I think I'm still in the Utah state of mind when it comes to weather...

To me when I hear it's going to snow a lot I just think, "better bundle up to get to work." I don't even think in my mind that work may be cancelled because of the snow. On Friday, I trudged to work and it took me maybe 15 minutes longer than it usually takes me. I got to work and there was a voicemail left on my desk phone. I listened to it and was surprised to find out that the office was closed. I instant messaged my manager because I could see that she logged on. (yes, we use instant messenger within the firm, easy way to communicate). I said, "the office is closed?" she said, "yes, but if you stay you get overtime and money for lunch." So I said, "okay I'll stay." I thought I might as well since I trudged through all the snow to get there. I stayed for a few hours with nothing to do, and they sent me home. It took me about an hour to get home. I commuted for about 2 hours total and worked for 3. At least I worked a little longer than riding the subway. Next time it snows I'm going to call the office before I even leave:) I've lived in New York and have already had 2 snow days. In Utah, I cannot even remember having snow days.

Attempt to Win the Lottery...

No, not the real lottery... the lottery to win front row tickets for In The Heights (a show on Broadway).

Here's the story:
Scott and I were thinking about what we wanted to do during his school break. Since I had to work each day we decided to try to win lottery tickets for a show.

For those of you not familiar, for certain shows on broadway they reserve the front row of the theater for people to have the chance to win them for around 25 dollars a piece. You go to the theater like 2 1/2 hours before the show to enter your name in a drawing. About a half an hour later they draw a certain number of people to win tickets. If your name gets drawn you can buy up to 2 tickets for about 25 dollars but prices vary depending on the show. If you have ever purchased tickets to a broadway show you know that these tickets are usually over 100 dollars a piece.

Back to the story... We decided to meet at the theater right after I got off work on Thursday. On Thursday it was a gross snowy, slushy day. We figured that we'd have a good chance to win because of the weather. We entered our names and waited... and we won! Well my name got drawn. We have found that I am more lucky than Scott when it comes to winning tickets because I have won 2 times so far. We were so excited to see the show!

The Show:
Here's the storyline from the website--In the Heights tells the universal story of a vibrant community in Manhattan's Washington Heights – a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It's a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind.

If you want to hear the music go to this link and you can listen to each song: This is the original soundtrack not the one with Corbin Bleu.

Corbin Bleu from High School musical is the lead right now for In The Heights, so I told Scott that he was going to remember me from High School Musical (my claim to fame). He just laughed, but as he was singing a song in the show he looked at me and pointed to me. I started laughing because of what I said earlier. I know he didn't really remember me, it was just funny what I said and then what happened. Anyways, the show was amazing! Super funny, especially if you live in Washington Heights you get a few more of the jokes.

Work Update and Other Ashley Ramblings

I have almost been working at my job for 1 month--can you believe it? I went through 2 weeks of training and am almost done with my 2nd week of after training life. I should be a pro now right? Wrong, I think I will feel very comfortable with my job after I have been here for a few months. New things come my way every day which I really like. The job is not usually boring.

I realized that I didn't go into detail of what my job really is here at Kirkland & Ellis. My job title is a practice assistant which is basically equivalent to a legal secretary anywhere else. I assist 3 attorneys. One is a share partner in the company and the other two are associates. Their title is like their ranking I guess in the law firm. So my job is to assist them by answering their phone, managing calendar, printing things, making copies, proofreading, editing documents, arranging travel, managing expenses, etc. The list goes on and on. There are a lot of different things that they have us do every day. I assist them in whatever they need assisting.

To some, this may seem like a boring job... but I love it! I love working in an office and doing secretarial stuff. I don't know why but I get excited doing document work in word or making a spreadsheet in excel. I have always had a love for office supplies, when I was younger I would love going to Office Max and being able to buy some new pens or something. There's my little secret. (Ask my family, they know what I’m talking about).

I feel accomplished with what I do. When I do something hard in the day that I figure out how to do it right I feel like I can do anything. There is a rush when trying to help an attorney reach a deadline. I like to help people and I get to do that everyday. People are very friendly at our law firm. I feel like I enter a different world that is separate from New York City. The office is very clean, and people don't try to intimidate. It's a good feeling coming to work in a nice building everyday.

This job has been a blessing for me and Scott. I am much happier and so is Scott knowing we have a steady paycheck and that I enjoy my job. There have been so many pieces to the puzzle of living in New York. My employment seems to be one of the last pieces of the puzzle to put in place. The are still a few tiny pieces to add, but the main picture is in place. We are being well taken care of in this city. I never would have seen our life like this last summer. Moving to New York seemed like the death of me, but now everyday I have to remind myself that this is where we really live and that we are doing it successfully.

Happy Birthday Scott!

Happy Birthday To You! Happy Birthday To You! Happy Birthday Dear Scotty....Happy Birthday To You!

Scott is the big 24 today! Leave your birthday wishes for him!

Running Music Recommendations?

I've noticed when I have good, upbeat music it's easier to keep running. What are your favorite songs to run to? Please send me some recommendations because I need to update my playlist! Thanks in advance:)

I don't like running...

I am wondering what I was thinking when I signed up for a half marathon... I have run a few times a week and every time I do it hurts the entire time. Is this something that will go away? My legs don't hurt when I am walking or walking really fast, just running and jogging. I'm up for any tips and suggestions!

Happy Valentine's Day!

How far did you say?

Scott and I are going to run the Boston Run to Remember half marathon! Now, you might expect Scott to run one, no surprise, but me? Hopefully I'll survive. Peer pressure can get you to do some crazy things, but this is a good thing. We are going to run along with a bunch of our other NY friends. It will be at the end of May. We've started our training but of course Scott is further in training than I am. We'll keep you updated on our progress as the race gets closer.

