Those who know me at all know my love for all things "Pug" but... I also fancy a fambaa. My fambaa. Yes, I have a fambaa. For anyone who may be in the dark (side ?), fambaas (uh... not a fambaa>>>) were domesticated by the Gungans and used as beasts of burden on their home plane of Naboo.

You may be wondering how I came to own a fambaa. Well, my fambaa tale starts several years back, and it involves collecting. Now, I didn't set out to collect fambaas... that would be silly! After The Phantom Menace came out, I was enthralled by all the wildlife on display from flatulent eopies of Tatooine, to the denizens of the deep planet core of Naboo ... to the lumbering fambaas. I felt that fambaas were the true unsung heroes of the Battle of Naboo. They performed their duty of transporting the shield generators for the Gungans with the quiet dignity that only a fambaa can. Hmmmmm.... I wonder if a fambaa could ever be trained as a Jedi? Plenty of other amphibious or reptilian beings have gone on to become great Jedi knights and I have no doubts whatsoever that a fambaa would wear his (or her) cloak well, albeit a very large cloak... but still...

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Okay, I can tell you guys aren't down with the whole "Jedi Fambaa" deal. I'll "move along" to the meat of my fambaa sandwich... er, so to speak.

I took my love of Naboo wildlife to eBay in search of some small fambaa token or a mini giant sea creature. During my search, I came across this listing for a "fambaa egg," Buy-It-Now priced at $3.99 with free shipping, clearly a bargain. I looked at the fambaa ad more closely... squinting at the monitor. The "fambaa egg" picture was small... very small... but it looked shiny (in hindsight, maybe moist would be more accurate...).

So, I took the Paypal plunge and ordered me up one fambaa egg. Positive it was a replica (after all, fambaas aren't real... or are they...?? ) , I went to my local dimestore (yeah, right! dime.... lolzzz ) for a fambaa egg stand. I always want to display my collectibles properly, and my fambaa prize would be no different.

One week and positive feedback later, my fambaa arrived... in a small box curiously stamped "alive" on the sides, above the air holes. Hmmmm... surely some sort of fambaa humor. Ha Ha silly fambaa seller! Still, I gingerly opened the box and withdrew the bubble wrapped (so much for the air holes! ) fambaa egg.... "Uhhhh... bit squishy my fambaa egg is," I thought to myself. Still, it was a fambaa egg and it fit perfectly on it's egg stand, a worthy addition to my ever exploding Star Wars collection.

Fast forwarding a few weeks into my fambaa adventure. My fambaa egg disappeared!!!!

My first thoughts immediately flew on fambaa wings (yes, I know they don't have wings... it's called creative license...) to my Old Man. My father always pokes fun at my Star Wars fandom, and my fambaa acquisition did not escape his jeers. Since he is not above certain "antics" around here, I figured my fambaa fell into his mischievous hands... till I noticed a slimy trail leading away from the scene of the crime. Remember when I said my fambaa egg seemed squishy? Well... my "replica" actually contained a real live fambaa, and it had just hatched and my Pug was none too pleased as he nervously directed my attention to a very small tadpole-like beastie making it's way along the floor. Uh-oh... fambaas are REAL???

@%$#fambaa&%$#!!!

Well, the fambaa seller had strict no refund policy and eBay wouldn't accommodate me since the fambaa egg I purchased no longer existed... technically. Just fambaatastic!!! What to do about my fambaa dilemma... well, I put my thinking cap on and went to the one source I knew would tell me all about the fambaa. Yep, you got it, StarWars.com, your official source for all things fambaa.

I learned many things about the fambaa. Fambaas are sweet tempered and they are very good swimmers. Fambaas like to travel in herds of up to 12... but I'll stick with one, thank you all the same... Hatching from a moist, squishy egg, you might think the fambaa itself would be slimy, and you would be wrongo. Fambaas, while far from cuddly due to their ginormous size, have dry and scaly skin akin to a reptile.

I also learned that fambaas are herbivores, so off to the grocery store for greens... lot's of greens 'cos I learned the hard way that fambaas have big appetites and grow fairly quickly. Small details like this would have been helpful in that eBay fambaa ad. Fambaa egg buyer beware...

Anyhoo, all of this fambaa chat comes down to this. I have the most unique Star Wars collectible known to fandom. I associate with the Geekiest of the Geeks ( ) and not one of them... God bless 'em... can claim a fambaa as their own.

Now, what do I do with Fiona (yes, Fiona... Fee for short) the fambaa, you ask? Well... sorry fambaa lover, that's a tale for a whole 'nother blog...