Ashley Renee Huff, M.A.

It is unbelievable.

After everything you faced, everything placed against you, everything that set you up to make it so tempting to fail, to give in -

- you succeeded.

I can't even begin to describe how amazing you are, and how amazing this is.  You took a great, great risk coming to a place in order to make your life better.  A place completely unknown, a place filled with people completely unknown, with so many questions left just weeks before you moved here (like, where we were going to live for example), and you beat it all.

Remember when we first came here?  The struggle you had to go through, making the decision on your own to leave home after years away, working do get your degree?  You didn't want to leave, you didn't want to move so far away from home.  Away from the people who loved you and supported you, just so you could take a risk on a program you didn't know much about, at school you knew nothing about.  It wasn't your first choice -

- 50% would have given up there.  Stayed at Sherwin Williams.  Kept looking for jobs.

It wasn't your second choice -

- 80% would have mailed it in there.  Stayed at Sherwin...maybe imagine thumbing through the classifieds.

It was your third choice.  Remember what happened next?

You still came to Michigan anyway.  You knew then that, in order to do anything you wanted in your life, to even have a chance, you had to do it.  There was no moving forward UNTIL you did this.

Then...the program sucked.  It wasn't what you wanted at all.

...and this place was filled with idiots.  Do I smell bacon???...
                                                            I'm a fly-ass-bitch...
                                                               Two-fifty a CAAAEYYEAYYYNNNN...
                                                                   She is...impossibly ugly...


- I believe 100% of the rest of the world would have, after they burned this place to the fucking ground, quit and went home.  And you know what?  I wouldn't have blamed them.  I wouldn't have blamed you.  You had endured more than anyone else would have through only the first year, and going home would have been a fine option.  You could have tried to go to school somewhere else.  You could have just washed your hands of this experiment, these Michighingherans, and went on your merry way.

After all, people were still looking at you like you were from Mars.  It's like they didn't understand the language you were speaking.  Their mouths were half-open, their brows were furrowed...they'd never understand you.  Friends?  Try having a normal conversation with anyone.  It didn't seem possible.


And yet.

Never did you seriously waver.  Sure, you said you wanted to go home, but you knew what was waiting for you if you did.  So you did what no one else - no one else - would have done.

You pressed on.  You tried harder.  You made people see what a good person you were, and they had no choice to become your friend.

You worked harder than anyone else in your class, and your grades showed it.

You fostered more good will than anyone else could have in your place.  Christ, you led a student organization here!  Who the hell else would have worked so hard with so little in your place???  Honestly, I guarantee you can't think of a single other person.

Even still, after that - when no one lifted one fuck finger to help you with anything in AMP - you didn't quit.  I don't know how many times I told you to tell those dumb, lazyasses to go fuck themselves when you told me your horror stories, and you would have been fully justified in taking my advice.

Lots of people would have.  But you knew better.

You always knew better.

You kept us here when things seemed at their worst.  Your sheer determination even kept me going.  I know it doesn't seem like I worked hard enough, and I haven't finished in time when I definitely could have -

- but no one.  No one in my life has helped me get farther than you have.

And I'm going to finish college.  It's all because of you.

It's because of your perfect example.  Your optimism that you were going to make a difference in this world.  You are definitely going to do that.  I know you will.  Nothing will hold you back.  You've shown me that these past two years.

And now, because of all that:  because of everything you endured, everything you faced, every challenge you have risen to here, in Michigan -

- you have your Master's degree.

You, Ashley Huff, are now:

Ashley Huff, M.A.

(I hope I'm spelling that right.  Haha.)

I love you.  I am unbelievably proud of you, and I am honored you are a part of my life.  You are the greatest person I have known, or ever will know.



Thank you for being my role model my love.


With all my love,


Me : )
     (and Bryn!)

100 Minutes Until Your Birthday!

Soak it in...whoops!  99 minutes!!

I don't think I'm going to talk all the way through this, counting down the 100 minutes - I will say that I am truly the most greatest luckiest guy ever to have you love me, and I thank every day that I have with you!  I will also say that though I am not perfect, you are the driving force that makes me want to be as great as I can be, or as great as I could be!

With the exception of my momma, no other woman in my life has meant more to me than you have!  That's not saying anything against Katie, or Elaine...I just know that you have changed my life so much for the better, in these past two years, that I can't even describe it.

96 minutes!

I've tried so much harder to write since I've known you, and I HAVE used your typewriter!  One of, if not THE best gifts I've ever gotten! 

This shouldn't be about my love for you...this is your birthday!  Yaaay!  How does it feel to be 23 for...94 more minutes??  24 is a strange age - it's right on the cusp of the 'holy crap' feeling of 25, haha...

I'm gonna go check your Tumblr right now, see what you're up to, since all my AWESOME Twitter ideas for you you've rejected...hold on here, let me see what you're up to!

...

92 minutes...

