There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
There are often dishes that you just want more and more of, but of course you don't want to be THAT person who takes the last serve, right? Keep an eye on the dish- the second someone has taken the third last serve, THAT'S YOUR MOMENT TO STRIKE.
Don't give your 'friends' and 'family' a window of opportunity. This is war and a pre-emptive attack will leave your culinary enemies in the dust. You have a perfect smokescreen from the 3rd-last-serve-taker; it was their idea, not yours. Seize the 2nd-last-serve in justified glory and watch the Dish Ender gluttonously take the last serve as they commit table etiquette suicide, silent judgements peppering their soul.
As for seconds go - ronCYA is dead on. The last two or so servings are noticed, but if you get in right before that, you are golden. Your best bet is to get seconds on a favorite dish when people are still eating. Just act like you underestimated the serving on the first pass...
My entire family are great cooks and we generally make huge servings so everyone can take some home, so it's not a problem. The times I've been with a significant other's family, though, I always get bogged down with food I don't want to eat. I need strategies for disappearing them!