what keeps you sane? #2

in 2006, i rambled on about 'What Keeps You Sane?'. revisiting that 3 years later (for some reason i seem to be on a three-year-milestone roll..), i don't think any of the contents of that list have changed, though I will add...
reading and re-reading Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything - one can never get bored of Bryson's writing style.. and for some reason i particularly like the sections on volcanoes and earthquakes - nerdy me rolled on the floor laughing at the section on the 'Mohole expedition that eventually came to be known as the No-Hole'..... well nevermind... I thought everybody learnt about the Mohorovicic discontinuity in lower-secondary-school geography but maybe not...)

i'd probably have to expand the part on then instant messaging programs to social networking applications.. you know which social networking application :), it's ingenious and let's face it, it's insidiously become part of our lives!

the rarer friends who are like-minded and understand you enough to know when you don't need a lecture but just a listening ear for a second, either because you just need to have your thoughts heard, or because you need a sounding board as to whether you're on the right track.

something new (that's partly because i haven't had access to a well-equipped kitchen for a long time) - trying out new recipes (of course it helps that everything i've tried has worked out for me so far! :-D) would probably qualify for this list as well.

singing in ensembles (and the often zany camaraderie that goes with it!)

what keeps you sane?