I wasn't planning on talking about pandas today, I SWEAR. I was all set to tell you guys about how the impossible happened last night: how I had a great time at a bar in ORANGE COUNTY.

But then I saw this, and I am so sorry, but there's no way I can not talk about it:

It's part of my job to buy graphic novels, which I was shopping for when I came across this. It's 168 pages of comic book greatness (it's one of the American Library Association's 2008 Great Graphic Novels for Teens) about a girl and HER PANDA SIDEKICK.

And it gets better. A summary of the book says that "paths will be crossed, alliances will be formed and ninjas will be punched."

Ninjas. Will. Be. Punched.

So, um, WOW. My fingers are twitching at the prospect of getting it into my hot little hands, which is a certainty now that I've ordered a copy for our library.

And since we're already on the subject of pandas...

I know I gushed about Panda Cam yesterday, but that shit is going to give me a fucking heart attack. I checked in to it earlier today and saw little Zhen Zhen climbing.

To the top of some very tall trees:

How high? Very high. Even she realized she may be a bit out of her league. Did you know a panda could make an "Oh, shit" face? Because they can:

Because she learned to climb earlier this month. So she's not very good at it yet. And yet is scaling large trees, on camera, in front of my very eyes.

I'm convinced that at any moment she's going to misstep and plummet to her death on the ground below, and that somehow only my vigilant watch will prevent this from happening, and if I look away for even a split second then she is surely doomed and it will be ALL MY FAULT.

Because, you know, when I do turn away for but a moment, that will be the precise time at which she'll slip and be left dangling by single paw from a flimsy tree branch. And had I been watching I could have what, picked up the phone and frantically dialed a zookeeper?

But no, since I'm too busy "working" and "getting things done" and "earning a paycheck" she'll instead be left to hang on for dear life, with everyone ignorant to the fact that she is in obvious peril and all because I AM NOT WATCHING.

Seriously, a stroke is imminent.

So enough Panda Cam. For today, anyways. (Seriously, it's like a drug. I can't start, because I just won't stop. Pandas = crack, you know.)

To lower what I'm sure is an abnormally high heart rate (thanks, pandas!) tonight I plan to doing my favorite relaxing activity: sitting around and drinking. There will be a brief stop at the bar for a friend's birthday, and then to the boyfriend's for monster movie night (my pick: The Host). It gets no better.

The rest of the weekend will involve a return to Orange County bars, or as I like to call it, pressing my luck. Good times at OC bars are few and far between, as it's only a matter of time until a bro hits on you by saying "sup" and shortly after calling you a whore or a slut for not electing to go home with them. But last night, it involved an Elvis impersonator, a tranny, some friends that I haven't seen in much too long, and a Manhattan that brought tears to my eyes with its deliciousness.

So, for times like that, I'm willing to give OC another shot. Because I'm dedicated like that.

Cheers.