the words "like" and "as" are largely interchangable and "as" is no longer considered "in fashion" so to speak. It is dying out, so to speak. English is an ever evolving language and is not stagnant; if it was, what would we call half the stuff we use today in our technologically evolving society? I taught English for over 20 years and can count on one hand the number of times I've seen "as" used as you state. Oops...I didn't start my sentence with a capital...shame on me!