The Asian Century? I say it's the Pumpkin Bread Century.
Tomorrow is the big day. At 11:15 in the morning, I set off for China to put the finishing touches on my first book, and to begin exploring a second. Thanks to my generous colleagues and sponsors at the Central University of Nationalities, I will be met at the airport by a student who, according to the email I just received, will be carrying a sign reading "Dr. Thomas." I'm uncertain how to feel about this, given the mixed company it puts me in: Dr. Phil, Dr. Nick, Dr. Pepper...
A longstanding custom in my SF house is to commemorate departures with dinners. The theme tonight is Thanksgiving in June, a simple yet absolutely brilliant plot hatched by three of my friends and cohabitors. The menu is no joke: we're talking turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce... To do my part, I decided to come out of retirement, dust off the old oven mitts, get back in the ring, and prepare my Turkey Day specialty: pumpkin bread. Composed of sugar, sugar, oil, sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, flour, oil, sugar, and some sugar, this concoction was always my responsibility as a child in Missouri and Maryland. I can only thank my ancestors for having the metabolism to see me through what I now recognize to be, in essence, a cholestorol shotgun pointed at my heart. But still, it's delicious.
The next time I report in, it will be from my office in Beijing.
Sincerely,
Thomas S. Mullaney
Assistant Professor of Modern Chinese History
Stanford University
(For my Stanford site, click here.)
Comments (5)
Thanksgiving in June? Love it! It makes perfect sense: Christmas in July, Thanksgiving in June. I guess the next logical step is either New Year's on August 1st or Halloween in May.
Also, you should try to get some more cool profs to post on the USB. I know they're out there!
Posted by Troy | June 30, 2007 8:47 PM
Posted on June 30, 2007 20:47
You CAN'T leave us!! It's unpossible!!
Posted by Ann Larie | June 30, 2007 11:29 PM
Posted on June 30, 2007 23:29
Pics of the celebration found here
Posted by Teach | July 1, 2007 6:33 AM
Posted on July 1, 2007 06:33
Dr. Thomas. Nei Ho Ma, Bra~! Have fun. Go write a book or something.... Until soon!
Posted by Ian | July 1, 2007 11:42 AM
Posted on July 1, 2007 11:42
You choice of a new destination to write a new book was brilliant. China i know very little of china hope you will be blogging more about china on this blog.
Have a nice time there and hope the change in surrounding will make it even easier for you to write your book.
Posted by Africa Safari | July 13, 2007 9:38 AM
Posted on July 13, 2007 09:38