DRY NOSE, CHICKEN SOUP, & PRETTY SCENERY

Last weekend...
Nose began to feel dry...

Nighttime, as I snuggled into my futon
Nose felt super-dry...

Oh oh, I was going to catch a cold...

Normally, the cold starts with the throat...
But the nose?

Slept with the face mask on...

Next morning...
Condition worsened...

Yeeeeiii...

Nose juice started to ooze...
Non-stop it was...

Have too much to do next few days...
Can't afford to be down with cold...

Went to the hospital...
Waited for one long hour...
The doctor saw me for less than two minutes...

Rested all weekend long...

In between slurping hot chicken soup
Watched and re-watched my favorite Japanese movie...

Was able to cycle slowly to work this Monday morning...

The weather... so pleasant & cool...
The scenery... so pretty & calm... *see photo here*

I will overcome...

Hopefully, that is...

RICE HAIR ISLAND

The Japan Inland Sea as it is...
Usually calm unlike the fiery Pacific coasts down south
The uninhabited island with the lighthouse is called Inagejima
Literally, 'Rice Hair Island'
I cherish these sceneries on my way to work...
See related story here...

FISH TRAPPED IN JELLYFISH

Not sure of the specifics of this specimen...
Like this baby, this jellyfish had no long tentacles...
As in this other specimen...

It was just like a big, harmelss, ball of jelly...
Bobbling in mid water aimlessly...

What attracted me to it was its skin texture...
And the entrapped creatures...
Most of the creatures were tiny fishes...
Except for the crab at the bottom of the picture...

Size... almost a meter in diameter...
Location: Tiger Rock, Tioman

ONE-YEAR OLD BABY

Ah, Ros' new arrival... *so cute...*

Blog turned one today... (27th, that is...)

Imagine, the first post was on Seeking Death...

No terror speeches as in Lilian's Fireworks & Wine Celebration...

Only a simple thousand thanks to all who kindly visited...

I am but humbled by your grace...

Intend to maintain 'straight & level' for long...

Woaaahh...

POND SITE

Started digging the pond in my garden...
(Picture is not so nice, but you get the idea... )
Still have lots to do...
Least of all, the electric fixtures and all...
Plan to have it operating by next summer...
I see water lilies and lotuses gently swaying...
And comet goldfishes gracefully a-swimming...
(See related story here)

HOWLING WINDS, DIPPING TEMPERATURES, & SHOOTING STARS

Last Saturday, the winds howled as the temperatures dipped...
Cold it was...
For the first time this season, I put on my long johns...

Brrrrrrr...

Still, managed to handle quite a few tasks over the weekend...

Tasks, such as...

1. Oiling the hinges of all doors (no big deal...)
2. Attaching the 'Cockerel Bell' at the gate (nice...)
3. Replacing the brakes for my mountain bike (first experience...)

4. Digging out and replanting twenty shrubs (pooh, tough...)
5. Pruning about a dozen trees (the cut leaves smelled pleasant...)
6. Shopping for a clay cooker for steamboat-ing in the garden (I am ready to eat now...)

7. Making a second, tough broom from the bamboo sticks (100% handmade...)
8. Planting a pot of hibiscus and a bunch of gazanias at the slopes (no sweat...)
9. Planting some cabbage and broccoli seedlings (a breeze...)

10. Setting up a place to make compost from dried leaves (earthworms, where are you?)
11. Digging a pond (long way from completion...) *see picture here*

I surprised myself doing the bike brakes for the first time...
And, quite thrilled to see the 'Cockerel Bell' being nicely fixed at the gate pillar...

But most of all, I feel particularly pleased with what I am doing with the pond...
Come next year, there will be cruising comet goldfishes...
Quaint water lilies and pink lotus flowers blooming...

I can't wait...

Was working even after nightfall on Sunday...
*The sun sets before 6:00 pm these days*

Tired, I laid my body on a large rock...
Facing upwards, gazing at the beautiful sky...

Suddenly...

A shooting star flashed by...
Brightly...

I let out a shriek...

My wife instantly opened the window and hollered...

'What???'

I immediately wished for the two of us...

Everlasting love...
Good health...
And a long life...

ROUTINE... ROUTINE...

Ever since we moved, my 'lifestyle' has changed quite a bit...

First, instead of cycling 14 kilometers to work, I am now doing 40 kilometers...

Daily... or, almost...

This morning, the body refused to rise from the bed...
Feeling fatigued... a bit groggy...
Too much bicycling?

My better half often springs up just before the alarm goes off...
She immediately prepares the usual, full breakfast...

I do my own thingy like gargling...
Washing my eyes...
Nose drink to flush out the goo...

Gulp in 500 cc of plain water...
Following which, almost without fail, I 'bombard' the toilet...

I then do a few more inconsequential things...

Like watching the sun rise...
Listen to the birds chirp...
Open a window or two...

We do the 'Radio Exercise' routine...
Synchronized...
Followed by a series of floor exercises...
Stretching...
Sit-ups and 'finger' push-ups...

All these lead us to past 6:00 am...

It is breakfast time...

