The Angry Panda?

Every now and again I wonder about the name of this blog and how many people know the story behind it. I think to myself, I should post the story, just in case. And then my train continues on to other stations and countrysides (apparently “countrysides,” plural, is not actually a word, but I’m going to just ignore that and use it anyway).

Well, tonight I’m going to tell the story of the “Angry Panda.”

The Angry Panda was born around Christmas time last year (2006), in the middle of an intense and loud badminton game. Greg Watson and I, “G-Dubs” and “L-Train,” were on one side, Chris Dwyer and AJ Cabrera were on the other. This was up at Xavier High School, where Chris and AJ had been playing badminton for months. That didn’t intimidate us, however, because what we lacked in any skill we more than made up for in our trash talking and testosterone levels. We were in the height of one of our energetic self inspirational moments, after having just dropped 3 points in a row, when out of nowhere – and I mean nowhere – Greg says, “Be an angry Panda! ANGRY PANDA!”

I just stopped in my tracks, I simply froze. I looked at him for a moment, and said “An angry panda? An angry Panda would look like this” and then just gave him the blankest, most expressionless face for about 5 deadpan seconds. Whether you find this funny now, as you read it, doesn’t really matter. It was hysterical at the moment, and so thus the “Angry Panda” was born.

The Angry Panda would then pop up from time to time throughout the rest of the Christmas vacation. As he evolved he diversified in his emotions. There was the “Hungry Panda” which was the 5 second Angry Panda with a subtle, longing munch on the 3^rd second. The “Thirsty Panda” which had a licking of the lips at the 3^rd second. The “Sad Panda,” which was the Angry Panda with eyes downcast, except for one glance up on the 3^rd second. And so on.

And it is no coincidence that the Angry Panda was in the height of his popularity when I created this blog. I was gmailing with Greg about site names, and he mentioned the Angry Panda, and so it was. It seemed only natural, only right. And there’s been no looking back!