The first post

Welcome to my weblog. This is my very first post.

You might be wondering why I've chosen to call this blog The Emotional Pumpkin. It's kind of a long story, but it all started when I was doing a study abroad program in Japan a few years ago. I was sitting in the lounge of our building expounding on my philosophy regarding intra-circle-of-friends soap operas to a couple of Americans and a Japanese student. Before I begin, let me define some terms: I use the term "Republican" to mean "preserver of the status quo" (yes, my political view was a bit limited at the time).

Anyway, at one point I said: "I'm an emotional Republican; I don't like change." To which the Japanese listener (evidently not being familiar with American politics) looked completely baffled and said: "You're an emotional pumpkin?!" I think I was laughing too hard to try and explain. In accordance with the universal laws of humor, the name stuck, and one of my many nicknames is now "the emotional pumpkin".