Dreams

I hardly have any dreams when I sleep. But recently I woke up from two weirdest dreams which I remember so clearly. I had those weird dreams on the days I crashed out dead tired at around 9.30pm, after so many sleepless nights (resulted from the punches, scratching and sudden loud talking/scolding from hubby).  

To validate my thoughts, I checked and learnt that having heavy or intense REM sleep after many sleepless nights is usually caused by REM Rebound, a process where your brain quickly catches up on missed dream sleep. "The brain and body compensate with increased frequency, depth, and intensity of REM sleep."

Why This Happens

• Sleep Debt Catch-up: After days of poor rest, your body prioritizes rapid eye movement (REM) cycles to recover. "This rest and recovery phenomenon occurs when your body stays in this stage longer than usual."
• Shortened Latency: You fall straight into deep or dream states much faster than normal because your system is exhausted. "Short REM latency can be caused by sleep deprivation and sleep disruption."

Signs of Recovery

• Vivid Dreams: Dreams feel very real, intense, or strange.
• Waking Up Foggy: You might feel tired or confused in the morning. 

Not that it’s really important but I like to have the dates documented down in my blog. First dream on 22nd, it was a shorter dream compared to the second. Perhaps my REM was short? Second dream on 24th night. Woke up on 25th with a ‘wtf was that silly dream’ 

😴 🛌 💭 😴 🛌 💭 😴 🛌 💭

First dream : Dreamt that I was at the holding gate queuing to board my plane. I was getting so excited about my solo trip to ?? I don’t even know where 😂. When it came to my turn, a loud beep echoed the holding area when they scanned my ticket. The staff said I couldn’t board. They will remove my luggage from hold and when I asked for the reasons, asked all the staffs there if they’re re-booking me for next flight one by one walked away and ignored me as if I was transparent. I woke up after that. 😂 as clueless as a goldfish what kind of dream was that? 

Thinking …..🤔 💭 

Am I so over exhausted over my daily life never-ending tasks that I desperately needed a holiday? Maybe coz seeing hubby and che-che travelling again and again makes me wonder why I still had to be the stupid one holding onto the fort, time to let go and enjoy a little more coz I won’t even know if I’ll survive till 55 years old. Life is so fragile, especially of late we heard of schoolmate who passed.

Also it makes no sense that I was still so calm when one by one they walked away from me coz the rigid me who had everything all planned out would have freaked out over changed plans to trip, to hotel bookings that cannot be refunded etc..that I would have raised my voice demanding answers from the first person. Haha! Short temper. 

Was the rejected for boarding due to the many FB posts I’ve been reading about european trains suddenly cancelling their trips? Lots of people are left in desperation to find alternatives to get to their next destination, coz one delay can snowball into more changes to plans. 

Intepretation of my dream. 准吗？

Second dream : I dreamt that Putin was hiding out in my car coz’ he didn't want to go for some buffet reception with the politicians. He was interacting with me and family, and he could speak English with us.  I don’t remember the topics but it was very casual and no airs from him kind of friendly talk with all of us in the car 😂. Somehow I took out a Russian pine oil from the glove compartment and showed him and and I took out my phone wanted to Google translate over the packaging when he bend forward to read and explain to me how to use. He said it’s good to rub the oil on my spine, it’s good for especially me, saying that I’ve overexhausted myself and this application will help me. 

Just then the reception is over and the politicians were gathering outside to take pictures, he said he had to leave and opened the car door. We all came out from our car to bade farewell. It’s only now his bodyguards appeared 🤣, they weren’t there the whole time he was hiding out in the car with us. 

Thinking …..🤔 💭 

It just makes no sense coz why the heck did Putin come into my dream? Thankfully it’s him not Trump. Maybe coz I’ve seen videos of him being very respectful and gentlemanly so I kinda liked him. There’s just so many questions what this dream was about and why those items just randomly appeared. 

Car - I must have done too much taxi ah-lao that the car is my second home. And why was I in the area? How the heck did I even get into the compound without security checks? And my car is so small how did three adults fit the back seats comfortably? 

Sitting behind - why was he seated behind? Behind with the girls. So the girls have something to tell their friends. 

Pine oil - ok this is silly. But maybe I dreamt of pine coz hubby bought home from his Russia trip. But the funniest thing is he bought pine nuts NOT pine oil. 

Intepretation of my dream. 准吗?

