The baby panda watching not

The baby panda watching not only takes up an all-day tab on my firefox browser, but it has become a communal activity as well. I’ve already gotten two emails this morning telling me to look at the panda RIGHT NOW because he is doing something retina-burningly cute. My coworker and I also IM back and forth to keep each other up on the goings on of little Mei Xiang (she got mad at me when the camera went back online after being off for a bit and I didn’t tell her). Here was the exchange from this morning:

Coworker: the panda's in a box!!
Coworker: oh panda cute
Coworker: panda just laid a seriously big shit.
Liz: ew!
Liz: that's not cute
Coworker: oh maybe it's a toy.

Later, I saw the “shit” and fell over dead from laughing:

That would be quite the gastronomical feat. And symmetrical, too!

This weekend Tom, Krista, J, and I are heading to Atlantic City to watch the 2005 National Meatball Eating Contest. I’m reporting for an Urban Honking blog, though I’m not sure which one. I assumed Warm Glow, but Willow informed me there is a food blog, too, and that made more sense. In any case, I will be carefully documenting the trip and the contest and will hopefully have a full report up at the beginning of next week. Though it has long been my dream, I have yet to attend an eating competition, so I am VERY excited about this. I may have to stage my own eating competition afterwards just to feel like I really participated.

My initial research showed me the Black Widow was last year’s meatball champ. She is of the 105-pound tiny competitive eater variety. This variety is appealing because there is mystery involved (not that you see tie-in perfume or candles). Where does one put 20 pounds of food inside a 105-pound frame? Mystery! Anyway, since this particular contest is only in its second year, the Black Widow is the lady to beat.

Here are some Black Widow facts:

She works as a manager at Burger King
She only eats one very large meal a day, which takes several hours for her to complete
She exercises up to two hours a day on an incline treadmill
She is most proud to be an American

Wikipedia says, “Thomas was born in Kunsan, South Korea to parents of modest means who had difficulty keeping up with their ravenous daughter's grocery bills.”

But her website has this picture and strange caption:

I guess they aren't her parents, but it does allude to something strange. More mystery!

Back on Monday after so many slots and meatballs.

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