Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's perfectly acceptable...

• to still revert back to watching Rudy every time I feel like the underdog and I need a little inspiration. Rudy gets me pumped up every time (yes, I am a sucker for inspirational movies)! He just NEVER gives up! 

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• to have the reaction of "I don't think I can even handle that," to the news of Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt being in the the same movie. Is that even legal? 

• to do all the things this girl does in this video, "Things Girls Secretly Love to Do Alone." Bahaha! 

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's perfectly acceptable:

• to eat half the box of Trader Joe's Chocolate Coconut Almonds in one sitting. TJ makes me gluttonous with their "health" foods. 

Trader Joe's

• to become obsessed with all things space-related. Like...have you seen the footage of a probe landing on a comet???????? THIS IS FASCINATING. And then I saw Interstellar (review below), which has me considering the ramifications of black holes. I'm finding it hard to keep my mind on this planet this week, but I'm okay with that. 

• to download over-the-top Celine Dion songs, sing them at the top of your lungs, and feel all the better for it. Maybe I even slipped a couple Celine chest-pounds in there too #guiltypleasures

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's acceptable:

• to decide that from now on "chicken breasts" will now be dubbed "chicken titties." (Got this one from a brilliant friend, and I'm paying it forward). 

• to eat a generous helping of waffles whilst watching the Moulin Rouge, and deem this a productive Saturday!!! (indeed!!) 

  

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• to be charming enough to convince the bartender to give you a free "tatser" of hard alcohol. Taster = almost shot. Heck yeah!

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It perfectly acceptable...

• to believe I have special powers when in my mind I think, "Man, I could really use some cornbread!" and then an hour later my coworker happens to bring enough cornbread to share. Guys, I'm magic. 

• To profess every Friday National In N Out Day at my work, where everyone is required to eat In N Out together (this has worked twice so far). 

• To have a cronut and a maple bacon donut in one outing (I may have developed a stomach ache later in the day).

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's perfectly acceptable:

• to feel like the most powerful woman in the world. This is attributed to the new reality of working will all men and hearing man conversations ALL DAY LONG. I think I'm starting to understand the male brain. This will make me an evil mastermind moving forward. 

• to answer, "Hell yeah!" when you pull out all one-dollar bills to pay for a sandwich at the deli, and the cashier asks if you "made it rain" last night at the club.

• to feel a slight twisted bond with your coworker when you find out he loves It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia as much as you do. Weirdos gotta stick together. 

• to have weird, weird thoughts about alien life. Like, if there is intelligent life elsewhere, do they have little alien businesses and little alien offices? Do they care about their status like human beings? Do they have a monetary system? And aren't human beings the strangest species, like ever??? AM I THE ONLY ONE TO THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS??? Of course, I share these thoughts with other humans and they give me strange looks. Have come to the conclusion that maybe I am the alien.

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's really very acceptable to:

• to drink my coffee out of pretty little porcelain cups because it makes the coffee taste better (truth). 
  
  
  

• to be a wee bit obsessed with HGTV in an insane way. I drop everything when House Hunters International is on, which either helps or worsens my travel bug (not sure which one). And I just looooove when Design on a Dime redecorates rooms with chevron pillows and fake antique furniture. 

• to be the worst hard-boiled egg peeler in the world. How do people make beautiful deviled eggs when mine turn out so...tortured??

• to force people to call you Master because you've officially received a Master's. What? This should only go on for another week or so...or something like that.  

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's really very acceptable:

• to watch How I Met Your Mother marathons on Netflix. Damn you Netflix! You take over my life and take advantage of my joblessness. I'm almost caught up to the new season premiere! Of all the characters, I'm most like Robin--somewhat dry humor, harsh attitude to dating, loves travel, laughs at anything too overly emotional, but has a secretly soft core. Except, I like kids. 

Suit Up! 

• to wrap myself in freshly-out-of-the-dryer sheets even on a hot, hot summers day. It still feels so nice, even when I'm overheated.

• to want to punch some man who chastised me for taking the train in Italy and how I should have rented a car instead. Screw you, guy. I adore trains! And I'm missing them right now! I'm thinking this train obsession began with watching Thomas the Train as a child. 

• to drop everything else you're doing to listen to some Billy Joel whilst sipping slowly on a perfect cup of coffee. This equals a perfect afternoon.

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's perfectly acceptable:

• to laugh at myself when it dawns on me that I'm sitting on the bus wearing a floral skirt, tights and boots...and then, as if in a divinely planned moment, Ace of Base's "I Saw the Sign" comes on my iPod, and I realize that I have reverted back to the 90s. 

