.

I hurt so bad.

I go outside to his grave

and let all my feelings pour out.

I talk to him

out loud

and then the tears come.

And i think:

Why am I talking to the dirt?

I just want to see his face again.

I wish I knew that the last time I saw him

would be the last time on earth.

I wish I could have hugged him harder

and longer

before I left.

I sit in different rooms of my house

and still expect to see him in his "spot."

I forget that he is not here

for a moment

and I hear him.

But when I look up

nothing is there.

And then the pain hits

once again

over and over and over again.

Why do I feel so much pain

for the death of one living animal

when people, plants, and animals are dying every second of everyday?

I look around

and realize

that everything is living.

And then I realize

that everything is dying.

Yet

I focus all my sorrow

on Buddy

one dog i have grown to love

out of the millions.

I have only known a few living people and animals who have died

yet there are billions around me.

Sometimes I am able to see a glimpse of the bigger picture

but right now

i just need to cry.

I just need to talk about him

and look at pictures of him

and share memories of him

and love him.

Coping with death is a very hard thing.

Buddy was so involved in my life

and its hard to go on

accepting that he is not physically here anymore.

He was the best dog I've ever had

and I will never stop loving him.

I miss you, Buddy.

BUDDY

I was eating watermelon with my great Aunt Eileen. We were having a good conversation and it started out to be a good day.

Her phone rang. It was my mom. She walked back into the kitchen and said it was for me.

Why would my mom call me on Eileen's phone?

Uh oh. Somethings wrong.

“Hello?”
“Ashley?”
“...yeah?”
“Buddy died.”

My heart sank to the deepest place a heart can sink. Buddy is my best friend. He has been my friend when I had none. He is there for me always. He knows how to make me smile. When i am sad he comforts me and he listens when I have to rant. He sleeps by my bed everynight, even when I am out of town. He waits for me. I LOVE him. I love him with all my heart.

As we always say, "He is good as gold.... possibly platinum!"



Yesterday was the day my grandmother died from lung cancer 17 years ago. Yesterday was the day my best friend died. And to make matters worse, my aunt was diagnosed with lung cancer yesterday as well. (Is it a coincidence that her mother died from lung cancer on the same day 17 years ago? Maybe.)

It was a sad day. The hardest part is that I never got to say goodbye to Buddy boo. I was still out of town in Chicago. For reasons that only he knows, he could not wait just one more day. Perhaps he didn't want me to see him die. Perhaps it would have been too hard for me to bare.

I am just really depressed. I never got to pet his fluffy body one last time. I never got to get down on the ground and hug him again. I never got to stare into his eyes and say a final “I love you."

I feel like part of me is missing. Buddy wasn't my dog; I was HIS GIRL. It literally feels like a chunk has been ripped out of my heart and buried with him. I can't go an hour without tears streaming down my face. I know his spirit is with me, but I just miss his physical being. I miss him so much. It hurts. It really, really hurts. I forgot what it was like to cry myself to sleep everynight.

I can hardly control myself. How do you get over your best friend's “death?”

I came home from Chicago, snagged a picture of me and him from my room, and walked outside to his grave. He is buried right behind the pond. It's a beautiful spot. I just sat there and talked out loud to him. I just screamed. I just cried. Part of me died.

And as I type this, the tears of love roll down my face. Love like this will never die.

Rest in Peace, Bud. I love you so much. Nobody will ever understand our relationship. Stay by my side.

I love you.

chicago

I'm in Chicago!!!

hanging with my awesome cousins.

...just wanted to give an update!

fruuuity pics

I took pics as I cut up my fruit and stored them in the kitchen. Someday I will take a picture of my whole setup - refrigerator, counter, and downstairs storage. For now, enjoy these pics!!!






banana icecream (with and without blueberries! mmmmm)

food inc

I saw Food Inc. last night and it was really good. It covered a lot of information including factory farming, assembly lines, labels, big corporations, fast food, farming, wages, prices, and more.




One thing that really stood out to me was when it talked about this:

Everytime you go to the store and buy something, you are voting. You are voting on what kind of foods they are going to supply. You are supporting whatever industry and company you are buying from. You are voting for local foods or ones that have traveled across the country. You are voting for or against pesticide use. You are voting for certain foods over others. Whatever you vote for increases the demand for those foods.

If you buy more organic, there will be more of a demand for it. Even walmart, which has such a bad rap for being such a big corporation, is seriously only trying to please the customers. They are voting for all the items they sell. If everyone started buying all organic at walmart, there will be a bigger demand for it and then it will eventually get cheaper.

Meat wasn't always as cheap as it is now! It was a process and it all started from the consumer's vote. The vote of buying a product.

We are very very powerful people. We control what stores supply. Go get the word out. Go buy the best organic fruit you can find. You're vote counts!!!


Here is the trailer for the movie. Check it out: http://yalesustainabilityleaders.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/food-inc-poster.jpg

epic day!!! missed our flight... hung out in seattle

Thursday morning we woke up early and it was SUNNY AND DRY! so we decided to get on our projects one last time before we left. So tim DID HIS CLIMB first go of the day!!! Then we went to my climb and i got CLOSER THAN EVER! But it was still a little damp. So we hit the road and the story begins:

First off, the gas station signs in canada bring you like 10 miles away from the exit for a gas station! Its happened to us twice on this trip... but it was wasting time we didnt have! After we FINALLY found gas, we were in a rush...

AND THEN there was an HOUR DELAY at the border.... Then they saw that we had fruit in my car (which by the way, i had just spent my LAST DOLLAR on this fruit. I have ZERO dollars.) Anyways, they held us up and made us go inside the office and wait... then they searched our car, told us that they could have fined us 300 dollars because we didnt declare EVERY single kind of fruit. (I seriously forgot about a few). They took my fruit and we were on our way. At this point our rental car was so late that they just charged us for another day (80 bucks).... and after a while we realized we werent going to make our flight.

We were in the car trying to figure out our financial plan. I had no money and the new tickets we were going to have to pay along with the hotel were going to rack up to about 600 dollars. Money neither of us had... Pretty stressful...

I went in the airport to ask how much a new ticket would cost. The guy was really nice. I worked my magic (apparently im good at talking to people) and he simply MOVED OUR FLIGHT TO THE NEXT DAY FOR FREE!!! We are on standby for a morning flight... but man, it felt like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders when he did that for us! He said it would have been 400 dollars for the both of us... so I just saved us 400 dollars! ANDDD we wanted to see seattle on our way up but didnt have time. But now with the rental car, we had the whole day to check it out!!! It worked out PERFECTLY.

The next day we were on standby for 3 or 4 flights... not sure which one we were going to catch. But eventually we got here after numerous stops, long periods of time talking to customer service, and hanging out in different airports across the country...

Here are the wrap-up pics from our trip:

my version of chips and guacamole: celery and avocado



tim crushing Action Man, v8



magical forest of squamish (even better in person):



tim and i on his birthday! sitting on a boulder, watching the sunset


the morning that we left, tim sent his proj, Worm World Cave, v9. SO SICK.


the morning that we left, i got HIGH POINT on my project, immunity challenge. It was wet. I am obsessed with it.


hanging out in seattle