Phew, That was Close!

This blog would probably never see another update, had I made a wrong move this morning.

I have been staying up late this week trying to restore and old table, working into the wee hours of the morning. I finally finished the job yesterday and the table, which was previously abandoned under the rambutan tree, now sits proudly in the dining room in all its redwood lacquered glory.

Late this morning as usual, after a glass of water and a cigarette, I walked to the toilet just outside the kitchen to answer nature's call. As I opened the toilet door I heard a hissing sound coming from the roof. I looked up and saw a huge cobra on the rafters all poised and ready to strike, had I moved an inch forward.

There was a moment of silence with me frozen in my tracks. It is not everyday that you have a five-foot cobra staring in your face, and with you only wrapped in your towel at that! I jumped back shouting and I had never been so scared in my life. As the snake slowly slithered the other way, whatever that was trying to get out from my bowels also recoiled back into hiding.

I then rushed back into the house to get my grandfather's bamboo walking stick. The black snake was still on the rafters, and I managed to hit it once before it escaped into the bushes nearby.

After that close brush with the reptile, I cancelled my appointment with Mother Nature, put on some clothes and went to the village coffee-shop for a drink and some breakfast. I don't know what for; perhaps to calm down the nerves or maybe to celebrate my long life?

It has been nearly 20 hours, and I still don't feel like going to the loo.