Fear the Crab

I have decided that my fish will receive names (again). The 5 pandas will all be known as Poppy⁵ because I like the name Poppy. The 6 pygmys will all be known as Fezzik⁶. Done.

After one panda decided to stick itself into the driftwood and die, another panda got fin rot. I bought some medicine that specifically treats fin rot, but after three days it (the fish) was gone. Its tail fin was completely missing. I’ve lost two fish, one to unfortunate circumstances, another to high stress and disease. It makes me sad.

I had just gotten through a super happy fun time, too, on inklink, where me and the staffers from CheesyMUD played pictionary. Pictionary online is uber fun, especially when we all play for sheer amusement. Kyrol managed to get a few answers correct on luck, because he was being sarcastic and it just so happened to be the word the game was looking for. I mean, how can you guess “derringer” when someone draws a walther-ppk? He even got “africa” because he was making fun of my crappy drawing of that continent. Too bad I can’t play when I’m at work; I’d laugh too loud.

I had these thoughts during a chat session. I was at work, which is why I was chatting in the first place. Mind you, this is an abridged version, not an actual transcript of the conversation, but I think the gist of it still comes across. The statements in parentheses are those issued by other people. Mine are in quotation marks.

(maybe a little exaggerated with the US, coz the media is constantly broadcasting everything that’s happening, and giving it its own flavour, I did honestly think the govt responses were slower than my own hometown, and the shooting was just plain ridiculous.)

“Sometimes people just have to realize that the rest of the world is watching what you do and judging you.
The hypocrisy of the US is that we judge everybody, even our own, yet we hate being judged.”

(hmm.. oh well, isnt that wat everybody does?)

“Not to the extent that the US does it. We judge other nations, tell them they’re evil, or poor, but we say “screw you” to the UN when it tells us we’re doing something wrong.
The govt response was horrid, the shootings were insane, but the relief workers who were there instantly deserve credit.
In any crisis, when we look to the actions of the “little people” we see tremendous courage. They’re not doing it for political gain or global status.
The good people attempt to work with what they have left and provide as much as they can. They don’t say “We don’t have helicopters because so-and-so used ’em in another country”
They don’t announce the shortcoming and blame it on someone else. They just act.
The govt response was slow, I think, because people were trying to explain why things failed, instead of just “doing” things.
Just once I wish I could see someone in power say to reporters, “I can’t talk now I have to go rescue people!”
Or turn to the camera crew/reporter and say, “Instead of filming me, why don’t you lend a hand?”
I’m sure if we all saw that clip on tv, we would think that guy is pretty serious about the situation.”

I dunno. It was just something I was saying, and I felt I should write it down.

One of my pandas died yesterday. When it didn’t show up for feeding time, I started to look behind the driftwood and plants, where the fish are usually wont to hide. I didn’t see it, and it took me a while to confirm the locations of everyone else (fish don’t conveniently stay still, you know). Then a thought struck me out of the blue, and I grabbed my mag-lite and started shining the light into the nooks and crannies of the driftwood.

There was the missing panda, stuck between the gravel and the driftwood. I thought I might have a chance, but when I lifted the driftwood, the panda was quite dead. Rigor mortis had probably set in, because when it was finally dislodged from its location, it remained in a curled up position, the way I found it.

I’m thinking that curiosity killed the panda. It explored the nook and maybe got stuck somehow. It’s a depressing thought to think about, though.

After work today I might head over to that store by Maile’s mom’s office. I hear they sometimes carry pandas. If not there, I’ll try the place where I got my first two. If not there, I’ll try by The Lab. I might get two pandas, should there be enough. I don’t think it’ll overload the tank, and hopefully the remaining 4 pandas will appreciate the extra company.

It still makes me sad. I can understand a fish dying of stress, of old age, of disease (which is usually brought on by stress), but not by something accidental like that. Sad.