I Got Panda!

This is a tale of triumph. of inspiration. of overcoming great odds. This is a tale of how I FINALLY got the King-fu Panda Happy Meal toy at McDonalds.

Ok, ok, I realize as someone in my Mid-Twenties, I should not be associating myself with anything MacDonalds. Even remotely, as that would prove detrimental to my cool yuppie chick image and instead should be writing about alcohol, orgies and grass but seriously, I live in Pune, which has not quite recovered from that ill fated rave party (which people still talk about...I mean..C'mon...) so expectations about tales of drunken revelry need to be tempered a lil bit methinks. Also. Also, and this is hugely embarassing, I have a thing for collecting Happy Meal toys. Some ok. Not all *she says, rather defensively*

See, at first I was a huge closet admirer of Happy Meal toys. They were cute alright but I was too embarassed to ask the guy at the counter for fear of being judged. When MacD was rolling out Shrek Characters as Happy Meal toys I was greatly tempted but I resisted myself. Then epiphany happened by way of talking to kay my best gal friend. I told her about my secret craving for Happy Meal toys and found that kay had a whole bloody collection going! and when we were in school, kay was the first one among us to have a living, breathing boyfriend as opposed to some of us (I'm not saying who) who were still into fantasy boyfriends. This fact alone made her an icon in all our eyes and if she was collecting Happy Meal Toys, there is no SHAME in me collecting one too.

So from then on, I became a Happy Meal Nazi. I constantly harassed the MacD staff when they didn't have the "right" toy in stock. I mean they NEVER had shrek in stock. I got the donkey and other assorted characters but NEVER shrek. I personally love the look on their faces when I ask about toys - the "You need to grow up lady!" look, that said I was often perplexed about why I never got the toy of my choice. Are there so many friggin' kids in our country? Why are there so many friggin kids in the first place? Are people having so much sex that kids just happen? why? why? and why me?

When the Kung-Fu Panda toys came out, I again wasn't able to get the panda toy. I enquired in 4 different MacD and still no luck (I can't believe I admitted to that, I sound positively neurotic). Thats when I began to harbour notions that there was a special clique of slimy kids which was working specifically to thwart me in my attempts. Thats when I decided to change strategies. I asked a friend to get me a Happy Meal and to ask if they had the Panda and Guess what? they HAD it!!!. See, see, I told you there was a grand conspiracy.

Ok I sound neurotic but really its more enthusiasm and joy brought on by this coup. And get this, after my friend saw the Panda, he was like "duuuude I should have got one too!"

so moral of this story - Don't ever take me to MacDs and I badly need a drunken revellry jig clearly