Four days worth of top ten

It's been hard to get online in the past few days. We watched "The Golden Compass" last Thursday. I grilled barbeque, pork chops, and fish for friends last friday, and I was pooped out last night.

I said "Top Ten" for each day of December -- and I mean to keep my promise.

December 6: TOP TEN NEW PLACES DISCOVERED / VISITED
(in no particular order):

1) Library @ Esplanade
2) The Taj Mahal
3) India - Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi
4) Starbucks, United Square
5) Chatuchak Market, Bangkok, Thailand
6) St. Ignatius Parish, Singapore
7) Gold Class, GV Cinema, Vivo City
8) Lands of 'Name of the Wind'
9) Lands of 'Wheel of Time'
10) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (by mid-December)

December 7: TOP TEN KOPITIAM / FOOD COURT 'Comfort Food'
(in no particular order):

1) Tempura Don
2) Tonkatsu Don
3) Bento Box B - Teriyaki Chicken, Tempura
4) Szechuan spicy chicken with rice
5) Korean Beef with rice
6) Deep fried chicken in thai sauce, with rice
7) Grilled chicken leg with vegetables
8) Singaporean Chicken Rice
9) Beef tapa with rice
10) Mixed food plate (1 Veg + 2 Meat) with rice


December 8: TOP TEN CHRISTMAS WISHLIST
(in no particular order):

Things to hold in my hand:
1) A Canon Digital SLR
2) 1 year's subscription to The Economist
3) Portable writing journal/notebook
4) "World Cuisine" cookbook
5) A new pair of shoes
6) Personalized, professional, ballpoint pen
Things to hold in my heart:
7) The chance to meet the love of my life
8) Rekindling old friendships
9) A new beginning
10) The gift of communication

December 9: TOP TEN ARTICLES FROM 'THE ECONOMIST'
(in no particular order):

1) America's housing market: cracks in the facade - link
2) The president and congress: the war comes to washington - link
3) Nicolas Sarkozy's victory: the gaullist revolutionary - link
4) Elections in south-east asia: voting for more of the same - link
5) Apple: the third act - link
6) Myanmar: the saffron revolution - link
7) Lexington: can Hillary be stopped? - link
8) Report on business & climate change: irrational incandescence - link
9) Report on religion & public life: In God's Name - link
10) New York's schools: the great experiment - link

TOP TEN: Emotional (Verbal) Expressions

December 5: TOP TEN EMOTIONAL (VERBAL) EXPRESSIONS
(in no particular order, because of a work report I have to finish...):

1) What!?!?!
2) Crap.
3) Hulloh.
4) NO.
5) What's the objective?
6) Really???
7) *sigh*... *loudly*
8) How are you (other person says)... I say "Good."
9) How are you (version #2)... I say "Fine."
10) *bangs one first on table, raises both hands in air* and hisses "yessss."

TOP TEN: Things I'd save from my room if it were on fire

December 4: TOP TEN THINGS I'D SAVE FROM MY ROOM, IN A FIRE
(in no particular order, because there's this book I want to go back to...):

1) Macbook
2) ASLA single-pouch messenger bag
3) Palm PDA
4) Drawer full of personal letters/correspondence
5) Wallet (and its contents)
6) 300GB External Hard Drive
7) Adidas deep blue jacket
8) Digital Camera
9) iPod
10) Mobile phone


I guess I've always felt I can recreate most of my life, with the right tools and equipment. Pictures can be reprinted. Books bought again. Ikea furniture repurchased. But the tools that help me cope with life and keep connected with a world outside myself -- these I save first. Most of what is truly personal is compact enough to be in that cabinet drawer I mentioned in #4.

TOP TEN: Books/'stuff' I read in 2007

December 3: TOP TEN BOOKS/'STUFF' I READ:
(in no particular order, because I'm too tired...):

1) Name of the Wind (Fiction) - link
2) The Essential Asian Cookbook (Non-Fiction)
3) Time Traveller's Wife (Fiction) - link
4) The Economist Style Guide (Non-Fiction) - link
5) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Fiction)
6) The End of Poverty (Non-Fiction) - link
7) Sandman Volume 6: Fables & Reflections (Fiction) - link
8) The Dip (Non-Fiction) - link
9) The Wheel of Time (Fiction) - link
10) American Gods (Fiction) - link

Launch of the 'December Top Ten'

It's that last month of the year. When thinking of "the end" naturally comes to anyone, and "new beginnings" to a lucky few. These next few weeks mark celebrations for me and my friends, my family. A time when remembering is a virtue.

In the spirit of remembering (and of course, in trying to be more diligent on blog posts), I am launching the "Top-Ten Daily Blog Posts." Each day of December, I will post a non-consequential, irrelevant, irreverent (to an extent), witty (i hope so), and personal (it's my life!) list of "Top Ten's" of my year.

Maybe you'll learn something about me from my lists. Maybe I'll learn something about myself. But great scott -- I do hope we'll all laugh and smile about it.

December 1: TOP TEN DISHES I COOKED or BAKED
(in order of my favorite to EAT):

1) Sweet-style Filipino Spaghetti
>> Literally no one who has tasted this has EVER eaten only one serving.
2) Vegetable and Shrimp Tempura
>> If I can't make my own sushi, I'll settle for tempura
3) Pork Giniling (Ground Pork) in Tomato sauce
>> It baffles me how can little pieces of meat be soo sinful?
4) Sweet & Sour Pork
5) Inihaw na Bangus
>> There has to be a grilled dish somewhere in the top ten
6) Thai Green Curry Chicken
>> Why settle for restaurant-style, when I can cook it in my kitchen?
7) Chinese Chop suey
>> A lot more vegetables, a little less fatty meat
8) Cookies!
>> Life has improved ever since I discovered my microwave can bake
9) Filipino Kare-Kare (Oxtail & vegetable curry)
>> For a taste of a sophisticated filipino dish
10) Indian Vegetarian Samosas
>> It is such an interesting conversation piece when I mention I made them from scratch.