:

Updates

I still have a backlog of draft blog entries, and while I've managed to backdate and publish a couple from last year, time is always running against me to finish the rests.

Almost 193 unfinished drafts dating back to the STONE AGE . Not sponsorships, no winner in any blogger awards today (or ever) and zero influence, I’m just an ordinary auntie documenting her days."

Change now?

While grabbing my iPad, I found the brand-new iPhone 17 Pro hubby bought when it launched last September. He kept his iPhone 15 instead and gifted this to me. He isn't very expressive, but he loves spoiling me and the girls. 

I’ve been using my 13 Pro, but the number 13 must be cursed—I’ve dropped it so many times! Time to gracefully accept the upgrade. 😉

It took me a year to change out of my previous iPhone to 13 pro, so to keep tradition going I think I shall change it this September 😂. 

Time to get a new phone case. 

Funny

A simple chugging down the drink became a leisure timed munch. 🤣

Clearing the acai in the fridge I blended the drink and left it in the freezer to keep it cool longer. Lo and behold this is a forgetful person and when I suddenly remembered - 

it became an acai bowl (in a cup tho).  Added cookie butter on the top and then I have a cheaper and less ingredients acai bowl 👍

Have a good weekend everyone! 

On This Day - (1st Aug) #Reminders from FB#

1st Aug 2025

Day 07: crossing my fingers eyes and toes the hydrangea is still doing well.

This is the only flower I have to bring to pong pong 🚿daily, the reason why hydrangeas bloom so beautifully during 梅雨

1st Aug 2023

一眨眼就是八月了！Where did the beginning of 2023 go? Time really flew by, before I know it it'll be 2025.

Footnote written in 2026 : 

Hello! It’s 2026 now. 😩

1st Aug 2023

太离谱了吧！

Price increase. Everything also increase, my size also increase, money never increase only.

1st Aug 2022

有点希望 right? My adenium plant, I've been waiting for the last 3-4 mths when it came with only leaves.

Tho this can never beat the record of my first adenium plant which was flower-less for a year right?

The only happy thing I can look forward to.

My 🌻 s? Failed attempt for the dunno how many times. I need ☀️ , strong ☀️ !! Maybe I should just go to the nursery and buy the sunflower plants.

1st Aug 22

Honestly I don't sympathise with these people who brings in food into Australia without declaring. So I'm thinking why Subway needs to reimburse the lady?

Just for PR sake?

Not sure about now, but I remembered there are constant reminders in the airport if you have any food, fruits in your bag, if yes please discard it or something to that extent. All the way from the gate to the immigration counters, still not enough warning?

Signages in Oz stations, NZ and a few other places.

That's why I never dare bring in any food into Australia.

1st Aug 22

Yesterday lil' one saw me with a cotton bud and asked me why am I cleaning the plants. 🤣

Ah girl ah....your mummy is doing some RA act to the plants lah! I'm not so siao to clean my plants right?

Let's hope this works. This is the 3rd and last pod that only has flowers. The other 2 pods mati at the leafy stage. I wish I can have small little tommies, just like the ones we came home to in Jan

The ones that greeted us when we came home. But the rests all mati coz no more 💦 in the holder.

1st Aug 22

Keeping it simple

Happy Monday, everyone!

1st Aug 16

Was searching up on how to repel crawlies on plants.

This is what I found :

"Aphids: Cedarwood, hyssop, peppermint, spearmint, orange, cedarwood"

The funniest thing is I found small aphids on my mint plant.

1st Aug 15

This was taken on 30th July. I decided to grab my SLR and tried all sorts of dunno what things to get this, instead of the blobs I normally get. I still couldn't get the clouds in which were visible to naked eyes.

I'm happy with the outcome of the pics tho!

This evening, I was hoping to catch the blue moon but alas wrong timing. Ah mat was chauffeuring and I kept looking in the sky but saw nothing, maybe it was above the car? Or behind? Next one in May 2019, by then mei-mei would be in Sec1. Maybe I'll be more free to sit and wait?

Anyway in order to look for that full moon, I looked in the same direction (which is next to the gym.

Residents exercising must be thinking I'm taking pics of them) today, it was not in my favour. However when we left home at 9.10ish it was so clear but we had to rush to airport. I thought I could get a pic today after we got back home, but clouds just blocked it. Sigh….....

