Pictures from Lang Tengah

Went on holiday last week! Lang Tengah Island (very near Redang). Excellent beaches, excellent marine life, all at the hotel beach itself! Here are a few pictures made by me and my family. . .


Road to No-where.

(Took this picture on the Trip Home)






The Beach




Clouds and Palm Tree -Inverted

Azure Sea

Green, Gray, Blue

Pier

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Blessings and Curses, the Tale of the Lathurar Forest

Lathur, Solemn Pilgrim, Wanderer through the days,
Father of Dreynorik, First of the Traveller fays.
Walked down into a Grove of Trees, amidst its cooling shade,
And slept for manys days there, then left, but parted with a thankful blessing he'd made,

"Grove of Silent Trees,
Bowers to the Zephyr breeze,
Yet may thy offspring be numerous and mighty,
May you grow into a grand Forest, stately, sightly."

Amentoris the Bold, Lord above the Lordly Hosts,
Who sees all plains and mounts and coasts,
Heard the blessing heard the voice,
And said "May this be so, this Place of Lathur's Choice."

Lathurar, this grove was named, forever, for ages more,
This became the Passageway, Jatur-ghiar, the Green Door.
For many pilgrims passed on through that wood,
And rested where the Kindly Trees stood.

It came to pass, this Lathurar became a forest strong,
as broad and great as it was gay and long.
The Diev-Karon pulsed through its heart,
Its waters setting east and west apart.

Orioles and sparrows flew over the heads of trees,
The deer of many places came to Where the Silent Waters Tease.
The Windill flowers, dark yet bright, shone merrily with silver shafts of moonlight,
While Dienpov glittered, when the sky was clear and bright.

Then the Fenjalkis came, settled in this land of green.
Fairest among many they'd seen.
They built their shining cities, built happy, merry towns,
And erected massive monuments on massive, hand-built mounds.

But evil worked upon this people of the Southeast,
And spreading in pure bread, seeds of deadly yeast.
The were torn apart by hatred and strife,
Drained the forest of its happy, peaceful, life.

Death marred the Forest, saplings were crushed under feet,
Barren were the riverbanks, where wood and forest used to meet.
At last, like they came, the Fenjalkis departed,
Left the wartorn ground they'd smarted.

But they left a curse behind,
To last as time itself unwinds,

"Die, trees! You once were our hiding place.
A refuge for our miughty race!
But we need thee no longer,
For we are greater, crueller, stronger.

'Prosper not! Grow not!
May thy branches fall and rot.
Fail to live, fail to be,
Let no mortal hear thy plea!"

And so this forest, once good, grew quiet, and dead,
Cursed by the curel words once said.
The power of those words was strong upon their boughs,
And so they turned to stone, and did not stir nor arouse.

Then Amentoris, the immortal, heard the forest's cry.
The cursed ground cried out, and heaved with mighty a sigh.
He blessed the ground again, and called, in a voice heavy, and grand,
A blessing of new birth, a revival of the land.

"May the Leaves on your stone-held braches turn green again,
May thy numbers increase by thousands times ten,
Be all that I once made you to be!
Come alive, Fenjalki curse cannot hold thee!"


The forest became green again, once more alive,
The birds and beast returned, the deer began to arrive.
Restored the ancient, happy, days of old,
With a mighty blessing none could challenge nor hold.

This is the tale of blessings and curses,
Stanzas and verses,
Of the sadness of silence, of the power of words,
Of Amentoris, and Lathur, of beats, and birds.

The Terrible People Tag. . .

All right, I'm starting to tag-make again. My first tag was, well, the first tag. This one will be grander, more magnificient, more interseting. Now I'm out of more's.

Questions:

1. Name the the first two letters of the name of . . .

The person you hate/dislike the most.

Ka

The person you want to be with right now.

Ti

The person in your family/extended family you want to meet right now.

Ch

The person you think is the smartest you've met.

Don't know ;)

The person you think is the most funny (makes you laugh, not weird).

Da

The person you think is the most good-looking (either gender).

Don't know ;)

2. Name the character trait you like the most in a person.

A desire to defend those that need to be defended.

3. And the character trait you dislike the most in somebody.

Arrogance, or selfishness. I can't choose between them.

4. Name the person who has commented the most on your blog.

I think Whitle and Aunty SH comment alot.

5. Name one thing that you think you're good at.

Uhh, writing. I think.

6. Name one thing your Mom is good at.

Teaching!

7. Name two very different people you know (but don't know each other).

Mmm, Melanie and Timothy.

8. Who of the two people asked for be more likely to go trekking in the Amazon jungle?

I think Tim. He generally is very adventurous with these things.

9. Which one simply loves their math homework?

I doubt either do.

10. Who would be the more hands-on of the two (in life)?

I think Tim.

11. Who is the more outgoing?

I think that would be Melanie.

12. Tag seven people!

• Mark
• Melanie
• Tim
• Whitle
• Ben
• Jian Lin
• David (Soh)

Tagged by Whitle!

Alas, the lion is awakened, and Whitle's going to go on a tagging spree and smother my blog with tags, and torture me day and night, from both of her blogs (using tag-ticklers). Out of cavernous pits will arise. . .

Oops, that last half-sentence was from Leornado da Vinci. So much for undivinely inspired prophecies.

But never mind all that self-added pessimism. Let's get to the tag!


Q1: What’s the BEST book you ever read?

I can't decide! I love them all! But if I have to choose, then the oldest of my top favorites would Michelle Magorian's "Good Night, Mr. Tom."

Q2: Why are you writing this?

For fun! That's why I blog!

Q3: Do you collect anything?

Stamps, money (which I hoard and preserve like Smaug)

Q4: What’s your favorite Bible passage?

I thnk that would be this one,

Psalms 19: 1-2

"The heavens declare the glory of God,
the skies proclaim the works of His hands.
Day after day, they pour forth speech;
Night after night, the display knowledge."

Q5: What do you dislike?

Ground-level ozone and carbon monoxide :)

Q6: Who inspires you?

God.

Q7: Do you doodle?

Yes! I do it alot on my math work (my mind gets bored and shallow and my thoughts go off then).

Q8: What is happiness to you?

Acceptance. From God, and from people.

Q9: Does money make people happy (according to your perspective)?

In many respects, yes, but there just are some things money can't buy.

Q10: Who has supported you through the hardest things throughout your stay on planet earth?

My family and God.

I tag, David Soh (I dare him to start blogging again), Mark, and Tim

Soar Throats, and Contact Lens

Yes, I currently am having both. But God is healing me, so it's not really to say I have a soar throat. Anyways, the symptoms are mild, and apart from some uncomfortable ear pressure and a bit of chubby tonsils, I am fine. I'm starting on contact lens! I did mention this in my Predicaments post, but now 'm actually wearing them. The transition from glasses to contacts is somewhat awkward. I don't feel them on my eyelids anymore (it's been the third day, but I got used to it by the second). The maintainence and caretaking of these little lens is quite trying and delicate, but it'll hopefully improve with time.

My brother said I looked better with glasses. But he suggested it was because he was just used to seeing my eyes behind thick, rectangular frames of plastic.

All is well, and I'm posting it for everyone to know :) .

Poem on Mother'ds Day

Mater, Queen among many, fair above the fair,
Forever be remembered, the golden crown you bear.

This circlet, unseen to simple human eye,
Forever on your brow, does the ancient crown of mothers lie.

A crown of many joys, and crown of many sorrows,
Growing richer by each day, each passing of a morrow.

Heavy with experience, laden with with memory,
Light with singing laughter, so you may yet dance merrily.

With honor I behold you, though not always best expressed,
Though it does not change my love for thee, nor make it any less.

For amm my mortal days I swear, I will forget you not,
Hold me by this oath, whatever my destiny's lot.

Mater, great Queen among many, fair above the fair,
Forever I remember, the golden crown you bear.

The Blessing of a Tyatoran Vessel

This is really a short poem. Hope my dear readers don't mind.