• to introduce my good friend Lainey (who is visiting at the moment) to London with a drink called the Porn Star and a shot of prosecco on the side. That's a proper introduction to London, right? 

• to act bipolar in the span of 24 hours; i.e., have a major pull-out-your-hair freak out when you leave your lap top on the bus. Then to do a happy dance when the next day you find out it's been turned in, ready for you to pick up. SO MANY EMOTIONS. 

• speaking of emotions, it's SO VERY ACCEPTABLE to miss a place before you've even left. I'm in a glass case of emotion!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

source

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's sooooo acceptable:

• to suck whipped cream right out of the canister...and then put it back in the fridge like nothing ever happened. Like a whipped cream ninja. 

• to have pancakes for dinner. Because I'm a grown up and no one can tell me not to! Hmmpf!

• to get over the stress of balancing my dissertation and a new job I've started* by having a Jay-Z dance party in my room (or office, or the bus) and singing, "I got 99 problems but a dissertation ain't one!" Well, technically it is one, but it I like declaring that it isn't! 

*I have started a new job that I really love. But it's a whole lotta work! Still, I'm grateful to have a position I'm really interested in...maybe I'll explain more later *wink* 

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It' perfectly acceptable:

• to make fun of all the theatre critics for suddenly loving Book of Mormon. They've been calling it the "best show in years," and are completely shocked at the crudeness of the script. Well guess what kids?!? It's been a show for over a decade. It's called SOUTH PARK, and just because it's live action doesn't mean it's not exactly like the animated show. Yes, I'm acting as representative for all the true fans who have loved Matt Stone and Trey Parker's work for years. *steps off soap box*

• to eat desert before dinner. Do I need to say more? 

• to brag about traveling every now and then. Wait, who am I kidding? I brag about it all the time...because it is my badge of honor, and I'm not sorry! And with that, I'm off to Paris on Friday! :D

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's perfectly acceptable...

• To wholeheartedly and emphatingly agree with this statement about being an adolescent girl in the 90s, from this article: 

• to hate using satellite view on Google Maps. I don't know what it is, but it totally freaks me out to view things via satellite. Especially when you roam over places like Antarctica, or any of the oceans with their deep trenches and ridges that you can actually see from the satellite *cringe* *shiver* It's too FUTURISTIC FOR ME! Take me back to 1999, please. Those were the days when all I had to wonder about is which boy band is the bestest, as noted in the point above. 

• to not be able to take anyone born in the 90s or later seriously at all. My mind can't comprehend this. I was playing with pogs, developing a crush on Zach Morris, and learning how to save stuff on floppy disks WHEN YOU WERE BORN. Chances are you've never seen a floppy disk. *facepalm* And then...these 90s babies are infiltrating the bars that I go to. Whaaaaaat? Maybe I'm getting too old for bars. 

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's very acceptable:

• to start spelling my words with that unnecessary "u" that the British insist on putting into their words, i.e. flavour, colour, favourite, behaviour. When in London! I actually find it kinda fun to add the u, like I am being a naughty American speller. 

• to waste my night watching Robert Redford films, the original sexiest man alive. Eat your heart out, George Clooney! 

Your girl is lovely, Hubbell! source

• To get IMMENSE satisfaction by clicking 'confirm payment' when I booked my plane ticket to Italy. Oh, Italia! My dream vacation! I'm coming for you in April...and I can't wait to get fat on spaghetti!

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's sooo aceeptable:

• to put off writing research papers for just one more episode of Arrested Development. George Michael is my favorite! Annyong. 

• to overdose on coffee and tea in order to write those damn research papers. 

• to find out that overdosing on caffeine actually makes me extremely ADD and hinders my ability to write papers; thus, I have nothing to show in the way of progress. Doh! 

Caught red handed, and extremely wired! 

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

Oh geeeez. Haven't done one of these posts in awhile, and that is so not acceptable!

But here's what is acceptable:

• to gawk at beautifully-dressed British men on the tube. I'm just not used to seeing so many good looking blokes all around, and with such style! While American guys* will default to camouflage pants to prove their masculinity, British men just have it. I really must stop staring. 

• to adopt the word "bum fluff" into my vocabulary. It's my new favorite word and will forever replace its less-inspired synonym, peach fuzz. 

• to eat the whole tub of Nutella in one sitting and not feel one ounce of guilt (while also not leaving one ounce behind).

• to decide that dinner is going to be "a bowl of cereal and a margarita," as professed by Miss Ruby Slippers herself. Em...that is a perfectly acceptable dinner, if I do say so myself! 

