All the things I've done wrong and neglected to do

- Eating fruits after meals
- Drinking ice water after meals
- Drinking canned fruit juices
- Drinking soda
- Not exercising
- Eating buffet til my stomach feels like bursting!

Please, hope you don't repeat my mistakes.

Best of 2007

I can feel it! On my way home, I see less crowded trains, people anxious to reach their destinations, cars on the streets rushing by, shoppers doing their last minute shopping, numerous phone calls being made on people's plans for tonight. 2008 is coming and we will be saying our goodbyes to 2007 in a few hours.

I thought it would be fun to do a "Best of" list of my own for 2007. The list may not include things that came out this year, but things I really like that I discovered in 2007.

Best Travel Destination
Bali. It's called the island of the gods for good reason. No matter how many times I've been there (only three) I would always be captivated by its beauty each time and I long to go there again and again and again. I know some people who share the same sentiments, going back once a year even! If you haven't been to Bali, what are you waiting for? Call your travel agent now.

Best Fiction
Kite Runner. It's the first book that made me cry. It's just such a wonderful tale of two friends separated early in their years and how one seeks redemption for his own deeds later in life. Read it if you haven't. I am waiting for Khaled Hosseini's follow-up A Thousand Splendid Suns to come out in the paperback version.

Best Web Application
Picnik. I love Picnik for its simplicity of use and colorful graphic. You don't have to be an expert in navigating the web to use it. Now you can tweak your pictures all you want, anywhere you want, as long as you have internet access. It even lets you link to your Flickr or Facebook account for easy uploads and editing!

Best Soundtrack
Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the film Curious George by Jack Johnson and friends. Jack Johnson always has that soothing quality to his music and voice, and I think kids and adults alike will enjoy this perfect little CD. I found myself listening over and over again to his beautiful lyrics, full of optimism and child-like wonders. I even bought another one for a friend of mine who turned out to love it too! Though I haven't seen the movie itself, I can bet that the songs complement the movie nicely.

Best movie
Ratatouille. This is hard, I don't really have a best of the best this year, as I couldn't recall a title that left a huge impression on me like Before Sunset or The Incredibles did. Among my other choices are The Lives of Others, Freedom Writers, Thank You For Smoking, and Bourne Ultimatum. Ratatouille stands out for its strong story line (however unbelievable, but hey! it's a fantasy), excellent directing, and powerful graphics - I still can't believe the richness of details in this movie, I am a big Brad Bird fan now. So, there you have it.

Best Webmail
Gmail. Nothing beats my good ol' favorite. Hotmail and Yahoo are making a lot of upgrades recently, offering up to 5 GB of storage and sleeker graphics, but Google is still like a dear old friend to me. In my opinion its best features are the conversation-like email grouping, nice simple colors, and the embedded Google Talk application. If you look around the web, most applications are clamoring to include Gmail as extensions for their products due to its popularity. That tells you something right?

Best Mobile Device
Blackberry. Now I'm a little biased because I haven't tried a lot of other phones that could do millions other stuff (I own a chunky Nokia with a round dialpad - beat that). Its wide design may just be its advantage as it allows us to type more comfortably with our fingers, though it may not be so when you're doing calls. Its best feature is of course its push-mail technology; I haven't seen any other devices that push mails as efficiently as the Berry. Another great feature is the Messenger, it saved me a lot of troubles when I'm overseas.

Best Internet Browser
Firefox. Can't live without it. It's the browser that introduced "Tabs" to me, and I've been using it ever since. Plus, a lot of applications on the web such as DivX player, del.icio.us extensions, work perfectly with Firefox.

Best OS Design
Leopard. Sleek, stylish, superior. I'm still getting used to it, though in the beginning I encounter a few hiccups with some of the applications. But design-wise, this is the best in the market. It applies to Apple's hardwares too.

Best Place to Have Your Afternoon Tea in Singapore
Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge. I discovered this little gem tucked in the corner of a major department store some time ago. It serves delightful desserts, great pastas, and high-quality teas in beautifully made Chinas. The ambiance lends a Danish feel to it (at least a friend who stayed there said so) and the setting is lovely. Just be careful not to drop those fragile things.

Okay, there you go. Not only because I am running out of time but if I continue, there is still a long list to go. Most of my "bests" are technology or entertainment-related, that pretty much sums up where I spent a lot of my time on...(alright, I need to pick up a new hobby soon). Hope you enjoy it and Happy New Year 2008!

Simple pleasures in life

- Seeing my house after clearing all the old newspapers, junk mails, brochures, old magazines and unnecessary clutter away
- A takeaway bubble tea after work or on a lazy weekend afternoon
- The smell of fresh dry laundry
- The sunlight shining in through your window
- Shower at the end of a tough workday
- The smell of fresh ocean air
- Internet connection
- A walk around my neighborhood
- The sight of blue sky
- The sound of a familiar voice calling you on the phone
- A good music that you sing along and move your body to
- A meal with just yourself and a newspaper nearby
- A cup of tea on a chilling day
- A meal with your friends
- The sweetness of a teh-o-peng
- The taste of chocolate melting in your mouth after a day of craving
- Popping in your new CD for the first time
- The smell of pages of a new book
- A laughter of a child
- The smile of your loved ones
- A good sleep

What can I say...

I can always count on Simon to deliver all the good stuff out there. Check out his blog.

Here's what I learned today:
1. There's cheese on moon. Google Jokes, Sometimes...
2. Horror! Horror!
What Happens to Your Body if You Drink a Coke Right Now. To think that I just had a bottle of Coke this afternoon (half actually, satisfied my thirst for the first few minutes, then blah).
3. The meaning of life. Well, almost there...
4. Links, links, and links! If I didn't read Simon's entries, I wouldn't have ventured out to Coke, moon, "answer to life, universe, and everything" (it's 42, by the way), then meaning of life, and Google Romance. Same analogy with life, connections, connections, and more connections! Gets you everywhere.
5. There was a baby called Inuka, he was born in 1990 and he's a polar bear. Check out his profile here.

Oh! I just got Tony Buzan's Age-Proof Your Brain. I'm serious. Will see how that goes.

Things you already know

I'm going to list them out anyway. Don't say I didn't warn you.

1. Ill-mannered people are extremely annoying.
2. 'definately' is still annoying.
3. iPhone is going to revolutionize the phone business again.
4. Low-fat cake? It compensates in sugar, and packs calories.
5. Flowers never fail.
6. Waiting for that someone? Start looking, they'll never come.
7. Family is really what matters at the end of it all.
8. You're never too full for dessert (Did I hear cliché?)
9. Handwritten letter makes a person's day.
10. People don't really change.

UPDATE: Number 3 is no longer valid. :P