Earthquake + a little geography lessons

28th July @ 3.36pm (SIN) 

Was busy around the house when I saw down to rest awhile and saw the missed message from M about an earthquake in Kumamoto occurring 9 mins ago. Kumamoto is about 100km away from her. 

I exclaimed out at home, and hubby nodded. Yah he knows the news even faster than me. Coz I was working around the house so missed the news many many many minutes later 😉. 

This is how Google map looks like now ❤️

Although earthquakes is so common and she’s more experienced / calm than me I can’t help but worry for her. 7.1 by Japan Meteorological Agency (6.8 by USGS Earthquake Hazards Program) leh! Is she alone at home at that time so I messaged to ask about her. Thank goodness it’s the summer holiday so the girls are at home. M her youngest was holding on the bookshelf and the other hand on Instagram. Haha! My first response was “posting in Instagram?” 

The wanna-be geologist

This super crazy n scared getting dirty me wanted to be a geologist before 😂😂. I told my Geography teacher, Mrs Quintal that before. Ok I can’t be a geologist but that doesn’t stop my interest. I had just a little free time as I was having my dinner so went to check. 

If you do not know, in geography class we learn of the tectonic plate boundaries. But they are not the only fault lines, there are thousands of fault lines across the world with lots of regional fractures.  

How many fault lines in Kyushu?

Kyushu has dozens of individual active faults grouped into major designated fault zones, with the Japanese government specifically tracking 6 major active fault zones of primary regional significance alongside the island's broader rift systems. 

Major Fault Systems and Zones

Hinagu Fault Zone: Extends northeast-southwest through Kumamoto Prefecture and the Yatsushiro Sea, heavily involved in recent major regional seismic activity.
Futagawa Fault Zone: Runs alongside the Hinagu system in central Kyushu, forming a prominent strike-slip and normal fault network.
Japan Median Tectonic Line (MTL): Japan's longest fault system, which cuts across the eastern and central parts of the island.
Beppu-Shimabara Graben: A complex rift and volcanic zone cutting across central Kyushu packed with numerous active normal faults

Which fault line caused this earthquake? 

The likely culprit is the Futagawa-Hinagu fault zone, the same system that devastated Kumamoto in April 2016

Zoom in closer to Kyushu. 

This pic taken from : https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Tectonic-map-view-of-Kyushu-Solid-lines-T1-T4-indicate-Matsuyama-Imari-Oita-Kumamoto_fig16_334437046

Read the short article, the same link as above. Click HERE

What kind of fault caused this earthquake 

Like most earthquakes, strike slip fault caused this earthquake. 

Click HERE for description and animation of the different kinds of fault 

Other interesting links :
A blogger wrote about the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake. Very interesting but very wordy. Click HERE

Not related to Kumamoto’s earthquake but was checking things when I saw there was earthquake in China in late morning. Haha! The earth seems to rattle all the time that nobody pays attention to everything. 

Click HERE for article on this earthquake 

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

While editing this post days later, as usual, I came across this article from this FB group

WHAT?!?! 😭

Saw in their FB page. Why why why do they have to close the hotel? I hope another hotel takes over the building. 

My heart hasn’t left since last year, Infact this year 还是心痒痒，很想回去. I wanted to go and stay overnight coz I want to stargaze in the open. I wanted to see the milky way as clearly as possible. People do camp during autumn, this place is as busy as it gets in autumn where the foliage is simple gorgeous. But ehh…..like ah-nia is so daring to camp ⛺️ in the open, later want to pang jio how? Later the bears 🐻 come out how? 

But now ….. 

Spoil 了 😩

Bought this sometime in 2020 during CB. Then everything had to be delivered to us coz we were all locked in, I vaguely remember it was something that I had been looking forward to. I badly needed to scrap away the dirt on my skin. 

Recently I tried to use it but it died very fast, as in I can only clean my chin area and then it stopped. Initially I thought the battery had depleted. So for three occasions I had to charge fully and then same thing happened. 

算了吧! 6 years later also time to change. 

This Taobao convert shopper decided to check out. But …. I don’t know how good it is. I’ve bought a few “beauty gadgets” including one that stated on my packaging “vibrator” 🤣 from Taobao and it seems the gadgets all only make the sound but doesn’t seem to work. 

In the end I chose back Labelle, a Korean brand. Bought L8 coz I only need the peeling mode, I barely used the ionization mode with my L6 anyway. I prefer to use Vanav for that function. Can’t wait for it to arrive, I need to clean my mor-peng face.