* Before the American boys reading this get all huffy, there are some of you that have style. But as a whole (and a pretty accurate generalization), Americans can learn a thing or two from British flair! 

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's so very acceptable:

• to sing Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" to Churro while he just stares at me blankly. "You said you was high class, but that was just a lie!" I don't think Churro likes me insulting him very much.



• to proclaim, "Hey! They're playing the lesbian song!" when sitting in a cafe listening to a live singer strum the first chords of "Come to My Window." You know, cause Melissa Etheridge sang it. I'll never be politically correct.



• to say, "Complimenting a Mexican on his hot sauce collection is the way to his heart." I'll REALLY never be politically correct.



• to blame all my un-PC ways on South Park.

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's perfectly acceptable:

• to feel like I need to educate a group of people who think Bruno Mars is a great artist. Look, I'm a music snob and I know a good amount about music history and what makes an artist a legend deserving of praise. Bruno Mars, to me, is but a mere back-up singer. What's sad is, the music that gets all the attention now-a-days is pure crap, laced with computers that perfect voices (that give every song that annoying robot sound), and so in comparison, I'm sure people think Bruno Mars is decent. Oh, poor kids...they have so much to learn; and thus, it is my duty to teach! (I may or may not gotten into an argument about this while watching the Grammys).

• to bow down to Adele and believe that she deserves it all...

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• to use "sneaky journalism tricks." At least, that's what my dad calls it when I debate an issue and use big words.

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's perfectly acceptable:

• to adore airports. But really. I love the hustle bustle of it all, I love dashing to my next flight when I have a short layover, I love the chick that speaks in different languages on the intercom and most importantly, I love the fact that I'm about to be transported through the freakin' air to a different place and time zone. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!? So the next time you complain about airports, remember that once upon a time you would have had to take a boat for 30 days to get to a new country. And we're lucky little spoiled brats complaining about 5-hour layovers...give me a break!!!



• to get really, really excited when people teach me new things, like how to clean coals the proper way to smoke hookah, or learning the theory of gravataional constant.

• to conclude that driving in the rain while listening to Simon and Garfunkel is damn near transcendent.

• to succumb to the fact that a re-release of Titantic in movie theaters actually makes me giddy. Titantic in 3-D. Oh sweet Jesus, I must be 13 again.

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's perfectly acceptable:

• to have a Sapporo (Japanese beer) while studying, which turned into two beers. Somehow my highlighting got miiiiighty sloppy...maybe not the best studying technique I've ever thought of.
  

• to have a Shakira jam fest in your car. I thoroughly enjoy belting out "Underneath Your Clothes," which is not the best song in the world, but so what? It's a GUILTY PLEASURE...except, I don't feel too guilty. Shakira is the bees knees. Don't get me started on the magic that is "She Wolf." Shakira makes me wanna dance!
  

• to look like you're working hard while at work, but actually are reading blogs and being sneaky. The best work-time activity! I'm a blog ninja. Er, work ninja? Work blog ninja. Whatever.

And because I never ask (so not acceptable), what's a perfectly acceptable thing you've done this week? Which means, something that's probably not too acceptable, but you make it acceptable. Get it? So tell me...

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's totally acceptable:

• to like every song titled "Creep" (i.e., Radiohead, Stone Temple Pilots, and the like...), and to realize that maybe this has some psychological meaning. Guess I'm a creep. ☺

• to take, ohhhh, 2 or 3 days to put clean laundry away. Which totally clashes with my hatred of ironing. Actually, this might be the reason I hate to iron, because ALL my clothes end up super wrinkly from not putting them away.
  

• to do a happy dance when you realize that not only is the Midnight in Paris DVD coming out December 20th, but for some magical reason it is back in theaters. Basically, I am a nerd who gets über excited over certain books and movies. It's acceptable to be "nerdly." <---a word my friend Ali made up. It's also acceptable to make up words.
  

• to buy 8 movies off of Amazon on Black Friday...damn those deals! I couldn't pass up There's Something About Mary or Bridesmaids for a thrifty price. Boom-shaka-laka! By getting movies for under $5, I somehow convince myself that I've beat the system and am fighting the man. No, Ashley...you're feeding the system and paying the man...doh!

Perfectly Acceptable Ashley

It's sooooo acceptable:

• To snicker when I notice girls struggling to walk in ridiculous heels. Listen, chick-a-dee, that ain't natural. It's no wonder you can barely walk.

• to take whip cream shots. You know, right out of the canister. Suddenly I feel like a third-grader.

• to love facial hair on men. Am I the only one? It's just...so...manly. Men...start a revolution! Grow out that awesome facial hair! *wink*

• to adore this: