Well I received some very good news last week. My boss decided to give me a promotion from associate chemist to full chemist. I am very excited about this move, especially knowing that I have been with my company for less than two years and have already received a fairly substantial promotion. I am happy that I have a boss who notices my hard work and believes in rewarding those who do well.

This past weekend Erika and I attended the wedding of one of my college buddies, Boram. The ceremony was held on Long Island, NY, at Chateau Briand. I was one of his groomsmen and also read a short literature reading by Walt Whitman. The ceremony was nice, though it was a little hot because we were outside and directly under the sun (in fact the maid of honor got sick from the heat). Besides the wedding Erika and I were able to spend some time exploring the city and Long Island. On Sunday, Erika got up and decided to head straight to Long Island since neither of us had ever been there. On the way, we decided to stop at Junior's in Brooklyn since we've heard of their famous cheesecake. We both ordered sandwiches for lunch, but it was dessert that was the real treat. We ordered the strawberry shortcake cheesecake. Our waitress brought us a huge piece that we barely finished. However, it definitely was good enough to be deemed "best New York cheescake." On the way out, I made sure to pick up a cupcake with a mountain of blue frosting for the road. From here, we drove further east to Syosset, NY, where our hotel was located. We decided that since we were so close to a number of beaches we should visit at least one. So we decided to go south to the famous Jones Beach. The waves here were incredibly strong which made swimming quite fun (of course once you got used to the frigid water). Since the current was so strong, tons of shells would wash up on the shore everytime a wave came. Thus, Erika and I spent most of our time on the beach chasing after seashells and ended up with a great collection.

My new grad school classes began this week. I have read through the syllabi for the classes and realize how busy I will be this semester. Both classes require large independent projects as well as a midterm and a final. Plus, I am still training hard for the marathon (my last big run was 12 miles along the C&O Canal). I hope I find time for myself over these next three months!

Hmmm, what has been going on with me? Well, I started school on Monday, August 29th. Everyone who has seen my class roster says I have a great bunch of kids; they really are. I am just in strict mode teaching them class and school procedures so I have really allowed myself to warm up to them. Next week we will have our first field trip! We will go ice skating. Our P.E. teacher arranged for each fourth grade class to get four lessons and practice time. I am excited to see my students in a different environment where they can learn patience, team building and motor skills. I'll let you know how it goes next week.

We just returned from our friend's wedding. Wow, what a spectacle! When they announced the bride and groom at the reception, they came not through a door like normal people would. Oh no, they came UP FROM THE FLOOR! Yeah, you read this right. All of sudden the center circle in the floor goes down and the couple comes up to loud and crazy music! The wedding came together really well and one would not have expected that since they were still working on their ceremony program at 11:45 p.m. the night before and still hadn't chosen Donald's literature reading or even written their vows! Incredible! Plus, they had two ceremonies, an Americanized wedding and a Korean ceremony, where they dressed in gorgeous Korean garb. All this and the groom had a fever! We gave him cold water and patted his face with a cold cloth. Then, he had to pick up his new wife on his back and run around the room! Well, their reception was awesome! Even Grandma got up to "do her thang" on the dance floor. Here she is dancing with the groom.

Although the wedding was not until Monday, Donald and I decided to travel to New York on Saturday to "play". It was nice. We arrived at about 3:00 p.m. and jumped on our first NY bus to Port Authority located in the Garment District, which was right where we wanted to be. Why? Well to eat at the famous NY staple Gray's Papaya! What could be a better dinner, well snack for me because you know how I can eat, then two hotdogs with sauerkraut and a papaya drink for $2.75 in NY! Yum! My tummy was happy. Then we decided to walk to Times Square but realized fifteen minutes into our walk that we were walking in the wrong direction and actually heading towards the Hudson River. Ah, we just continued and ended up at the Riverside Park where we decided to lay on the grass by the water and read. Then, we walked through Central Park and ended up having dinner in Times Square at the Cosmic Diner. Their servings were huge and relatively inexpensive (for Times Square of course). Needless to say, Saturday was relaxing and fun.


As for me, they left me home alone while they were gone. Oh, I was loving it. They left a lot of food out for me to eat. Yum! I loved being off my diet. ... (Okay! I'll tell them. Okay!) Well, since I'm not used to eating at all hours of the day, I got sick. Yes, I ate and ate and ate that I had to eventually give it all up and I did... in the utility room...three times. Yeah, I'm banned from the utility room and gorging my meals from now on. Whatever! I can still find my crickets!





Highlights: Our prayers and thoughts go out to all those affected by Hurricane Katrina. On our way to New York, Erika and I were witnessed a caravan of New York busses and police officers heading to Louisiana. It was definitely a moving sight to see.