When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children's life may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief.  I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light.  For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

 

 

 

I read this poem last night and my heart started beating faster, shivers ran up and down my spine, hairs rose on my arms - it was so beautiful.  I cannot remember the last time I read a poem that delighted me as much as this one did.  I spent the whole night lying awake marvelling at the beauty of  the written word - I wish I could write like this!!   

 

How apt to read this the day before new year's eve.  I have just found my mantra for 2009.

 

I come into the presence of still water ... 

 

 

 

 

Guess who turns 12 today?!

 

 

Happy Birthday Mel!!

 

 

 

 

 

Remember the nudibranch I couldn't identify?  I sent it to nudibranch expert, Neville Coleman - and this is his reply:

 

Dear Lynette,

 

Yes, this one is a juvenile that shows signs of damage to its forward cerata and oral tentacles.

 

Family:  Flabellinidae

Common Name:  Bicolor Flabellina

Remarks:  Found in the Indo Pacific, grows to about 25mm, feeds on hydroids

 

Best regards,

Neville

 

*************************

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look what my sister sent me ...

 

 

Don't you just want to EAT THEM UP??!

 

 

 

 

 

Last night's dinner was brilliant!  Mom made shrimp cocktail as an appetizer, and she made roast beef that came out perfect, along with grilled vege and a side dish of salad.  I made the potato which - by some stroke of luck, or pure genius - must have been quite tasty, as six of us finished a recipe meant for ten!

 

Unfortunately, my pictures of the food didn't come out as well as it looked or tasted, and I didn't feel it would do it justice to post on here - so you'll have to make do with people pictures instead!

 

 

I did, however, retire to bed quite early as I am totally stuck in this book, Inkheart - it's like a cross between The Chronicles of Narnia  and  Lord of the Rings, with a bit of Harry Potter thrown in.  Fantasy, alternate-between-worlds stuff.  Quite entertaining, and spell-binding (no pun intended) enough to keep me glued to its pages. 

 

I did end up completing it this morning - Mel and I made popcorn, and she was reading Roald Dahl and I was reading my book, and we were both munching away while being totally oblivious to whatever else was going on around us, as is often the case when we read.

 

What a great way to spend the morning!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mom said it was too early to start cooking, so I decided to decorate the dining table instead.  Since we didn't have any kids around this year, I thought we would go classy, as opposed to bright and colorful.

 

So this is the before ...

 

 

And this is the after ...

 

 

 

I am proud to say that we have never decorated the table in the same way ever in all our Christmases.

 

 

 

 

But just because one chooses to be classy, doesn't mean one has to lose one's sense of humor. 

 

 

 

And so I snuck him right into the middle of my table setting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every year we have a Christmas Eve tradition that involves the entire extended family.  We meet up at my grandparents' home and we have dinner and we sing carols, and we wait for the stroke of midnight to wish each other Merry Christmas.  Well, in the last couple of years, the tradition never materialized for whatever reason.  So this year, we decided to revive it, and instead of making it dinner, we decided to have supper.

 

This is how we all ended up gathering last night at 10pm to a supper of chicken and scallop porridge, yau char kuey, tong sui and a yule log.

 

 

There are some family traditions that are totally worth keeping.

 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go help mom prepare our Christmas dinner.  She is making roast beef and salad - and I am making a potato / bacon / mushroom / onion / cream concoction to go with the roast beef.  Contrary to popular belief, I can be quite useful in the kitchen, you know .. !

 

Merry Christmas, y'all!!

 

 

 

 

Mel auditioned - and got - a part in a one time episode from the popular Singaporean sitcom Phua Chu Kang !! 

 

 

 

She actually plays dual roles - one as a child Rosie, and another one as Rosie's younger sister, Susie.  Her last major role was Dorothy in a stage production of The Wizard of Oz - so Mel is thrilled about her television debut!  As are the rest of us.

 

Unfortunately, I could not be around for her shooting, as I was away in SWV at that time.

 

Nonetheless, mom reported that she had a blast, as she was being treated like an actual star - with people fawning over her makeup and hair - wiping off her sweat in between takes - bringing her water and snacks - assisting her with wardrobe changes ... of course she lapped it up, diva that she is and all.

 

She was told by the Singaporean director that she is "very intelligent" (brains are hereditary, no?) - and "naturally talented" ...

 

It is supposed to show on Malaysian television in February, so I will let you know when we get the actual dates!

 

How FUN is this?!

