I. Can't. Fall. Asleep. !!!.
So I've decided to do this little thingy, as inspired by Rae.

















1. What is your first name?
Drea
2. What is your favorite food?
Dim Sum (I could REALLY go for some late night shumai right now)
3. What is your hometown?
Seattle
4. What is your favorite color?
Red
5. What is your favorite movie?
Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain
6. What is your favorite drink?
Genmai Cha (Japanese green tea with roasted brown rice)
7. What is your dream vacation?
To circumvent the globe
8. What is your favorite dessert?
Dilettante's Gateau Japonaise... which has been described as "a sophisticated blend of dacquoise (nut-flavored meringue) and génoise cake filled with hazelnut buttercream"
9. What is one word to describe yourself?
Compassionate
10. How are you feeling right now?
Congested (stupid allergies and South Carolinian pollen!!!)
11. What do you love most in the world?
Its natural beauty
12. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Happy!

Want to do this, too? Go to Google image search.
- Type in your answer to each question.
- Choose a picture from the first 3 images (I cheated and used the first 5).
- Use this website (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php) to make your collage.
- Save the image for use in this post.

Ah, it's been a pretty crappy and infuriating week. Last Monday I found out what I'd be teaching this summer: organic chemistry. BARF! (If you don't recall my feelings for organic chemistry, see this post). I thought that I could fight this teaching assignment off and find a way to teach another course, but after a week of protesting with others, I realize that all my fighting was futile. After talking to the organic lab supervisor, my general chemistry supervisor, and even my PhD advisor, I found all my passionate requests and expressions of my ABSOLUTE HATRED of organic chemistry to be brushed off and unheard. It's not that I am capable of the job; I just feel that I am not the best candidate for it. I don't understand organic chemistry well, the way the organic chemistry labs are taught go against my principles of teaching (for example, students who put little effort into the class still get A's, I know of a student plagiarizing about 50% of his organic lab report without any consequence whatsoever), and did I mention that I HATE organic chemistry? I feel like I was being a given a job that I could not--adamantly did not--want to do, and being a lowly and powerless graduate student I was stuck... and will remain to be so. My conversations and even letter writing have all been shut down. And this has made me realize how graduate students (even good and well-respected ones, see below) are treated like utter shit... there is actually more reasoning behind this statement, but I'm too pissed off to go in to it here, so perhaps I'll vent about that later. Grrrr!

Despite my requests being shafted earlier this week, the chemistry department decided to "honor" me with an award yesterday--a graduate teaching assistant award. Woo?!?!? I guess so, since Mom flew all the way from Seattle to attend the ceremony banquet! She's been around to cheer me up and celebrate Easter with me and my kitty baby. Speaking of babies, check out my new one... yes, it's a KitchenAid KP26M1X Professional 600 Model! She is sooo beautiful and I love her so! I wonder what I should name her. Hmmm....

In the end, this pretty crappy week has ended well. Though it would have been so much better if it ended in witnessing or participating in this...

Though not as exciting as Harry Potter, this looks AWESOME! Now I want a Harold and the Purple Crayon movie! Or maybe a movie based on that other classic Riki Tiki Tembo No Sa Rembo Chari Bari Ruchi Pip Peri Pembo. Remember that one?

Okay. I know that I've been really bad at posting during these past few months. I can't give the lame excuse that I've been busy (which is TRUE!!!)... I guess it's just that I think I really don't have anything special to blog about (which is FALSE!!!).

Last weekend was a very special weekend indeed. I spent a little over 48 hours in Seattle to celebrate the wedding of one of my very best friends from childhood, the new Mary Barker! I had such a great time with my family and friends. My short trip to Seattle was filled with a number of great events: gnoshing on dim sum at the House of Hong, salsa dancing at the Century Ballroom, enjoying the food at Sushiland (I was able to talk Rae into tagging along, though I felt guilty from taking her away from her aikido class), watching and crying at the Broadway-themed ballet, having fun at the wedding of course, and eating the greatest waffle ever (a BACON WAFFLE!!!) at the Original Pancake House in Seattle. Woooo!!!

Oh Seattle and friends, how do I love thee?

Checkout the blog of wedding photographer! And this slideshow!

Ok, I know I've been busy... but look how pretty it is!