A friend of mine is currently presenting a photo series on Facebook entitled "an ordinary miracle a day". I really like it. It's not just that her pictures are great (although they are). It's also that I really value being reminded that life is mostly made up of small, small, precious things.

We've not done anything hugely exciting in the last month. Work has piled up again, and I'm dealing with a lot of deadlines.

But there have been lots of small but wonderful joys. Here are some:

-- Appreciating the gift of mooncakes from a colleague -- one pale green, one toasty brown, each smooth outer enclosing a delectable paste filling, and hiding, right at the centre, some sweetened egg

-- Getting up close with the gaudy guys at the KL Bird Park

-- Watching fascinating Malaysian movies, and enjoying the feeling that I work with some of the people who make them

-- Catching a glimpse of the sun bears down there beneath the Canopy Walkway that forms part of my amazing route to work

-- Unearthing gems from my 1996 diary: "After supper, the Internet. We can now find El Pais, Die Welt, and tourist information on Canada -- all achieved using a 'search engine'. Nigel's been following the video images of Mt Ruapehu letting off steam, and downloading software. A Good Thing, this Internet."

-- Attending a really interesting conference, where I met genuinely inspiring people

-- Celebrating the end of the photo-digitization project -- well done, Nigel!

-- And (of course, because I live in Southeast Asia) eating fine food (Portuguese egg tarts, durian freezy, nasi kukus, macha imo, and so much more).

Blessed...