 

 

 

 

Albert and Doreen's pictures are here.  All topside pics, as they don't have an underwater housing (YET!) ... but good for memories too!

 

 

 

 

Bee Yong's pictures from the SWV trip are available here.

 

She captioned her picture of the barracudas "Bankers going for lunch" ... hahaha!!

 

Please respect copyright and get her permission if you wish to download any.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

I have about 1600 dives under my belt, and every time I go underwater, I still find things as fresh and exciting as it was when I was just an open water diver.  The reason is because I am still making new discoveries, having new experiences, learning new things.

 

Just in this last trip, I saw not one, but three creatures that I have never seen before in all my years of diving.

 

One is the pygmy pipehorse ...

 

 

My picture isn't very clear because it was just too tiny for my camera to focus on. 

 

The pygmy pipehorse belongs to the seahorse family.  It has the tail of a seahorse - notice how it wraps around the piece of stone in the picture - but the head of a pipefish.  It has a brownish color with darker blotches, and is only about 15mm in length, making it almost impossible to spot.  Our divemaster, Ramil, was a champ to find it!!

 

Another creature I have never seen before was this nudibranch ...

 

 

 

Infact, you know what - Ramil, some of the other divemasters and I tried to look it up in the books, but could not find any information on it.  I have written to nudibranch expert, Neville Coleman, and sent him some pictures, so I will update you once I get his reply.  How exciting is this?!

 

The third new thing I saw this trip was the hammerhead nudibranch - yes, they really have a hammerhead!!

 

 

Another thing that gives me a big kick is introducing new divers to the underwater realm and the treasures it contains.  Some things I can teach them - some things they can learn from books or from watching National Geographic - but there are some things they just have to see and feel to experience.  And when you see the realization dawn on their faces - well, it's just an awesome feeling for me as an instructor.

 

That just about sums up my intoxication with the ocean.

 

 

 

 

As usual after coming back from Paradise, I find it difficult to know where to start blogging. 

 

The trip was fantastic, as it always is.  The people were fun.  My students were awesome.  The diving was fabulous.  The weather was brilliant.  It was good to be back there.  SWV is my "heart home", to coin a phrase from a dear friend of mine.

 

I didn't take any pictures the first two days, as I was busy completing the open water dives for my students.

 

Then on the 3rd and 4th day, I did.  And as I was downloading the pictures onto my laptop this morning, I was thinking of my non-diver friends, and I realized that some of the marine life - although perfectly normal to a diver - would look pretty odd to a non-diver - thus the title of my blog.

 

There is the juvenile lionfish ...

 

 

Filefish ...

 

 

Orangutan crab and shrimp ...

 

 

Leaf fish ...

 

 

Scorpionfish ...

 

 

(eeriely human, dontcha think?!)

 

Pufferfish ...

 

 

(also human-looking, but in a friendlier way, as opposed to a monster way!)

 

Ornate ghostpipefish ...

 

 

Spikefin goby ...

 

 

 

Painted frogfish ...

 

 

Fingered dragonet ...

 

 

Rika san ...

 

 

Just kidding ... heh ...

 

Will write in more detail later, but I just want to end with this thought.

 

You know when you come up from a really good dive at your most favorite dive site of all, and the water is calm, and the weather is warm, and you've just seen some amazing stuff, and you pop up onto the surface, and the sight of a glorious sunset greets you ...

 

 

There are no words to describe that, except to say that it gave me a wonderfully assuring sense of 'it's-great-to-be-alive-ness'.

 

 

 

 

Me going home tomorrow!!  Flights confirmed.  Bags packed.  Cab booked.

 

SWV, here I come ... !

 

 

 

 

Been spending some time with Eric of late - you can find us at a Starbucks outlet (so far, we've been spotted at the ones in the Curve, SS2 and Centerpoint) - having a coffee, goofing around, philosophizing about life, in general, and relationships in particular - and more specifically, the dynamics of a straight relationship versus a gay one - and really, we're not all that different.  Regardless of our sexual orientation, we all want the same thing - trust, security, acceptance - a place to call home, as my dear friend Lee, put it.

 

So today we decided to try something new.

 

 

We went to a fish spa!!

 

It was really really strange to have these tiny fish sucking or biting or cleaning or whatever it is they actually do.  Apparently they eat away at the dead skin - and although the experience was fun, with the two of us giggling away and being all stupid and childish about it, I have to admit my feet didn't feel all that different when we were done. 

 

 

Nonetheless, it was FUN! 

