Doctor Who

I love Doctor Who, well, new Doctor Who. I love the limitless amounts of knowledge he possesses, and then uses them as his super power. Sure, he's got two hearts and looks snappy in a skinny suit (that's more of a personal David Tennant comment), but his wit and ability to work his way out of jams with his head make him one of my favorites.

I am going to miss David a great deal. He's long been my favorite.

I really enjoy that the show is imbued with history and culture, as well as the Doctor's ability to manipulate time and space using his knowledge of science and mathematics, and neither really exists as more important than the other.

I work in the restaurant industry to support myself, and am right now spending a great deal of time working. It is... frustrating, to say the least. I am a selfish person. I really don't always enjoy making people's evenings for a living. I prefer to work hard to better myself. Dealing with people who can say whatever the hell they want to me and I'm supposed to ignore it is not so great.

For example, one of my coworkers, a really pretty blonde girl, was told something very inappropriate by one of her customers. This customer was an elderly man with some friends and his wife. He pulled this ole "Do you have any Dutch in you?", "Would you like some?" line. I was told that the appropriate response would be to laugh it off. So basically, as long as no one touches me, they can say what they want to me. I don't know about you all, but I have worked far to hard in my life and respect myself way too much to allow some old pervert to say whatever the hell he wants to me. Could you do it?

Let's just say I'm glad it did not happen to me.

Definiton

From the OED:

"derivative, a. and n.:

A. adj.

1. a. Characterized by transmission, or passing from one to another. Obs."

I'm a freak of nature. I graduated from University of California-Berkeley in May 2008 with a B.A. in English ready to tackle the literary world, and inspire other readers at the same time. I followed the advice of many of my professors and took a year off before pursuing my Master's Degree, and spent it waiting tables in a cowboy hat, slinging beer and barbeque in Santa Fe, NM. I also found one thing I'd never found in college: someone to love who loved me. I was definitely ready to go back to school.

I am not going back to school for degree I planned. I am currently enrolled at the University of New Mexico as an intended B.S. in Chemical Engineering. I am almost 25 years old.

This is not a blog about your typical college experience. I rarely drink, work part-time in a restaurant to support myself and I have no interest in humping everything that moves. This is the story of me, a 3.6 English graduate of Berkeley, finding her true self and abandoning all preconceived notions about the ways in which humans learn. I want to be a living testament that there is no "left" and "right" brained, but just a dedicated individual, with a little help from biology and a great education.

"Derivatives" seems to be the appropriate title for such a blog. "Derivative" has several definitions, including:

"2. a. Of derived character or nature; characterized by being derived, drawn, obtained, or deduced from another; coming or emanating from a source.

3. Math. A function derived from another; spec. a differential coefficient.

4. Mus. a. A chord derived from a fundamental chord, esp. by inversion. b. ‘The actual or supposed root or generator, from the harmonics of which a chord is derived’ (Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms).

5. Chem. A compound obtained from another, e.g. by partial replacement.

6. Med. A method or agent that produces DERIVATION (q.v., 1c)."

"Derivative" is also a rather imposing math term for me. I will be tackling these for the first time next semester.

Spring 2010 will be my second semester as a Chemical Engineer in training, and my goal is to graduate in 3 years Magna Cum Laude. As of right now, this seems obtainable. I am currently awaiting final word on my grades and whether or not I make the Dean's List for Fall 2009.

So, if you're reading this, whoever is reading this, this is my journey. I hope to be able to offer advice, but more importantly to gain support.

I promise to try and keep the rest of them less wordy.