DECEMBER 31 — Happy New Year! 2026 comes for us all tomorrow.

The Chinese Lunar Year will also transition from the Snake to the Horse (my birth year) in February and because my life is cosmically entertaining, an actual snake did come to my door over the weekend.

My security camera showed me walking to my door from the front gate and a snake slithering from the garden towards the entrance.

At first I thought it was just a plain, black snake but I noticed specs of gold along the side and then... it reared its head up.

My house visitor was the very venomous monocled cobra — and for the briefest of moments we had a standoff.

It looked at me, I looked back, then it turned, deciding to slither off and making its way along a wall then into a drain. 

Of course I took a picture because it seemed just too outlandish a tale to share without proof.

I had a choice; to quickly go buy some sulphur to dissuade the snake or any other of its kin from accessing the house or close my door and reflect on the oddness of it all.

The snake must come before the horse, Chinese astrology-wise and I am, technically, a horse.

Maybe my ancestors were signalling to me that a new year is coming, and a change of energies will follow.

Or maybe the snake was hungry and there was wildlife for it to chase (a rat or mouse, maybe?) so it might be time to look around for (ethical) mouse traps.

I’m not squeamish. I find wildlife fascinating and while venomous cobras are not to be trifled with, at least they don’t get rabies and a cobra is not likely to chase me as I am not a small, delicious rodent.

An online acquaintance said he would have run if he were in my shoes.

I did prepare to run in case the snake got aggressive but like most things in my life, whether criticism or cancer, I faced the snake head-on.

It was a bit unnerving to have my sanctuary visited by such an unexpected guest, so I skipped trying to make myself dinner and ordered Japanese curry rice.

As I write this I have the beginnings of a cold, including a low-grade fever and a nose that is persistently leaking (like our nation’s coffers).

My left shoulder is still refusing to co-operate with my wellness agenda but at least my hands are less stiff, my joints a little more co-operative and I am optimistic about things getting better once my immunotherapy ends by February.

I hope that in 2026 I can still stay brave, no matter how scary the future is, what with the looming possibility of cancer recurrence, the Malaysian government collapsing (again),  the global economic slowdown and the increasing likelihood of new world wars.

May you also find courage, and support, when you need it and also make sure you know the number of your nearest fire station in case you too, like me, have a snake coming by to bid you farewell.