Training is Finished!

I finished my job training on Friday. I took my skills tests and hopefully I passed them. I didn't mention it before, but to get a permanent placement at a desk we had to interview with attorneys. If you don't get a permanent placement right away you'll float around where needed until they find a spot for you. I interviewed with one and got a spot! Only 2 out of 6 of us got spots right away. So starting monday I will have my own desk and space and will start working for reals. I'm excited to get started!

First Day at Kirkland & Ellis LLP!

Here's a picture Scott took of me on my first day of work. I felt like I was taking the traditional first day of school picture. I didn't have to leave for work until 8:30 am. It was so nice to be able to get up and take my time getting ready. I got to work and there were 5 other women starting training today. I of course was the youngest one and the one with zero legal experience so at first I was a little intimidated. I realized though that I will have an advantage with computer skills since the others have never worked with Microsoft Office 2007 and I have used it for a while. There were ooo's and ahhhh's over the company switching over which is funny to me because it's 2010 now.... Training went well today. It's a lot of information all at first, but it'll all come. I have 2 weeks of training which is pretty extensive. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Side note: Check out my older bro's website. He does play reviews and posts them as well as other people's reviews. It's pretty cool and I am super proud! http://www.utahtheaterbloggers.com/

Oh by the way... there is a bomb threat for 2:00...

Today was my 2nd to last day of work and this is what I heard when I went to work this morning. The first thought I had was great, I'm never going to be able to escape this building, I am going to die in this building...Why did I go to work today? Apparently they also don't warn the people at the desk unless it is a serious threat which made me feel so much better:( Throughout the entire day this threat was lurking in the back of my mind. I texted Scott telling him about the threat and he told me if I heard explosions to start running:) Thanks Scott! People were kind of joking about it to release some of the tension at the desk. We were all kind of jumpy and very alert and cautious about everyone coming into the building. When we heard that another building had a threat and was evacuated it kind of freaked us all out. Anyways...2:00 came and went and nothing happened, which I am very happy about. Security was up the whole day and there were police around the building on the inside and outside. Still it was kind of a scary thing to experience. I hope I never have to go through something like that again. I'm glad I'm going to be working at a building that is less of a target.

Good News....

I got a new job! My last day at the Empire State Building will be on Friday. I have worked 4 weeks at that job and it was definitely an experience. I will be starting work on monday at...

It's a big kid job with a salary, benefits, vacation days, etc. I am super excited to start! It is a nice office on the east side. I'll keep you updated on my training and experience there.

Welcome to the Empire State Building...Where are you going today?....Can I see your ID?

These are the words I say at work about a billion times a day working at the Visitor Desk. For those of you who don't know I work in the Empire State Building. I haven't blogged about it yet as I am trying to catch up with blogging. I work at what's called the "Visitor Reception Desk." It is in the part of the building where the offices are and we check in the people coming for appointments. If a person wants to visit an office in the building the people in that office are supposed to put their name into the computer so we know they are approved to go. If they are registered in the system then we just print out the pass and they go up. If they aren't in the system then we have to call up to the office and ask them to approve the person to come up. If they do then we make a pass and send them up. If not, then we have to tell them they are not allowed to go up and send them away. If they give us problems then sometimes we have to involve security. Not too often, but if it gets out of hand. The job is very easy and you just do the same thing over and over. It is better than not having a job because now we have an income. It does get monotonous after a while though.

I had a dream...on the subway?!

On my way home from work yesterday I was super tired. I decided I would just, "rest my eyes." Of course that always results in falling asleep for me. I began to have a crazy dream that I don't remember now because it didn't make any sense. The only thing is hearing them announce, "This is 145th street..." That was the announcement that made me jump and run off the subway yesterday. 145th street is where I get off and transfer to another train either the A or the C. I was so close to missing my stop which scared me, the other thing is I woke up freaked out that someone could have taken my stuff without me knowing.

Moral of the story: I'm going to try to stay awake on the subway. Sometimes it is just so hard when it feels like your mother is rocking you to sleep...

I know I'm not the only one who has fallen asleep on the subway though:)

"You look like you are 14!"

I am so tired of hearing this! I know I am young and look even younger! I know that it is shocking to some that I am married! Why do you have to keep pointing it out to me? This is what I wonder to myself each and every day at work.

I have a few examples to share. My first day of work one of my coworkers called me "raggedy ann" because I looked so young with my curly red hair. I have gotten called young lady, kiddo, hon, sweetie, etc. by everyone I help. I used to pass for 12-13, but now I'm able to pass for 14-15 which is good news getting up there:)

A lot of people I meet notice that I'm married and feel very negatively about it and feel the need to point it out. I've had a lady tell me, "well I hope he's the right one!" All I said in response was, "he is!"

The most recent story is a guy that came in like last week. This is how the conversation went:

Mr. ?: What are you doing here?!
Ashley:Um... working
Mr. ?: You shouldn't be working in a place like this!
Ashley:Okay...
Mr. ?: Where are you from?
Ashley: Utah, near Salt Lake
Mr. ?: Utah? You never want to go back to Utah with all those Polygamists and Mormons!!!!
Ashley: Actually, polygamy is not practiced by the mormons anymore, and by the way I am mormon.
Mr. ?: (looking at my wedding ring) You look too young to be engaged to be married!
Ashley: Actually I have been married for 1 1/2 years and I am about to turn 23.
Mr. ?: You look like you are 14! You have made a big mistake!
Ashley: Here's your pass... have a great day sir! Goodbye.

People say that I will "love it when I'm older." But until then....I hate all the comments...

Here's to my 23rd birthday in March! Then people will be even more shocked when I tell them my real age:)