I’m always cautious about giving my family the impression that I’m “collecting” something. If they get that impression, the consequence is that I will receive Christmas and birthday gifts related to that perceived interest for the next 20 years (I still receive at least one penguin-related item every Christmas, which stems from a brief interest I had in penguins in middle school over 15 years ago).
However, through my recent travels, I’ve acquired a couple new pig-related items that will be put on a shelf to collect dust.
First, allow me to introduce you to Hermann (posing here with some delicious pork and seeds). He is a bronze pig that hails from Sun Valley, Idaho. He is quite heavy and added a fair amount of weight to my carry-on luggage en route to his new home. He also caught the attention of two separate TSA security screeners, and in both cases had to go through the scanner twice. One of the TSA employees commented “I hope the pig doesn’t travel with you everywhere because he is a problem!” Believe me, due to Hermann’s weight he will definitely not being traveling the world with me.
Second, I purchased these two wooden pigs in Taipei yesterday. I actually tried to just purchase one, but apparently they come as a pair and I did not have a choice. So the more, the merrier! They also had a bit of an airport adventure as my luggage did not make my connecting flight in Hong Kong on the way to Beijing earlier today, so they spent a little more time on the road than I did.
And to any family members who just read this post, please attempt to restrain yourselves as you are contemplating gifts for my birthday next month!