This morning I was brushing my teeth and I tasted the mint in my toothpaste. I mean really, tasted the sweet, fresh flavour of the toothpaste.

And I realized that I have not tasted my toothpaste for a very long time. All this time just rushing through the process without second thoughts, my mind usually thinking about the busy day ahead.

If you think about it, a group of product development experts probably spent months to perfect the taste of your toothpaste. They probably paid many testers and focus groups to get it right.

I have been trying to learn how to appreciate taste and flavors in these past few months.

I have lost 11 kgs since the beginning of this year, and one of the ways I did that was to eat less. At first it was really hard to cut down on the quantity of food. I often felt unsatisfied at the end of a meal.

But I picked up a really good tip, which is to really appreciate and taste your food.

I would take a bite of meat and take the time to feel the texture of meat. I learned to detect my wife’s loving preparation of marinade and sauces. I started to differentiate different spices and ingredients.

Sometimes you watch food reviews on TV and they seem to have so much to say after taking one bite. I think they have learned how to really appreciate taste and flavors.

They probably taste the different flavors as we might separate different colors, or how a musician can separate different notes and chords.

Sometimes I also think about the hard work and long process that brought the food from the farms to my table.

So I encourage you to really take the time to taste your food today.

It doesn’t have to be exotic or luxurious food. Even your roti canai can be a wonderful exploration.

Share your experience. Did you try it, and what did you discover?

It’s another new year!

After the big hoo-hah and all the money everyone spent on fireworks, alcohol and party decorations, it is just another normal day after all.

If ETs were watching us, would they wonder why there was a need to celebrate a change in the calendar. Why celebrate a new year? Why not a new month? A new day? A new hour? Why don’t humans celebrate the passing of a decade? A millennium? (oh wait, we did do that… but one year too early!)

Perhaps it is the fact that humans have such a short life span. Each passing year or birthday is a celebration of… of… umm… You know, I can’t really think of a reason.

Could it be a subconscious global wish to forget about the terrible things we have done to each other in the previous year? Will wars stop, will rivalries cease to exist, will enemies come to peace?

On the other hand, should we congratulate each other on the victories and achievements that we have accomplished? What about those who have faced defeat or those who have fallen short of an accomplishment?

Is this the only time in the year when everyone can openly declare that they wish to turn over a new leaf? Why do we come up with new years resolutions anyway?

In 2008 I was expecting a lot of things to happen. There was supposed to be change in the country, a positive change that will give us hope for a better future. But then my hopes were shattered. It is the same after all. In some ways things have gotten worse.

Politicians will remain politicians no matter which side they are on. In my opinion, those politicians who genuinely want to serve the community (in actions, not only in words) are a minority. Shame on me for putting hope in politics.

There were some good and exciting things that happened in my life last year. I’m not saying that the year was full of only bad experiences.

I’m just talking about hopes and expectations. What do I expect in this new year? What should I expect?

To me it’s just another day, just another month. I didn’t wake up to a magically renewed life. I still have to go to work. In fact, I expect lots of problems at work today because incompetent programmers never consider things like a new year in their programs.

I still owe the bank a few hundred thousand ringgit. By the end of this year, I would have barely made a dent in settling my debt. That’s if I still have a job by the end of the year.

I apologize if my fatalistic thoughts have brought the mood down. I look at reality and I just don’t see any reason to celebrate the new year at all. There is nothing good to expect, and I guess that’s really sad (for me).

Maybe I am setting myself up at the lowest point possible so I can’t get disappointed. Maybe there will be pleasant surprises this year.

Maybe I just need to learn to be more thankful and optimistic. Wait, was that a new year’s resolution? Nah.

Image Created By: Billy Alexander

How quickly the year has passed! What a journey, what a rush!

I just want to spend a few minutes writing down my thoughts on this new year’s day.

I was reading a post I wrote last new year. You can read it too if you didn’t read it.

I started last year looking forward to a lot of new things. I wrote that I resigned from my job, but in the weeks that followed, my company offered an attractive counter-offer and I stayed. It has been great working under my new boss Mr Koay who is a great leader and visionary.

I was looking forward to moving in to my condo. I have been living here for almost nine months now. Things are starting to fall apart and need maintenance. I am used to living here now, but I still miss home once in a while.

I was looking forward to marriage, and what a joy it has been. What a time or learning and sharing and discovering so much about Poey Chin.

I started attending DUMC, and it is wonderful that my faith has been challenged and I have the desire and passion for God now.

Another highlight of the year for me was becoming a blogger. I love sharing my life with you, and reading about your life through your blogs. I enjoy waking up each morning to see so many wonderful comments from you readers. It was amazing to have one of my posts hit the Digg front page and it continues to be a regular traffic generator until today.

What do I look forward to next year?

Personally I look forward to the birth of my child (we’re still not sure if boy or girl yet). People keep telling me that my life will get more busy and I will lose sleep

At work I’m looking forward to some interesting projects. My manager has hinted that I am supposed to be in charge of several projects and I look forward to developing myself in that area.

I didn’t prepare any new year resolutions in 2007, and I’m not going to prepare any in 2008 as well.

I foresee a challenging year ahead. It’s an election year, which is always tricky. I’m going to be voting for the first time. It’s going to be very challenging economically. It’s going to be very tough getting income from blogging.

The holidays are over, and I look forward to resuming my normal blogging schedule. I have another blog to take care of now, so my blogging time will be split between the two.

My only wish for this year is to get to know more readers and more bloggers.

Have a Happy 2008 everyone. I wish for all your dreams to come true!