La fête du bon voyage (containing an ode).

(a), he was going to China, but

(b), so did Marco Polo, so

(c), it was perfectly fine for it to be a pizza party.

You cannot imagine the array of good pizza stuff I had--enough for pizzas for the 5000. We did happen to have only 2000 or so people, at the fête, so there was a lot of good pizza stuff left over, which we packed up and sent home with several.

But that's not what this post is about. What this post is about is ice cream cones.

IN PRAISE OF THE ICE CREAM CONE.

For it is edible, yet it contains an edible,

which is both icy and creamy;

but the cone itself is crunchy

and brittle: for it is

a cookie, yet it is also a vessel:

for it is made in several versions, to wit,

the cake cone, which is for children;

the waffle cone, embodiment of savoir faire,

the cone of choice at the ice cream parlor; and

the sugar cone, the cone of my youth,

burnt sugar crisp into which

the double dark chocolate

ice cream of Swenson's was dipped:

because it comes in exceedingly

small sizes, such as

the kiddie cone:

why not have two?

**********

The day before the party, I found tiny ice cream cones at Target, and the people, I bought them, and for dessert we had cupcakes baked by my daughter, with tiny Chinese flags affixed to toothpicks and stuck in the tops, and to finish it off, there were tiny ice cream cones, vanilla and chocolate, and they were adorable.

I don't always think "adorable" is the most salient quality in a dessert. But sometimes it is, especially when the boys--little and big--who are attending your party ask for just one more.

tags: ch-china, odes

If this is what going back to work is like, then you can take it.

--aaaaaaand shove it. For example, today involved:

• waking up effectively hungover from lack of sleep, due to sudden, insidious late night cough.
• interviewing two potential student editors of the student litmag for next year. Which I will be faculty advisor for next year (how did this happen, Dr. Write?).
• lunch with a grandson who turned four today. (This involved noodles and hilarious conversation: Grandson: You know what? Me: What? Grandson: Papa, say what.).
• another potential student editor.
• taking part in the discussion team as part of my new, should-have-said-no responsibility for next year (thanks, former faculty leader! No, really.).
• reception for retiring colleagues (actually, there were cupcakes, so this one was all right).
• home to collapse.
• put on excessively shiny skirt and high heels to go out again, to an evening school event with historian. Also lipstick. Also mascara.
• home to collapse, or actually to report this information on my day, and then collapse.

I need to check my pulse to see if I am still having my sabbatical. I think I am, but the evidence is curiously contradictory.

Last day of the semester index.

Speeches made to class: 1
Cupcakes consumed by class: 40
Christmas music busted out: 1 cd (The Roches, We Three Kings)
Christmas cooking projects undertaken: 2 (cupcakes, see above; caramels, cooling as we speak)
Portfolios graded: 0
Injuries incurred: 1 (candy burn)
Random holiday food consumed: chips, hummus, rice krispie treat (in shape of Christmas tree), cookie of wisdom and critical enlightenment
End of semester meetings: 1 (successful norming session for assessment! all will be well with assessment!)
Late semester annoying student encounters: only one, and it wasn't so annoying really
Holiday decor items purchased, arranged, and rearranged: 3 poinsettias; shiny faux pears, apples, and pomegranates; a pewter bird; several candles
Cheer quotient: way, way up.