Nilozhin, forever may thy azure banners fly,
And as long as this world is, may your golden flag sail high.
Reach for much, stretch thy arms, spread thy wings,
Touch the lands where the phoenixes sing.
Go far, sail far, may Amentoris's winds blow thy course,
May the currents push thy keel in steady force.
May Al-Waldor, steward of the sea, lead thy gleaming masts,
May you sail steadily and fast!
Fly, Nilozhin, go far!

Restaurant Haikus

Bustling Coffee Shop.
Nameless Faces, people’s lunches,
Plates, Cans, brusque busboys.

Chinese restaurant,
White rice, stewed pork, fragrant tea,
Clicking of chopsticks.

Café, bright and sunny,
Tables with chairs, tea with milk,
Al-fresco dining.

Good fast food, child’s dream,
Meat and bread in paper wrap,
Re-fried spud slices.

Long Buffet table,
Bottomless pits of tasty food,
People over-eat.

Mom’s little kitchen,
Best pies and yummy dishes.
I’m biased, too bad.



All right, I'm out of ideas.

Predicaments

I have a predicament. Actually, make that two predicaments. Of violin and contact lens.

Well, as it is, my music teacher was organizing a small-scale performence for a few of her students. I'm probably performing. I feel a lump of mild dread in my throat. I'm probably doing Auld Lang Sune or Ode to Joy (I'm still on Grade 1-2). I'm nervous. mI'll bloop big-time, or I'll feel dwarfed (or "dwarved", as Tolkien would say) by all the hihger grade musicians in the mini-concert. I am anxious, put succinctly.

AS for the contact lens, well, that predicament is a bit less heartening. I'm going to start wearing contacts soon. Evidently semi-hard lens keep the cornea (the colored part of your eye) from growing longer, and increasing my eye power. I pray my power will go down, eventually. The optometrist gave me a sample lens to test for a few minutes. It was odd. Every blink resulted in a slight feel of some foreign object in my eye. She said I'll get used to it. Oh well, I'm thankful for the contacts my parents are investing in, whether the first few blinks will be a bit uncomfortable.

Predicaments, predicaments, and more predicaments.

The Castle

The Sad People built it, so many years and moons ago,
When they fled their Western lands, the lands of stags and does.
When evil spread over that part fo the realm,
And poured forth from their lairs, wearing warshield and helm.

The Days before the Great Castle.

The Sad People, who fled to moor and waste,
who retreated to the mountains, in speed and fear and haste,
Who left the Land of Luringon, and ventured into the wide, open East,
Untamed, full of chaos, full of foul foe and wicked beast.

The Land Before the Great Castle.

They moved around from place to place, without land to call theur own,
Further and further away, from the land they once had known,
They fought the beasts of this land, the bandits and Goorts that dogged their way,
They traversed through wood and desert, by night, by dusk, by day.

To the place of the Great Castle.

Then upon one winter day, they saw a rock a glimmering,
That jut out the coast, pushed into the water shimmering,
And said the Chief of the Sad Ones, "Blessed is this rock that all may see,"
And so they, as one, built upon that rock a castle, the Castle Armathi.

The Building of the Great Castle.

They remembered the structures laid in ancient Luringon, the arches and pillars and carven stone,
How their fore-fathers had polished ivory limestone till it shone,
And so they built their Castle, as a refuge for the weary,
A Fortress for those whose eyes are sad and teary.

The Construction of the great Castle.

Finally, they built their fort, a new capital for a sad and weary people,
that overlooked the sea and land, to see the waters wave and ripple.
The crenellated turrets that shot into the sky and cloud,
A marble-covered fort that darkness cannot shroud.

The Great Castle.

To this day, the Glad People hold this Great Castle by the coastline,
Whose ancient marble reflects and glows and shines,
Who cannot fall to sword nor spear nor bow,
That all that is chaos and disorder cannot know.

This is the Great castle.

And to this day, the castle thus described,
Upon its scutcheon this is inscribed,

"Come, weary and mournful, who hide from the dark and foe of night,

This Castle's gates is open for thee, its walls shine true and bright!

Come, ye who flee from evil and rapine, who search for a land to find refuge in place,

A land that fire and foe cannot raze,

This is the Castle for thee,

A place for the Exiled, built by the Exiled,

This is the Castle for Thee"