Thanks to Jeff who posted a comment on my “First Picture” entry, here’s a picture of Mei Xiang and her cub:
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Animal Planet also has a section on Tian and Mei at its web site. And now they have added a webcam so we can all view Mei and her baby. Here’s the link:
Animal Planet Panda Videocam
It’s exactly 3 months since father left us. Not exactly the traditional 100-day mourning period observed by many Chinese, but close enough.
Cousin Soo called yesterday evening. She’s the first cousin to have done so in three months. She asked why haven’t I called, especially why didn’t I reply her recent email, and I had no answer for that.
Sai Goo (Cantonese for youngest aunt on father’s side; she’s his baby sister) and her husband have been the only relatives to have visited mother at GT Heritage. It’s a feat for them as she’s partially blind and wheelchair bound, having broken her leg almost a year ago, and he broke his ankle a few months back (but nevertheless drove to visit mother, and got lost along the way, but I digress).
Yes, I know, we all have our own lives, so I should not be angry that none of the family have been keeping in touch these past three months. Because the same can be asked of me – why haven’t I kept in touch?
Father’s 4th brother lives just down the road from where I work, but I’ve not been to visit him. I’m almost afraid to, as I worry it might upset him. I remember how visibly upset he’d been on the evening of the service, and when I’d tried to console him, telling him not to be sad (of all things), he replied, “Why shouldn’t I be sad? He is my brother.”
We’ve all moved on with our lives, so maybe it’s time I be a bit more sociable with my relatives again.
The National Zoo’s panda webcam is back on the air, and this is what I saw just a while ago:
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Not much to see at the moment, the cub’s somewhere in there, probably nestled close to Mei Xiang’s body.
Update from the National Zoo’s “Giant Pandas” page:
| July 13: Cub Continues to Thrive
At five days of age, our panda cub continues to thrive and Mei is being a very attentive mother. She is licking the cub, holding it in the perfect position for nursing—close to her chest, and instantly responding to the cub’s loud squeals demanding attention. While staff and volunteer watchers easily hear the cub’s squeals, seeing the tiny pink cub is another matter—they only get a glimpse when Mei changes position. On the day of its birth, the cub was squealing a lot—every time Mei moved. Now, it is squealing only very infrequently. Mei is devoting all of her time to taking care of her cub and resting or sleeping. She has not moved out of her den or taken the time to eat or drink, and may not for up to a few weeks. This is perfectly normal behavior for a new giant panda mother. |
Full story here and other updates here.
National Zoo’s panda webcam here.
JoelT asked on the Janis Ian Message Board if anyone else is suffering from OPD. JANO asked what did it stand for, was it “Obsessive Passive Digression” . Dee suggested “Oculopharyngeal dystrophy” , which he found from Wikipedia. Turns out JoelT meant “Obnoxious Personality Disorder” .
As the thread progressed, manfan suggested both JoelT and I might be suffering from “Obsessive Posting Disorder” .
But I’ve finally realised what O.P.D., as it applies to me, stands for.
Obnoxious Pugnacious Disposition
The lady who caters and delivers lunch to some of my colleagues (it’s called “healthy diet”, RM5/- per order, min 10, or else RM6/- per order) uses a PalmOne LifeDrive mobile manager. I wonder if she keeps her client database, menu suggestions and recipes in it?
She’s so … so … with it.
