Little Pig

Thursday we celebrated the Chinese New Year in one of my classes (I'm a PhD student, so I'll probably refer to my classes often). Part of the warm up activity was writing about our "year"--the year in which we were born according to the Chinese zodiac. I thought this an auspicious way to begin my blogging life.

While I think the characteristics of my Chinese year suit me--noble, chivalrous--I very much dislike being a boar. It makes my insecurity rise because of its homonym, bore. Nobody wants to be thought uninteresting. But...

I do think some of the boar traits are ones I have. Pigs are relatively intelligent creatures, known for their adaptive techniques to protect their sensitive skin (i.e. wallowing in the mud--see related website: http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~twig/animals/html/021896.html). Boars--especially those in the wild--are fierce protectors, charging a perceived enemy and ripping its hide with their strong tusks. A recent blog post on the Daily Mammal (found at: http://dailymammal.blogspot.com/2008/01/north-carolina-week-european-wild-boar.html) said that boars are much more dangerous than mountain lions or other predators because of the ripping action.

So, I guess I should be proud to admit I'm a boar. I'm tough and smart, adaptive and tasty. I admit it: I'm a boar. I'm a boar!