...that pic of that East 4th sign is a little blurry, but still so cool...cot damn you're cool...

Oh, and Incubus??  Well, I have one question, that I'm gonna go answer right now...

...

90 minutes...

...Brandon Boyd is 35 years old!  You go have him fall in love with you!  Haha...

Anyway - I hope your birthday this year is the best; I know we're gonna have to go back to Michigan after your birthday, but just remember: your birthday next year will not be in Michigan!  At least we'll be done with what we need to do anyway there!  Yay n' stuff!

Anyway, I'll cut this off now before I start to ramble.  I love you, and you're 88 minutes away from being 24!  87 minutes now!  Let's make this your best year ever my love!

I LOVE YOU!

(miscur!)

Who knew you were so passionate about...

HATING Kevin Hart.  I mean...you HATE KEVIN HART.  Haha. 

I know you really don't - well, not that much anyway.

I still think he's funny as crap!

Don't get too schmackered on your vay-cay to home for your BIRTHDAY!

May this be the first wishes of your happy birthday!  I know it's not there yet, but we're close!

I love you n shit!

My Birthday Present Is Gonna Disappoint...

Oh man...I'm lookin at presents for Ashley, and...aside from Kings of Leon tickets (Which are at LEAST $50 a piece...for lawn seats - in Cincinnati - since they apparently won't go to Cleveland or Detroit - who the fuck do these guys think they are?!?!) and the hotel and travel that would go along with that; I'm looking at 6 different present ideas right now and they will all be a disappointment over the tickets!  Shoooooot...

I mean, I know I messed up the show last time for us, and I want to make up for it, and Ashley reeeeeally wants to go...but $50 apiece, at least, for crappy seats, in Cincinnati, which in August, right when we're moving to another place will be about, what, 6 hours away?  I don't know.  And the hotel too??  It's just not gonna be possible. 

Which means I'm gonna fail to give you a good birthday miscur!  I'm sorry :,(

Unless I get you a DJ Roomba.  Or Maru. 

Or if I can get Mindy Kaling to come back to Ann Arbor and hang with you.  Haha.

So, I guess this is just a pre-birthday apology:  I'm sorry I didn't get you what you wanted : ( it just wasn't possible!

Unless I can get the Kings to play at AMP for you.

I'm sure their fee would be impossible.  God damn selfish jerks.

Less Than One Month Away...

...and I've got too many ideas for gifts for your birthday!  I'm sitting in my room, you're at work, I'm bored, so I figured I should update this right now!  I'm happy we got to watch a bunch of Futurama last night!  Also, the new pics of you on Facebook are funny and great.  I wish I could put a picture of me on here that you think is funny that would make you laugh, but unfortunately none of my pictures are bad.  None of them are funny.  They're just too perfect.  I'm sorry; some of us just look good always.  I can't help it.

: )

Anywhaaayyy...I hope I get enough moneys for your birthday next month!  So's we can do's all the stuffs we want...I'm just happy you like Futurama.  That's all I need!

Miscur!

How was the week back at home????  Awesome I know...don't worry, you'll be back super soon!  Hopefully you'll get to stay home this summer, and try out Tim's go-kart!  Zeppy kitty will be fine till you get back!  AND, when your birthday comes back around (47days!...?) your present will hopefully be amazing!!  Maybe your Lloyd Dobler present...I hope!

I like you somewhat miscur!!!

; )

Already Thinking About Your Birthday?

Ok.  So.  My birthday was, what, 10 days ago?  It's beyond in the past.  Forget about it!  We all know I'm old - now it's time to think about Ashley's birthday!  (I look really old.  Shit.  Moving on!)

I've spent the last, let's say...little bit of time?...thinking about what to get Ashley for her birthday!  This isn't totally because my presents on Christmas and our Anniversary were COMPLETELY POO - no, nonono, that's not it - it's because she deserves super special shit all the time!!  So I already have a few ideas, nothing too expensive, but some good ideas I think. 


...I'm gonna get her a SHITLOAD OF SARA PALIN BIOGRAPHIES!!  They can't GIVE those away at the Border's that's closing by us!  Haha she's such a moron I can't believe people would so blindly follow her just to win a petty argument (Jim Tressel and Ohio State fans...in fact, any fan with a winning, but scandal-stricken team) that isn't so petty that will actually end up destroying our country and turn the united states into a disaster area so quickly all the fat people won't be able to hop on their scooters and fly to their handicapped parking spots in front of wal-mart fast enough to hoard all the diet pop before it's stolen and their scooters are swiped from under them and they're left to cry squatting indian style in the parking lot because they don't know how to open a can to eat or how to find water and they'll starve...

what the hell am I talking about???  I digress.

Ashley's birthday is coming up!  Brittney Griner sounds like a man - I just heard her in a press conference right now...

Again - I digress...

I've got some great ideas for Ashley's birthday!  Only...88 days away?  When we get closer I'll have that down better!