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Happy New Year, Fellow Rats

 February 7, 2008

stainless_steel_rat_saves_the_world_f.jpegIt’s the Chinese New Year, 4706 — but you knew that, of course. And it “could bring some environmental … unpleasantries, said feng-shui expert Grandmaster Hong Liu.” Unpleasantries?

“We’re looking at volcanoes, twisters, floods and, to a greater degree, communicable diseases,” Liu said through an interpreter.

But it’s just a natural cycle that has beenn going on for thousands of years, so no big deal!

At the risk of revealing too much about myself, it is my year — the year of the Rat.

Rats are best known for their charm. Blessed with a sharp wit, they possess a marvelous sense of humor, which makes them stimulating and amusing company to have around. Generally extroverted, they may well be described as opportunists for they prefer to live off their wits rather than labor long and hard to earn their daily bread.

But you knew that — I am a blogger, after all. No long and hard labor for me. My friends might say I’m on the introverted side, but I prefer to think of myself as a closet extrovert.

And before anyone makes a politically incorrect comments about Rats, you should know:

In China, the Rat is respected and considered a courageous, enterprising person. It is deemed an honor to be born in the Year of the Rat and it is considered a privilege to be associated with a Rat. Rats know exactly where to find solutions and can take care of themselves and others without problems. They use their instinctive sense of observation to help others in times of need and are among the most fit of all the Animal signs to survive most any situation.

At the risk of revealing way too much about myself, I am not just any kind of Rat, I am a Metal Rat….

brass_rat_2007_finger.jpg

I have known I’m a Metal Rat for many years, but only last night, googling around, did I connect the dots. The M.I.T. class ring is called the brass rat (even though it is really a beaver — no jokes, please). Coincidence? I think not.

One thing you should know about Metal Rats: “Of all the Rats, these are the toughest and most resolute.”

So Bring it on, Ox/Tiger/Rabbit/Dragon/Snake/Horse/Sheep/Monkey/Rooster/Dog/Pig.

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This entry was posted by Joe on Thursday, February 7th, 2008 at 9:07 am and is filed under Humor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

3 Responses to “Happy New Year, Fellow Rats”

  1. Nick Kong says:
    February 7, 2008 at 11:25 am

    Little anecdote- one of the origins about the Rat is that it won the race set forth by the Gods by traitorous means. During the race, the Rat and cat convinced the cow to let them sit on his back to cross a river. But, sensing near victory, the rat pushed the cat into the water (noticed that cats are not part of the 12 Chinese Zodiacs… because the cat did not finishing the race), causing an eternal dislike between the two species. Afterward, the rat climbed to the cow’s nose and cross the line ahead of the cow.

    Charming, yes. Machiavellian? Even more so!

  2. Joe says:
    February 7, 2008 at 11:51 am

    Man, that is so me! Except I like cats (and my cat was a great mouser). Hmmm….

  3. Hello, fellow metal rat! says:
    February 7, 2008 at 4:47 pm

    Pity me–the metal rat professional drummer surrounded by 2 water rabbits on bass and guitar (supposedly rats and rabbits don’t get along, but we’ve been together for years)

    Nice beaver, BTW…

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