 

 

Maybe it's not what you do but who you do it with that makes things enjoyable.  Ya think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can now countdown to our trip to SWV with one hand!  Five days!!

 

Yay!!

 

 

 

 

Inspired by my cousin, Suk Harn's, blog - I did a YouTube search on Il Divo.  I have their first two albums, and I think it's fantastic that four guys with such stunning knock-'em-dead looks have voices as pure and as divine as they do.

 

It is almost impossible to listen to their rendition of Amazing Grace without getting emotional.

 

And so I dedicate this blog post in memory of my late grandparents, who loved this hymn when they were alive, and who are still loving it now at home in heaven, I bet.

 

      

 

Met up with some friends for dinner at a German pub in Metropolitan Square.  The usual German fare - sausages galore, pork knuckles, pork ribs, pork pork pork.  It was too dark for me to take any pictures of what we were eating.  Too dark to see what I was eating too.  Took a big bite of what I assumed was mashed potatoes, and it ended up being sauerkraut.  A little bit is okay.  A huge bite is NOT.

 

 

After a lot of food, a lot of beer, and a lot of laughs, we trooped off to Ong's place for a nightcap. 

 

What do you think these capsules are?

 

 

Not chocolate.  Not milk.  Not some funky dessert.  But coffee.  Each capsule a different strength and flavor.

 

Ong has this totally nifty coffee machine that he brought all the way back from Japan.

 

 

You fill this part with water ...

 

 

You pop in one of the capsules ...

 

 

You push the buttons, and voila ...

 

 

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafts through the air, and a delicious piping hot cup is yours to enjoy ...

 

 

 

Good food + good friends + good coffee = major satisfaction!

 

 

 

 

 

Alex is down from SWV, and Eric is back from Melbourne - originally, we were supposed to take Alex to see the sights of Putrajaya (??) - which Alex really wanted to see - but the heavens were on our side, and it was rain rain rain almost the whole day, so we were spared the trip.  (Sorry, Alex, but I really don't see the attraction of Putrajaya!)

 

In any case, we went to the Curve.  And since Alex was behaving totally touristy, I took out my trusty camera and snapped a few shots too.

 

The Christmas deco at the Curve this year was ... interesting.  Not as classy as last year, but bright and colourful and festive nonetheless.  They had giant trees ...

 

 

 

And elf like creatures with Bambi eyes and grinning faces ...

 

 

And deer and teddy bears made out of grass (or a grass-like substance) ...

 

 

 

Even a quaint little water feature ...

 

 

 

And then as I was walking with Eric, he suddenly grabbed a hold of my arm and went "Oh my God" in that totally appealing gay way of his ... and I was like "What? What?" - and he pointed upwards.  And right there, amidst all the merry, friendly, bright, cheery trees and baubles and forest creatures and fairy-tale like ambience, towering above us, was an unmistakable - and I swear this is true - 30-foot phallus on legs.

 

 

 

I would like to see parents trying to explain to their kids why there is a giant green dick amongst the Enchanted Christmas Forest - but turns out it was a giraffe, and that we are merely a nation obssessed with sex in a totally unnatural way.  Or maybe it's just Eric.

 

And then Alex had to go off and meet with someone else, and Eric and I were left to catch up and bitch and gossip.

 

 

What a great day!

 

 

 

So here's a bit of advice for you ...

 

Never never never ever send text messages or have a phone conversation when you are either one - a combination of - or all three of the following:

 

1.  Inebriated

2.  High

3.  Hazy from lack of sleep

 

If it so happens that both parties are either one - a combination of - or all three of the above-mentioned, then you need to make sure that you are really, really really good mates. 

 

So that instead of cringing with embarrassment when you wake up the next morning and re-read the flurry of text messages sent between the hours of midnite and 3am - you can actually laugh about them, together. 

 

 

 

 

 

I've started another blog here for two reasons.  One, Windows Spaces has recently changed it's layout and settings, and I find it much less user friendly than it used to be.  Two, people complain that they can't leave comments on here because they are not registered users.

 

The thing with the new blog is that I haven't actually had much time to sit down and play with the settings yet - but in an effort to simplify my life in the new year and to do away with all unneccesary complications - then it is a new philosophy my blog is going to reflect.

 

So there will be no booklists, no photo albums - just reflections and whatever accompanying pictures there might be.

 

My first entry is exactly the same as my post prior to this - but drop in, have a look, and let me know if you think I should maintain my Windows space, or move over to Blogspot.

 

All opinions will be taken into consideration!