nerd alert

So, a long time ago, probably high school bio, i learned about some special mushrooms and what they can do to your brain. jk! i learned about their root structure. its SO COOOOL. I learned somewhere that the part of these mushrooms you see are actually the 'fruit', and the entire plant mostly exists underground. Their root systems are CIRCULAR! Ever since I learned this I've been on the lookout for an entire ring or mushrooms, but I have never seen one.

until Today.

behold the magnifcant ring of mushrooms.
found not so far from my own home.

cool huh?

soo.. i googled this just now, and figured out they are called "fairy rings" because people used to think they were put there by fairies. but, actually, it is a fungus that has eaten up all of the nutrients in one area of soil, so it expands outward. the mushrooms that you see on top of the soil are on the edge of the ring i guess? interesttingg....

where have the feets been recently, you ask?

in the inverse playboy bunny bus of course!

research.

In about a little over a week, I will head over to Malaysia for a few weeks during our winter vacation. We have our flights in and out of the country planned, but nothing in between.
Therefore, we are spending the majority of today researching hostels, hotels, transportation and sites to see around the country.

I just wanted to share with you a note at the bottom of one of hotels we found while looking for accommodations on the island of Pangkor...

Note:

The Resort shall not be liable for any cancellation and casualties due to strike, lockout, civil commotion, force majeure, exceptional inclement weather, loss or damage by fire, flood or tempest act of Gods or war or other like cause beyond the control of the Resort. We trust the above arrangement stipulated herein are in order and should you required any further assistance, please do not hesitate to call us. We also look forward to welcoming you or all your valuable guests to Sea View Resort and assuring you of our very best service & pleasant stay.

mystery 1.

living in a foreign land means that two things come with every new day: misunderstandings and unexplainable mysteries.

my second favorite mystery of this foreign place has to do with the little man who delivers our water. see, in the town where i live, the tap water is non-potable. we must order our jugs of drinking water. when we first moved in, a friend gave us the "water number" and a script (complete with pauses for questions and everything). as we learn more vocabulary, the script makes more and more sense, and now we are pretty close to knowing what we are actually saying. Anyway, about fifteen minutes after you make the call and read your script, a little man carrying two jugs of water on his back knocks on your fifth floor door. its like magic.

a few weeks ago, my roommate called our beloved water man, only to find the phone line busy. she forgot to call a second time, and it would have gone unnoticed if twenty minutes later, our water man didn't knock on our door. but he did, this time with only one jug of water. as he replaced our old jug with the new, we stood there, mouths agape, wondering how the heck he knew we were in desperate need of water.. did he have caller ID all of the sudden, even though said roommate had never called waterman before? did he note the date of our last water purchase and assume we needed more water? or did we actually call the waterman?

as he shuffled toward the door, we tried to pay him the usual amount, but he refused. then, he started talking about american money... very confused, we found a quarter in our belongings and showed it to him to see if that was what he wanted... he asked how much it was worth, and then handed it back to us. still confused by his actions and our nonexistent language skills, we handed it back to him and told him he could have it.. he looked pleased and, still refusing our local currency, walked out the door.

we are still unaware of his original motives for bringing us that jug of water and how he knew we needed it... but everytime we see him, he gets this big grin on his face so i guess all is well.. and the last time he came to visit, we gave him an american bill, so he has been more cheerful than usual.


in other news:
i have a creative block.
and am listening to feist on repeat.
it's bad.