I shoot to the university at about 7:15 am...
Work... yeap, work, all day...

Cycle home, reaching at about 7:30 pm...
Have dinner in the quiet...
Shower...

Go upstairs to observe the ferries and boats pass by...
Star gaze...
Listen to the radio...

* We have (almost) done away with the idiot box... *

At about 9:00 pm, my eyelids say 'close shop'...
I try to fight the urge...

Futile...

I hit the sack...

Snore alreadea...

GOBIES WITH PRAWN

Some gobies symbiotically live in a single sand burrow with one or more species of blind or almost blind prawns.

The prawns maintain the burrows while the gobies act as lookouts for them.

When a diver approaches, the prawn feels the goby retracting and it promptly withdraws into the burrow...

It is not unusual for adult gobies to live in pairs.

Location: Panuba House Reef, Tioman

YELLOW PRAWN GOBY

Among the many gobies I saw was a pretty rare yellow goby...

But prawn goby?

Where is the prawn?

BROKEN PIPE, COW DUNG, & SMELLY BODY

Had quite a handful to do in the garden over the weekend...

Counted the trees that need pruning...

Big trees of up to three meters... about 40...

Smaller trees of about one meter... about 30...

But that can wait a while...

In front of the terrace is a sizeable tract of azaleas...

My better half wants to make a Herb Garden out of it...

So the honor fell on the shoulders of yours truly to dig out all the azaleas, about fifty of them...

One by one... manually...

Thought of just 'killing' them off...

But, decided to transfer them to the slopes on the eastern side of the garden.

The rains came...

Working indoors, I cleared up the stuff in the storeroom...

Even got time to repair the puncture of my sweetheart's bicycle...

When the rains stopped, I resume the work at the garden...

Was trying to remove one rather huge azalea stump...

Had to use all my might to plunge the hoe into its base...

When suddenly, I hit something...

Next thing we saw was gushing water...

Oh oh... the water pipe...

Had to quit immediately and head for the hardware shop...

Got the pipe fixed before the sun set on me...

First experience to DIY a pipe leak...

But we could not open the main pipe for 12 hours...

Hence, no shower for the day...

Imagine, I was sweating like a doggo the whole day...

And of course, no water for cooking too...

We bought sushi from the supermarket...

After dinner, asked for two pails of water from a neighbor for brushing teeth, washing face, and wiping the body...

The following day, I managed to dig out all the azaleas...

Cleared the bamboo grass, lalang roots and other debris...

Thought I would not see the persistent lalang anymore after I left my kampong decades ago...

Could not find any use for it although I heard from my brother that its hardy roots are sold as 'Chinese traditional medicine'...

But bamboo grass... I translated them into a broom for outdoor usage...

Then, mixed some natural fertilizer (fermented cow dung, that is) into the plot...

Got it ready for herb-planting...

Scored quite a few points as my better half was pretty impressed by my efforts over the weekend...

Meanwhile, over at the vegetable plot, the seedlings are growing well...

Heheheheeee...

GOBY

Gobies form the largest family of marine fishes with about 500 Indo-Pacific species.

Their characteristics include small, elongated but blunt heads, large mouths, and conical teeth.

Bottom dwellers they are and they feed on small invertebrates...

They are very shy and will retract instantly into their burrows as divers approach.

Needs quite a bit of patience to photograph them...

Specimen size was about 4 centimeters...

Location: Panuba House Reef, Tioman

HAPPY IS THE WORD

Been having dry weather for some weeks...

Till yesterday...

When the heavens poured all day...

Had sowed some vegetable seeds three days ago...

Now... thrilled is the word...

When seeds are germinating...

Heheheee...

Back at Bolehland...

The Red Round Object Show continues to nauseate Bolehlanders to no end...

And, AI has finally decided to invite MM to court for tea...

The seeds are sowed...

I am braced for more action...

Heheheeee...

MAKING PEACE WITH THE SPIRITS

Just chatted with my buddies the other day on Bali being a possible destination for our reunion next year.

Why not... with her bountiful above and under water attractions...

If the report on the suicide bombers is true, those wretched fellows are probably on their way to seventh heaven where a hundred virgins await them...

I pray...

May the spirits of the inopportune victims rest in peace...

*** *** ***

Could not sleep well last night...

We had hit the sack at about 9:00 pm...

Woke up intermittently in the pitch of the night...

Sat by the window and gazed at the lights from the passing ferries and boats...

Twinkling... twinkling...

Still have to find the flow of living in the new place...

I need to make peace with the chi...

That unseen energy...

Of the unseen spirits...

Of the tangible rocks...

The trees...

The air...

The winds...

SQUIRRELFISH, MR. AND MRS...

Checking up information on marine life while not diving is a joy...

Some specimens can be quite confusing...

As in squirrelfish and soldierfish...

What's the differentiating feature between them?

I think we have a pair of squirrelfish...

They seemed to be nesting in a fallen barrel sponge among some corals...

Normally they prefer to rest in schools underneath shady coral heads in the day...

They come alive at nightfall, for feeding...

Size was about 30 centimeters...

Location: Blue Coral House Reef, Lang Tengah...